I have always been interested in photography. My parents got me a Nikon D90 for my birthday a few years ago and since then I’ve been hooked. In high school, I would take it with me when our school would take us on outings and my friends and I would play around with it. I signed up for photography my junior year and fell in love. On family vacations my camera was attached at my hip. The result: many pictures of my nieces, nephews, family and the scenery of the places we went.
Until my freshman year in college, photography was something I knew I loved doing, but I didn’t have the technical skills. Once I began taking Intro to Photography, it became something I could see myself doing later in life if all my other plans failed. My family started recruiting me for pictures of their kids, themselves and for family events. My course taught me how to use my camera, which until then I kept it on the most basic settings, pointed and took a picture. I hadn’t thought about layout of the photo, where the subject was and where the background was; I did it for fun.
Now, I take into account all these technical things. Now that I have the skills, I see pictures through a lens, even when my camera isn’t with me. When we go on vacation I think, “this would make an awesome picture”. When the contrast between my niece’s eyes and what she is wearing makes her eyes pop, I see this in a photograph. Thanks to photography, I have started appreciating the beauty around me. I love the light that comes just before sunset and what grey clouds do to a street.
I have started looking at my surroundings and moving slower so I can appreciate the light at a certain hour or a shadow on a street corner. Now, taking pictures is no longer restricted if I don’t have my Nikon. If I see something particularly beautiful, I capture that moment with my iPhone, will borrow my parents’ or sisters’ camera or I picture it in my mind. Photography has become a way to seize beautiful moments and that is what makes taking photos so fun and calming for me. It slows me down and makes me really look at the world around me and appreciate it.
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