A labor of love

Y'all won't hear from me on social media aside from an occasional posted photo, so consider this a rarity. Let me tell you a little bit about my labor of love:

For those who may not know, the art of photography is not how I earn a living. It is merely a hobby - albeit an important one that saved my life - and one that I continue to invest a lot of time and effort into. Getting out of bed at the crack of dawn or staying awake when most others are fast asleep does not appeal to everyone, and rightfully so.

Often times, I envision the end result of an image before scouting a location. From the time of day, required equipment and rough camera settings, to the foreground element and post-processing work, the final product is usually already complete before the acquisition process even begins...and that's just the start.

Having an idea of an image in your head is one thing, but acquiring it is another.

You've got to prepare your gear (i.e. attire, camera equipment, food) and get to a location, which likely involves a lengthy drive and/or a hike with your bag full of gear and provisions. Now that you're in the general area, be prepared to wander around searching for compositions.

Eureka! You've found a wonderful composition. Now get a'shootin'.

You might be out there for a couple of hours capturing images. If the stars/constellations are what you're after (the Milky Way core is effin' incredible, in my opinion), be prepared to lug in a hefty star tracker and spend your entire night/morning filling up space on your memory cards.

Now you've got your images, made it home safely and started uploading your files to the computer. Next up, processing...and explaining that is a novel of its own. Next time...

In short, a lot of work goes into the images that I share with you. In one such as the image displayed on the link below, most see sunrise at Joshua Tree National Park's Cholla Cactus Garden. Most will not see the time, money nor energy that went into it, but at least they may be more aware after reading this.

It rings true that a picture is worth a thousand words. Any image taken by anyone means something to someone. Through the sum of my images, I wish to tell a story of hope; one that you are welcome to hear me expound upon at any time.

I also want you to question whether or not what you see is real in my images, as they're my metaphors for life. Are what you see and experience reality, or are you living in a fantasy world? Either way, beauty can be found. It's all in your perception.

This is not a hobby that pays my bills (yet), however, if Nikon realized just how much money I've invested into their gear (due to the fact that I find them superior to other camera brands), liked my work and opted to bring me aboard as brand ambassador, I wouldn't say no. Hint, hint!

Anyhow, off my soapbox.

Your continued support means a great deal. Every click on an image or to my website (see the link below) encourages me to improve at this craft.

To that, extremely limited edition prints of select images may be available for purchase in the near future. Some of them would surely look rad adorning your walls! Who knows? If you're a person who continues to do nice things for others, perhaps one may make its way to you on the house.

Thank you for sharing some of your valuable time to read this. I appreciate you!