Lens Artists #133– My Photography Journey
This week, the theme is My Photography Journey. I’m taking the opportunity to share part of my journey with you.
For years I carried my Sony electronic camera in my pocket when we travel. Cinque Terre, Italy:
Later, I bought Canon EOS Rebel for our trip to China, I set the camera on auto the entire time hoping to get some memorable images. This image was captured as we cruised along the Li River:
In 2015, I was introduced to a Canon 7D II camera, which I bought to take birds in flight. I found out quickly that you couldn’t expect the 7D II to capture birds in flight using auto. I began to learn about shutter speed/aperture/ISO, utilize continuous shooting, AF/AI focus, etc. Utilizing all these features for one shot was a struggle for me.
This was one of my first action shots using my 7D II:
That summer, I brought my 7D II with me as we traveled to the Grand Canyon. The evening of our arrival, I saw a photographer who was setting his tripod right by the rim. I approached him and posed a simple question, “… What aperture setting do you use for photographing GC sunset?” He explained the camera setting, then extended our conversation to a photo lesson.
He then instructed me on how to take sunset shots, how shadows change as the sunlight was descending, and how to calculate and anticipate the changes. Later, he asked me to shoot with him, and even spent time viewing my shots. When he was packing up his gear, I saw he had 12 lenses in his bag. As he finished packing, he pointed at my camera and said that he’d like to have a 7D II someday. By then, hubby was back from his walking along the rim.
As a beginner, I couldn’t digest what Bill had taught me, but I did learn that photography was about more than camera settings.
“A photograph is a click away. A good photograph is a thousand clicks away and a better one, a million clicks away.” — Kowtham Kumar K
In September, 2017, I joined a photography trip to Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. I spent four days with a group of photographers. Several of them carried their 600 and 800 mm lenses, a heavy tripod, and other expensive gear (Kay’s camera boby alone was $5k), which made my Canon 7D II look like a little toy. But, it was an adventure. I learned to use slow speed for waterfalls and even used a tripod for the first time.
On our first hiking day, after unloading our gear, Jim came to me and gently said that my tripod would help him to hike up (I noticed that he limped a little when he was walking). He traded his walking cane for my tripod. At the end of our hiking, Jim said,”It’d be very difficult for you to carry the tripod through the hike.” I’m forever thankful for his kindness.
There are days when I’m thankful for my iPhone. It’s convenient and easy to carry. I have experienced i-5,6,8 and now i-11. The coolest thing is that I can forward the photos to my family and friends as soon as I finish clicking
Bill, Jim, and Kevin (my photography teacher) have taught and helped me tremendously to advance my photography technique. More importantly, nearly every day, I learn observations, ideas, creativity, editing, and much more from my blogging friends and followers. Last, but not least, Tina, Patti, and Ann-Christine have motivated me to continue this journey. They take photography challenge to new heights, it’d take me two-life times to learn from them.
The World Is A Book... 
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