Prelude

Today I am publishing on my website a gallery that I featured last year at the Lee Simmons Wildlife Safari park.  Throughout the last year I have put a lot of thought into this gallery and what it means to me.  This was my first real gallery show and it was what I felt my introduction to the world as an artist.  Since it was my first gallery, I have named it Prelude.  This gallery is an accumulation of that I learned and built over the past several years of doing photography.  As a few of you may know, I started photography back in 2014.  At the time I was strictly a wildlife photographer.  Wildlife photography is often considered the most difficult niche of photography because you have absolutely no control over your subject.  This means you have to quickly get to the point of becoming one with your camera.  Settings have to become second nature.  You have to learn how to read the light and adjust accordingly, whether that means adjusting your settings or adjusting the angle and position you're shooting from.  As much as I'd love to claim that I was a natural at photography, I would only be kidding myself and lying to you.  The reality is that I had drive and obsession.  At the time I worked the night shift at work and spent all my time before work out in the field shooting.  After work I would come home and put in 2 hours of editing.  That was my life for several years.  It wasn't a natural talent, it was hard work and time.  After a couple of years, my wife and I got into fashion photography.  In some ways it was like learning photography all over again.  I went from an environment where I controlled only the camera, to an environment where I controlled every single aspect of the shot I was taking.  Even the post processing was different.  Everything had to be refined and polished.  Where wildlife photography taught me how to use my camera efficiently, fashion taught me how to master post processing tools and how to create drama with light.  Meshing the skills I learned from both, I was able to create a style that I felt reflected who I was.  This gallery represents my journey so far and is a prelude to the artist I will become. 

Below is a link to the gallery show.

https://youtu.be/HYVsgsQR9oQ