I’ve been actively involved in photography in various capacities for the more than a decade. The beginning of my photographic journey probably sounds all too familiar to anyone who ever picked up a camera. About 12 years ago, I was struggling to take “good” pictures of my then newborn son with a brand spanking new three megapixel point and shoot. Having never taken an interest in photography growing up, I was literally starting from scratch at the age of 30. If you can pardon a horrendous pun, thankfully something “clicked” for me.

Because I am a computer guy at heart, having the ability to reverse engineer the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO from the exif info baked into each shot I took with my fancy Nikon Coolpix 4500 was a godsend.   Digging into the digital files of each shot sent me down a path of experimenting with the various settings on my camera in attempts to emulate the kind of photography and photographers I admired.

Bringing out beauty in everyday objects and settings.

In short order, I was making photos of just about anything that crossed my path; flowers, toys, waterfalls, rust, and yes, several thousand frames of my growing family. My interest in shooting a wide range of subjects continues to this day. Whether I’m photographing food, junkyards, unique personalities, or the pastoral scenes of Lancaster County, almost every subject area speaks to me in different and engaging ways. I’m particularly drawn to details and vibrant colors and try to focus on bringing out beauty in everyday objects and settings.

Everyone has an excellent opportunity to improve their own photography.

One of the great things about being involved in photography right now is the wealth of freely available information.   Because of this unprecedented amount of sharing, everyone has an excellent opportunity to improve their own photography.  Since I learned (and continue to learn) so much from these types of sources, I’ve been blessed to be able to give back whatever I’ve picked up along the way.   For many years that took the the form of leading the Lancaster County Photography Meetup Group. Established 10 years ago, the meetup group has grown to an organization of more than 1000 members that puts on roughly 30 events annually, most of which are free of charge.

I will be forever grateful that photography found me.

I will be forever grateful that photography found me. It has given me an outlet for my visual creativity, connected me with amazing friends, and opened my eyes to a world that I was missing before I started looking for how well it was lit.