About

Hi Everyone! I’m the photographer behind this whole mess I call a blog.  Let me tell you a little bit about me:

On a personal note…

I’m a total geek.  If you meet anyone who really knows me or are someone who really knows me, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.  I love everything tech, really enjoy sci-fi (Star Wars is my favorite), and think, in a former life, that I was Chewbacca.  Yes, I know what you’re thinking, “Joe, you’re too cool to be a geek.  I don’t believe you.”  Yeah, well, believe it because I’m a self proclaimed geek!

I absolutely love going camping, especially to Yosemite in the month of May.  It’s one of the most beautiful places on earth (yikes, I still need to post some photos from the last trip). Traveling is a must for my wife and I.  She’s been to a lot more places than I have though… but she’s ok with going back to them all so it works out perfect!

Family is #1. I would go to the ends of the earth to make my family happy or to help my family. There’s not much more to say about that.

Last thing about me… I love having fun and anything that makes me smile. I hate drama (for your mama).  There’s too little time for us on earth to be upset and fighting.  It takes more effort to frown than it does to smile.  Try it!  Smile right now, you’ll feel better. To sum myself up, a pretty chill dude.

Me and Photography…

I started out loving photography at a very early age.  I think I was about 6 years old when my father purchased a Minolta XG-1 with a 50mm 1.8 prime lens.  I remember being really intrigued by it, but my dad would never let me play with the camera because it was too expensive. After several years of asking to use it, he allowed me to start shooting.  I don’t think he knew too much about the camera because he always shot in automatic mode.  I was intrigued by all of the settings so in high school I decided to take a few classes on photography.  The classes really opened my eyes to seeing light and using the camera settings to get the creative shots that I really wanted. At a certain point my interest in photography started to dwindle… possibly because of the cost of film and development at the time… but most likely because I was into other things that sparked my interest.

In college, my photography spark was ignited again.  I began taking classes again.  These classes included using the dark room for development.  I learned so much more about photography when I was in the dark room that I never knew before.  At that point the first digital cameras were starting to be released.  But still there was something about film photography that intrigued me more.  Again, the cost of development, film, and classes led me away from my love of photography.

That puts me where I am now and where I intend to stay.  My bother-from-another-mother (Kenny) got a DSLR.  I had been contemplating getting one for several years and I’m not sure why I never pulled the trigger, but I immediately wanted one again.  I ended up buying one and it was all over.  The combination of technology and photography is my dream come true.  It’s the perfect marriage.  Although I am still a firm believer that film is better, the technology and quality that the new Canon 5d Mk II is producing is unparalleled.  Thanks to Kenny for giving me that kick in the butt that I have needed!