photo credit: My wife Jess

I won’t use this initial post to create an autobiography of my photography background, but instead set out on a quest to use my photography as a tool for teaching, inspiring, and encouraging others. Previously, I’d primarily only shared my work via social media. I don’t think that’s the best way forward, so I hope this type of work will create a better reach with more authentic interactions.

Getting Started

Hopefully this is the starting point to create a project which can ultimately allow me to focus more time on my photography, especially in the environmental conservation space. As this is my space to express my own feelings and beliefs, there will be no shortage of commentary on the current state of humanity’s broken relationship with nature. I will do my absolute best to avoid being offensive, exclusive, or demeaning. Everyone’s voice (even those without one!) is important.

This blog post is a sort of manifesto on future posts I’d like to create to talk a bit more in depth about a photo. I truly hope that each photo itself will give a sense of connection to the beauty of our natural world, and create a sense of curiosity. I have a diverse and dynamic background and can never seem to focus for too long on any given thing. So while this may seem a bizarre set of elements, they are each dear to me, and I hope you’ll find at least one of them interesting!

Content

I intend to tell a small story about each photo, or set of photos, including:

1) A story about the photo

Every moment is part of a story. Some moments are more interesting than others, but nothing is created in a vacuum. We exist in the constant flow of time, and thus there is always time before the photos was taken, a time while the photo was being taken, and a time after. I hope to be able to give a small context to the photo and show you a bigger picture.

2) A factoid about the subject

As I stated above, there is always more to a photo than what we see. In this section, I’d like to share a fact or interesting aspect about the subject.

3) The environmental conditions

Nature photography occurs in an environment. Therefore, there are always considerations to be made. In this section I’d like to discuss the environment in which the photo was taken. This is especially relevant to underwater photos, but really there’s something to consider in every situation.

4) A technical analysis of the RAW photo

I had a very light “traditional” entry into photography via a single high school semester. Shoutout to Mrs. Govenik!! So my “technical” analysis will probably be pretty light, but I still wanted to try and give some insight into the photo itself. Perhaps it will be a good section to push me to learn more!

5) A look at how the final image was created

I have a long way to go on my editing techniques, and my workflow is absolute chaos at times. But generally speaking I am usually happy with the outcome of my photos. This will probably also be a good section for me to hone my skills and reflect on what works and where I need to improve.

6) Something that I learned

Every moment is an opportunity to teach AND to learn. The moment I am doing something and not learning, it will be time for me to reevaluate why I am doing the thing in the first place. I also want to show you that even “pro’s” are not perfect. We all have our flaws. It’s how we approach those flaws that is important. Accept our mistakes, grow from them, and share our learnings with others. Remember, we all started somewhere.

Final thought

I don’t know where this will go. Perhaps I will try to offer some type of course(s) on these topics, or perhaps there is no interest in them. Soon most images will likely be AI generated that will have inevitably stolen content from an individual like myself with 0 credit given. Maybe this is all in vain. In the mean time, I am trying to stay positive and hope that people still find interest in this art form.

Feel free to leave a comment below or reach out to me directly. A post with the content described here will hopefully be out shortly!

Stay safe, keep learning, and be kind.

• Kit