I started photography while I was working in a gallery in Las Vegas. The images that I would stare at for hours on end would eventually inspire me to pick up a camera and give it a whirl. This was a fun learning experience for me, I went to the local electronics store and picked up a Sony DSC-W50 camera. This would be a terrible point and shoot camera. I still own it. I still have some of my first images taken with this endeavor. Take a look at the donkey photo below. This would’ve been the first “animal” image I posted on the internet.
I quickly realized that my point and shoot camera wouldn’t suffice for my desires and needs. The photographer I worked for at the time used Nikon cameras. He said I like them because they are good. Well sounds like a good enough reason for me. The entry-level Nikon DSLR was just in my reach. I purchased a Nikon D50. This would’ve been a decent starting camera in its day (2006/2007) for a photographer. I used that camera constantly. I would purposely go out to photograph landscapes wherever I thought looked pretty and learned how to photograph. I love nature and the outdoors and often I would point the lens towards animals. You can see one of my early bird images from the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas below.
I started photographing everything. I would make routine drives to Lake Mead, and Red Rock canyon. I was hooked on capturing images of landscapes and wildlife. Traveling the southwest I started going to iconic locations and trying to capture my take on the beauty. I was constantly working to get better at image taking, I was learning how to see images and what looked good. I never had formal training or took a traditional photography class. I joined Flickr, The community would give feedback on images and I used that to learn what was good and bad. I was taking photos, editing photos, or reading about photography every day.
My first image I felt was great.
The butterfly image above is the turning point for me. I had taken 1000 photos that weekend maybe more. There is one image that stood out from the rest. Beginners luck possibly, not quite sure but this was everything I wanted at the time. This image has separation from the foreground and background. The colors are gorgeous and everything came together for this image. I would eventually enter a photography competition with this image, the first one for me my image won. This image is framed beautifully and hangs in my house to this day.
I started wanting to learn more about animal behaviors and how to get the “shot” more time in nature and in the field learning how to get close to animals and get images. I was traveling as much as I possibly could to photograph landscapes and animals in the southwest. I was photographing wild birds, big horn sheep, bears, elk, deer, wild horses and every other creature I could possibly find within the southwest. My favorite animal at the time to photograph was hummingbirds. My journey was going well and I was getting more exposure and recognition to my images. Some of my images had been used on National Geographic and showcased as the image of the day.
Here I am photographing burrowing owls in the desert of Las Vegas. I was learning more every day and starting to sell my images at art shows and online galleries. I was able to travel more and spend more time chasing the shot. I was loving every minute seeing a wild animal and getting a photograph in their natural environment. I would often practice at zoos and sanctuaries to hone my skills further in controlled situations.
I would learn studio portrait lighting to further round out my skills and give me something to do on rainy days. This was a lot of fun and landed me my first international published photograph. The image was fun and whimsical and shared a story.
I would start photographing more domestic animals. Dogs are one of my favorite animals and so I would focus a lot of energy on photographing dogs. I started to think of how many dogs I have photographed as I wrote this that number has to be over 10,000 by now.
Photographing animals has always been enjoyable to me as a way to document creatures that I have come across in my day to day life. Domestic animals are a wonderful way to show the unique qualities of our personal pets for memories!
I won Best Photographer in Las Vegas in 2017. I have been challenging and photographing more every year in 2019 I had taken over 62,000 images. 2020 is off to a decent start with over 32,000 images in the catalog as I write this.
Below are some of my favorite images over the years.
