The Evolution of a Photographer

“#WhenIWasYourAge: It took a week to learn whether your photos came out okay.” ~Neil deGrasse Tyson

I have always loved photography. For most of my life, that was just snapshots and candids. My first camera in the mid 80s was a blue 110 that was likely purchased at Target. I would take photos of my pet rabbit and my dolls. My sister and I would set them up on a blanket outside to simulate a portrait session like we had done at Sears.  

At some point in high school, I upgraded to a cheap 35mm camera. This camera captured my youth group conclaves, my high school band trips, my trip to Israel, my all night graduation party. Many of those photos ended up in albums, though most sit in a big shoe box in my spare room. Throughout college, I continued to snap pictures, including trying to capture some of the beautiful places I visited.

My college boyfriend was a very smart tech guy. He bought a digital camera very early on- if my memory is correct, it had one megapixel. We used it for our Mexican vacation, and so those were the first digital photo files I had. (I could not find the files for these! I wanted to share one or two.)

After some entry level digital cameras of my own, I got a Canon PowerShot that had some manual controls and a pop up flash. That’s where I really started enjoying my photography on another level. I loved taking photos of my dogs and of my family and friends, and I took my first photography class. 

When I was pregnant with my older son, I finally branched out into DSLRs. I took so many photos of my son and my friend’s kids. I learned so much about my camera’s settings, and began to delve into editing. I began to get encouragement from friends and family to explore what else I could do with my photography.

While I’m excited about expanding my business and making more relationships that way, I also really enjoy my photography outside of my business. I’m very active in the 52Frames challenge, and in the last few years have added personal challenges like composite photography and working with miniatures. I have learned so much from both my own photographs and the extremely welcoming community at 52Frames.

I’m really looking forward to making more connections and continuing to learn as Elysha Rice Photography jumps into this spring.