The first subject I began with was water - rain, dew, etc. I would go out in the rain, and take pictures of leaves, fences, trees, flowers, and other items of nature and society like that. Sometimes I would even turn on the hose and take pictures of the water tumbling out of the spout.
I wasn't interested in shots of people - even today, I prefer portraits of nature. However, I used to go to the local animal shelter and take pictures of their cats and dogs. There was something I found alluring about the poise of the cats and the energy of the dogs. Plus, it was fun to get my pictures in the paper under the shelter's name. :)
I also started what became my 'signature shot' - I took a picture of the bay in front of my house at sunrise every morning, and whenever the light was interesting. I must have thousands of these by now.
I didn't do anything special to get the pictures - no photo shoots, no editing, no experimenting. I just saw, and I shot.
At this point, no one had seen my pictures, not even my parents. It wasn't that I didn't want to share them - I just never thought of it. It was just what I did - capture anything I saw -because in my mind, everything was completely unique and beautiful, and deserved to be remembered. My camera never left my hand - after a while, no one even noticed me clutching it to my chest or holding it to my eye. It was part of my being.
These are my best pictures of 2008.
