I've been taking pictures for as long as I can remember but I didn't get serious about photography until I was preparing for a special vacation. I remember thinking I had to get a better camera and learn more about photography so I would be able to make better photographs from the trip.
We took the trip and it was wonderful I got some nice pictures out of it. Some of the ones on this website are from that trip. I did a credible job of documenting the trip. But along the way I changed from documenting my life to creating images that I could share with other people.
Now I plan most of my trips around photography and not the other way around. I have reconnected with nature in a way that I hadn't since childhood. I love to take landscapes but it can be a challenge to find new and interesting things to shoot. I also love to take pictures of flowers and gardens but that's very seasonal. I needed something to shoot year round.
That's when it hit me that there was a beautiful part of nature that I could photograph year round: birds. There are always birds around. Many are migratory so you have new subjects on a seasonal basis. I also decided that I needed to learn enough about birds to be able to identify them in my photos. Now I'm into birding in a big way not just as a way to have something to shoot but for the joy of seeing such beautiful creatures on a regular basis.
When asked about my favorite subject my response is the most interesting thing in front of my camera.
If you're still with me I hope you enjoy looking at my photos as much as I do taking them.
Thank You.
Steve Samples joined Fine Art America on June 8th, 2014.
