Those decisive words became a call-to-action! I quickly purchased a simple SLR camera with plenty of color film. With that came years of firing off snapshot after snapshot using the trusty in-camera flash whenever the light started fading. Before I knew it I was photographing our family reunions. I even photographed a wedding for a friend who couldn’t afford a professional photographer.

Nine years after purchasing my first film camera, I took a leap of faith and purchased my first digital camera. It was a Canon Rebel XTI. I was excited to move into the digital world of photography but was still a bit hesitant about this whole “digital” thing.

It was a year later during a trip to the Grand Canyon when my perspective on photography was forever changed. I woke up early to catch the bus that rides along the southern rim, dropping people off at their stop of choice. While waiting to catch my ride, a stranger, who was obviously a photographer, stood by me and we struck up a conversation. After exchanging pleasantries, our conversation moved to photography. I felt pretty good about my skill set, proudly carrying my digital camera and tripod but he surely sensed that I was a novice and graciously asked questions about my camera, what mode I generally shot in, what type of lenses I used, etc. He showed me his gear and how he shot things before leaving the bus at his intended stop. That was the last I saw or heard from him. After that conversation I decided I wanted to begin taking my photography more seriously. What adventures it has been since that day!