2020...Well, that was interesting

What a year…memorable/forgettable for so many reasons. 2020 brought me this hobby though. I bought my first camera in December 2018 in anticipation of the birth of our first kid. I wanted to have something to document how our lives changed. It was a Sony a6300, I had a great time with that little camera and learned some of the technical things necessary to develop, such as how to shoot in manual. I took a lot of pictures and videos of him which I will cherish forever. Early 2020 we booked a trip to Portugal…never made it for obvious reasons. Before we knew we were going to get shut out I thought to myself…it would be nice to have a full frame camera, so I bought a used a7r iii and sold my a6300. Good move overall, but I never got to use it on the trip for obvious reasons. With my a6300 I used to shoot some street scenes as I would walk around town, nothing crazy, nothing really great, but it got me used to shooting and introduced me to Lightroom. With Covid, I felt a little less comfortable just roaming the streets and shifted my meanderings to the metro parks that surround my city. Little did I know what an adventure I was about to begin. All of the pictures seen here are from 6 months of focusing on nature photography. They progress from the first images I took in June 2020 through this fall/winter. I learned how to use Photoshop, what focus stacking is, what exposure blending is, what luminosity masks are, how to add creative touches, just enough about printing to give myself a headache, how to take pictures of the Milky Way, what NPN is. I wouldn’t say I’m really good at any of it yet…but this is where I am starting and I hope to continue learning and growing and eventually make images as good as what I see here. If nothing else, I hope my post helps you reflect on where you have been, how far you have come, and what a great little community us photographers have together.

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Always open to learning!

Technical Details

Is this a composite: Some are

It looks like you’ve learned a lot, David. There are some fine images in this collection. I’m particularly fond of #8 followed by #5 and #1.

No. 8 for me, too. Thanks for posting these.

What a year indeed David. And yes, NPN is a great community. Wonderful collection, my favorite is #5 nicely done.

What a great write up David. As photographers we are always learning, experimenting, changing. Looks like 2020 was pretty good to you. My favorite is number 5. Well done. Here’s to hoping that 2021 is better for all of us.

Like your write up , David, enjoy the journey. Lots of interesting images, #5 is terrific.

David, a set of very nice images, you have learned and adopted a lot during a very short period of time! I especially like the ICM one. Also, the light stuation mame No. 8 stand out.

David, I enjoyed reading your story about your photographic journey. This is a nice collection of images from 2020, you have certainly come a long way in a very short period of time. Keep them coming, I look forward to watching your continued growth in 2021.

My favorites above are #10, a fine intimate scene, and #8, which was an image where I think you learned a lot from the critique process here at NPN.

Thank you all for the kind words, hoping for even more from 2021!

Thats a fantastic set for 2020 David! Tree leaning over the water and the ICM are amazing to me! Well done on all of them!

David, this is a fine collection of photos showing a wide variety of interests. I’m particularly taken by the two where there’s basically a 50:50 split left to right, which is unusual but effective in your examples.