"The virtue of a camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking."
Brooks Atkinson

It started as a hobby...

I had a bit of interest in photography in high school, and was on the yearbook staff, but never pursued much with it, I just knew it was something I liked. Fast forward to 2005, when I received a 35mm Canon SLR camera as a Christmas gift from my parents. From time to time, I would go out to shoot photos, and had many less than stellar attempts at capturing beautiful rural landscapes and flowers. Buying film and having it processed can add up quickly, and I found myself getting frustrated and not doing much with the camera. In the spring of 2006, I did a session on black and white film of my infant niece, and finally had some images that I was happy with...and I came to the realization that I preferred photographing people, rather than "stuff".

In 2007, I received a digital Canon SLR camera as an early graduation gift while I was in my last semester of grad school (for something completely unrelated to photography!). This allowed me much more freedom to shoot, edit, and learn. Since then, I've started piecing together additional equipment, as well. From time to time, I am honored to be asked to do photos for family, friends, or even friends of friends, and I really enjoy the learning that comes from these experiences - as well as the excitement of getting the photos uploaded to the computer to see how they came out.  I've rekindled my interest in nature shots, and have been flattered by the occasional request for a print of one of my images. I've never thought of myself as an artist since I can't draw, sculpt, or paint, but photography has become an artistic outlet of sorts for me. There's an overwhelming amount of stuff that I still want to learn how to do, but I try to take things a little bit at a time and, most importantly, have fun doing it! This is my hobby, and is definitely a big change from what I do during my "day job". I don't have a studio, and don't really want one, either. I am completely self taught, and part of the fun for me is the challenge of figuring everything out!

After gentle prodding from important people in my life, I decided that it was time for me to do something to organize my photos besides posting a handful of pics on my social networking page every few days. So, after the holiday craziness settled down, I created the "Photography By Sheena Bowen" blog in January 2011.

I hope you enjoy viewing these images as much as I did in creating them! Thank you for visiting!

No comments:

Post a Comment