As is tradition, here are my top 10 photos of 2020. In the past I’ve always commented on how I hadn’t felt improvement in my skills — both compositionally and technically. This year has been different though. For the first time, I’m finally comfortable with calling myself a fine art photographer and it’s all thanks to the invaluable lessons I’ve learned from shooting the Illinois Prairie.
•I’m now better at reading weather to determine how it’s going to effect the light of a scene.
•My patience and scouting skills have improved and I’m better able to determine when I should return to a scene for better lighting and weather.
•I’ve learned the massive importance that clouds have on any scene and how to utilize them into a composition.
•My patience and scouting skills have improved and I’m better able to determine when I should return to a scene for better lighting and weather.
•I’ve learned the massive importance that clouds have on any scene and how to utilize them into a composition.
I also feel like I have really mastered my camera, which is a strange thing to say. I haven’t seen anyone else anywhere online using this specific camera to take photos anywhere near this level. I know its capabilities and limits better than any other tool I’ve ever used and I can control it with my eyes closed. Despite it being Olympus’s bottom tier budget camera from 2012, it has helped me grow as an artist in ways a better camera wouldn’t have allowed. Limitation breeds creativity. This has allowed me to fully delve into my visual style that I’ve been subconsciously developing for myself, one that is strongly influenced by the cinema and other visual art I consume.
With all that being said, thank you deeply to everyone that has supported me on social media, mentioning my work to me in person, and buying prints. It means so much more to me than I can express with words.
