Putting on the Lens Cap

Just a few short months ago, I entered a class at Westfield State University called “Writing for Interactive Media”. We were shown a Ted talk about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story“. After we watched that, we were then told to write a blog on any topic we wanted to write about. We had to talk about it in a way that differed from the stereotypical viewings of our topic and offered a new perspective on our topic. After a lot of thought and consideration, I settled on something that I really enjoy doing. Photography.

I very much enjoyed writing this blog and coming up with things every week to write about. It helped me continue to regularly take photos on my camera and also allowed me to have a place to show others my photography. As the end of the semester is upon us, I have decided to wrap up my blog.

I would like to thank my readers for keeping updated on my posts. I’m not a professional photographer at all, but I hope that my readers did learn a thing or two from reading my posts. My goal was to pass on what I have learned from photography to others learning photography. In addition to learning, I also hope that my readers enjoyed reading my posts as much as I enjoyed updating them every week.

One of my main goals during the duration of this blog was to create a deeper meaning to the world of photography and to bring into attention a different perspective of this topic. It’s not simply pressing a button and getting a beautiful picture. It involves a lot of planning and learning our equipment to be able to capture stunning pictures. I hope that my readers who aren’t photographers, have developed a new appreciation to the world of photography and the people in it. I hope that they realize how people can use photography to express themselves.

If you have regularly read my posts, you probably know by now that my favorite type of photography is nature photography. I love taking photos of nature for many reasons. If you would like to continue to view nature photographs, I highly suggest giving “Tofino Photography” a visit. On their blog, you will be able to see the many pictures of animals they take. I find it very interesting to see their posts and to see how they were able to capture the animals in their natural environment.

I am going to keep this post short and sweet. I want to end by thanking my readers for giving me an audience to write to. I also want to thank my professor, Prof. Nimkoff, for giving me the opportunity to create this blog.

Remember to always keep your finger on the shutter button and to never stop taking photographs. Please enjoy a couple of my favorite subjects to photograph, my cats! Adios!

Enhancing Lives with Photography

One of the things I have wanted to explore during the duration of this blog was how we are able to express ourselves through the art of photography. I began to think deeper into the world of photography and ask myself questions to better understand how we can do this. How can we learn more about ourselves through photography? Can we use photography to get ourself into a better mental state? If you too are interested in these questions, then this is the post for you.

I discovered my interest in photography a little over a year ago when I was enrolled in a photography class last spring semester. I went into that class not knowing anything about photography or what kinds of photographs I liked. But I quickly learned what kinds of photography fascinated me more than others and how we can express ourself through these photos.

I quickly learned that I have a great interest in taking photos of nature and that close up pictures showing a flowers’ detail fascinated me. I learned that when I feel the need to escape from the real world, I can take my camera outside and take photos of nature and I will end up in a much better mood. Photography gives me the opportunity to enter my own little world.

I never noticed how much I learned from photography. I began to pay attention to the little details in nature and life which made me realize why photography is so important. It’s the only way we can freeze a moment in time forever and preserve the feeling we had in that very minute.

That is why I find it so important to take a lot of photographs. Life goes by so fast and we often pass up the opportunity to take a photo. But when we stop and take a photo, we give ourselves the chance to slow down and appreciate the little things in life.

I also feel that slowing down and appreciating the little things in life can allow us to improve our mental health. The fast paced world we live in can take a toll on our mental health and photography is a way that we can help improve our mental state.

We can allow ourselves to destress through photography by entering a non-stressful world entirely filled with our photography. Stress is one of the leading causes of depression. By eliminating stress from our lives, we can greatly decrease our chances of developing depression.

I can speak from experience. Whenever I’m in a bad mood, I can go outside and focus on photography and I find it makes me in a much better mood.

I believe there is a lot more to photography than people think. It’s not just clicking the shutter button. That’s why I think that photography is such an important thing in our lives. I highly encourage everyone to try and take more photos and if you need a reason to take photos, try starting a blog! A blog is a great way to share our photos with people who share the same interest as us.

Photography, like any other art or hobby, can be a way to improve our lives by letting us focus on the beauty in life rather than everyday problems.