Recently I found out that my Grandpa (passed in 2006) was an avid photographer and professionally trained. I was never aware, until then, just how far back this interest went in my family.

Growing up in the countryside, I remember my Dad always keeping his Pentax K1000 SLR close by. He would shoot aerial photography and take pictures of airplanes. We were fortunate enough to live by Dyess, AFB and got to see many cool airplanes through the years. The one that sticks out most would have to Challenger shuttle being carted back to Florida mounted to the top of a 747.

I wound up having many different point/shoot and disposable 35mm cameras throughout the years. My freshman year in high-school, I signed up for my first photography class. That class required the use of an SLR, so I inherited the Pentax K1000. I passed the class with high marks.

I wound up signing on to be the yearbook photographer the next year, and ended up taking some sort of photography class all four years of high-school. During those 4 years, I shot hundreds of photographs. I Learned to roll my own film (Kodak TMAX 400), develop film, use an enlarger and, most importantly, my imagination.

To date, my biggest accomplishment was having one of my photos ("The Dawn of Armageddon") hang in the Texas State Capitol for the month of March/1997. 100 pieces of art were chosen out of thousands of entries to the "Texas Youth Art Month" competition. Mine was the only photograph that year.

After graduation, I began shooting weddings. This really jaded me, as I was not allowed to be too terribly creative and just wound up turning a hobby/passion into a "j-o-b". I eventually tired of the bridezillas and gave up shooting photography for about 3 years.

Around 2001 I picked up my first digital camera (a Sony 3.3MP point/shoot). It cost more than any other piece of photography equipment I had purchased prior. I fooled around with that camera and used it off and on until I got the DSLR bug. My Dad finally picked up a Digital Rebel XT and I took it on vacation with me to Mexico, Belize, Grand Cayman. I shot hundres of photos on that trip, which I regret, were all on auto. In Grand Cayman, I met a guy that was the diver for our Sting-Ray tour. He also happened to be an avid photographer and gave me a few tips.

Within a couple of months of that trip, I had purchased my own 350D. I wound up with a 30D as a primary body not too long after and the Rebel became my backup. I wound up selling those and repurchasing a bunch of Nikon gear. I couldn't be happier!

I give a lot of credit to my high-school photography teacher, Mike Walla. Without his inspiration and guidance, I probably wouldn't know how to even line up a shot. Recently, I also give a lot of credit to my good friend Mike Irwin. His shots are an inspiration and it's nice to have someone to "talk shop" with.

According to flickr, here are my most interesting shots.