I grew up in an average middle-class working family home in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. I had no real exposure to art of any kind. I acquired a camera in the early years of life from my grandfather, very used at best. While the photos I took with it were far from anything that could be called "art", I was thrilled and captivated by the images and the camera's ability to essentially stop time. My grandfather was a working professional photographer and camera operator for 20th Century Fox as well as a photographer for the Navy during his enlistment. I learned a few things from him along the way growing up.
Years later as a young adult in High School I studied photography and took pictures for the school paper at times. I spent many hours in the darkroom in those days trying to improve upon my creativity. Funds were tight back then and college was not an option so out of High School I found myself working in the building industry where most of my family was. Although I excelled in the industry and really enjoyed what I was doing I also had lost time for photography in the process. Pretty soon I had started a construction company and then married my lovely wife Lynn. Not long after we moved to the Midwestern state of Illinois. We made this move in the winter of 1989. One of the main reasons was to be closer to her aging parents, that and maybe a better way of life.
I started another construction company and a few years later brought a beautiful baby boy into this world. I didn't pick up a camera again until I caught wind of the digital age coming our way. With the advent of digital photography, my passion was renewed. In 1999 I purchased my first digital camera, a Nikon Coolpix 700. I soon climbed the ladder to a Coolpix 990. Then In 2006 I stepped into my first DSLR, a Nikon D80, I was in haven! Finely I was back to being able to change lens again and image quality was fast approaching film. From there I moved to the D300 and today we shoot with the Nikon D800 and some of Nikon's finest lens like the 24-70mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8 & the 12-24 f4. Life is good.
I have no recent real formal training, I am primarily a self-taught photographer. I picked up the mechanics of digital photography by studying books, magazines, and online sources. The ongoing process of finding my own visual style and creating images that resonate with viewers and communicate a sense of place is what keeps photography both challenging and rewarding for me. I still consider myself to be a student of light. I am fascinated by the subtleties of it and the intricacies of shadow and while I explore the many facets of photography and subject matter, I always seem to return to Landscape, Nature and Rural settings. I am not a purest by any means, the photo is often just the beginning for me; the canvas for further creativity. I will often spend many hours with a image in the digital darkroom bringing my vision to life in an attempt to transport the viewer to another time, place, or emotion.
I have a keen appreciation for the work of the old masters and I find inspiration from the many fine photographers of today. I try to get people to feel and see what I have seen. My hope for your visit here is that you find it time well spent and that you find that one image that will connect the two of us. As you can see from the image above I am not afraid to get my feet wet for the image I want.
Years later as a young adult in High School I studied photography and took pictures for the school paper at times. I spent many hours in the darkroom in those days trying to improve upon my creativity. Funds were tight back then and college was not an option so out of High School I found myself working in the building industry where most of my family was. Although I excelled in the industry and really enjoyed what I was doing I also had lost time for photography in the process. Pretty soon I had started a construction company and then married my lovely wife Lynn. Not long after we moved to the Midwestern state of Illinois. We made this move in the winter of 1989. One of the main reasons was to be closer to her aging parents, that and maybe a better way of life.
I started another construction company and a few years later brought a beautiful baby boy into this world. I didn't pick up a camera again until I caught wind of the digital age coming our way. With the advent of digital photography, my passion was renewed. In 1999 I purchased my first digital camera, a Nikon Coolpix 700. I soon climbed the ladder to a Coolpix 990. Then In 2006 I stepped into my first DSLR, a Nikon D80, I was in haven! Finely I was back to being able to change lens again and image quality was fast approaching film. From there I moved to the D300 and today we shoot with the Nikon D800 and some of Nikon's finest lens like the 24-70mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8 & the 12-24 f4. Life is good.
I have no recent real formal training, I am primarily a self-taught photographer. I picked up the mechanics of digital photography by studying books, magazines, and online sources. The ongoing process of finding my own visual style and creating images that resonate with viewers and communicate a sense of place is what keeps photography both challenging and rewarding for me. I still consider myself to be a student of light. I am fascinated by the subtleties of it and the intricacies of shadow and while I explore the many facets of photography and subject matter, I always seem to return to Landscape, Nature and Rural settings. I am not a purest by any means, the photo is often just the beginning for me; the canvas for further creativity. I will often spend many hours with a image in the digital darkroom bringing my vision to life in an attempt to transport the viewer to another time, place, or emotion.
I have a keen appreciation for the work of the old masters and I find inspiration from the many fine photographers of today. I try to get people to feel and see what I have seen. My hope for your visit here is that you find it time well spent and that you find that one image that will connect the two of us. As you can see from the image above I am not afraid to get my feet wet for the image I want.
© Scotts Fine Art Photography