Photography is, for me, one of my most important creative outlets. It is also the one I’ve had the longest relationship with. It started with a college elective – black and white photography as a summer class. Turns out I was the only student that summer, so I received a lot of 1:1 time with the instructor. We took field trips to photograph cool places, and I had lots of dark room instruction.
I learned the fundamentals of photography through this class. I captured my images on a Cannon all-manual film camera, developed my own black and white film in the basement of one of our college buildings, and drempt of setting up my own dark room one day. Exposure, aperture, f-stop, composition, the rule of thirds, line of sight … This class introduced me to these critical components that are behind a great photo.
The photography age has come a long ways since then, progressing into today’s world of digital photography, smartphone cameras, and editing tools. With all these advances, great imagery is now at the fingertips of nearly anyone. The skill and finesse of photography is somewhat lost in today’s digital world with all the tricks and edits that can be made during post-processing. However, I still take the most pleasure in capturing my shots in manual mode, with limited post-editing. I try to get that lighting and composition as close to perfect as I can in the original shot, and tweak as little as needed for the finished product.
Here’s a small sampling of some of my favorite shots.
Online Photography Gallery and Purchase Options
- If you would like to see more of my photography work, I invite you to visit my online portfolio.
- To purchase prints or request custom projects, head over to my Etsy Shop, KristiPhotos.
To see where else I find creative outlet, check out my page dedicated to Kristi Stephenson Creations.