In Focus: My Photography Journey
Throughout my photography journey, the process of how I create images has evolved. When I first became interested in photography in early 2020, I vividly remember getting acclimated to the Fujifilm X-T100 that was purchased to document an upcoming trip to Seattle. Thanks to a global pandemic, this trip never happened and I began escaping the doldrums of quarantine by going on hikes with my camera. Working with a 35mm prime lens, I would take pictures of anything and everything. However, I was creating images that were designed to mimic popular posts I saw on social media, and even considered making social media accounts to highlight the outdoor scenes of my home-city (Grand Rapids, Michigan). Fast forward to 2024, and my approach to photography couldn’t be more different.
Below are two examples of images that were created in 2020. One is a image of a boardwalk at sunset, which by no means is a bad subject to shoot, but definitely something I wouldn’t shoot today. The other image is of a lone dead tree in a local nature preserve. This image helped me to understand how knowledge of a location and proper planning can assist in creating a quality image.
As I continued to shoot more frequently, my tastes in what I enjoyed shooting began to change. In October 2020, I visited the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan for the first time. I remember initially seeing Lake Superior while hiking Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and instantly being in awe of it’s size and ferocity. The waves hitting the sandstone cliffs, the open views, the rocky beaches, the waterfalls, it was like another world to me. A day later, I would be introduced to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. I recall walking out to view Lake of the Clouds and thinking “wow this exists in Michigan?” It was (unknowingly) a experience that would shape my photography in the coming years.
Fast forward to October 2021, and I was embarking on my first photography trip to the Upper Peninsula. I was aiming to hit all the major hot-spots and come home with a handful of portfolio-worthy images. Tahquamenon Falls, Pictured Rocks, and the Porcupine Mountains where all on my list of locations to visit. I was convinced I could create images I saw other Michigan photographers creating and get myself associated within the Michigan photography community. Unfortunately, this thought never came to fruition. I tried to shoot too much within the five days of shooting I had, and today, only one image from that trip remains in my portfolio (“Misty Tahquamenon Morning”, pictured below).
After a unsuccessful trip in 2021, I knew that my photographic process needed to change. I began looking at the work of other photographers that I admire, specifically the work of Adam Gibbs and Eric Bennett. When analyzing their portfolios, I noticed a similarity. Both of these photographers understand the locations they photograph in a profound way. Whether it’s Adam Gibbs and the old-growth forests of Vancouver Island or Eric Bennett and the vastness of the Colorado Plateau, both photographers have a intimate connection with the subjects they shoot.
It now occurred to me that quality images come from a deep understanding of a specific location, both on a physical and emotional level. Thinking back to past experiences, I decided to dedicate 2022’s fall trip to exploring the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (also known as the “Porkies”). The old-growth forests, grand vistas, numerous waterfalls, and miles of rivers make the Porkies a photographers paradise. I spent almost a week exploring and hiking the Porkies, shooting scenes that caught my eye, not copying the work of others while chasing social media attention. Flipping to this mindset helped to make this my most enjoyable and prolific trip to date.
Below is a selection of portfolio images created on this trip:
Heading into 2023, my new approach to photography was boosted by a growing obsession with backpacking. That spring, I splurged and bought a whole-new backpacking kit that greatly reduced the weight I was carrying on backcountry camping trips. I could now go and find unique, intimate scenes in the Michigan wilderness, helping to create images that are truly my own. I went on numerous trips throughout the year, with two trips to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. One was a mosquito-infested backpacking trip in July, while the other was the annual fall trip that was shortened by horrendous weather conditions.
Regardless of the conditions on these trips, I was still refining and adhering to the processes that I adopted in 2022. In addition to shooting scenes that spoke to me, I began to focus on my compositional and post-processing skills with assistance from Eric Bennett’s superb tutorials. These tutorials helped me to identify some areas for improvement in my own photography, especially with post-processing. Up until then, I was using Lightroom to edit my images, tweaking the sliders to effect the image globally while employing some basic local adjustments. These tutorials helped me become more familiar with Photoshop. I began using more targeted adjustments via luminosity masks, curves adjustments, and levels adjustments to create a more refined final image.
Below is a image titled “Green Manalishi” from my summer 2023 backpacking trip to the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park. I included the unedited RAW (left) file of this image to highlight the targeted adjustments that were used via Photoshop.
“Razors Edge” and “Primeval”. Two images created on a shortened fall 2023 trip to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.
Looking back on my photography journey, it is interesting to see how my tastes, processes in the field/digital darkroom, and what I enjoy shooting has changed. To emphasize my journey in photography, I thought it would be interesting to include the first image I ever created in February 2020 with the most recent image titled “Symbiote” I created in May 2024.
Thanks for reading and supporting my work,
Josh