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One photo that changed my life

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sun in fog
Originally uploaded by kirispupis.

I have always had some interest in photography. When I was young I had a simple film point and shoot camera that I took with me on my travels in Europe and I managed to get some decent shots. When the digital age started, I bought one of the first digital cameras (non-pro) and used it extensively.

As some of you know, I went to Peru some time ago and took with me at the time my trusty Sony F717 (5 megapixels). Although this was a 'prosumer' camera, it really was a glorified point and shoot but regardless I hoped to get some shots.

One day, they took us out on a raft on an amazing lake. This was by far one of the highlights of the trip - everywhere we turned there was something interesting to see. Of particular interest was a close encounter with the rare giant otter - Manu is one of the few places they thrive in the world. One of them swam right up to our raft and we got a very good look at a number of them.

We had to get up at the crack of dawn to go to the lake and when we got there there was a thick fog that enveloped the lake. I saw a shot of the sun shining through the fog and reflecting on the lake so I aimed my trusty camera and got a shot. The resulting shot is pretty much how the scene looked.

When I got back to the states I showed my shots to several of my coworkers and friends and everyone would ask me to pause at this shot. Later on, this shot won me awards on Flickr and was a finalist in a photo contest we held here at Microsoft.

What this shot taught me was I can take good pictures. I had always believed all of my shots were rubbish but with this one I now believe that I am capable of getting good shots. Partly as a result of this shot, I sold my Sony F717 and replaced it with a Canon 5D. I now regularly post on the internal photography aliases and am working on making good pictures not merely a matter of chance.

I am now permanently hooked on photography and it is one of the core passions in my life, along with foreign languages and home automation (though I haven't done much recently with the latter).

Comments

  • Anonymous
    April 18, 2007
    Doesn't matter what camera you use Joe, you do have a wonderful eye for photography!  A true natural and this is an amazing shot!

  • Anonymous
    April 19, 2007
    Beautiful photo.  Mon@rch directed me here.