I started taking photos like everyone else does, with a point and shoot camera on my vacations. However, I quickly became frustrated by the fact that I did not know enough to get the photos that I wanted on any consistent bases. So in 2010, I bought my first DSLR camera and took an introduction to digital photography class at the UCSD craft center. There I learned that a camera has limitations on what it is able to do. However, I also learned that within these constraints, it is up to the user to operate this machine so that it knows what the photographer wants it to try to do.
This interplay between what I want and what the camera is able to give me has been a fun game. It has been through on line tutorials, the help of other photographers and a lot of trial and error, that I have been able to improve my skills. I also took a class at UCSD Extension, on lightroom and Photoshop. This helped me to learn how to further improve my photos, past the limitations of the camera itself.
Even though I am improving I know that there are an abundance of photographers out there that are more skilled than myself. With this knowledge I focus on the joy of photography. This is my middle name and therefore feel the right to clam it as my own. This is why I think of my photography as "by and for Joy". Certainly photography causes me joy and I hope that it can do the same for you.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.