I thought I’d take a break for a week in writing about bald eagles and share some of my background as a photographer and how after many years I ended up with a love for observing Bald Eagles and photographing them.

As long back as I can remember, I had a love for photographs.  You notice I didn’t say photography.  Long before I ever thought to pick up a camera I loved pictures.  I remember my grandparents and parents photo albums and flipping through them.   They were filled with photos of family events and ancestors who were  long since gone.  They took me back to holidays, vacations and other significant events in my life.  

Fortunately, I was able to acquire many of these old photos and albums and treat them as family heirlooms which I’ll pass on to my kids at some point down the road.

It wasn’t until the year 2000, that I thought photography might be something I’d like to get into and bought my first camera.  

This coincided with digital cameras becoming mainstream and affordable.  My first camera was a digital camera.  I never had an opportunity to use a film camera.  This is something I regret.  There is a certain romanticism to film and I always felt that it forces you to be a better photographer.  You only have a certain number of frames on a roll and you had to make each picture count!  With a digital camera, you can get ‘lazy’ and just shoot away.  Knowing that if the photo comes out bad, you can just delete it.

If memory serves me, I probably read a couple articles, bought a book and maybe took a class on-line.  I got this!  I'm a photographer.  Was I ever wrong.  

So my first few years as a photographer, I was bad!  I mean really bad!  Sure, every once in a while I’d get a good picture but truthfully it was probably more luck than my expertise.

I always consider this to be the first 'Good' Photo I ever took


I took lots of classes and slowly my skills improved.  I came to understand how a camera worked but was still taking mostly lousy boring photos.

I spent several years taking pictures of pretty much everything.  Landscapes, architecture, portraits, you name it!

In hindsight, I probably spent 15 years taking crappy pictures with an expensive camera and called myself a photographer.  I’d come to be a technically proficient photographer but I still lacked the artistic skills to take the types of photos that I wanted.

Around 2018, I made a decision to go ‘All In’ with my photography and see if I really dedicated a good amount of time to it, could I take the types of photos that I as satisfied with and others would enjoy.

I took classes and then I took more classes.  I learned that what I was lacking was not the technical skills of being a photographer but the artistic eye.  I needed to retrain my eyes to see beautiful photo ops and then use my technical skills to capture what I saw.

Between 2018 and the time the world shut down for Covid, I spent lots of times in New York City taking pictures of the classic architecture in New York but with my spin on it.  

Below are a few New York City Photos that I've taken.  In each, I strive to present a classic New York Landmark in a way that you haven't seen it before.

The Oculus & Freedom Tower - Long Exposure

Tribute in Light from Brooklyn Bridge Park

Empire State Building Sunrise from the High Line

I'll wrap-up this weeks post at this point.   In next weeks blog, I'll finish my story.  If you're interested in seeing more of my 'non-eagle' photos, you can check out my other photo website, www.jaxpropix.com 

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, you can drop me a line in the comments below and I'll get back to you straight away!