Introduction

View from the Pinnacle in Berea, KY

I'm James. I'm an engineer in Kentucky. I'm a big fan of the English soccer team Arsenal, as well as the Cincinnati Bengals and the Memphis Tigers.

I'm starting this blog to post some occasional random thoughts and in an effort to improve my photography. I've always been interested in photography, but that interest has really expanded since I got a dSLR (Canon Rebel XS) last April. As an engineer, the technical aspects of photography certainly appeal to me, but I also think it's a good opportunity for an artistic outlet. In that vein, I have to balance the urges of the engineer in me, which is to photograph purely to document and the desire to actually improve as a photographer in the artistic sense.

I am a technophile and a gear head so photography will inevitably (or maybe it already has...) turn into a money pit. I am a bit of what I'd call a hobby whore. I have a long history of starting a hobby, obsessing for a while, spending good money on it and then losing interest. I hope to avoid that pitfall with photography. We'll see.

Photography is also a great excuse to engage in other activities I enjoy... Live sporting events, travel, hiking, hanging out with friends, visiting family etc. I'll be starting off with assignments from an online photography class that one of my friends is also working on, and then probably following that up with some Strobist activities. Thanks for reading.