Introduction
My name is Owen Wagner, I'm currently 18 years old, I'm a Christian, and I do photography! Over the years, my various interests have brought me to photography. I love being able to help others create and enjoy memories with it. My desire to create and my interest in technology are a great pair for a photographer. I'm thankful for these gifts God has blessed me with, and I hope to be able to bless others and glorify Him with them!
My Desire to Create
For just about as long as I can remember, I've liked to make things. I would take apart toy cars and rebuild them, I would draw concepts for cars and other products I wanted to produce someday and sell to the public. I started making YouTube videos when I was quite young teaching people how to make Rainbow Loom bracelets. I spent hours making an entire glove out of Rainbow Loom! As I got older I made YouTube videos of me playing video games. I learned how to edit to make the videos better. About a year ago from today, I took a deeper interest in photography. I had taken and edited some photos on my phone, but I wanted to learn how to take great photos. After I got my first camera and started learning, it didn't take too long for me to want to create the best photos possible.
To create an effect in this image, I held a guitar slide in front of my lens to make this bokeh that looks like a lens flare.
My Interest in Technology
At around the age of 14 I started taking more of an interest in technology, particularly gaming computers. I spent time learning about different processors and storage that would be able to run the fastest. I liked learning these things so that I could know what computer would enable me to create and share high quality content. Fast forward a few years, and the same process happened with cameras and lenses, yet more thorough. I can proudly say I've given myself headaches with the hours on hours of research I've done on cameras, how they work, and which would be best for me. I like being the most knowledgeable about the gear my photographer friends and I have, even to the point that I might know more about their cameras and lenses than they do. Some of the facts I ramble about to them might be pointless to know for 90% of photographers, but I feel that if I'm going to create the best photos I can, I have to fully understand the tool I plan to use.
Because I spent so much time learning about gear, I was able to find the set up that would work for me.
Using Technology to be Creative
The reason I like to know so much about cameras and lenses is so that my creativity won't be held back. If I have an idea for a certain shot I want to capture, my knowledge about my gear makes getting the photo I want so much easier! However, if I didn't know my camera well, I wouldn't be able to achieve what I'm looking for. My pursuit is to be able to capture amazing photos no matter the situation, because I will have learned enough either from my research or from my experience in the field.
The Purpose of Photography
You'll hear many photographers talk about "the gift of photography." That's the most exciting part about the whole thing. I can take plenty of pictures of things I find interesting, but every time I'm able to deliver photos to a client or send a photo to a friend that I snapped of them, I find it 10 times more fulfilling than only taking photos for myself. Sometimes it's necessary to take photos for myself so that I don't limit my creativity, but hearing "These photos are amazing!" or "I love this one!" is much more exciting.
Why I'm Blogging
Blogs are great for anyone interested in my photography to learn more about me and how I go about my photography. It opens the door to get to know me before we even have a conversation, so that once we work together, it will feel like you're with someone you've known for a long time! Another benefit is that having a blog helps with SEO (search engine optimization). This means it will increase the chances that someone will find my website and portfolio when searching on the internet, which in turn will allow me to do more shoots and run the business at a higher level, ultimately allowing me to produce better images for all of you! Lastly, a blog is great to connect with other photographers. There are lots of topics available for discussion in photography, and creating a post about them brings the opportunity for me to connect with other photographers who read it.