So I have an idea for the forum. This photo here is one I took back in 2014 and it's really kind of the 'start' of my serious interest in photography. I am 'challenging' everyone to post their 'first' photo they took that helped them get serious with this, whether it was a long time ago or last week. I really would like to see @Ian Plant and the pros get in on this too if they want and have time! I used this photo in a blog I just wrote. I dunno if it's ok for me to share it on here so if not just take it down or whatever, but here's the article.

This photo came about after I read an article by I think Kurt Budliger on the old Dreamscapes blog website about sunstars. I put it into practice what I read and yep, took this photo in my yard haha.
Jeremey, Sounds fun -
so here goes - Back on Feb 3, 2016 I completed my first online course from NYIP - The Complete course in Professional Photography, it laid the foundation, but I have been taking "snap shots" for years, and I wanted to get more into the profession of Photography. The course was a good foundation teaching the basics on how to use the camera to its full potential. BUT the game changer for me, Hands down, is Ian Plants book "Visual Flow". it was the beginning of learning seriously about the ART of photography composition, color, shapes - I was hooked - and it is just the beginning, I am currently taking the Ultimate Landscape course and totally enjoying it!
So I went back to 2016 - cringed at a lot of the photos but did find one I liked, I look at these now and say - why didn't I ?? or if I would have only done xyz the shot would have been better,
Pentax K3ii taken 2/7/2016
f/4
1/200 sec
ISO400
Pentax lens 50mm - 200mm at 117mm
Wow, Buddy, all honesty I actually personally really like that one, it's simple but I feel it tells a story. Thanks for sharing the photo and the story!
And I feel like I worded that wrong, I just that that's one of my fav photos of yours, @Buddy Scott,
@Jeremey Voit I know what you meant, and agree, it does tell a story, thanks
Certainly okay to share the article Jeremy! My first serious photos were all on slide film for my first 10 years as a photographer. I don't have most of those photos scanned, and most weren't really all that good. But here's one of the few old 4x5 color slide transparencies that I did scan, taken during a gorgeous sunset on top of Old Rag Mountain in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. It doesn't quite count, but it is the oldest photo that I have in my digital archives!
I know I've seen this shot in a few places in the past, I really like it, the colors especially. I'm trying to place where this is on the trail haha, I literally was just there last night!
@Jeremey Voit It's at the very top of the summit.
@Ian Plant Ok now that you say that I can kind of visualize it. I didn't quite make it there last night. I've gotten pretty out of shape lol. But I have been there a few times before. Great hike, bad crowds haha.
Sorry, Jeremey, I just by now discovered your „Challenge“. So I’m adding here a somewhat dramatic capture out of my very first film, exposed in 1964 during some working for an new heating outside the house where my family lived in when I was 14. I incidentally rediscovered this film last week in my archive, scanned about half of the shots and put the best of them on my website and titled it «my very first photostory».
For those familiar with analog B&W of that time: The film I used was an Adox KB 17, seemingly a favorite material before the Kodak- and Ilford-times. I searched the web and found that this film was at that time praised „beeing the world´s first thin layer films (which) made ADOX famous inside and outside of Germany. In the USA KB 14 and KB 17 were called «the German wonderfilm»...
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