Through My Lens: Part 2 - Rekindled Spark
About ten years after I packed away my cameras, life had taken its usual course. Like most people, I dove into a job that became a career, started a family, and piled on a ton of responsibilities.
Shortly after my wife and I got married, she decided to pick up a new hobby: photography. I was thrilled—it reminded me of how much fun I used to have taking photos. Truth be told, I’d forgotten most of the technical stuff, like exposure settings, and the world had gone digital, which was totally new to me.
We found a Canon T3i with a kit lens online and bought it for her. Then we stumbled across a beginner’s photography class on Groupon—remember Groupon? Look it up if you don’t. We signed up to spend a Saturday learning the basics together. Within 30 minutes of that class, it all came rushing back. The spark was reignited, and I was hooked. I subscribed to the instructors’ newsletter for tips and tricks, and they mentioned an upcoming field trip to San Francisco to teach photography hands-on. It sounded incredible.
The trip was the following weekend, and we decided to go. That week, I practically stole my wife’s camera, practicing and rediscovering my skills. The San Francisco trip sealed the deal—I was all in. I started helping other participants who were struggling, and the instructors noticed my enthusiasm and knowledge. They invited me to join another trip to Alcatraz the next weekend, and I jumped at the chance.
That kicked off an amazing chapter of my life. Over the next three years, I probably took over 50,000 photos, maybe more. I traveled across the country and the world with this group, teaching photography. My wife joined some trips, which made them even more special. She took a few photos herself but eventually realized photography wasn’t her thing. Still, I swear she has a better eye than I do. We visited incredible places, and many of the photos on this site come from those years. My last big trip was to Ireland with the team and my wife, who was pregnant with our first child. It was breathtaking. We had trips planned to Iceland—a bucket-list destination—and Italy, but those fell through as her due date approached.
If you have kids, you know life changes the moment they’re born. They become your world. I kept traveling a bit, but not nearly as much. Another photographer and I started our own workshops, and I loved our approach. He was the artistic one; I was the technical nerd. Our multi-day workshops covered everything: teaching the basics, applying them in the field, editing in Lightroom and Photoshop, group critiques, and helping each student print and frame a favorite image. Those trips were the absolute best. I miss them dearly.
Just as we were hitting our stride, my second child was born. The travel started to wear on me—I didn’t want to be away from my kids for more than a couple of days a month. We shifted to local classes and online courses, but it wasn’t the same. It was still fun, but being away from my family felt harder. They’re my top priority. My day job paid well, and the photography gig was a passion project. I never took a dime from it; we reinvested everything to keep the business growing. Those were good times.
Then COVID hit, and the world shut down. Travel stopped. We canceled trips and refunded money, with no sign of things reopening. Eventually, we lost momentum and decided to call it quits. It was a tough choice, but it made sense. I still miss that moment when something “clicks” for a student—especially when they grasp the exposure triangle from both a technical and artistic perspective. That’s when the camera becomes a tool, an extension of your vision. When you know every button and setting by heart, it’s like magic.
So, I shifted my focus to my family, where it remains. I work hard during the day, but when the family’s home, it’s their time. My creative outlets happen early in the morning or late at night—like now, as I type this at 10:12 PM. As my kids grew, I took videos and tons of photos, mostly with my phone. I made monthly movies for them, which kept me connected to photography, but I rarely used a “real” camera. Once again, my cameras went back into their bags and onto the shelf for a few years.
This feels like a good stopping point. Again, writing this has been very therapeutic. If you’re reading, thank you—I truly appreciate your time. Have you ever chased a passion, only to have life derail it, then found a spark to rekindle it? Share in the comments. I think there’s one more part to this story, bringing us to where I am today. Stay tuned.