Hello, internets! My name is Cody, and I’m broadcasting from my little slice of suburbia near Salt Lake City, Utah. I hope you’ll get to know me a little, and follow along.
Above all else, I am the lucky husband of an amazing woman (my best friend since high school) and mother, and the devoted father of three of the greatest little boys in the world (2 year old identical triplets).
I am a U of U alumni (B.S. Computer Science) and make a living as a Ruby on Rails developer. I am very good at what I do, but this isn’t a blog about programming so I won’t go into details.
I am definitely a geek, probably even a nerd & a dork. I’ve been into computers, tech and science my whole life, all the way back to my family’s first computer – a Tandy 1000. I used to be a gamer, but my life has changed a great deal since we started (and unexpectedly finished) our family and I don’t get much gaming time anymore.
I love snowboarding, but I’m not a pro by any stretch. I just really enjoy riding and being up on the mountain, and it’s the only sport I have any sort of skill at (despite being 6’7″, I am terrible at basketball). For obvious reasons, I had to take most of the last 3 seasons off, but I really look forward to having more time for it again someday, especially when my boys are old enough to get started on skis.
I’ve been a big fan of the Disney parks since I was a kid, so much so that I actually have a Disney-devoted Flickr account where I’ve been participating in the awesome community of Disney fan photographers for the last 3 years.
But this is a photography project, so what about photography?
I’ve loved photography since taking a few classes in high school doing the film & darkroom thing, but didn’t start taking it really seriously until I could afford my first DSLR, which I bought just about 4 years ago. Finally having a powerful and flexible camera ignited a fire in me for photography that hasn’t gone out since. I have no formal training, I’ve just been cramming my brain with online info and books nearly constantly for 4 years now and trying to have fun with it.
But it’s time for my big admission: Even this far into it, and for all the gear I have, I do not describe myself as a photographer. Not even an amateur photographer. I am a photography enthusiast with far more gear than skill.
You see, I’m a highly technical person, and photography has been very fascinating to me from that perspective. That has led me to have loads of knowledge about the technical aspects of photography and post processing while lacking many basics on the creative and personal side.
I’ve struggled with the idea that I can be creative through photography when I have no level of artistic ability or creativity in any other artistic medium. G.A.S. (gear acquisition syndrome) has also been a problem for me. I have an impressive kit, both in my camera bag and my Strobist lighting gear, but sometimes it’s almost embarrassing how much stuff I have considering how little I have to show for it.
I want to shoot people (portraits, mainly), but my people skills need work, and learning to effectively interact and direct the people I’m photographing is probably going to be as big a personal challenge as the photography.
But what really led me to start this 365 Project is that I just don’t feel like I pick up my camera often enough and push myself to find unique and creative shots, and that’s a shame because having a camera in my hands “just feels right” – and on a level much deeper than just loving the technology. I really need the motivation to just get the camera in my hands all the time and develop my creativity and skill by shooting, shooting, and more shooting.
So.. before I get started, a few notes:
This is for me. I lifted this one straight from Jeremy Hall’s 365 project. I really hope sharing my photos and stories helps me make new friends, but the main reason this 365 Project exists is to push me to advance my skill and creativity.
The end result will be a 2012 photo book. Once all is said and done, I want a hard copy of all of the memories created.
This will likely be a mix of photographic experimentation and family shots. I hope to make time to push my limits, but I have to be realistic – some days all I do is work and then watch my boys while my wife is at work, and so sometimes I’m just going to have to take what I can get. Not every day will be a masterpiece.. I’m expecting quite a few camera phone shots to make it into this. Good thing I have really cute kids!
Not limiting myself to one photo per day. I’ll pick a featured photo each day, but if I have more than 1 photo I’d like to post for the day, I’ll include it in the blog post. Video is fair game, too.
about
Hello, internets! My name is Cody, and I’m broadcasting from my little slice of suburbia near Salt Lake City, Utah. I hope you’ll get to know me a little, and follow along.
Above all else, I am the lucky husband of an amazing woman (my best friend since high school) and mother, and the devoted father of three of the greatest little boys in the world (2 year old identical triplets).
I am a U of U alumni (B.S. Computer Science) and make a living as a Ruby on Rails developer. I am very good at what I do, but this isn’t a blog about programming so I won’t go into details.
I am definitely a geek, probably even a nerd & a dork. I’ve been into computers, tech and science my whole life, all the way back to my family’s first computer – a Tandy 1000. I used to be a gamer, but my life has changed a great deal since we started (and unexpectedly finished) our family and I don’t get much gaming time anymore.
I love snowboarding, but I’m not a pro by any stretch. I just really enjoy riding and being up on the mountain, and it’s the only sport I have any sort of skill at (despite being 6’7″, I am terrible at basketball). For obvious reasons, I had to take most of the last 3 seasons off, but I really look forward to having more time for it again someday, especially when my boys are old enough to get started on skis.
I’ve been a big fan of the Disney parks since I was a kid, so much so that I actually have a Disney-devoted Flickr account where I’ve been participating in the awesome community of Disney fan photographers for the last 3 years.
But this is a photography project, so what about photography?
I’ve loved photography since taking a few classes in high school doing the film & darkroom thing, but didn’t start taking it really seriously until I could afford my first DSLR, which I bought just about 4 years ago. Finally having a powerful and flexible camera ignited a fire in me for photography that hasn’t gone out since. I have no formal training, I’ve just been cramming my brain with online info and books nearly constantly for 4 years now and trying to have fun with it.
But it’s time for my big admission: Even this far into it, and for all the gear I have, I do not describe myself as a photographer. Not even an amateur photographer. I am a photography enthusiast with far more gear than skill.
You see, I’m a highly technical person, and photography has been very fascinating to me from that perspective. That has led me to have loads of knowledge about the technical aspects of photography and post processing while lacking many basics on the creative and personal side.
I’ve struggled with the idea that I can be creative through photography when I have no level of artistic ability or creativity in any other artistic medium. G.A.S. (gear acquisition syndrome) has also been a problem for me. I have an impressive kit, both in my camera bag and my Strobist lighting gear, but sometimes it’s almost embarrassing how much stuff I have considering how little I have to show for it.
I want to shoot people (portraits, mainly), but my people skills need work, and learning to effectively interact and direct the people I’m photographing is probably going to be as big a personal challenge as the photography.
But what really led me to start this 365 Project is that I just don’t feel like I pick up my camera often enough and push myself to find unique and creative shots, and that’s a shame because having a camera in my hands “just feels right” – and on a level much deeper than just loving the technology. I really need the motivation to just get the camera in my hands all the time and develop my creativity and skill by shooting, shooting, and more shooting.
So.. before I get started, a few notes:
That should be just about it, wish me luck!