One of the things that I’ve been doing with my spare time (when not fulfilling my end of the New Year’s Resolution) is really getting into photography.  I always had a passing interest in it, but it wasn’t until I got my DSLR (a Canon Rebel T3, although I dream of one day owning a Canon 5D Mk III) that I really dove into it.  A year ago, I probably couldn’t have told you what aperture, ISO, and the like was.  Nor would I have invested the time into reading books like Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Exposure— which honestly looks like a textbook.  But here we are.

One of the more exciting yet still frightening things about photography is sharing your work on the internet.  It opens you up to criticism– both constructive and destructive– but it’s also the only way you’ll get better.  I waded into it earlier this year by sharing some pictures directly with friends, but have now dove in with both feet complete with a Flickr photostream.  It’s small right now, but it’s growing and I’m enjoying sifting through the full volume of my photo library and picking out the shots that I honestly want to share.

This is one of my newer uploads, a shot of the sunset.  The heat of the sun almost palpable, but the roiling clouds give off this inherent beauty, too.

While I was shooting/waiting to shoot that, a fine feathered friend showed up and hopped out of a pond.  It gave its feathers a shake and a ruffle, and I was fortunate enough to catch it mid-ruffle.

So, basically, if you’d like to see more, check out my Flickr. Expect to see the odd shot also shared here.