Why Photography? | Clayton Reitzel
Each and every day as I head out the door I start to take in the scenery that I encounter. I am observing the landscape, people, weather, animals, cars, and whatever there is to see. In my mind I convert these visualizations into “photographs”. My mind is the sensor and my eyes are the lens. These moments are even more precious when I have my camera in my hand, which I generally do, even if it is my iPhone. Then I have the pleasure of capturing my visualizations. This provides me with the opportunity to share my perspectives of the day with others. I most enjoy capturing people in their own environment, unposed and living their day naturally. Capturing the essence of a person or place and displaying it in a very visual pleasing manner is my greatest pleasure.
This is what makes my photography rewarding - when I can share with others what I have captured through the lens. I enjoy seeing an image completed through the editing process, with the final results being either digital or my favorite way is to complete the work with a paper print. Then I enjoy sharing with others so they can interact and react with my work.
Photo Biography | Clayton Reitzel
My life as an artist started to develop as a young child. My parents sent me to art school, and I enjoyed drawing what I saw in front of me. For me, this evolved into photography after I purchased my first camera in my early teens and started taking snapshots and having them developed. Nothing much more happened until university. While on an out-of-town work term job, I enrolled in a photography course at a local college. I had to borrow a friends SLR as I did not have one yet. The course covered many topics from the basics of SLR photography, to creativity & composition, to printing (in black & white). This is where I took the plunge into film photography as I then purchased my own SLR - a Nikon Nikkormat FT3. This was used from the 1980’s to early 2000’s when digital cameras came out. I played with a few early digital cameras, but quickly settled on the Nikon family again. Frustrated with my early results in the digital world, I enrolled in a few courses at Metro College. Shortly after, I joined the Images Alberta Camera Club (IACC), and my interest and progression in photography accelerated rapidly. The competitions inspired my work to capture theme related images, but also to develop my style. I partake in as many workshops and outings as possible to challenge myself to the new opportunities that they present.
My DSLR cameras graduated from Nikon 7000 (apc sensor) to Nikon 750 (full frame) to Nikon Z6 (mirrorless). Each new camera type presented new challenges as well as new opportunities.
Editing is a very important part of my photography workflow. I mostly use Lightroom and Photoshop for editing software, but explore others as well. I like to continually learn how to process images in new ways to make them more visually pleasing. This is done by courses, workshops, and online learning (ie youTube). Generally, I like to keep it real, but can stray from this style from time to time.
To be continued…...