Today is my first, real wedding shoot for my company, The Hired Lens. I am really anxious as well nervous, but I expect that. The good thing is that I'm the 3rd camera and I'm only shooting for the reception so there's no need for me to capture any high profile pictures. I'm there only for my photojournalism skills, not posed pics, so anything I capture is pure gravy (read - no stress). I will be working with Argoe Photography (who just happened to have done my wedding!).

A brief history lesson - I grew up in a photography environment. My mother was a professional photographer for many, many years. When I was a kid, I had absolutely no interest in her shoots because I didn't see the value in a rusted pipe near a broken down building. So through the years I simply ignored her work and skills.

Later in life, I realized that my mother had an amazing talent. She had a gift of sight that few people posses. She could see the same area that a million others walk by every day and find something or some angle that no one else could. Sometimes I am angry at my mom for not continuing her work because her skill isn't something that one finds every day. I hear she's getting back into it though!

Well, it wasn't until I married my wife that I got into photography for real. I had a nice digital 'point & shoot' camera, but I realized that those types of cameras simply couldn't provide the same quality of pictures that a 35mm SLR could (this has to do with interchangeable lenses as well as adjustable depth of field). So I bought myself a Nikon N80 35mm.

I loved shooting, the only problem was that I had a hard time identifying my mistakes. The delay between taking the picture and seeing the results was usually a few days, sometimes weeks. I really wanted to go to a digital SLR like the D100 but just couldn't justify the cost. Well, had I looked at the cost of film developing, the N80 was much more expensive, but alas; the D100 wasn't even out at the time.

Anyway, my skills with a point and shoot were very good. I have a good eye for composition but the delay between hitting the shutter release and actually getting the picture really held me back. I love my Nikon 4300 as it takes super clear photos, but I really wanted to go fully digital. Well, at my brother in law's wedding, I was asked by Argoe if I wanted to assist in weddings. That began my decision to start my own company.

Once I decided on doing this, I also decided to go all out and get the best camera I could. Since I already had Nikon lenses, it made sense to stick with Nikon. I am not a Nikon Cult Follower and realize that the quality of the pictures relies on the photographer more than the camera. However, I like Nikon and have had good luck with them, plus I already had experience with the N80 so the learning curve would be less than if I had to switch to Canon. So I bought the Nikon D2H. I am sooooo in love!

So, after having the camera for over a month, I am now ready to start shooting. I will be spending the rest of this day doing nothing but, and I am so ready for this! Wish me luck!