Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Carlson.
Hi Eric, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
My photography journey started with my father introducing it to me. My father used a Minolta 35mm SLR and he showed me how to use it as a pre-teen and then eventually a Kodamatic. After I entered the military, my father gave me his Minolta and I taught myself how to use it. That was back in the film days when there was a cost to taking pictures. I hobbied around with photography for quite some time until I was provided some formal training as a crime scene investigator as part of my job as a criminal investigator. As such, I was provided a Nikon D90 DSLR as part of my duties. I’ve had digital cameras before that but never a DSLR. That was all she wrote!
Shortly afterwards, I purchased my own Nikon DSLR and began perfecting my craft. As an avid outdoorsman and a forever Boy Scout, I’ve always enjoyed hiking, camping, and exploring the great outdoors. I’ve always enjoyed exploring local, state, and national parks and forests. Naturally, I combined the both of them and began capturing images of park landscapes and wildlife within them. Getting lost on a trail, experiencing the natural world, experiencing life in its rawest form…it’s like therapy for me. All the troubles of the modern world seem to fade away. I get to create images the way I see the world. Its beauty and grace, or raw animal survival.
As I began to acquire better equipment and enhancing my technique, my images became more intense. As a result, when I shared them on social media my friends and family began suggesting I sell my images. I started with local craft fairs, which did garner some interest and I sold some images. Next, I was invited to attend and began selling tickets to traveling RAW Artist shows, where I sold more images and more people gained interest in my work. Interacting with people in these shows, seeing how they showed appreciation for my work and wanting to see additional images, I decided to start my website, www.emcphotorgraphy.
While the majority of my sales still come from these shows, my website is a great place for my clients to shop around to see what they like, if nothing more than just to admire the photos.
That’s where I am today. I still try to keep it a hobby as opposed to a full-time endeavor. However, I do enjoy interacting with people who enjoy my images while telling the story behind the image.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nothing is ever smooth for me. Learning photography took me some time, even with the formal training provided to me. But the only way to get better is to click that shutter. But that is the beauty of digital photography. Clicking the shutter doesn’t cost you anything past your initial investment.
Learning the exposure triangle (f-stop, shutter speed, ISO) took me some time get the hang of. Then there is composition. What to include and what to exclude. Shapes, lines, subject matter, etc. Then, managing all the nuances of operating the digital camera and its variety of lenses is a feat all in of itself. It all seemed overwhelming to start. Nevertheless, I was able to figure it out. Putting in the necessary shutter time is crucial to learning the craft.
I oftentimes would get frustrated with the amount of time it would take me to understand some basic concepts. I would often get frustrated when an image didn’t turn out the way I envisioned it. I would often get frustrated when I couldn’t figure out how to utilize various setting on my digital camera. But as I continue to say…clicking that shutter and experimenting is the only way to get better. So, I keep pushing myself to keep at it until I get the desired image.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about EMC Photography?
I am primarily a landscape and wildlife photographer who has developed and affinity for the National Park system and what they represent. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy my local and state parks, but National Parks have a grandness about them that just ignite your soul and drive for exploration. I want my brand to represent how I view the natural world as well as my appreciation the diversity our God and earth has provided for us to experience. I want people to look at my photograph, no matter how large or small, and see the story laid out before them. I want them to feel what it would be like to witness the imagery themselves with their own eyes.
We’d love to hear about what you think about risk-taking?
I’m a firm believer in risk vs. reward. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. However, I am also a practical person. I tend not to make impractical or emotional decisions. With that being said, my investment in gear was slow so as not to overly impact my finances or my overall bottom line. However, you wouldn’t know that by looking at my gear. My gear is worn well and has been bounced around a few or more times. I’ve taken what some would call “unnecessary risks” to be able to gain certain images of wildlife and landscapes. Whether it’s a little too close to a moose or bear, or hiking a risky trail to capture a grand vista, I am willing to do what is a little more than reasonable to get a photograph I think is worth it.
Contact Info:
- Email: eric.carlson.
emcphotography@gmail.com - Website: www.emcphotography.us
- Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/emcphotography2/ - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/emcphotography2 - Twitter: https://twitter.com/
EMCPhotography3 - Youtube: https://www.youtube.
com/channel/UCyxDlfF_hk- wJBhV6cRNJwA
Image Credits
Eric Carlson
