Jim Tarabocchia

Less than 2 years ago my wife begged me to upgrade our digital camera from the Sony DSC-S75,  3.3 MP camera to one of the more modern ones as our images just didn't seem to be that good anymore. I decided to do a little research online and eventually bought a Nikon d3300 which was a new model at the time and a great entry level dslr camera. After using the camera for a few weeks I realized that the Auto mode was not much different than what I had been doing with my older camera, albeit the quality was a bit better. I was determined at that point to start learning what all these other dials and buttons actually did and since I paid for them I might as well learn what they do and take advantage of them.

That's when I stumbled across Mike Browne's channel on youtube. Within a matter of a few weeks of watching his videos I began to venture out of Auto mode and into full manual mode with good results. With my confidence level going up I purchased his Digital Photography Exposed and Lenses Exposed video and book and really started to study more of the intricacies of photography, I really wanted to get better and take pictures that people would comment on in a positive way. 

I now had a real passion for photography, learning and studying every day and trying new things. Positive comments from family and friends pushed me even harder to learn and I eventually upgraded my camera and lenses to a pro body Nikon D810.  Armed with a better understanding of what all the dials and buttons do I was getting serious and I wanted to be able to use equipment that offered me the potential to create stunning shots because I now had a better understanding of the ART of photography, the storytelling aspect of it. I signed up with some stock photography sites and was pleased to see my images being accepted and live online. Although it is just a serious hobby now it is a great feeling seeing sales come in for photos I took at random and most of the time just being out and about with my wife and kids.

None of this would have been possible without me wanting to learn photography and then being fortunate enough to stumble across Mike's channel and learning photography from him. His videos and style of teaching engage the viewer and really encouraged me to learn more. There is a technical aspect to photography and a creative aspect, the " Art " of photography, and Mike helps me with both. There are several other photography channels on YouTube that I study and learn from also, all good too but I always look forward to Mike's next video. 

Photography is a never ending learning process, from the technical side of it to the art and storytelling side of it. The journey is all part of the fun.

Thanks Mike!