Hello to everyone who decided to stop by and check out my website! It means a lot to have you here. To start off let me introduce myself. My name is Jacob VanOpdorp and I am a photographer from Littleton, CO. My interest in photography peaked at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. I couldn’t sleep one night and realized that I had not touched my camera since the summer of 2019. I’ve always enjoyed taking photos, but I was never serious about it. I took film photography classes in high school; however, I didn’t have much experience with a digital camera. As a review I watched photography videos all night. I reviewed what ISO was, what the aperture did, and how to take photos of the sunset. After hours of messing around with my old Sony A6000, I headed out to a spot where you can see the mountains in my neighborhood and practiced taking photos of the sunrise. My first images were not spectacular, but they weren’t bad considering I had little experience with a digital camera in full manual mode before. After a few days of practicing, I was hooked. I started to look into different lenses and other gear I could get to create better photos.
After a few months, I started to look into a better camera. My next camera that I invested in was a Canon Rebel T7i. Additionally, I bought extra batteries, a 50mm, 18mm-55mm, 55mm-250mm, and a 75mm-300mm lens. It took a while to get used to the new camera and lenses, but I enjoyed it so much more than shooting with my Sony. I felt like I had more control over the camera and its additional features. I shot on that camera for about a year until I decided to upgrade to a Canon EOS R. I still use my Rebel as a backup camera, but it is now my dedicated astrophotography camera. I love shooting the stars and anything in nature. My main focus for photography is to shoot landscapes, wildlife, and the stars. I do shoot portraits, but very rarely. My Rebel was an excellent camera to help me learn the ropes of how Canon cameras worked and how to shoot manually with a digital camera. But I wanted my images to be taken to the next level, and that is when I invested into my EOS R. The image quality is much better for my everyday shooting. But I am always looking for ways to improve my images, whether that be image quality or just the way that I shoot.
I started this blog so that I could become more engaged with my website. Also, in hopes to grow a following of people who can appreciate photography and my work. Whether you’re a beginner photographer looking for some help or guidance, or just someone who loves art, I hope that these posts will bring some joy to your day. I will be sharing my photos, the stories behind my photos, what I learn through this process, and techniques that I am learning to make my images better. I am not a professional by any means, but I hope that I am able to teach and share my mistakes with people who are looking to learn more about the process of photography. Thank you everyone for stopping by and hope to see you here again soon!
