Joshua Matthew Photography

It's been on my mind lately to "go further" with my photography. See, I love taking pictures and I love composing them, editing photographs, and capturing a moment. I struggle with the technical side of things - for a while I thought I was doing really well and then realized I had my camera set on 1600 ISO (no good for most shots, only for really dark shots). When I changed it back, my stuff went bad again (blurry, orange glow, etc). But I endeavor to get better. That and I endeavor to buy a flash sooner or later. Probably later...

But that aside, I've been told I'm good. I know I'm a creative person by nature, so the artistic side of photography comes to me pretty easily. If only I had the finances, time, and a place to do a photography course I'd be on Cloud 9. But alas, that's not the case at this point in our lives. In the meantime, I'll just continue studying my camera manual, asking Rachel, Amanda, and Andrea questions, and practicing.

Another thing I enjoy is learning how to use PSE (Photoshop Elements) which I received as a birthday present. I didn't say much about it at the time (April 17th) because I was only a week into my postpartum recovery and I certainly wasn't up and bouncing around taking pictures to edit. :) It was probably a month before I really got a chance to sit down and work with it. Since then I've been learning a lot.

The other day I was looking at a photography student's work (he's in his 2nd year) and realized that I could do better than him (he'd shot a wedding). That's what has encouraged me to follow through with a dream I've had for a while now.

Introducing Joshua Matthew Photography...
I'm learning. I don't claim to be great. But I, more than most, understand how precious a picture is. And not just any picture, a photograph that captured a moment in time that will never be again. Our time with our son Joshua Matthew was precious and quick. His photos are one of the most important things to me in the world. If I were to lose his photos, I'd probably have to be peeled off the floor. It was Joshua that got me interested in photography - not just family photos.

So there you have it. I have yet to decide if I want to signature my photos with Joshua Matthew Photography, or the byline Be Strong & Courageous. We'll see. I'm thinking I'll stick with BS&C, because JMPhotography gets looooong on photos. Not sure yet. Want to weigh in?

Nothing's really changed. I think I'm just finally admitting to myself that I would love to be a photographer. I'd love to capture once-in-a-lifetime shots for people, to show them how they were at a moment in time, and provide precious keepsakes for a lifetime.