“If you’re alive, there’s a purpose for your life.” – Rick Warren
I love photography. If you have been following me for a while, you know what photography is my number one hobby. I started getting serious about photography back in 2017. We were planning our first cruise around Mexico and Central America. I wanted to be able to capture every amazing moment that I possible could. I checked out the pawn shops in our area, and I bought a Nikon D3200. It was an older model at the time, but new to me. I did some practicing with it around town and in the North Carolina Mountains before we left. On that first trip, I captured almost 1,000 photos. Since then, I have been to more countries and other amazing places capturing every moment the best I can. The more I use my camera, the more I want to capture different things. I have even expanded the types of photos I have taken. From street photography to long exposure. Being able to capture the memories of the places I have visited allows the memories to last a lifetime.
One of my goals has been to take a photo of the a bald eagle in the wild. Bald Eagles are some of the most amazing birds on earth. I had seen them in the zoo before. It’s a completely different experience to see them out in the wild. I had the opportunity to when we visited Icy Strait Point in Hoonah, Alaska last July. We took a cruise around the inside passage of Alaska. I am still going through the thousands of photos (that’s right, thousands) I captured while on this trip. I saw this pair of eagles hanging out near the post where our ship was parked at. I grabbed my longer lens, and captured some photos of them in the tree. One of them did take off at one point. Seeing that majestic bird fly through the air was an amazing sight. The photos I captured of it flying don’t serve it any justice. A part of my photography bucket list was crossed off that day. I am excited to see what I will cross off in 2026.
Through Griffin's Lens 