Photography as a hobby

Three out of my four years in high school involved the art of taking and developing black and white photos. Back then I snapped pictures partly because I genuinely liked photography, partly because it was an easy class to goof off in, but mostly because my grade depended on it.

The notion of serious photography died with my high school career. However, some part of me has always admired talented photographers who took their passion and made it into a profession. My admiration also rests with those who practice photography as a hobby.

Tyson Call, a friend from my high school, is one of these "hobby photographers." While his equipment isn't "sub-par" by any means and some experience does rest under his belt, it would be a wrong to call him a professional. Yet his photography is stunning. One look at his Flickr photostream and you will see that, professional or not, the kid is damn talented. "I got into photography while living in Alaska," he said in a recent email. "I got a Sony point and shoot because there were so many photo opportunities there that it made it easy to take amazing pictures."

Things have changed a bit now. He shoots with a Nikon D90 and, like most other photographers around, process most pictures using Photoshop, Lightroom 2 and iPhoto. But despite the hardware change, he insists that photography is still just a hobby. "I don't have any professional aspirations for my photography because I like having hobbies I enjoy. You have to have something to do after you get off work, right?"

I am truly admire Tyson. His talent as a photographer is stemmed out of a true passion for taking pictures- not for monetary reasons, like so many things are in the world. So if you have a second, check out some of his work or even subscribe to his Flickr RSS feed.

-- Chad Waite, Daily Derbi

P.S. In case you missed the links, click HERE to view Tyson Call's Flickr account and HERE to see the RSS stream.