Sean McConnery Photography

Perce, Quebec Canada Read the full article

(Photo from the Solmeta website ) For years now the family and I would go out east for vacation in either July or August. Between us, we would have a minimum of 3 cameras, one each plus my spare. As a typical family vacation would go, we would stop wherever we wanted and grab a few images of the sights and surroundings. Thanks, in part to Geocaching, as a not-so-typical family vacation, we would avoid the touristy areas and take side roads, dirt roads and backroads to explore things and places you would not see in a travel brochure. On returning home we would end up with anywhere between one thousand and a couple of thousand photos to sort through. Me being me, at first we would document everywhere we stopped and took photos in a small notebook. Then I would sit at the computer and cross-reference the image date and number to the entry log in the notebook. Very time-consuming to say the least! Often we would forget to enter a log or a few logs as we were simply passing through. Then came the chore of figuring out where those images were taken. Load up Google Maps and try to figure it out. As years went on we grew lazy and no longer bothered to take notes at all. I would simply retrace our steps on google maps enter the data into the metadata of the image. I could never justify buying a dedicated gps for my camera. Knowing the exact location an image was taken is just a personal thing with me. It is by no means an essential item to have in your photographic arsenal. Since the pandemic travel has been restricted or non-existent so we have not ventured anywhere for vacation other than local, short day trips. Seeing as I was off work through most of the pandemic we were able to get plenty of work done around the house so editing images from our last east coast vacation was not a priority. I had not really looked at the images we took until just a few months ago. The same routine - trace location on google maps and geotag the image. Now, maybe because I am getting older, there were many images I remember taking but not the exact location. Even using google maps to look at previous locations and jumping ahead a few images to find a known location, I still had many between those two points in time that I could not trace. So, I finally broke down and purchased a GPS geotagger for the camera. I did not go with the Canon model as the price is fairly steep. Instead, I went with a Solmeta GMAX-EOS . I have yet to use it but I will try ad give a review of it after having it out in the field a few times. Read the full article

Some of the galleries are up and running now. So far they consist, mostly, of older images from 2010-2011. These would have been my first images since getting into the hobby. I find it is fun to see how I have progressed in my knowledge of taking or creating the image and also in editing them after. Not many people are willing to share their first photos but we all started somewhere. Galleries The photo below was from our vacation in 2018. We went to Nova Scotia to tour the Cabot Trail. This is one of many spectacular views along the coast. Read the full article

For me, photography has been like a rollercoaster ride, full of ups and downs and tight curves. From running a semi-successful photography business to wanting to sell my gear and move on from it. The business was fun at first but after a few years, the fun was gone. It became more of a job, not interesting and boring. I am going to guess that being somewhat of an introvert was part of the problem. Photographing people was not my passion! During this period I did have a great mentor. A professional photographer with 25 or so years of experience as a wedding photographer and a corporate headshot photographer. Mario P. Menard taught me many things over the years we worked together and I greatly appreciate his time and effort spent on a newbie photographer. I, instead, enjoy nature and wildlife. So, I closed shop and continued to photograph what I was passionate about, for fun, as a hobby. Even then you still get the periods where you want to sell all your gear and never look back. The next day you are back outdoors with camera in hand looking for something to catch your eye. I went through this many times over the years. Loss of motivation. I no longer felt creative. My diabetes started to affect my mobility, nerve damage in my feet. I had to start using a cane to get around. This caused a mental blockage for me. I no longer felt safe going out to photograph alone, figuring a man in his late forties walking with a cane and carrying his camera around his neck with a camera bag on his back was an easy target for getting mugged. In other words, I only went out to photograph when I had a companion with me. For reasons known or unknown, your creative juices start to flow again you are back out with your camera creating images once again. Another thing that would hit me every now and then was seeing all these awesome images on social media and comparing my works to them. I am talking about years back when I was just starting out as a photographer. I do realize these photographers have spent years practicing and maybe even taken all kinds of related courses which allow them to create what they create, with good reason. You feel that you will never accomplish what they have accomplished, so why bother trying. Over the years you realize that every photographer has their own style. Some are very creative in the editing process while others prefer a more natural look. You also realize there is no right or wrong way. Art is art. Sure, over time you get better at taking a photo, you better understand the gear you use and to use it properly. That alone makes for better, more appealing photos. You learn some of the "rules" of photography and know when to break or bend them. You soon go from snapshots to photographs. You develop your own editing style and create the images the way you want them to look. You are now starting to create your own brand of images. I do not speak for the masses, this is all based on personal experience but some of it may hold true to some of you. So, who should be comparing yourself with? The ONLY photographer you should be comparing yourself to is the one you used to be. Read the full article

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Today I decided to remake the site. My interest in photography has been triggered once again. With everything going on with this pandemic and with all the restrictions put in place by various levels of government, it was enough to drive anyone in that downhill direction. It has been a hard time for just about everyone and with good reason. Close to two years on a staycation is rough. Now the world is being shaken again with Russia and Ukraine which does not help to settle anyone's nerves. It was once again time to do something I enjoy. For now, I will be posting photos that were taken over the years so you may have already previously seen some. Also, I no longer offer my services as a photographer. Back to just having fun and enjoying the sights. :-) Here is an image from our vacation to Nova Scotia from 2019. Westport vacation 2019 Read the full article

Back at it. After a rather lengthy break from photography I am looking to start-up again. My interest has been renewed! Here is one image I created recently.

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