Welcome to WildinRevelstoke Photography.
After working for over 20 years in the logging industry, a work related accident sent me on a new journey.
While I was recovering from my accident I did not sleep very much and spent almost all my time walking. On one of my many journeys through downtown Revelstoke I walked by a store called the Photo House. I went inside and talked to the owner, Brent Veideman. After asking many questions about cameras and lenses, I came to the conclusion that if I bought a camera it would give me something to do on my walks."I always wanted to have a really good camera to take photos of the wildlife that I would see when I was working in the forest."I went back to the store the next day and purchased a Nikon D40 which came with an 18 x 55 lens. I also bought a Nikon 70 x 200 lens.
That afternoon I played with my camera trying to learn everything about it, and because I'm a guy that doesn’t read the instruction manuals, by trial and error I took a bunch of pictures and put them on my computer. This was a long process because I didn’t need good computer skills to be a logger. After putting a couple thousand photos on the computer and deleting most of them, I read the instruction manual.
The next day I went for a drive up towards the Revelstoke dam,
"and low-and-behold I came across my first bear!" Adrenaline pumping, struggling to get out of the truck and point the camera at a very large black bear, I started clicking away with not really a clue as to what I was doing. Finally after about 700 photos or so the bear got bored of me and decided to leave.
All excited with my first photo shoot I went back to the camera store to tell Brent about the great photo opportunity I had. Brent, being the great guy he is, downloaded my photos on to his computer and as we went through we came across, what he said, was an excellent photo."I decided to get the photo printed and framed so I could give it to my wife for all the support she was giving me during those tough times." After we got the photo all done, we wrapped it in brown paper so it wouldn't get ruined and I went home. My wife was home from work and not very happy that I purchased what she thought was a photo from Brent, when I finally got her calmed down and told her it was my photo and all I paid for was the printing and framing, she was so excited. It was great to see her smile.
From there I was on the computer all the time learning as much as I could about photography. I would go to the store every day and ask questions about anything and everything to do with photography. I also met Brent‘s Dad, Dusty, and between the two of them I learned a lot. I figured that they were going to kick me out of the store because I was there every day. As time went on and both my health and photographs started to improve, I decided to pursue this passion of mine and I enrolled in the Digital Photography Program at the Centre for Arts & Technology in Kelowna, BC. - which, after twelve months, I proudly earned a diploma in Digital Photography.
"So my journey has led me to becoming a professional photographer."
I have since upgraded to a Nikon D300, which I absolutely love, as well as a whole surplus of lenses from small to large. Due to the professional training that I’ve received, I feel more comfortable on the computer and behind my camera than I ever have. I enjoy taking many different types of photos – my specialties include: weddings; portraits; sports; and of course the one that started it all, wildlife photography.
If you're in need of a photographer, or know someone who is; or, you'd like to purchase one of the photos that you see in my gallery or on my blog, simply contact me. I look forward to meeting you."
Sincerely,
David Bennewith