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About Me Photography / Hobbyist Official Beta Tester Chris22/Male/United States Groups group avatar #Black-White-Club
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deviantID

=SteelAtlas
Chris
Artist | Hobbyist | Photography
United States
My name is Chris Armistead, I began my voyage into the realm of photography as a hobby in late 2008. Since then its rapidly grown into a passion thats taken control of a significant portion of my life.

I am completely untrained in the art of photography, lighting, editing or art in general. Everything you see has been self taught through trial and error. In this way I think I have gained a greater appreciation for the art, and it has certainly been a journey of self discovery as well. It is my dream to work for an establishment like National Geographic but I havent decided if this is anything more than a full time hobby. Only time, work, and lots of shutter clicks will tell !

Current Residence: Bellingham, Washington, USA
deviantWEAR sizing preference: Small
Print preference: Black and white
Favourite photographer: Marcin Stawiarz
Favourite style of art: Photography
Operating System: Windows 7 64-Bit
MP3 player of choice: Zune HD
Interests

Life now has direction.

Journal Entry: Sun Sep 11, 2011, 10:50 AM
  • Listening to: Hanneke Cassel, Nightwish, Midori
  • Reading: Tumblr posts
  • Playing: Halo Reach
  • Drinking: Dr Pepper
This is basically a life update, spawned by a recent epihany whilst talking with my friend Blake. Take everything with a grain of salt as some of it may sound a little far fetched, but this is just the prelimnary outline. Anyways, in a sense I have more or less found a direction for my life, something I have been woefully lacking until now. Below is outlined the general structure of that plan. Obviously since this whole concept is in its infancy there is much that is subject to change im sure :)

Really only in the past couple of hours things have really started to come together to form some semblance of a plan. Though it may sound somewhat like a pipe dream in some aspects, I think its actually more feasible than it might seem at first so bare with my while I divulge the general outline.

As you know ive long been conflicted about what I actually want to do, if college was going to be the catalyst for that path etc. We talked in some detail about that, and thus far I still have come to the same conclusion that I would (atleast for now) continue to build my own portfolio outside of college. The primary reason being the expense, the uncertainty that there would be any payoff and the state of the economy / country. The end point is still the same, one just involves formal education and the other involves self teaching. As far as the technical aspects of photography, I can handle that on my own, its more or less the lack of knowledge concerning how to implement those skills as a marketable trade that concerns me. However, I think by connecting with people in the field of photography and learning first hand from those in the field, rather than in the classroom, I can get that knowledge (and probably much more to boot!)

Currently im saving for better equipment as I have exhausted the capabilities of my current camera and need higher quality tools to accomplish my goal. The camera im currently saving for is the Canon 5DMkII (the one I rented for the roadtrip.) Until then im kind of at an impass, unable to really progress at the speed I know I would like to (or can.) Thats just the nature of the beast at the moment though and ill still continue to develop any other skills that arent equipment dependent.

This is the part that might sound more like a pipe dream than a feasible reality. As ive travled across the country, and subsequently as I start exploring more of the pacific northwest, its unlocked a kind of hunger. I've come to the conclusion that I dont want to really settle anywhere, and probably not till retirement. My goal is to build a portfolio, and then establish a career (this part is kind of vague). The career part is very open ended, but I would like to build one as a solo photographer, and eventually make my living off of selling prints, and selling my skills to institutions like Nat Geo or Discovery that need people to go out and capture places, people, and things for their productions. Like I said, that part is kind of vague but its going to be that way until I can get more insight and progress further up the chain towards that goal.

Back to the part about traveling and not settling though. The underlying idea is once I have established a career, ( and this step might even be part of establishing my career) to travel non stop, firstly all over U.S and North Amercia, and then the world, documenting, and shooting photos of everything from people to scenery. I basically want to forgo having an apartment or house, and live out of an expeditionary vehicle such as:

[link]

Obviously there would be considerable expense tied to such an investment, the models on that website start at 110k but it would be the catalyst to allow me to do what I want (there are also many cheaper models available elsewhere to start with) You can also see the larger model on that same website that would be more feasible to live out of. The advantage being that I would forgo paying rent, property tax, and all associated property related fees, the disadvantage being that I would then transfer some of those expenses to owning such a vehicle and traveling. Doing some of the math though I think forgoing a static home for a mobile one would still be more cost effective in the long run.

Ultimately the underlying idea is to fund the venture, WITH the venture if that makes any sense. I would basically be traveling, living out of this mobile living space and that would also be my "job" in a way.

Think of it as a reverse of what many people do upon retirement. Selling their home and putting most of their belongings in storage, purchasing an RV then traveling till the end of their days. I basically want to do that, in reverse forgoing ever owning a home unless changing circumstances dictate that as a best option. Instead of doing that as a retirement, I would be doing that as a career, and then maybe "retiring" to the house in NC someday if the circumstances allow.

I know this probably sounds crazy, and very much like a pipe dream, but I have been looking extensively into the feasibility of such a venture and if I can establish myself at an appropriate skill / career level and I can market the fruits of my travel as a reliable income  then I believe 100% that it is a venture that is attainable, and something I can feel 100% confident in setting my lifes goals on.

Working in the field of photography, and subsequently doing so while traveling thus far has really awakened a sense of direction, something I have been nearly devoid of up until now. I want my lifes ambition to be dedicated to that direction, to see everything that god has blessed this planet with, to document it and to show the rest of the world too. Moving and traveling has made me realize that I dont think I will ever be satisfied in one place, doing anything but photography.

The thing is, up until now I have used the future to escape the present. Living day by day thinking that if I just keep moving forward, things will come together, that if I make it to tomorrow maybe my dreams will come back to me. For so long I've been using the thought of the future to escape what I hated in the present that I never really lived in the present. I was living in a future that didn't even have a discernible form and not living in the present at all. That has changed though, for now the present holds the key to the future I have longed to obtain. With this camera in my hand I hold the one true arbiter for all my thoughts, my dreams, my love and ambition. Standing at the foot of some remote waterfall crafting an image and capturing a fraction of this world, freezing it in an instant of perfection is where I want to spend my life.

Ive always been fascinated by landscapes – places that are absolutely desolate, where I can stay one on one with nature. For me, the growing joy right before pressing the shutter button as well as the possibility of interacting with the world filled with inspiration is as important as the creative act itself. This initial fascination has rapidly grown into obsession that has taken control of my life

We are here to live our lives so well, that death will tremble to take us...

Features

Critiques


Just on its own this water/landscape is beautiful and serene. With that being said I love the creativity and striking contrast of throw...


A truly striking and remarkable landscape shot ! The first word that came to mind when I opened the image was "serenity." This image ca...

by *ChrisCold

I was very surprised to stumble upon this wonderful image realizing how very few people have actually seen it, and what a stunning piec...

by ~piotrus33

Wow, what a gorgeous shot. This is a fantastic example of black and white done correctly. The contrast and every detail is crisp and sh...

Which of these do you prefer ? The shot is the same, the only difference is the post processing. 

85%
22 deviants said
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4 deviants said

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:icondementeddiva23:
*dementeddiva23 Apr 19, 2012  Hobbyist Photographer
:wave: Thank you so much for joining :iconabandoned-explorers:! :)

--
For the lovers of anything and everything abandoned, check out Abandoned-Explorers!
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:iconegil21:
Hi :iconcocowaveplz:

I'm Elsa, the founder of #TheFavouriteShowcase.
I'm here to invite you to take a little time to visit the group, since you are a member and I haven't seen you around much :) I'd like to see more of you!

We have a Poll Folder open to all members with the possibility to win a 3 months sub. Check it here [link]
And our Contest :iconthefavouritecontests::iconthefavouritecontest2: is also here during all Spring [link] with subs and points to win.

May this year bring you much exposure to your work, if we can help doing that we'd be very happy ;)


:iconthefavouriteshowcase: We love to :+fav: your work!

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:new: NEW Portrait Contest [link]

The less seen #SkyAndNatureClub :star: [link]

#dALinkSystem Expose yourself, expose Art.

#TheFavouriteShowcase • Best DA faves • We love to :+fav: your work :deviation:
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:iconjoejoebob:
~JoeJoeBob Jan 29, 2012  Professional Photographer
Thank you for the fav.
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:iconwhite134:
*White134 Jan 14, 2012  Hobbyist Photographer
Many thanks for the fav :)

--
"Life is not worth living without love." S. Gainsbourg
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:iconfinaldamnation:
*FinalDamnation Jan 4, 2012  Student Photographer
thanks for watching!

--
My Profile: [link]

"If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences."
- W. I. Thomas
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:iconfreedomfray:
Aw great gallery!
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:icontheolonius:
=Theolonius Sep 25, 2011  Professional Photographer
I've featured your work in my latest journal. [link]
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:icondieffi:
*Dieffi Sep 23, 2011  Hobbyist Photographer
*Dieffi said:

:iconimhappyspinplz::iconfireworkplz::iconfireworkplz::iconimhappyspinplz::iconfireworkplz::iconfireworkplz::iconimhappyspinplz:
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:iconimhappyspinplz::iconimhappyspinplz::iconimhappyspinplz::iconthanks4fav::iconimhappyspinplz::iconimhappyspinplz::iconimhappyspinplz:
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:icon33m:
You have been featured at DEV NEWS in
A BOUNTIFUL AND BEAUTIFUL FALL FEATURE
[link]

I love your work and am proud to include you
in this latest NEWS FEATURE. Keep Up the
Great Work

M

--
Always remember you're unique,
just like everyone else.
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