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Chris Blossom
@cricketbphoto
Landscape photographer based in the US
My journey with photography started like many others before me; with a fascination for cameras when I was a kid. I’m not sure where the curiosity stemmed from but I just loved pushing that button, hearing the click, and freezing a moment. I distinctly remember my mother used to buy those disposable film cameras for family trips and such, and since I was always so interested I would just grab them and start taking photos. It wasn’t ideal, since there were only about thirty two shots per camera, so my mom came up with a clever solution; to get the empty shell back from the developers’ shop and give it to me so I could wind and shoot indefinitely.
"I remember the joy that came out of simply pretending I was taking pictures, and that joy turned quickly into a hobby."
I got my first DSLR as a birthday present after I graduated highschool. It was a Nikon d3000 and I got my first real taste of what it meant to be a creative. I’d go around the house looking for interesting textures to photograph, and stroll through the neighborhood looking for flowers or cool houses or passersby. It was all your basic beginner level photography kind of stuff, but I never got tired of it.
"I loved looking at the images that the camera produced even before I knew how to extract them from my memory card."
I spent almost no time learning how to operate the camera settings or edit in the first few years. It was all about the experience and the simple joy of freezing that moment in time, or delving into an object more closely to appreciate the art that we encounter every day without realizing it. It wasn’t until sophomore year of college when, after being without a major for two years, that I decided to take the leap and dive into a photography major. That was the year I fully began to appreciate all the facets of this form of art. It wasn’t a traditional education to be sure, I mostly went through film and fine art classes and a lot of the learning concerning the nitty gritty things like camera settings and editing I had to teach myself since I was too lazy or shy to ask for help from the incredible artists I was learning from.
"I was teaching myself the ins and outs of understanding light and the way to adjust the camera settings to get the image I had in my mind."
I spent that year forcing myself never to leave manual mode, and getting used to shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and all the other small yet significant changes one can make to get the shot looking just right. It was a painful process of trial and error, and there was an incredible amount of setbacks and failures and doubt and anger, but I think the struggle of teaching myself truly bolstered my passion.
While I loved learning and shooting and documenting, things quickly got stale for me at home, I felt a restlessness I couldn’t quite understand, and my work got stagnant. My time was being spent doing less than admirable things and living a certain lifestyle I ended up realizing was a dead end. Without the presence of new experiences and new external inspiration my life became more and more routine-like in a bad way. Almost every day in Tahoe began to feel the same. And I know that place is amazing and there’s no shortage of amazing things to go and do and see, but I had seen a lot of it and it all started to blend together. I lost a lot of my drive to get out and shoot, or to go explore a new place simply because I felt that I was just taking the same pictures over and over. There was a lot of drinking and what-have-you and I was heading down a path that ultimately led away from being an artist or photographer and down the road to failure.
I felt that since the stagnancy had become more prevalent, I began to lose my lust for life and exploring and adventuring and instead, turned to things more immediately gratifying like going out to bars and partying with friends. That led to sort of a dark place because without the influence of new things, I get so incredibly bored and uninspired. It was after that realization finally took hold that I decided I needed to get out as soon as possible. I still have a deep love and appreciation for Tahoe and have visited many times since leaving.
After College was when the travel bug got me. I left the USA with a friend of mine and went to Australia for a year. We had agreed on this trip before graduation and when the time came around to leave I didn’t feel anything but excitement and a sense of adventure. It was a one of a kind experience, going further away than I’d ever been before and fully relying on myself for the things I needed. I learned so much about myself and the world around me, gained different perspectives and met amazing people, and I knew I couldn’t possibly be done after one year. One person I specifically want to mention is my good friend Myles Deboer, who I went to Australia with. His style of shooting really appealed to me in a time where I was at odds with who I thought I was as a photographer, and I think his style definitely influenced my work and progression while there.
"During my time in Australia something clicked with photography."
I began watching tutorials and articles and how-to’s, fascinated once again with the process and the amazing things I could do with my camera and some editing software. I attribute all this progress to traveling and seeing so many new places and things. It triggered my need to capture those special moments and locations – almost exactly how receiving my first camera made me feel. Moving to Australia cemented the lust for exploring I’ve come to experience every day. I had reached an understanding with myself about how I wanted to live my life, and it wasn’t just going to be living in the same place and seeing the same things and taking the same pictures. I’ve had this itch ever since that arose anytime I spent too much time at home or in one place, a quiet nudge for something else, the unknown, and to go see beautiful places.
"A profound desire to experience life and all its facets and to capture some of the finest moments of my life."
My way of traveling is just to go with the flow. If one pays attention and listens, the universe will send you on some crazy paths and adventures, you just have to be open to new things and take the bad with the good.
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