November was a busy time. This month was still early for me in photography, and I had just started to grasp the fundamentals and gain hands-on experience with my camera.
I went to Alaska for a work trip during this time. Even though I was swamped, I found some free time to take photos. I accidentally captured one of my favorite images to date: a path winding between trees with a mountain view in the background. This photo was taken on my day off along the Eagle River trail outside of Anchorage, Alaska. It also marked the last day we could see anything beyond a short distance, as once it started snowing a day or two later, it didn’t stop.
My father is a photographer with some old Canon equipment and lenses. I chose to shoot on Sony but bought an adapter to utilize some of his Canon lenses early on. Additionally, the Recon teams carry what is known as the “Jesus lens” with them while on patrol. This massive 1200mm prime Canon lens is used for taking photos at long distances. Naturally, I had to mess with this lens and the Canon adapter on my camera.
I took the Jesus Lens and my Sony adapter on a hike during another day off when we spotted a moose. The adapter causes the autofocus to malfunction, so it required careful effort to hold the lens high in the air, do my best to focus manually, and peer over the hill for a good view of the moose. A fellow Marine helped me lift this heavy setup (which is quite cumbersome with such a large lens, as you can imagine) and capture a mostly-in-focus photo of the moose, which remains one of my favorites to date.
Other photos this month featured my then-girlfriend, now wife, posing on the rocks at Wrightsville Beach. Meanwhile, I practiced some portrait photography (thanks to my favorite photography subject) and took the obligatory beginner photograph of the moon.
