Tim Gallivan's photostream

A brief description of me

A nature nerd
A word nerd (English degree, an editor by trade)
A music nerd
A movie nerd
Even an occasional video game nerd
Recently, though, the photography nerd in me trumps them all



A brief history of how I got into photography

I kind of backed into photography. I've always had an interest in it and dabbled unsuccessfully with a film camera in college, but never pursued it for whatever reason. It wasn't until the digital age took hold that I decided to go for it. My journey into photography went something like this:

1) After graduating from college, I leave the east coast and travel across the country for a few months, eventually landing in Bend, Oregon. I see many amazing things and take many terrible snapshots. I enjoy those photos, but they don't even come close to communicating the incredible experience I had. Now that I'm living in an amazing place out west, it's only a matter of time before I need to figure out how to do it justice in photographs.

2) In my first few weeks in Bend I stay with friends while I hunt for an apartment. During that stay I find a book on my friend's bookshelf called "Mountain Light" by Galen Rowell. I've never seen photos like these. I'm captivated, mesmerized, in awe.

3) My father buys me a laptop, installs an old version of Photoshop on it, and I'm intrigued. I play around with it, fascinated by the array of tools and infinite creative possibilities. I then commit many heinous acts of "photo art."

4) My brother tells me about flickr, a cool photo sharing site he recently joined. I join and am blown away by the creativity that I find. My eyes are opened to many new ideas. I am inspired, though I still don't take my photos seriously. I am having fun being casually creative and messing around with Photoshop.

5) After working for a few years I have some disposable income, so I decide to buy a DSLR and see what I can do with it. At this point I have decided to move beyond casual point-and-shoot photography, though I still don't intend to take it that seriously. I'm not pursuing traditional photography; mostly I'm going to take photos to mess with them in Photoshop. Then I start taking photos. Something clicks. I become slightly obsessed. I forget about all the photo-art stuff and become determined to take good photographs. I think "Why wouldn't I aspire to take photos like Galen's?" (Not that I expect to ever come close.) All of a sudden I'm taking photography seriously.

Digital proves to be an amazing medium for learning, allowing me to tinker endlessly and make endless mistakes. The internet becomes a classroom, the many amazing photographers on flickr and elsewhere become my teachers. Slowly, I begin to understand the language of photography.

And I'm still learning.



A brief description of why I take photos

Like I mentioned above, I'm a nature geek. I've always been passionate about the outdoors, so nature photography is a natural extension of that. I like that it gives me an excuse to go explore bizarre landscapes in the far reaches of Eastern Oregon for days on end. I like that it gives me a deeper sense of purpose when I'm off backpacking by myself in the mountains. I like that it enriches all my adventures and makes me see the world differently. Photography allows me to communicate something that feels deeply personal -- something for which words feel trite and inadequate.



On flickr

I welcome all comments and critiques. I've learned so much just by studying the amazing creative output of my contacts, but if you have specific suggestions or just think a photo is terrible, please do tell me (you have to say why it's terrible, though :-). I still have plenty to learn. I think flickr is at its best when it becomes an exchange of ideas. Though I realize most people are here for sharing and not critiquing, and that's perfectly OK with me. I'm here to share, too, and rarely find the time to comment as much as I'd like to.