About Chris Gotz

My interest in photography started at an early age when my dad used his film camera to take multiple images of something (usually a piece of his fine woodworking) at different settings and lay them all out on a table to choose the best one. He was very technical about his images, looking at them over and over again, and explaining why a particular one was his favorite. I definitely followed in his footsteps. My first camera was a Canon S110, a 2.1 megapixel camera and one of the first digital point and shoot cameras. I thought it was amazing that you could view your picture immediately after taking it, granted on a small 1.5" screen. I kept buying more advanced point and shoot cameras where I could have more control over the settings. However, my passion really grew when I purchased my first 'real' camera, a used Nikon D200, from a good friend of mine back in 2008. At first, the camera was just something I took on trips and carried it with when it was convenient, but with each passing year my passion intensified, and now I find myself planning trips specifically for photography, getting up at 5am for sunrises, taking photos when it's -28F (no, not including windchill), and continually educating myself on editing techniques. I love how photography gets me out in the morning when the city is still sleeping, makes me look at the beauty in things, and gives me a reason to visit cool places.