What inspired you to become a photographer?

It was not until 2006 - 2007 where the real journey began, coming to the United states and traveling around domestically through cities, taking snapshots of places I visited, people I met, all of that helped raise my awareness of photography, I bought my first DSLR along with couple of friends and started learning by ourselves, taking photos and minimally process them with simple apps, as years passed by, I kept improving and dedicating time to photography, even started planning my trips and traveling to both touristy and remote locations just to shoot. Photography eventually evolved to be my 2nd job, I became more involved, spending more time generally shooting and post-processing, learning more, traveling more, and using better professional equipment, that’s the point I realized that this is the part-time gig I love doing, and one day it could be the one and only job for me.

Tell us about your first photo that really validated your interest as a photographer.

It was not a single photo really, it was during one of my early road trips to Chicago, where I took pictures of the city and the skyline and with little or no processing they came out really good. Photography for the most part was a self-taught journey for me, I pushed myself to learn and improve and come up with my own techniques and style in shooting and processing, thus it came to my attention that this could be my long waited-for passion which I will pursue indefinitely.

What do you enjoy photographing the most?

Landscape, Nature and Cityscape, and Travel.

What has been your proudest moment as a photographer?

Taking photos of my baby boy and living these beautiful moments, offering my work and service to friends and relatives, and surprising people with my work, people asking me to print or use my work, getting featured in some cool digital magazines and online communities, earning few humble awards, all of that makes me really proud of being a photographer and motivates me to keep it up!

How do you feel photography has impacted the way you see the world?

Once a photographer, you start seeing the world though you lens, ready to frame the reflected world at any moment.

What is your best photography related tip?

Watch, Read, Research, Try, Learn, and Never give up easily. That’s how I really learned photography and that’s how I keep learning and improving myself and coming up with my own techniques and workflows

What would you like for people take away from your work?

Memories, to see and appreciate the unseen beauty of this world, whether through my long exposure shots, post processing style, or simply the lucky magical moments I capture.

What are some ‘must have’ items in your camera bag?

I always pack a lot of stuff, my bag is always bloated and heavy, so some of my ‘must haves’:

2 cameras (1 usually is a backup camera):
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EOS 70D
3 – 4 Lenses:
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Lens
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens
Canon EF 85mm F/1.8 Lens
Filters:
B+W ND Filter & UV Filters, Tiffen CPL & UV Filters
Manfrotto Tripod
external flash
shutter control, batteries, flashlight, headlight, snacks for long trips

Final question, and it’s a fun one: Life has been found on another planet and none-other than Sir Richard Branson is piloting Virgin Galactic and has put together a team of engineers, scientist, doctors and has asked you to come along to document the journey. The challenge is you can only bring two lenses and one camera body and two other items. What would you bring?