Why do I like photography so much? It’s simple: whenever I press down the shutter button, I can recall the people who I was with, the emotions that I felt, the scenery around me and most importantly, the memories created around my camera in the past.

People say a photo is worth a thousand words but to me, each has its own book to it. For example, my picture of the sunlit road (seen above) was on a four day backpacking trip with my girlfriend. We had accidentally taken a wrong turn to the trail and started traveling on a dirt road. It soon became apparent that we had crossed into a territory we should not have entered. We had rolled into a mining operation that had ceased work for the day. Along the road was a bridge constructed of just two planks of wood that you drove on to cross the creek. I continued on the path laid out before me and as the sun continued to fall, beams of light and dancing gnats filled the sky. It was a special moment that we were able to share that went far beyond the photograph taken.

The chipmunk photograph was taken on a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park, an adventure taken a whim. On the hike, there were many chipmunks that roamed along the trail and were curious of the travelers traversing it. One cheeky bugger stood on its hind legs on top of a rock. It faced towards us like he expected one of us to feed him. As I was bending over and taking pictures of the chipmunk, my friend took some of the Wheat Thins out of my backpack and placed some crackers on my shoulder. To my surprise, the chipmunk jumped onto my camera and crawled to get the cracker! The last photo I have displayed is of that particular chipmunk who jumped on the camera. This one is more of the more technical photographs I have taken but it was still a cool experience!

I received the No. 3 Folding Hawkeye, seen in the first picture, from my father, he had found it abandoned in one of the houses he contracted for. I had left it sitting out for display and had noticed that it had a considerable amount of dust built up on it. I took advantage of the buildup and I captured its beauty. I took out the back plate where the film normally fits and shined my phone’s flashlight through it. Then I lit some incense and placed it near the camera. By opening the camera’s shutter the light hit the smoke from the incense and created a memorable effect.

Photography is much more than a picture on a screen. It holds all of your past memories and experiences; a single photo contains emotions, sights, sounds and even tastes. So next time you're on an adventure, be sure to capture the moment.