I have always felt that a photograph is just a photograph until you here the story behind it. You talk to any photographer about the images they are proud of and I bet they will talk to you for 10+ minutes about each image. Even as I photograph people, there are stories behind the image that I love to share. Could be intimidated by the subject matter, the effort to get there or just what happened as the subject was being photographed.

This is the image that really started it all for me. It was shot at Newcastle Golf Course in Newcastle, WA. During the summer at sunset they have a tradition of a bagpiper playing as the sun goes down. I happened to be there with some friends finishing a round of golf and saw him on the hill with Lake Washington and Seattle in the background. I grabbed my Nikon D70 and fired a few shots - hand held. I think I edited it in Photoshop CS5 and just hit auto edit.

I submitted the shot to the GC photo contest and won. Couldn’t believe it. This really inspired me to get into photography.

I realized that I didn’t need to buy other artists work, I could make my own. I bought a laptop, some additional lenses and started to learn what it takes to be a great photographer. It has taken me several years to feel like I can hold my own and that I produce great photographs. I eventually started to call my business “Exit 38 Productions” for a area off I-90 that I loved to photograph. There were waterfalls, train trestle bridges, snow, trails and just a great place to spend an afternoon. Eventually BlackFire Photography was born to achieve a more unique name than “R.Brown Photography”. Talk about a boring name for a photography business!