Banakas | Photography

I am [php function=1] years old and currently living in East Tennessee. I am married and we have two children, along with a cat and a dog. I work full time for a software development company as a Load Test Analyst and QA Virtual Lab Administrator. Outside of working full time and helping raise our children, I help manage my wife’s massage therapy business and online presence. Then, when all other work is done, I pick up the camera and go shoot.

My Photography

I’ve been interested in photography since 1991, when I was an editor on my high school’s year book staff. At the time we worked with black and white film and we even develop our own negatives and prints. I really enjoy learning the technical aspects of things and learning how to do this really turned me on to photography. In order to get the opportunity to develop and print, we had to shoot. In order to get out and shoot, I had to learn how an SLR worked, so I bought my first camera from a pawn shop for about $45.00. It was then that reality set in and I had to learn how to manually take photos. This was no point and shoot, I had to figure out how to get the proper exposure and when you didn’t have a on camera monitor to preview your shots, you were literally shooting in the dark. It wasn’t until I would get back into the darkroom before I knew whether or not, I have proof as to if I knew what I was doing. The nice thing was, all the film, and chemicals were paid for by the school, so now was the time to learn.

Learning hands on, I don’t remember hearing about the term “exposure triangle“, but I did have to learn about ASA (now known as ISO), shutter speed, and aperture.

After graduating from high school, I continued my love for photography by enrolling in a Photography 101 class in college, which I really enjoyed. However, after that class there really wasn’t a photography path at the local community college, so without the school funding I was receiving for film and time in the darkroom, the cost of film and development at the local Wal-Mart was just too much for me, so I had to put the camera down. Over the years, life got in the way and photography was no longer an interest. But it wasn’t until my wife purchased a DSLR, that I immediately regained interest. Outside of the cost of the camera, shots were cheap! I could take as many photos as I want and not have to worry about flushing money down the toilet.

Helpful Articles

Part of the purpose of this site is to help members of the photographic community through a series of articles and photographs. Below are a few of the articles that I have written, that I believe will help you to become a better photographer:

• 6 Tips for Better Photos
• The Exposure Triangle: An Introduction to Digital Photography
• How To: Create an HDR Bracket Using One Image in Lightroom
• How To Get The Star-Burst Effect (without a plug-in)
• Create a Time Lapse Video Using Lightroom

Alex Banakas on Google+

You clearly have an interest in Google+ because you’ve clicked through my profile link. I use Google+ to share what’s happening on my site and from time to time, I will update my feed with other things. I also follow many photographers and members of the tech community. I hope that you will enjoy seeing things from around my world, through my eyes, and if you like what you see, feel free to share my images and articles with your followers.

Connecting with Me

Thank you for visiting this page, giving you an insight as to who I am and what I do, and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to circle me on Google+ so we can continue this interaction.

I’m also active on other social media sites like Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter

Finally, I urge you to sign up for my newsletter. What’s better than having new images and helpful photography information sent directly to you?