Calgary, Alberta, Canada
I'm Dave Mitchell, a stock photographer based in the Brooks area of Alberta, Canada.
My journey in photography started with admiring it. I was intrigued by great photographs from a young age. They invited me to imagine and dream as they took me away to fascinating places.
I started taking photos myself just for something to do on family trips with a 1970’s Kodak Instamatic 104 film point-and-shoot – and my photos reflected it. Not creations, not works of art. No depth of field, no character. Just snapshots. Not like I expected anything more, but I had been born with what I call the 'camera gene' – I just had to have a camera with me wherever new that I went. Regardless of how they looked, photos were my visual diary of fascinating places and things.
Wanting to take my photography to the next level – and with some money finally in my pocket – I bought my first SLR in 1996 mainly because I wanted to be able to blur out a background or foreground. Narrowing the 'depth of field,' as I would later learn. That was back in the film days. In 2002, I bought my first digital camera (a fixed-lens super-zoom) and then my first digital SLR in 2008. I upgraded to a full-frame DSLR in January 2016. In July 2022, always aware of emerging (and dying) trends in photography, I decided to sell all my DSLR gear and I bought into my first full-frame mirrorless system.
Landscape photography has always been my main love. But as you begin to study photography, you are soon taught that landscapes are too cliché, too numerous. Nearly every photographer and his dog starts with them, and many continue with them. Stock photo agencies must cringe when somebody submits yet more because they already have far too many. As the articles and books and now videos imply, landscapes are a great starting point, but you need to reach beyond and get more “sophisticated” if you wish to become a “real” photographer. Forget Ansel Adams, they say – he long ago mastered the landscape. You need to aspire to be a Leibovitz, a Cartier-Bresson, a Doisneau.
Although I never fully abandoned landscapes, I bought in to the hype. I began to wander into and through most of the other major genres including macro, candid, lifestyle, sports/action, stills (products, objects), and eventually dabbling in portraiture, complete with a basic studio setup – my daughter a very willing subject. You can view all of my best photography in my stock photography portfolio.
Today, my portfolio is still dominated by landscape photography as it remains my first love, and I frankly couldn't care less if it is considered "cliché." I still willingly embrace it because it's what I'm the most passionate about. That said, I hope you are likewise inspired by my attempts at other genres.
~~~~~
This site and my photography in general are dedicated first of all to God, my heavenly "Dad," who I credit for being able to express my love for both the fascinating artistic and technical sides of photography. They are also dedicated in honor of the memory of my earthly dad who, in his final days in 2015, encouraged me to not give up my craft at a time when my confidence and desire as a photographer were at their lowest. Thank you, Dad, for being my biggest fan and encouraging me to push ahead with this when you could have focused instead on your own, much more urgent struggles.
~~~~~
