For a long time I told myself, “Hey Rob – you know what would be really cool? Starting a blog. You always have so much to say, why not go online and put it out into the world? Maybe other people will want to see and talk about the same things. Why not just do it and see what happens?” Well with the launch of my photography website and riding the wave of investing more into myself and my hobbies, I figured what better time than now to do so.
I guess now would be a good time to talk about myself a little more in depth than in that nifty “About” tab up top, so you all have a bit of context regarding who I am and what I'm about as you're reading my ramblings moving forward. My name is Rob McKenney, I'm a 27 year old photographer from the Washington D.C. Area (specifically Manassas, VA – if you have any idea where that is), and creative projects are the food that feeds who I am as a human being. I started my arts experiences as a musician, playing guitar and trumpet and, really, anything else I could get my hands on growing up. I've always loved the expressive nature of music and it was a great tool that I used to flesh out my identity as a teenager and young adult.
Growing up I also was a bit more outdoorsy, going on hunting and fishing trips with my family and exploring the beautiful mountain landscapes of Virginia was really my first motivation to ever pick a camera in the first place. My family bought me a small Casio point-and-shoot camera for my birthday, and the next time we went into the wilderness I was determined to put myself into National Geographic when I had returned! As you may have guessed, that didn't happen. However, the joy of capturing moments and environments is something that stuck with me for quite a long time, even after I put the camera down for a number of years.
I attended George Mason Universtiy in Fairfax, VA and (eventually) earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music. During that time, I grew a lot as a person, as a musician, and I gained the tools and understanding that would eventually lead to a rapid amount of growth as I entered back into the world of photography. After spending a number of years having my artistic work scrutinized by myself and by my peers/teachers, as I started shooting photos again I did so constantly looking critically at my own work and seeking ways that I could improve. From bugging photographer friends of mine to taking in hours upon hours of YouTube content, even shoving my work in front of friends and acquaintances, I wanted to exhaust every resource available to get feedback and grow as a photographer. It was all about getting my skill to a place where my artistic vision was more easily replicated once I looked through the viewfinder.
Truth be told, I'm still very much on this journey. The thing about any artistic discipline is that there is no true “mastery” to be gained. Your skills can always grow more broad, you can always more deeply cultivate the skills you've already acquired, and you can always approach work you've done with new eyes and try to re-imagine it into something new and refreshing. And as I continue down this road, I want to bring you all along with me. Learning from my mistakes, sharing anything I might learn along the way, and helping other people grow as photographers and as artists in the process. I thank you for taking the time to check out this blog and I hope you'll visit again. Until next time...
Take Life One Frame at a Time.
