S.A. Leys Photography

Welcome!

The video below is just a few of the gazillions of photographs I have taken since picking up a camera. Like most families I know, whenever we traveled on vacation or just did something fun together, it seemed like there was always a camera around – capturing the fun adventures we were having.

As the years progressed, whenever I was with my parents and there was a camera around, my mom would teach me about some of the skills she had learned in some of the photography courses she had taken such as how to frame a shot or enhance the texture of a photo. With a lot of practice and the opportunity to travel to some beautiful areas along the East Coast, I found my skills improving as a result of an abundance of practice.

When I relocated to the Washington DC Metro area, I learned that National Geographic was here and that they offered photography courses and lectures. I signed up for my initial course and packed my camera and some notebooks in my messenger bag and left for downtown DC early one morning ready to learn from the best.

As luck would have it, the notebooks never left my bag as the course started with photographs the instructors had taken. Looking at them was like watching a great film that you never wanted to end because of how captivatingly beautiful each photograph was. For the entire length of the day-long course, I just sat there attentively taking in the abundance of information and skills that each National Geographic photographer described as they took photo after photo which they showed on the screen.

There are days you never forget. For me, this was one of them.

Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”

Aaron Siskind

I hope you enjoy the photos and stories that are here on this site, please do not hesitate to contact me if I can assist you in any way.

Thanks!

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“From the Window”

Several years ago, our family took a trip home to Newport, Rhode Island and stayed at our friends’ home while they were away. This (below) was the view from their bathroom window (which I took a photo of and then placed the framed photo on the wall right next to the window so the view outside was exactly what was in the picture). – Kind of a nice view to have as you’re brushing your teeth every morning right?