The Beginning Was a Lens
It is somewhere around 2018 and I am on a video call with one of my high school friends, telling him I have finally bought it. In my hands is the sealed box of a lens I had been thinking about for a long time. I had just migrated to Australia in 2017 and was living on a very tight monthly budget of two thousand dollars, so spending eighteen hundred dollars on a lens felt completely out of reach until that moment.
While talking with my friend about the madness I had just committed, my mind kept bouncing between excitement and fear. First, convincing myself this was a smart decision. This was not a dumb expense, it was an investment. Second, trying to make sense of how I was going to pay for it.
Back then I had a small hospitality job that covered my basic salary, and the tips were usually what helped me pay for extras. In reality, those tips were probably what ended up paying for most of the lens.
The bank had offered me a three hundred dollar cashback for getting a credit card, so technically I only had to worry about fifteen hundred dollars. I did not really understand credit card interest at the time, so for my own peace of mind I convinced myself it was only that amount. Looking back, I do not even want to know how much I ended up paying once interest was added.
But what was so exciting about this lens? I already had other lenses, so what made this one different? It was an ultra wide 16 to 35 millimetre. In my head that meant I could do real estate photography. When I first arrived in Australia I saw people doing this and charging for it. It amazed me. This simply did not happen in Colombia.
I thought I had everything I needed. A full frame camera, lenses, a tripod. I spoke with a few friends and landed my first unpaid real estate shoots.
My ego and my inexperience made me think it would be easy. A quick Google search and done.
Things did not go well.
One of the houses I photographed was already on the market, and my photos looked nothing like the ones in the listing. The other set of photos was not even used. The agent was not very happy.
That was enough to pause the whole idea.
I had the gear, but I did not have the knowledge. I kept studying during my masters the following year and slowly learned how to use the lens and the camera in a way that felt more professional rather than just a hobby.
In 2020 life shifted and pushed me back toward photography instead of marketing. I got a job that required real estate photography. I was back to 2018, but this time with more understanding. I did not know this was only the start of a new chapter where I would learn more in a short period than I had in years.
As I write this, it has been five years since I started dedicating most of my work and free time to photographing buildings, houses and people. Through my work I have tried to support people in ways that feel genuine and grounded, whether by helping them present their homes, tell their stories or feel seen through a photograph.
I have tried different editing techniques, new gear, lights, formats and video. I have enjoyed every moment, every experiment and every mistake.
Five years is not long enough to claim mastery. If anything, it feels like the beginning.
An today, looking back to 2018, I can tell myself I was not entirely wrong. I ended up making an investment rather than an expense, and I am glad I did. Every photo has become a story and a step toward the kind of work I want to create in the future.
P.D. You have probably seen my first photos already. If you want to see where I am now, here are a few images that show how my understanding has grown.
