#NPN25Years - Then and Now - Share Your Photographic Journey!

[David_Kingham]

Hey everyone!

As we celebrate NPN’s 25th anniversary, I thought it would be amazing to reflect on our individual photographic journeys and how this incredible community has helped us grow. Let’s do a “Then & Now” photo share! Post one of your earliest images shared on NPN (or an older image if you can’t find your first post) alongside a recent image that you feel represents your current style and skill level.

The goal isn’t to show off “perfect” work, but rather to celebrate the progress we’ve all made, thanks to the supportive critiques and shared knowledge within NPN. We all start somewhere, and it’s inspiring to see how far we’ve come!

I’ll kick things off, even though it’s a little embarrassing to revisit my early work. But hey, that’s part of the journey, right?

My “Then & Now”:

Then (2010):

Back in 2010, I was really into dramatic wide-angle landscapes. I’d often force foreground elements into the composition, even if they didn’t really add anything, like this rather prominent rock! I was still learning the basics of composition and light.

Now (2025):

Fast forward to today, and my focus has shifted towards capturing more intimate details in nature and expressing my personal vision through my photography. I’ve learned so much about light, composition, and processing, and a huge part of that growth is thanks to the incredible feedback and support I’ve received from the NPN community. I’m now a professional photographer, and I find immense joy in helping others discover their own unique photographic voices.

Your Turn!

Now it’s your turn to share! Don’t be shy – we’re all here to support each other. Please reply to this post with your “Then & Now” photos and descriptions; do not create a new topic.

Finding Your Old Posts (Tips & Tricks):

Finding old posts on the original NPN platform (NPN 1.0) can be a bit tricky, as the search function isn’t functional anymore. Here are a few suggestions:

• The “Page by Page” Method: If you remember a general timeframe or location, you can try browsing through the relevant forum categories page by page, looking for your username. This is what I did, focusing on the RMNP forum and searching for my last name.
• Google Search: You may get lucky and find an old post by using this Google search, just add your name after naturephotographers.net
• Don’t Stress If You Can’t Find Your First Post: If you can’t find your absolute earliest post, that’s perfectly fine! Just share an older image that you posted on NPN (or one that you would have posted) that represents your earlier style. The key is to show a contrast with your current work.

@Jim_Erhardt, do you have any tips or tricks for navigating the NPN 1.0 archives? Your expertise would be greatly appreciated, if you can remember anything!

What to Include in Your Post:

• Two Images: One “Then” (older) image and one “Now” (recent) image.
• Brief Descriptions: A short caption for each image, explaining what you were trying to achieve at the time and how your approach has changed.
• Your NPN Story (Optional): Feel free to share a few sentences about your overall experience with NPN and how it’s impacted your photography.

Let’s make this a fun and inspiring celebration of our collective growth! I can’t wait to see your “Then & Now” photos and hear your stories!

[Jim_Erhardt]

@David_Kingham

@Jim_Erhardt, do you have any tips or tricks for navigating the NPN 1.0 archives? Your expertise would be greatly appreciated, if you can remember anything!

Cool idea !

The best bet is to go to the All Photos gallery and find a photo you posted. Once you find a single photo, just click the Gallery of link next to your name to generate a page of all photos you’ve posted.

[Mark_Seaver]

What a great idea, David!

My first post to NPN was in January 2011, a picture of me by my wife along with some introductory information. The first photo posted here is my 2nd post, showing a late afternoon snow squall crossing Paradise Valley, MT. In going back through my NPN 1.0 posts, it’s clear that I shoot much of the same material now, what has changed is the level of sophistication in my processing both in Lightroom and in Photoshop. To illustrate that, I’m including a newly processed version of the same photo. To me, the differences are subtle, but in this case, I know how to get more drama in the sky, without overdoing it. The drama in the sky is why I took this photo in the first place.

2011 version

2025 version

[Dennis_Plank]

I joined NPN in January of 2008, if I recall correctly and when looking for old images it appears that my gallery only included EPs (there certainly weren’t many of those back then) the first two or three years, so I had to trust to memory and dig through my files.

When I joined, I had been primarily a wildflower photographer, but had married a birder in 2006 and was just starting to get interested in that, so I thought I’d put up one in each of those categories.

I believe this was my first post on NPN and I still love the form of the flower and the effect of the dark background, but my depth of field control was horrid. I’ve been back to the same area many times and haven’t found the same light yet.

Here’s a floral image from a recent trip that I posted a week or so ago:

Largely, I think the vision hasn’t changed that much in my floral photography, but my control of lighting and post processing have changed tremendously, as how I use the camera. Everything was pretty much on auto back then.

My first bird post was pretty laughable, but the members of the Avian forum were kind enough not to do so and gently pointed out how it might be improved:

Interestingly, my latest post in the avian forum is a juvenile of the same species. In this case, I think the changes in my style and vision speak for themselves:

I’ll be forever grateful for all the people on this forum who have helped me improve my photography over the last 17 years.

[Paul_Breitkreuz]

A salute goes out to Jim & David for their combined support and their long time dedication to both versions of NPN.

I can come close on my post in NPN #1 and fairly recent one here on NPN # 2.

NPN#1 - Snow Stones

NPN#2 - Monsoonal Fortress

Short history for me was a bit of a transfer if you will from Shutterpoint with Marc Adamus, Mike Dawson and John Benway back in 2006 to NPN #1.
Later and over time was on line and field meet ups with Preston Birdwell, Lon Overacker, Harley Goldman and Youssef Ismail thru the regional group of CANP.

CANP Group 2008.

[John_Williams]

According to NPN1, I registered on 09/06/07. I was too intimidated to post in the main critique forums, so my first post was to the Pacific Northwest Nature Photographers Regional Forum.

The many ways NPN has helped me since then really can’t be trickled down into a single photo, but here’s one I know I would have had no chance of pulling off back then.

[Youssef_Ismail]

Hello Everyone,

After searching around on NPN v1.0 it seems to have some weird date cutoff at 11/01/03, at least that is when it thinks I registered, but I am fairly sure it was before that. Many other members who I know were on NPN before me also have that registration date as well. The first post it shows that I made was on February 19, 2005, but I know I posted many photos before that. The photo it shows as my first was an Editor’s Pick, and my first Editor’s Pick as well.

Just prior to joining NPN, I had setup my website in 2002. I would have probably posted this photo, that I titled Hope And Fear.

The photo that NPN v1.0 thinks is my first is this one, and it won an Editor’s Pick, that I titled Dancing In The Mist.

Hope And Fear was taken with a Nikon F4 with a 24mm f/2 lens set at f11 on Fuji Velvia in December of 2001.

Dancing In The Mist was taken with the Shen-Hao 4x5 with Nikon 150mm f/5.6 lens at f22 for 2 seconds on Fuji Astia 100F and pushed 1 stop in development in December of 2004.

Many photographers on NPN at the time, at least the landscape photographers, were using large format and it was one of the factors that gave me the courage to jump up from 35mm to 4x5 LF. I photographed almost exclusively with the 4x5 for over 20 years, aside from the crescent moons that I photographed with a Nikon D2x that I bought used.

One of the last photos I made with the 4x5 is this one, titled One Million Dollars, that I posted here on NPN v2.0 back in August of 2019.

It was with the Shen-Hao 4x5, with the Nikon 150mm f/5.6 lens at f45 for 8 seconds with both an 81A and 81B warming filter on Fuji Provia 100F.

I have not retired the 4x5 yet, as long as I can get film I plan on still using it. I love the LF process.

During the pandemic I bought a Nikon D850 and have been running with it almost exclusively. I like and do not like the ease of making photos with it. It is to easy to just click the shutter and amass an ungodly number of files that just clutter up the computer storage for no good reason. I have been trying my hardest to keep my LF process working with the digital to limit how many photographs I actually make.

My new thing has been to try my hand at astrophotography and the number of frames needed to make just one photograph is staggering! At first I tried to make a milky way photo on film with the 4x5, but I need better tracking equipment to get that done. If I can get a milky way photo on 4x5 film, I think the 4x5 will have served all it can.

The latest photo that I posted was Orion and The Shark Fin. It also was an Editor’s Pick

The feedback that I have received over the years here on NPN has been priceless. Having a sounding board to see if my vision in making a photo translated into a visual expression that others understood was so helpful in my learning how to work with light and how to compose.

Thank You Jim for starting NPN, and Thank You David for keeping it alive and kicking!

[Lon_Overacker]

Paul,

Love both your NPN 1.0 and 2.0 images! That first post, wow! What a gorgeous image!

Here’s my attempt at names from our NPN gathering in the Eastern Sierra - taken at the infamous Whoa Nellie’s Deli, just south of Lee Vining. An annual event attracting many, including a group from FM, Fred Miranda followers. Here’s who attended:

We need to do this again!

[Paul_Breitkreuz]

Lon, your recall is excellent. I’ve had a bit of Hyperthymesa my entire life and did recall most all that I knew. But many here I never knew who they were.
Many years ago now after the exhibit you, Harley, and Steve had in Westlake-Thousand Oaks I ran into Steve holding a workshop out at J-tree. Before I knew it was him I started yelling at the group as they walked right into my subject area. We had a good laugh about that back then…
Sadly, at my ripe old age my trips are confined locally to So Cal these days with personal and family obligations tied together.
Thanks for the very neat update here, including the no dog allowed sign…

[Lon_Overacker]

David, Indeed, great idea! Thanks for starting and I hope more folks, new and old members will chime in with their stories!

Kudos to @Jim_Erhardt for creating and running NPN 1.0 and now for @David_Kingham to take on as owner of NPN 2.0. So many changes and upgrades over the years. It’s been fun to watch and be a part of. The common denominator of course is the people and the community of NPN.

My photography journey started well before NPN. My Dad’s Yashica 35mm rangefinder was my first “real” camera in the late 70’s. In the 80’s I went thru several brands of 35mm, including Pentax ME Super, several Canon EOS systems and eventually Nikon F4. I was heavily involved in the local camera club for a decade or more, holding all positions including President and eventually had a few stints judging at other clubs. I also taught photography composition thru our local Parks department. Then in the 90’s, the internet of things, Bulletin boards and online communications ramped up. I joined and was very active in the AOL Nature Forum… “You’ve got mail!” I built my own website from scratch in 1995 and purchased the domain, “CapturingTime.com”.

Attending my very first workshop and portfolio review in the beginning of the 90’s, An established nature photographer Ron Sanford advised: “if you want to complete in the world of pretty pictures, you’ll need to start shooting large format!” Thus my 4x5 journey began and continued for over 25 years until I went to the DSLR in 2015. I miss it still, but no turning back.

Fast forward to 2006. That’s when I joined NPN that November. Like Youssef and perhaps others, the archiving/search on NPN 1.0 doesn’t go back to my first post, but I found my first post found posted in early 2007, and it also was an Editor’s Pick. Interesting though, the title of the image was something like “Yosemite Series #4” - which is a clue that there was probably a #1, #2 and #3 before, but can’t find in the search. Anyway, I’m posting the 1st and 4th post from very early 2007. Note the gaudy gold frame that so many didn’t like too much. Don’t blame them…

Yosemtie Series #1 2007

Yosemite Series #4 2007 EP

(Classic Velvia shortcommings, blocked up shadows and minimal processing abilities from scanned film at the time… )

I came to NPN for a number of reasons. Of course I wanted to improve my photography, especially during the early days of processing scanned film with large prints as the desired outcome. But also and more importantly, I wanted to be a part of a community of “like minded” nature photographers where I could learn and grow, but also be inspired by others and to share my work. To be honest, I was pretty comfortable with my abilities in seeing, composing and capturing images before NPN, but certainly if one is not growing and learning, you’re actually either stagnant or moving backwards. NPN and it’s many, many talented members have helped and inspire me to always do better (better in terms of seeing, processing and more recently learning to express more than just a pretty picture.

While I still enjoy the most out of creating intimate nature portraits, condensed from the larger view, the last few years I have come to really enjoy intential camera movement, or ICM and other in-camera techniques for creating unique and abstract work. Below is a most recent example - yet to be posted here, until now!

2025 NPN 2.0

I retired almost a year ago after 42yrs in IT. Oddly, instead of more nature/photo opportunities, my photography actually waned last year. Health and family events put a damper on my mood and motivation last year, including dropping off NPN for most of last year. But I’m gonna do my dangdest to get back the mojo I once had. I don’t know of a better place than NPN to help make that happen!

Thanks again, Jim, David, the entire NPN staff and of course all the members!

Lon