Last Christmas, junior Noah Thomas sat on the ground by his Christmas tree anxious to open his presents. Among them was a Nikon D3300, a camera worth around $500. Even though he had mentioned to his parents that he wanted a camera, he didn’t expect to have gotten such a nice camera. That day is where his love for photography started.  

“I’ve been more open to seeing beauty in different things,” Thomas said. “Before getting into photography, I would (see) an object and see the negatives, but now I can see something and think, ‘Wow, that can be beautiful.’”

Since Thomas’ engaged interest in photography started, he has taken many pictures of landscape and the outdoors to grow as a photographer.

Thomas says that photography comes naturally to him, but the technological aspects, like editing photos and the settings on the computer are difficult.

The finished product is Thomas’ favorite part of photography.

“The end result could be something beautiful, and you get to chose the angle and chose how you edit the picture to make it even more beautiful,” Thomas said. “You get to express yourself through how you alter the picture or not alter the picture.”

Thomas’ friend, junior Madelyn Knight, had a really big impact on his passion for photography. She started helping Thomas learn how to take pictures and learn about the art of photography. Thomas’ parents have also been a huge help in this entire experience.

Thomas’ mom, Amy Thomas, says that one of the main reasons they bought him a camera for Christmas was because she wanted him to be able to use his creativity in that way.

“He just really has an eye for beauty,” she said.

Thomas says that he really enjoys taking environmental and outdoor photos and that that is something else that inspired him to start taking pictures.

He says some of his favorite places to take pictures are Craig Park for portrait pictures and the woods behind his house for landscape pictures. He also says that he would love to travel to Redwood National and State Parks to shoot some pictures.

Thomas says that he likes when his photos are “opposite.” For example, in one of his favorite pictures, a picture of wildflowers, he interpreted it in more of a dark way with dark filters. In another of his favorites, a picture of a sunset, he used the silhouette of the flower to make the picture more elegant.

“The way I interpret (photos) are different,” Thomas said.