Amateur wildlife photographer

I got my first DSLR in 2017 at the onset of a roadtrip around the US and Canada.  Throughout the roadtrip I read Nikon D5600 for Dummies to learn how the blasted thing worked.  My photos improved remarkedly in those two months.  

But then I started graduate school in Atlanta.  And this newfound hobby fell by the wayside.  Even though I lived less than one block away, I didn't take advantage of the incredible birding in Piedmont Park.  I used the camera casually to photograph my dog on occasion.  But then Covid came and there wasn't much motivation to photograph when stuck inside my home for two years frantically trying to finish my dissertation.

Upon graduation, I took at position at NREL in Golden, CO on the foothills of the Rockies.  Living closer to nature and having the stress of graduate school lifted, I was able to see how the dramatically changing seasons brought new species - animals, plants, insects - right to my backyard.  I revisited my old hobby and picked up my DSLR to once again capture the nature around me.