Today we’d like to introduce you to Austin Daugherty.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Well, my passion for photography started at an early age when at summer camp I took a photography class. I can’t remember a time after that I didn’t own at least some kind of camera. After high school, I sort of forgot about my cameras and left them behind to peruse other ventures but they didn’t work out ended up dropping out of college three times. The second time was from film school which is where I learned most of the camera techniques and how to get familiar with iso, shutter speed, and aperture. Ended up wandering for a while through life and got a 9-5 job working in a construction office. About three years later I would pick up my camera again and just get blasted with nostalgia and creative energy from taking a few photos. Making me sort of come to an awakening and realize I have hope and dreams that I’m not stuck in an office for 50 years. So I started Mt. Orion Photography where we aim to reach for the stars and climb the highest mountains to achieve making my dreams a reality.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Struggles along the way have definitely been being too much of an anxiety-ridden perfectionist. I am always scrolling through social media and sometimes I have to put it down cause I start actually panicking. Just cause I see photos people post and I instantly compare my work to theirs telling myself I’m not able to get that good or shoot that scene or be able to achieve winning prizes for my work. I am always having to remind myself that you are just starting out still a beginner in the photo game you still don’t know everything, you don’t need to be the best right now but aim to do your best in everything you do and you will keep achieving.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The work I have been most proud of this far has been my nature and animal shots it really is my passion. I have always been connected with nature and animals as long as I can remember. They just come up to me like I am a pet whisperer. As for my nature photography I live in the country suburbs of Georgia and I see squirrels, flowers, sunsets, full moons, stars and much more it’s so free and open that if you just nature do its work you can achieve the shots you’ve only seen in movies.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Man that’s a hard question. If we are looking deep then at the core what makes me happy is hope. Hope is what makes all of us happy it’s what gives life to all of us and everyone. We hope every day. Hope of a having a better day than yesterday. Hope of being me and only me every day. Hope to become a better person. Hope that dreams can become reality. Without hope, you cannot have true happiness.
Contact Info:
- Website: Mtorionphoto.com
- Instagram: Mtorionphoto
