My journey as a photographer started in my early teens. Like many aspiring photographers out west, I had a poster of Ansel Adam's Monolith in my boyhood room. But when I took a high school trip back to the East Coast, I realized that cameras could do more than capture images of family and friends. I can remember using my parent's Nikon FE SLR during that trip to take pictures of scenes in some artistic way. Soon after that trip, I became a photographer for my high school yearbook and had access to the school's darkroom to dodge and burn images I took (yes, that will date me right there!).

Later, while working for the Civil War Trust, I had the opportunity to photograph the historic and often-beautiful landscapes associated with that conflict. Over time some of my photos began to interest others, and I was always pleased by every request to use my photos in websites, books, magazines, calendars, or as framed pieces. As digital cameras and lenses became ever better and digital editing tools became ever more powerful, my interest in venturing to places near and far to capture landscapes and historic places snowballed. Today I seek to improve my photography with every click of the shutter. Photography is inherently a creative medium that rewards experimentation; there is always some new technique or location to explore. I've been fortunate that I've been able to travel to many beautiful places here in the United States and abroad.

So is it about photography that makes it so enjoyable to me? In an era where everyone is a photographer, why does standing out in the dark waiting for the sun to rise with camera in hand still seem so exciting? For me, photography includes a combination of forces that are so appealing. I love the technical aspects of photography - especially in this digital era where you can harness ever-more capable cameras and lenses with the growing capabilities of your phone or computer. I love the documentary aspects of photography. For its through my photos that I have a running history of the places I've visited across the globe. I love that landscape photography forces you to be outside as the sun rises or sets, attuned to weather, season, and time of day. The best landscape photographers love the outdoors and could pass for good meteorologists and explorers. Lastly, and most importantly, I love photography for its true artistic qualities. We may be standing at the same place and at the same time, but how you capture that scene will be different from how I photograph it. The artistic photographer always seeks to capture familiar and unfamiliar subjects in unique ways that express their point of view and particular circumstances. I love that. Your photo and my photo will be different - as they should be.

There's still much more to learn, techniques to master, and light to capture in beautiful places near and far.

I have had the opportunity to live in many parts of the United States and currently call the Lowcountry of South Carolina home.

• Rob Shenk, Mount Pleasant, SC