Behind the Lens

Most of the time I take the photos, and don’t as often appear in them.  In my Instagram stories (Travel, Upstate New York, and Disney Parks and Resorts) I have been sharing photos of me taken on photo outings over the years.  In this post I’ll share some of the highlights and the photos that resulted.

A friend took this photo of me at the Oklahoma Training Track in my hometown of Saratoga Springs, NY.  She let me borrow her amazing 300mm f/2.8 lens!  Here is a photo that resulted from that shoot:

Recently my friend Barb and I ventured up to Glens Falls, NY for a socially distanced photo outing.  Here’s a photo I took that day:

Here’s a photo of me taking photos of the Palais de Chaillot in Paris.  Here is one of those photos:

This photo was taken on a cold spring morning as I photographed Claude Monet’s home and gardens in Giverny, France.  Below is one of the photos I took:

This is my friend Barb and I at the New York State Capitol in Albany after a night time photo shoot at the nearby Corning Tower.  Here is one of the photos I took from the Corning Tower earlier that night:

Here I am “chimping” as they call it (looking at my shots) in Québec City on a cold winter day.  Here’s a shot I took that morning:

My friend Barb took this photo of me in Congress Park in Saratoga during a photo meet up.  Here’s a photo I took of myself that afternoon:

Here’s a photo of me flying over Saratoga and Warren Counties in upstate New York in a Cessna Skyhawk.  It was so much fun!  Here’s a photo I took that evening:

A few years earlier I had an amazing experience flying over Saratoga in a helicopter.  Here is one of the photos I took during that trip, of our city’s historic racetrack:

This humorous photo was taken last spring went I went to visit my friend Terry in Florida.  We were at Zoo Tampa and she needed me to hold onto her gear for a moment so I had my own two camera and bag plus hers, so it made for quite an amusing shot!  Here is one of the photos I took at the zoo that day:

Here I am on a beautiful morning at Arches National Park in Utah.  Here’s a photo I took that day with the telephoto lens I’m sporting in the photo (a little Photoshop magic to make it look miniature):

Here I am photographing London from a double decker bus.  Here is one of the photos I took that day:

My friend took this photo of me in John Boyd Thacher State Park near Albany.  Here is the photo I was taking:

Here I am photographing puffins in Elliston, Newfoundland.  Here is my favorite puffin photo from that outing:

When I’m visiting Disney Parks in Florida or California, I bring my camera on pretty much every ride, thrill rides included.  Do you see me on the Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the photo above?  I’m dead center, the only one brave (or stupid) enough to be operating a camera whilst plummeting multiple stories.  Here’s the photo I came away with:

Aah, Buzz Lighter’s Astro Blasters at Magic Kingdom.  There’s a game on this ride, but I’m usually too busy taking photos to earn any points.  Here’s one of my on-ride photos:

Here I am with camera in tow ready to go up in a hot air balloon near my hometown in upstate New York.  Here is a photo I took from the balloon:

Earlier this year (in those final weeks before Covid hit), I went out to take some snowy pics of downtown Saratoga.  Here is one of those shots:

Here’s a selfie of me at the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World.  At the end of the ride an illusion makes it appear as though ghosts are riding the ride with you.

Here I am heading into the Navajo Loop Trail at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.  Here’s one of the photos I took:

My friend Barb took this photo of my during a photo meet up on North Broadway in Saratoga.  below is one of the photos I took.

This is a photo of me on the Hidden Lake Trail in Glacier National Park in Montana, with telephoto lens and bear spray in tow.  Below is a photo I took of two mountain goats on the trail:

This is a photo of me at the Saratoga County Fair that my friend Barb took.  Below is a photo I took at the fair:

Up bright and early for a sunrise at Moraine Lake in Banff National Park in Alberta.  Here’s a shot from that vantage point:

Above I’m posing next to a 4000 year old tree in the Methuselah Grove in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in California.  Here’s a photo I took there:

In this photo I am taking a long exposure of Hope Falls in Hadley, NY.  Here’s how the photo came out:

Here I am at age 16 taking photos in the Louvre Museum in Paris.  My skills weren’t as refined then, but here is one of the photos I took:

To see more of my behind the lens photos, follow my travel photography, upstate New York photography, and Disney Parks photography on Instagram.

All photos in this post © Samantha Decker and may not be reused without permission.

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