You gotta start somewhere...

“Starting something new can be scary. Don’t fail before you even begin. Don’t be afraid to fail. Take a chance. Get started today and don’t worry about failing. Instead worry about the opportunities you’ll miss by not even trying.”

I first picked up a camera as a child. I believe that it was a black and white Polaroid instant camera. You can see one of my earliest photos from that camera below. It's of my grandparents at their house in Bixby, OK. From there I graduated to a Kodak Instamatic film which used cartridge-based film format called 110. In 1975, during my junior year at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas I decided to take my first photography class. My parents got me my first "real" camera (shown below) which was a Miranda 35mm film Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera with an interchangeable lens. This was all way before digital photography was common. All film and print processing was performed by hand in what was called a darkroom. My senior year I was lucky to chosen as one of the few staff photographers for the school newspaper and yearbook. During that time I took literally hundreds of photos.

This is one of my earliest photos of my paternal grandparents, Eva & Michael Sedlacek using a Polaroid instant camera. 

I packed up my camera and…

”You’ve found your passion. Now what? Will you turn it into a career, or do you want to simply pursue it as a hobby? The possibilities are nearly endless. But whatever you do, keep trying. Keep learning and don’t give up.” - Randy Sedlacek

After high school, I packed my camera up and headed to East Texas State University (now Texas A&M - Commerce) to study photography and computer science. I remember one of my photography instructors telling us that we were doing well to get one single good image out of a 36 exposure roll of film. "Shoot as much as you can afford" he stated. Back then film and photo chemicals were expensive, especially for a starving college student, so I rarely got any great images. I simply tried to make every shot count and moved on to other assignments. It was during college that I also got to experiment with medium and large format photography.

Pictured here is my first “real” camera, a Miranda 35mm Single Lens Reflex (SLR) with interchangeable lenses.

The journey continues…

“Where are you in your journey? Stop planning your trip and get out there. Don’t put it off any longer. Put one foot in front of the other and start your journey. Learn new skills and techniques as you go. Get out there and try something new.”

It took me nearly 45 years after my first photography class before I entered the field of professional photography. During my 45 year journey I discovered that I was a hopeful entrepreneur. I explored many business startups - many failures and some successes. My photography was still there as a hobby, but I never felt really good enough to become a professional photographer. At some point I decided to simply take the leap to really hone my skills and try to sell some prints online and eventually showcase my photographs in my own photo gallery.

My love of exploring has enabled me to capture some amazing images from around the globe. And I love sharing the beauty that I’ve seen with my own eyes with others. Now I find myself desiring to share my knowledge with other younger photographers who are in their own journey.

But who am I really...

”I’m a recovering sinner. Husband. Father. Grandfather. Son. Friend. I love to travel and have an intense desire to make a positive difference wherever I am or in whatever I do. My motto is simply ‘Do the right thing.'"

Besides photography, I am a fierce advocate for public education after serving twelve years as an elected school board trustee in a Texas school district. I also serve as the chairman of the executive elder board at Post Oak Fellowship in Sherman, Texas. I also have served as an elder at a previous church and led several short-term mission trips for families into the border communities of Juarez and Reynosa, Mexico. My wife, Kathy and I have been married since 1986 and have two daughters and five grandchildren.