Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Wagner.
Hi Tom, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Ever since I picked up my first serious camera in 2016, I have been hooked on photography! I soaked up everything I could to learn camera settings, composition, and post-processing techniques. Since then I have traveled the world capturing God’s beauty in landscapes, city scapes, and the night sky. I consider myself a student of photography, so I’m constantly learning and trying new techniques to improve my craft.
I started my photography journey while living in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from another avid photographer. Living in such a unique country provided lots of photographic opportunities and chances to travel throughout the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. Ever since then, photography and creating images that capture the emotion of locations has been my passion.
As an active duty Air Force pilot for 19 years, I’ve been blessed to travel the globe. I take my camera with me and get out as much as I can photographing the world.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I wouldn’t say it’s been a smooth road, there’s been challenges along the way. Being patient with myself overcoming personal limitations in my skills as I’ve learned and developed my craft has been challenging for me. Balancing family time, work requirements, and opportunities to photograph locations has also been a challenge and one that I’m still working on mastering. Because photography is such a passion for me, these challenges are worth it to spend time outside photographing beautiful locations.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a landscape/cityscape/astro photographer capturing photographs from around the world. Because of my unique career, I’ve been blessed to visit many different countries and photograph all around the world.
Photography is an art, and my photos are artful expressions of the scenes that make my heart stop. My goal is to convey the feeling of awe I experienced on location through my photos.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
For finding a mentor, I try to find someone I want to emulate. It’s not all about the industry someone works in, but more the type of person they are and how they approach their craft. My mentors are first and foremost outstanding people with exceptional character. They are passionate about their area of expertise and seek to make those around them better. That’s the approach I try to take with my photography and I try to learn from my mentors to become a better person and better artist.
As for networking, I keep an open mind and realize everyone is unique and special in their own way. Networking is all about making connections and it starts with valuing each and every person for their unique strengths.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tomwagnerphotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomwagnerphotography/
Image Credits
All photos taken by Tom Wagner.
