My name is Jean-Yves Hudon, 42 years old. I am living in Petrolia, Ontario, Canada. Petrolia is close to Port Huron, MI, 30 minutes to the border. I was born in the province of Quebec, Canada; a French speaking region of Canada. I am a Chemical Engineer and a Project Management Professional in my day job.

I am basically self-taught; shooting for fun 20 years ago and really getting into it the last two years. I read every good book I can find, search the internet and learn from smugmugers!

I got the very first camera around 7 or 8 years old; a Kodak Instamatic 126 flash cube. The family photo albums are full of my first shots! I use this toy for many years until I was fortunate enough to go in Africa at age 22. Then I bought my first SLR with a 50mm and 70-210mm manual lens. I had a black out period until recently where I renewed with my passion. The flame never quit and my head is full of images more than ever. So, I am really still an infant and learning so much every day.

I have a Nikon D80 with three lenses; Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, Nikkor 18-135mm and Nikkor 70-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR. I recently bought a SB-600 flash. I would like to add a few other lenses in order of priority 18-50mm f/2.8, sigma 50-150 f/2.8 and a Tokina 12-24mm. The next body will wait a few years as lenses are more important in my opinion.

I am close to nature and I can feel when there is a special moment. Most of shots were taken around town or very close. I often go for a walk or a car ride and ask myself “what is it to discover today?” I am so young in my development as a photographer; I am still searching for my definitive signature! The last photographer standing contest on dgrin.com really pushed me out of this comfort zone for the last 7-8 months. I have been experimenting and trying so many things; some turned out pretty good others were learning opportunities!

It may sound funny but my most direct inspiration is coming from the Dailyphoto communities on Smugmug. Vandana and the CuriousCamel have been influential as I admire their pictures so much; their images fit my style very well. I also browsed the LPS winners’ galleries endless times and analyzed the images in order to learn. At a different level, Ansel Adams work is extraordinary as it taught me visualization; so critical even in the digital age.

I am hosting my pictures since January 2007. I love most the communities, the capability to leaves comments, and the customization possibilities. In fact, I just love everything else but these are my top three.

Smugmug helps me to display my work and gather feedback from people sharing the same passion. It also makes my images somewhat public thus enhance my commitment to improve. I find that the smugmug community members are producing outstanding images, often stunning and jaw dropping.

I am risking a cliché! Shoot with your heart, equipment and accessories are only tools. Take images every day and break your paradigms. Go ahead, show your images and be open to feedback and you will get better.