Paolo and Mark, January 31, 2015

ABOUT THIS PHOTO:

Taken with Canon 7D

50mm f/1.8 1/500 ISO 2000

When we first started the pilot program for what became the Multimedia Department at Canon ITS, I took it upon myself to learn photography. I was initially tapped for being an audio guy, but if this department was going to take off, it seemed that I should level up on skills. I decided the best way to do that was to grab a camera and just start documenting what we were doing. Mark (foreground) was our supervisor, and Paolo (background) was a professional photographer and videographer. I credit these two for everything I’ve learned since 2015. I wouldn’t be doing this if I had never met them.

One quality these two possess that I don’t is their ability to remain calm. I find it admirable, and I work on this every day. I’m far from a perfect record, but I’m better at it today than I was when this picture was taken. A notable set of bookmarks to my time in this department is that Paolo had to tell me to calm down only twice: Once at the beginning of 2015 and once at the end of 2020. In retrospect, it was a fitting beginning and end to this role.