Hi there, I’m Dave Mazzaferro, a 38 year old married father of a very handsome and dapper little guy name Jonathan, as well as a very loud, very adorable 2 month old named Madeline.  I live with my beautiful wife Melissa (I call her Melina, after “Melina Wiiiins” in Mortal Kombat 2) in Northern Connecticut, not far from Bradley International Airport.  Oh, and I like to take photos in my spare time.  Which is increasingly sparse these days, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.  I’m a Systems Administrator for a Healthcare provider in the area.  Sounds boring, eh?  I’ve been interested in computers my whole life, so I actually do love working with them.

I remember in the late 90’s when digital cameras started to take off.  My first digital was a Christmas gift in 1999.  It was a Fujifilm 1.2 MP that cost about 150 bucks, ouch.  Digital has come a long way since then.  Back then I was your typical point and shooter, hoping that a few of my pictures came out decent.  It wasn’t until a few years later that I decided to really get into photography.  I started by purchasing another compact, but this time I got one that had full manual features.  This isn’t as easy to find as you may think.  Most consumer point and shoot cameras don’t have full manual.  I finally settled on a Kodak Z series.

That’s when my love for photography really started.  I realized that there was so much more than just auto.  There is an overwhelming amount of information on the internet too, so that was a huge help.  Within a few months, I moved up to a super zoom, and less than a year later was offered a used D3100.  I had waited a while to buy a DSLR, and the price was finally right!  I took thousands of pictures with the D3100, it was definitely a great camera, and still is.  If I wasn’t able to sell it on eBay for the same price I bought my D90 for, I’d probably still be using it.  The D90 was too tempting though.  I used the D90 for 2 years and took over 40K pictures with it….

I started with landscape and “still life” photography.  And by still life, I mean I photographer anything in my vicinity that I thought was interesting.  I started convincing family to pose for a few portraits, and haven’t looked back.  These days I’m loving using multiple speedlights to light just about anybody (and anything).

I’m using this blog to share some of my experiences photographing family, friends or whoever else I can convince to step in front of the camera.  I am not a pro, and have never been paid to photograph anybody or anything.  I’m also going to be doing reviews on gear as I get it.  I have a pretty small budget for gear, so I do a bunch of research before buying.  I’m hoping to give some good advice coming from and for amateurs.  Don’t hesitate to contact me from my uh Contact page, or email me directly at dave@davemazzDOTcom.  Enjoy!