My STEP Signature Project was a week-long trip to Oregon, focusing on photography. We traveled throughout the beautiful state, stopping at national parks and waterfalls, and driving up the Pacific coast. During this adventure, my photography and editing skills were put to the test and improved astronomically.

This trip marked my first visit to the west coast and to say the least, my expectations were exceeded. While traveling throughout Oregon, I found a new appreciation for the nature around me. While I was not without this appreciation before, it now has greatly increased and makes me rethink how I used to view living in rural Pennsylvania. I took for granted waking up every morning and being able to take a hike through the woods behind my house. Now, after living in Columbus for the past three years, I no longer have that advantage. Traveling to Oregon has shown me that nature truly is wonderful and should be appreciated everywhere, and not just in the National Parks.

As the world continues to expand, I believe the appreciation of nature needs to stay rooted in our future. Sometimes this can get lost with many conflicting ideas and views, but it is a necessity. Connecting with nature is a value that some seem to forget about, but I believe is vital for a healthy life. Visiting Oregon allowed me to revisit these values and allowed me to fully appreciate the vast nature world has to offer. I can only hope that I can make more of these opportunities in the future.

I also have a new-found appreciation for my professional camera. Recently, I have caught myself only using my iPhone camera, but with the new skills I have obtained during this trip, I realized that my Nikon Camera can do much more. Switching to manual mode and working with the different settings like f stop, exposure, and shutter speed can give me a more creative photo that cannot be obtained from a simple phone camera.

Previous trips where I solely used my phone cannot be compared to the ones from Oregon, they are on two different levels. Although, I cannot exclusively take credit for my work. The professional photographer that helped lead this trip was a great teacher throughout the entire process. Without his help, the final photos would have looked drastically different. Learning how to use different softwares, like Adobe Lightroom, to help transform a raw photo into my final creative idea was a great learning experience. While working in a group throughout the trip, it was interesting to see how two individuals could have a similar raw photo, but seeing how they changed it through editing allowed them to show their own unique perspective.

I hope to continue traveling and taking photos as I continue my academic and professional career. As a rising senior, I am currently applying to veterinary school. This path has been inspiring and challenging at the same time. With much hard work and dedication, I hope my dreams can be achieved. Throughout this process, having hobbies helps me enjoy life and I now can add photography to this list. Whether I have time to travel to another gorgeous state or look to find the hidden gems in my hometown, I know I will continue to work on my photography skills and grow as a person.