MEET OUR MEMBER
Emily Wright
Greetings! My name is Emily Wright. I am an advanced amateur photographer, currently living in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. My background is in wildlife biology, specifically with birds of prey. Doing research on bald eagles, I would constantly bring my camera with me to document the eagles and their young. This led me to taking a few classes to help gain more knowledge on how to effectively use my “starter” DSLR, a Canon Rebel XSi. Having then moved to some of the most diverse wildlife areas in the United States, such as Marco Island, Florida, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, I spent more and more time on photography. Three years ago, I moved to Tucson, Arizona. Driving home after a hike, I passed a large group of photographers standing in a dirt field. All of them had large telephoto lenses. My curiosity took hold and I stopped to inquire what they were up to. They were all there waiting for the planes, participating in the Air Force Heritage Flight Training, to take off. I then spent the next three days in that same field, trying to use my bird experience on planes. That one random experience, then led to more and more photography opportunities with a variety of aircraft. During one such opportunity, I met a female pilot who encouraged me to get my pilot’s license. She set me up with an instructor and I started taking lessons. After my first lesson, I instantly wanted to make this a career. Within a few months, I quit my job, packed up my house and moved back to Florida to start year-round training to become a commercial pilot. I am currently working on my single engine commercial license. My hope is to be able to incorporate my photography in with my aviation career. My current cameras are a Canon 7D and a Canon 80D, with my primary lens for aviation being a Tamron 150 - 600mm. I always shoot in RAW to get the best quality out of an image. Most of my post processing is through Photoshop, but I just started learning how to use Lightroom and hope to gain more insight to start using Lightroom more. I have been published, with most of my work being wildlife. As what happens with most people with a large camera and lens, I attract a lot of attention. The attention almost always results in a wide variety of questions being asked. I enjoy taking the time to answer people’s questions, whether it be about my camera or the subject I am shooting. It is extremely rewarding to be able to meet and share my knowledge with others. When helping others pursue their photography interest, I always recommend starting small and to not rush to get the biggest and most expensive equipment there is. You will learn more and not be overwhelmed by having a “starter” camera.
While standing out in that same field in Tucson for one of the Heritage Flight Training events, I met several members of ISAP. It was encouraging to see that others had the same amount of passion and enthusiasm for aviation as I did. I want to belong to a group of like-minded individuals who help each other expand their knowledge and reach their goals. I am looking forward to participating in events and meeting more members in the future!