By Ana Karen Perez-Guzman
aperez-guzman@maplevalleyreporter.com
Justin Brownlee’s photo of a starry night over Mount Rainier won The U.S. National Weather Service, Seattle’s July photo contest.
And he’s only been taking photos for a year, with no professional training.
The 32-year-old Brownlee moved to the Kent-Covington area three years ago from South Carolina and began exploring the outdoors as much as possible. After seeing all of the amazing sights Washington had to offer, he started taking pictures of his adventures to share.
From waterfalls to hiking trails, he captured as much of the great outdoors as possible, accumulating more than 50,000 pictures in one year with the camera.
“I wanted people to see what I have been able to experience,” Brownlee said. When Brownlee entered his photo as part of the July contest, he was more than excited to be chosen as its winner.
According to The U.S. National Weather Service, Seattle’s Facebook page, Brownlee was able to capture considerable starlight and an atmospheric phenomena known as air glow. The faint green bands in the winning photo show the air glow, which is only visible under very dark, clear skies.
Brownlee is a self-taught photographer. He simply Googled any questions he had or watched YouTube videos.
Taking photos is Brownlee’s escape from his hectic job as a bartender at Duke’s Chowder House in Kent.
Brownlee is constantly getting compliments for his work.
“I just get a great feeling when someone can see the things I have seen, and they enjoy the photos,” Brownlee said.
“I like to make people happy and pay it forward, and I can do that by simply sharing my photos,” he said.
The photos he decides to share are meticulously chosen. Brownlee is continuing to learn and explore the photography world and isn’t going to stop anytime soon.
His dream job would be to travel around the world and take photos.
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