Since the first photograph was captured, photography has infinitely expanded from black and white to color, still to video, and film to digital. It has become an art form of its own and an easier way to preserve moments in time.

The word photography is derived from the Greek words photo meaning light and graphein meaning to draw. The first photograph was captured in 1827. Since the first photograph was captured, photography has infinitely expanded from black and white to color, still to video, and film to digital. It has become an art form of its own and an easier way to preserve moments in time. It has been used to document historic events like the storming of Normandy or to capture fun family moments.

Senior Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) Leonard Starr assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) enjoys photography and follows this passion during his free-time after work.

"I have been shooting photography since 2008," said Starr. "That's when I bought my first camera. My passion for it started when I was little. My grandfather passed a camera down to me, but because I was young and trying to figure everything out, I broke it and couldn't afford a new one."

Camera equipment can range from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand depending on what kind of camera the person wants, the types of lenses and the quality of the glass as well as light filters, flashes and studio set up.

"It's always been a passion of mine," said Starr. "But being able to afford it has always been a drawback for me. I had a point-and-shoot and in two years I had probably put 3,000 images on it just of my family. It's just always been my passion and preserving those memories is key to me. It wasn't until 2008 that I was able to afford a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) and actually learn that side of photography."

The aviation boatswain's mate community had their annual symposium in Norfolk this year. Two chiefs from George Washington reached out to Starr requesting him to shoot the event.

"I have worked with Senior Chief Starr since July of last year," said Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) Jorenged Font. "He did a lot of the photography during the chief season last year. So when the ABMA symposium came around this year, we thought it would be nice to have an aviation boatswain's mate there to take pictures for the aviation boatswain's mate community."

Font found out about Starr's passion for photography through conversations in the chiefs mess.

"It's one of those things we do as chiefs," said Font. "We get to know each other as people. He would show me photos that he took on the weekends and he was always going to take pictures. He is awesome. Recently, he shared some photos of his son who is quickly growing up. He is just very passionate about what he does."

Capturing moments is more than just hitting the button on a camera in the DSLR world. The settings come into play where the photograph has a choice of lenses and settings to capture a moment how they see it.

"I love being able to capture that image through the lens and make life-long memories," said Starr. "You can always see something and you know you've seen it, but no one else can see what you see. Photography is a way to capture something and be able to show people what you've seen and be able to look back on it years down the road."

Photographs can hold extreme value to people, whether it's looking back on a lost loved one or a photo of Marines and a Sailor raising the flag at Iwo Jima. They can hold value and emotional impact for years, even decades. Photography is a form of art that continues to grow and change and each person that holds a camera has the potential ability to capture the world the way they perceive it and then show someone else.

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