What began as a dream in childhood slowly blossomed into something far greater. Whenever I encountered a beautiful bird, I longed to capture its grace; a natural landscape, its quiet elegance; an old car, its timeless allure.
Now, I find myself deeply exhilarated by the winding adventure that life has yet to unfold.
Hello, I’m Cody Baker.
A Canadian photographer with a broad focus on wildlife, landscapes, animals, and anything else that happens to capture my attention.
My journey into photography began when I received my first digital camera as a gift: an old Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC50. It kept me occupied throughout high school and sparked my early interest in capturing the world around me.
A few years later, my family gifted me another camera for a school trip to England, Ireland, and Wales: an old Nikon Coolpix L100. With its longer zoom and more professional appearance, I felt like a kid in a candy store. However, while the views overseas were breathtaking, my photos did not do them justice. That experience motivated me to keep learning, improving, and developing my skills as a photographer.
Around 2015, I purchased my first DSLR: a Nikon D5200 with two simple starter lenses, an AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm and an AF-S NIKKOR 55-200mm, all of which I still have to this day. I remember being ecstatic about how close I could get to flowers, and the zoom was especially impressive when photographing little chickadees in the trees. At the time, however, I still did not fully understand the concept of shutter speed, those poor blurry birds. I was also disappointed that I could not capture the moon the way I had hoped. This led me to put photography on the back burner off and on throughout the rest of the years.
Around 2022, I came across a YouTuber who shared wildlife photography tips: Simon d’Entremont. His content reignited my passion for the craft and inspired me to take photography more seriously. I began learning what the camera settings actually meant and, for the first time, started to truly enjoy the process. That was when I realized I genuinely wanted to pursue photography. I saved money on the side, and by early 2025, on February 6, I purchased my first professional camera setup: a mirrorless Nikon Z8, paired with a Viltrox 20mm f/2.8 lens and a Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 lens.
Along with the new camera setup, I also enrolled in his Wildlife Photography Essentials online course, and I have not looked back since. I continue to move forward on this adventure, following the unknown paths life occasionally sets before me as unexpected detours.
