It is the question I get asked most often -How long have you been doing photography? Followed by the next question - do you have a studio (I can finally say yes to that question).
Photography started for me at a really early age. I was handed a Canon when I was in the Fourth Grade. I had attended a christening with my parents (they had been chosen as God Parents), so they couldn't photograph the event. By elimination, I was chosen as the photographer. I was given a two minute lesson. Focus like this, take the picture like that, then wind the camera. Whether he told me later to make me feel good, or whether he told me the truth - I still don't know. But later he told me the pictures were amazing. That I had captured the exact moment the water was streaming off of his daughter's head. Imagine being nine or ten - I was so proud of myself. And I think it gave me just enough confidence to want to pursue it later.
I was classically trained in high school using my father's vintage Canon SLR (Circa 1970 something), black and white film, and dark room development. This gave me the fundamentals of photography. What I learned then, gave me the foundation for what I do today. I loved it so much, I begged for an enlarger and darkroom my senior year - and I got it. My darkroom was the closet under the stairs. It was tiny, and my processing trays were on the floor. I thought it was soooo cool. I processed my first pictures and my teacher said - "Your dark room is DUSTY". And it was and you could see it in my pictures.
Fast forward six years, and my nephew is born. I take out that same 1970's Canon camera and photograph my nephew's newborn pictures. My love affair with photography reached a whole new level. I bought a new camera with my student loan money for college (I'll be paying it off for the next 20 years). And I took ROLLS and ROLLS of film. The people at the drugstore knew me by name. Other family members had children and I played the role of official photographer - and I loved it.
In 1998, I decided to do some EBAY shopping for a medium format camera. Back in the old days (ha ha), before digital, professional photographers used this kind of camera. A good Medium Format at the time cost $5,000. I couldn't afford that and decided to go vintage again. And I bought the camera shown in the picture above for $400. This was the dream - I was going to make it BIG with this camera. The moment I got the winning bid, was the moment the dream began. Funny thing about that camera is that I have always said that the camera was older than me, probably an antique. Researching it today... it is very possible that the camera was made the year I was born or very close to it. Well I am certainly not antique and definitely not vintage.
And what started off as my family's photographer transitioned over to friends, and then to friends of friends, and well the rest is history. I've thought many times about selling that camera. But it's a symbol, it's a dream realized and it's mine.
Thanks for reading!
