What first inspired you to begin making photographs, and how did it affect your life?
Feb 3, 2018 08:49:41 #
Great stories love how they (impact) the readers own memories. Lol.
My journey started with my fathers love of art and photography of capturing the family vacations. Then just before one of our trips to Yellowstone in the early 1970s traveling in an old Chevy ii from the late 60s . I was given my mothers old brownie camera. I was in heaven. I remember that year and the cool pictures I got. The very first photo I took was of a black bear sitting on the side of the road. I walked right up to him within 6 to 8 feet and took his/her picture. The the second pics were of monster bull elk lying in a mountain meadow. They also let me get within feet of them.
This is what got me hooked .
My journey started with my fathers love of art and photography of capturing the family vacations. Then just before one of our trips to Yellowstone in the early 1970s traveling in an old Chevy ii from the late 60s . I was given my mothers old brownie camera. I was in heaven. I remember that year and the cool pictures I got. The very first photo I took was of a black bear sitting on the side of the road. I walked right up to him within 6 to 8 feet and took his/her picture. The the second pics were of monster bull elk lying in a mountain meadow. They also let me get within feet of them.
This is what got me hooked .
Feb 3, 2018 08:51:44 #
I've always loved photography. But it didn't come natural to me. But, I'm a total research nerd. They say If you study any subject 10,000 hours you'd be considered an expert. I'm probably close to that many hours. However, I really needed to get out and shoot more and learn composition, lighting, timing. Now, I'm finally getting composition down, still I'll never stop learning. I have several hobbies: Playing my guitar, tennis, Pickleball, hiking... But none give me the thrill like capturing a photograph of a landscape, or a moment with my Grandchildren that when I look at it, takes me right back to that moment in time. I can feel the sun, or remember my Grandchild's laugh right before I snapped the photo. For me, there is nothing like it.
Feb 3, 2018 09:04:21 #
My first experience with photography was when I was about 8 years old watching my father develop prints in the make-shift dark room in our kitchen. I was messmerized by the experience and hooked ever since.
Feb 3, 2018 09:13:28 #
In early 1968 I reported to my first duty station in the US Army. As luck would have it my bunk was next to several military photographers. One evening they had to work late in the dark room and they asked if I wanted to help. After seeing the first picture magically appear in the developer tray, I was hooked. A few weeks later after buying a used Yashica rangefinder camera I was invited to "help" photograph the Ice Capades (beautiful girls ice skating). I was really hooked! Later in Vietnam one of my duties was company photographer that had its moments. Take care & ...
Feb 3, 2018 09:28:52 #
Post card photo of a chipmunk close-up. I tried so hard to get the same shot with my instamatic 124, but the chipmunk still looked so far away. I was only 7 and had a lot to learn about photography!
Feb 3, 2018 09:42:20 #
gvarner
Loc: Central Oregon Coast
My folks had family albums and took pictures. My first camera for Christmas was a Kodak Brownie. Then my dad gave me his Argus C3. I didn't like dealing with parallax so a got my first SLR, a Mamiya, in 1969. It's been a joyful ride ever since then.
Feb 3, 2018 10:26:00 #
I used to hunt, but when I was 19, I was shot at twice in one day by hunters shooting at sounds, rather than at a specific target. I now hunt only with a camera - and never during hunting season on public land!
Feb 3, 2018 11:45:22 #
I've been taking pictures since my parents gave me a Brownie when I was six or seven. But I'd hardly call what I did then a photograph.
There were three events that changed it for me, all of which happened in a short period of time when I was fifteen:
1) My family took a vacation which included Yosemite. I wandered into Ansel Adam's studio and was blown away. Before then, I had no idea what a photograph could be.
2) My cousin gave me a darkroom kit. His parents had given it to him and he'd never used it. Suddenly I could make photos of my own. (Not really, but I thought I could.)
3) My father, seeing my new interest in photography, gave me his old 828 camera. I now had a camera with some control over exposure.
It's been a lot of years since then, but I've never looked back.
There were three events that changed it for me, all of which happened in a short period of time when I was fifteen:
1) My family took a vacation which included Yosemite. I wandered into Ansel Adam's studio and was blown away. Before then, I had no idea what a photograph could be.
2) My cousin gave me a darkroom kit. His parents had given it to him and he'd never used it. Suddenly I could make photos of my own. (Not really, but I thought I could.)
3) My father, seeing my new interest in photography, gave me his old 828 camera. I now had a camera with some control over exposure.
It's been a lot of years since then, but I've never looked back.
Feb 3, 2018 11:53:56 #
cameraf4 wrote:
Started out with scenic/landscape/travel photography as a way to thank-and-worship the creator. He does pretty good work.
Amen to that! God's handiwork is a never-ending cornucopia of photographic opportunities and infinitely diverse subjects. We get to capture a fleeting moment in time of His infinite majesty and preserve it forever. Kinda cool, eh?
Feb 3, 2018 11:59:18 #
My father was quite a photographer. We have some pictures he took over 100 years ago, particularly hiking in the Cascades (Washington state). Also quite a series of family history. I particularly prize photos, taken on his "Postcard" Kodak, of our 4 young children. I guess I inherited the photo gene. I particularly gravitated toward landscape/travel pics. Some of us are just very visually oriented.
Feb 3, 2018 12:04:25 #
And about the thing. I am a clergy-person, still preaching in my mid-80s. One photo I have used taken at sunset on Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, has expressed a significant thought: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5) That photo has communicated to me and to many congregations more than mere words could communicate.
Feb 3, 2018 12:19:28 #
Rongnongno wrote:
And so are criminals then.
Sorry, I do not buy this argument.
Sorry, I do not buy this argument.
The age-old question of "nature-nurture" has yet to be answered conclusively. Anecdotally, in my family, as in many, there is a history of relatives who show artistic leanings. Several of my relatives created drawings, carved, and sculpted. My Father was interested in photography and acting. My Mother took a couple of art courses at the University of British Columbia, and was invited to travel to Japan to study sculpture. Family commitments prevented that, but she did continue to paint watercolours until her death. Of the five children, only my younger sister and I showed any interest in art. Certainly not conclusive proof of inherited traits amongst families. Is it genes, environment, or confirmation-bias? For me, it is nice to think that I "inherited" something more than physical items from my Parents. Perhaps we will have the answer one day, and this long debated argument will be settled.
Feb 3, 2018 12:19:47 #
petercbrandt
Loc: New York City, Manhattan
I also started with my father's camera just like your pull-out camera. In 1957 bought my first camera in Times Square NYC, at age 10 (still have my miniature HIT camera). That became my career in Fashion and advertising, retired in 2008, but still shooting for my own interests now in Architectural Art. **see www.peterbrandt.com
Feb 3, 2018 12:21:47 #
Leitz wrote:
Oh, great! Just what we need, another Chris T wannabe!
Ummm...Who is Chris T? I assume this is an insult, and hardly appropriate on a forum dedicated to the art and technology of photography.
Chris M
Feb 3, 2018 12:38:42 #
My Uncle George inspired me. He had a darkroom at their house, where he and my cousin Kay developed film. Lucky Girl ended up with all of his equipment.
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