I was "sort of" a photographer, several decades ago. I worked for an outfit in Austin, Tx, called "Jack's Party Pictures," and I was one of the few workers that Jack let work with color. He said I had a "natural eye" for the kind of composition that he needed when selling the more expensive color photos. I got pretty good at that particular niche. I also got my own camera, and got pretty good at darkroom work with my own stuff (mostly black & white back then).

But that was long ago. Since then, I've been both a professional violinist, and a software engineer (the latter pays better). But I've recently been "bitten" by the photo-bug, and I've decided to get back in.

I had an observation earlier today -- photography is a lot like playing the violin (I teach violin lessons part-time, so I have lots of observations pertaining to violin students). One similarity is that after a relatively brief period of study, you can play a violin better than about 99% of the general population. I was playing professionally with the El Paso Symphony back when I was a senior in high school, after five years of study. I won the El Paso Music Teachers' Competition that year, and went on to become the Concertmaster of the Baylor Summer Symphony -- so I could legitimately claim to be in the top dozen or so teenage violinists in the state of Texas at the time.

Yet there is more difference between my playing and that of, say, Joshua Bell, than there is between that of any of my students and my playing. The vast majority of the population could not tell the difference between me and Bell, but I sure can, and so could any violinist with more than a few years of study. Bell is one of the greatest, and I am decidedly mediocre, even though I'm actually good enough to make a living at it, and I've done well playing various gigs (weddings are my favorite -- I enjoy the pervasive atmosphere of unrealistic optimism at a wedding).

Likewise: photography. With a couple of years of serious study and practice, it is possible to actually make a living in photography. But it takes a lot more study and practice to become a great photographer, and while most of the general population can't really tell the different, I can, and so can anybody who has made a serious study of photography.

Another similarity between music and photography: Making money at it is more a function of marketing than it is talent and skill, even though talent and skill *are* required.

I'm currently at the stage where I take a photo, and then realize what I did wrong. I'm working on recognizing my errors *before* I press the shutter release... At that point, I should be in the top 1% of the general population.

It's a good thing digital film is cheap :)

Oh, I don't have any fancy digital cameras, but I do have a Chinon SLR 35mm film camera for which I paid more than $400 a decade ago. I do have several point-&-shoot digital cameras, including a Fuji FinePix that cost me about $100 two years ago. I'm currently looking for an entry-level DSLR that I can actually afford.