Being one of two staff photographers at my day job has re-kindled my love of photography. 

No, I haven’t always been interested in photography. I was in my twenties before I picked up a Kodak Instamatic. Taking pictures with that was pretty basic and not very satisfying. After exploring the craft and reading a few photo mags, I quickly moved up to a Pentax Spotmatic and a Seagull Twin Lens Reflex. I loved that Pentax for a couple of years, until my ex dropped it in the salt chuck one day. Photography was never the same.

About the time my camera went swimming, manufacturers were introducing electronic aperture and shutter controls. I tried a Konica and then an Olympus, but to me, they never really lived up to the hype. The Olympus, for instance, ran through batteries faster than I could charge them. I found out (much later) that there was a fault in the circuit board. Of course by that time I’d given up, because you couldn’t find a new camera without all the electronics. Oh my, how things have changed 😉

In the 90’s, I tried a Kodac digital and then a Nikon Coolpix 990. They were fun for a short while, but the resolution was lacking and I needed more control. The cost of a prosumer DSLR was too much for me, and I found film boring, so that was about it for another 10 years.

In 2006, I started working with the local Board of Trade. The gig was supposed to be a few hours a week on contract, but soon grew to a full time affair. Part of the job was to take photographs at over 80 events a year with a little Fuji S-something. Out of frustration a few months later, I bought a spanking new Nikon D80 and a bunch of gear. That led to a D300 and now a D700 and lots more gear (sigh).

So that’s my story. I’m currently focused on event and nature photos, and I’m learning more about vision and light.

What’s your story?