It's about time I learn how to take a picture!

[Grandpaw]

I started out purchasing my first camera by sending in a cereal box top and 88 cents to buy a Diana camera. Latter I purchased a Instamatic and really took some pictures, flashcubes and all. I did buy the flash cub extender to help with red eye reduction. Later my dad bought me a Yashica 35mm range finder camera and I started taking more pictures. At eighteen I decided to purchase my first good camera and my dad and I went to the local camera store and talked with the owner to help me choose. I told him that I liked to take pictures and that I wanted to buy a camera that would last a long time and that I would not grow tired of in six months or a year. He turned around and pulled a Nikon F body down followed by a 50mm F2 lens and a FTN meeter to go on top. He said that I should be happy with this setup for quite some time. Thirty seven years later I am still taking pictures with it and have added another Nikon F with the FTN meter and assorted lens and recently bought a 8 meg digital to try out. I retired 3 1/2 years ago and have decided to take some photography classes at the local Jr college so I can learn how to take pictures properly.

I read the posts here on the forum and look at the pictures you folks post and think to myself of all the potential that has been wasted with the camera equipment I have owned all these years. I hope to learn enough in the next few years to be able to say I take photographs instead of snapshots. Hopefully it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks, only time will tell, Jeff