So when did you start photography?

What did it for me was a few shots I took from a digi cam I got as a gift from a friend in early 2004. I looked at those photos and thought, wow this is cool, no need for film development and the such. I could see the photo as soon as I plugged that card to the computer. It was amazing and I've been chasing that perfect shot ever since. Haven't gotten it yet. But I'm still looking.

This year (2006) I will atlast make an investment in a D70 (maybe a D50) and hopefully take my act to a different level. Though a better camera doesn't insure a better photo, I hope it does make an exception for me :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by coachgns

I'm surprised to see such little activity on this site, and no posts here since 12/12.

Very interesting thread. But boy do I feel old! You "youngsters" talking about being old geezers!
I began in photography when I was about 10, using an Argus C-3 (Which I still HAD until I moved post-divorce this year - now "missing"). Then at about 12 I had a little business going of processing film for friends & neighbors. That ended when I lost a roll of baby pictures from a neighbor. OOPS.
Then came HS & College & Marriage & Kids.
Then in late 90's I began cruising, and decided since I was seeing such wonderful places, I needed to photograph them. So got my first digital P & S & took some good snapshots. About a year ago I treated myself to my Nikon digital, and then, upon retiring this summer, took my first Photog class. Now I am ready to devote substantial time to photography.

---

LOL, I feel a lot older than I am. :( ...funny thing is, people see me and think I am a lot younger than I am :D
I'm glad to hear you able to spend more time with photography though, that a great thing :) It's good to have a hobby, but even better when it can be relaxing, get you out into the world, and keep you learning new things.

JS

Just before the birth of our first son (6 1/2) I dropped our very inexpensive P&S down the stairs. My wife suggested that I get a good camera. That was 2 SLR's, 1 digicam, and 2 DSLR's ago. .....My latest is the 5D and when I got it I told my wife "O.K now I have that good camea that you asked me to get". :p She didn't laugh :(

Mike

Hi everyone!
Well, I started when I was 15, I took a photography class for art. I was so excited to be there, but the class was really boring to me because it was a lot of theory and not enough hands-on activities (I learn better that way). But I did get my first camera then, it was only a little plastic one, but nonetheless it got me started. Later on, I bought myself a Pentax SLR and the rest is history!

I got my first film SLR in 2001. It was a Canon EOS Rebel G. It was a good little camera, and I thought I was hot stuff with it. At that time I knew next to nothing about the photographic world, and with my Tamron 70-300 and my EF 28-80 I believed that I had a pro set up. I started out shooting Fuji Superia film, the Ilford, and later switched to Fujicrome. Over the years I have had many cameras since then, including EOS Elan, Pentax ME Super, Pentax SF7, Minolta Maxxum 7, Minolta DiMage 7i, Canon Powershot A60, Canon EOS D30, and now my new camera that I just recieved today in the mail, Canon EOS D60.


Thats that.

Here is one of my orinal film images:

Shot with Pentax SF7, 50mm SMC f2.8
http://www.freewebs.com/digitaljc/thedamnedsmall.jpg

Ok,,I'm one of the old farts here..Started serious photography while in school around 1972 with a Mamiya SLR..I was into surfing big time and would shoot images of friends surfing and "girly" photography (fun when you are 17-18)..Left school in 1973 and started studying Materials Engineering at college but hated it,,lasted 3 months chucked it in and worked as a lab assistant for 4 years..I still had the passion for photography and applied for a position within the company as assistant in the company photographic department..Became a fully fledged photographer within 6 months and department head after 6 years..Left the company in 1987 to pursue freelance career and resume my studies..1990 was recruited by Fairfax Newspapers and still employed there..

hmm it all started when i took a year off after my first year of uni. I got a full time job and for the first time in my life had more money than i new what to do with. I had stuck with my part time job as well as i had planned to go back to uni and shortly before i made the decision to buy a camera they had moved me into the photo lab (to shut me up as i loved chatting to the customers) so i was learning to take and print pictures at the same time. I decided that i didn't know enough about my camera (incidentally the sales person under sold me i was prepared to by an eos3 at the time and they talked me into the 500n i have never been able to afford an eos3 since) so i enrolled in a photography course at the local community college. the guy that ran the course put me onto a real camera shop and i started to spend to much time and money there. I went back to uni and changed degrees from psychology to communications and started learning about video production and photography at uni. one of the staff at the camera shop had hinted that they were looking for someone so i prepared a cv and dropped it off when i went to get some film for a portfolio shoot i was doing for a friend. my friend was going to meet me and pay for the film (ilford sfx and fuji portra160) and the store owner was handed my cv. he read it before my friend arrived and invited me for an interview. I had a job i didn't know i wanted before my friend showed up. I kept working in the photo lab and now at the camera shop and balanced that with my studies at uni. I can honestly say i learnt more about photography working in that shop than i did at uni. The boss even offered to sell it to me a couple of times (if i had the money i would have taken him up on that offer) I no longer work there (retail just doesn't pay the bills) But i have never looked back. i know i could be a lot better photographer than i am but i also know that the years of knowledge i gained talking to people who have been taking photos all their lives and even comparing different ways of approaching the same subject have given me skills that i love and love to share. 8 years later i am still working in related fields, now working as a designer / image editor / video editor and still remembering daily the little gems i learnt at my local camera shop.

So when did i start photography?
Well i started photography not to long ago(6 months) when i recieved my very first serious photography camera(Nikon D70) for my 14th birthday(early present for a vacation) ever since then i have been shooting pictures continuously .There has yet to be a time where i dont find myself running back into the house to grab my camera before i go somewhere if i dont already have it!

Alex

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PhotoGirl

Hi everyone!
Well, I started when I was 15, I took a photography class for art. I was so excited to be there, but the class was really boring to me because it was a lot of theory and not enough hands-on activities (I learn better that way). But I did get my first camera then, it was only a little plastic one, but nonetheless it got me started. Later on, I bought myself a Pentax SLR and the rest is history!

---

Glad your here PhotoGirl, always good to have some younger people and get started early. Your lucky your school has a photo class, none of the schools here do, but that may change some :)

JS

Welcome to Skyma and @lex,

Skyman,
Sounds like you had an interesting time through the years with photography, wish I had gotten involved in the good ole days :)

@lex, another youngster, glad to see more of you coming around.I know what you mean though about not going anywhere without the camera, mine always travel even if I am just taking the dog or cat to the vet. Problem is they try and hide when they see the camera's move from their hiding place at home as they know I'm either taking their photo or headed out the door.

JS

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JSPhoto

Glad your here PhotoGirl, always good to have some younger people and get started early. Your lucky your school has a photo class, none of the schools here do, but that may change some :)

JS

---

Thanks JS. It's great fun to be here! It's great to have a little community to chat about photography, get advice and learn lots along the way.

Welcome, skyman and alex, both young and old. ;) :D :D

Love to see more of the youngsters become involved. I know well about not leaving home without the camera, JS. John calls it my American Express for the obvious reason that I don't leave home without it. :D :D

[QUOTE=srobb]Love to see more of the youngsters become involved. QUOTE]
I guess that is a matter of perspective. I may be new to you as the number of posts i have is pretty low. but that is mainly because i am often to busy to post but spend a fair amount of time trolling the site (so my post number is pretty low) and because since i majored in video that is where my expertise is so i spend a lot of time on the dv forumn. in terms of age again that is a matter of perspective as i am well and truly over a quarter of a century. as for youngsters becoming involved, the "kids" at my local camera club tend to be better photographers than many of the old hands as they are more proactive about there photography and not afraid to embrace less conventional subject matter and compositions. i find lots (definately not all!) older photographers tend to repeat good images that have worked for them in the past. for example you could probably fill a book with my images of sydney harbour (hey it is pretty and it is there) and whilst individually these images stand up fine, collectively there is little growth from the first slide i took of the harbour at night to the latest digital shots i have taken. I have only recently noticed this with my work, when comparing older and newer images and I now have plans to actively go out and fix it (if i could just find the time)

1971. Saigon, former "Republic of Vietnam" (South).
Cholon
Dong Xoai
Tay Ninh

FTA/FTW (and if you don't know what that means, you weren't there)

http://www.ironbamboo.com