Why photography?

Why did you get interested in photography? I wasn’t ever really interested in art in my youth. I really didn’t have any hobbies. I took art class in school because it was a requirment to graduate.

For me, I was given a camera as a gift by mother in my mid twenties. I can’t even remember why she decided to give me a camera, a Canon AE-1. (I still have that camera by the way). After getting the camera which I knew nothing about I began to learn a bit. I even got to the point of developing my own black and white film. I somewhere along the line I lost interest in photography until 2005 when I bought a Nikon D50. By this time I was 47 years old. I had a somewhat stressful job and needed something to get away and relax.

Once I got my shiny new digital SLR camera my whole view of photography changed. I studied everything I could find. I eventually even went to school and got a photography education.

For me, photography is a bit about expressing my view of the world around me. It is about self-expression, even though I’m often reluctant to express my true self to others. I guess that is a bit of a concern that others may not like my work or think I’m weird. As I write this, I’m truly considering exploring that possibilty. Maybe art is more about expression of ourselves rather than what we think others want to see.

I don’t live where I think “if I had only done things different”. The past is gone and it can’t be changed. I live saying, “I’m moving forward and see where this takes me”. I’m going to share my journey with the world, as best as I can, and express myself and my views in an honest way. For me that is why photography. Photography allows me the creative venue I have learned to use through cameras, lenses, lighting, and Photoshop manipulation. My challenge to you, is let’s do this together. Maybe we can start to change the world for the better, one image at a time.