My Photography History

As I was growing up in the 70s, I had the almost obligatory Instamatic camera with the big blue flashcubes. I enjoyed taking pictures, but I don't really recall doing it all that often.

In my mid-teens I had a friend whose father had a small darkroom in the basement. For some reason, and I really don't know why, that set off a spark deep down inside and I knew someday I would become more involved in photography. I have no idea why it took so long.

Since the early 80s I've been in the computer industry developing software applications. Around the late-90s the digital camera revolution began to heat up and my interest began to perk up. In April, 2001, I bought a Kodak DC4800 and had just the grandest time with it. Although it was basically a point and shoot, it was also something a little more because it had a few more manual controls than usual and it also had a lens adapter with a thread to allow an additional lens to be attached. I got a macro lens and my love of macro photography was born.

I lost that camera and was so angry for the next couple of years that I couldn't even think about photography. Eventually I settled down and after much research got an Olympus Evolt E-510 DSLR in September, 2007, along with, of course, a dedicated macro lens.

Unfortunately, my enthusiasm only lasted a couple of months before other things began to suck up all my time. It wasn't until 2010 that the spark from so long ago finally caught fire.

Later that year I asked an artist friend to look at my pictures and let me know if they were good enough to submit to the curators of the GMHC Art Show. He said yes, I submitted them and they selected four of my photos to be in the show.

That was a wonderful experience. And over the last couple of years I have only become more and more seriously involved. I've had work in a few more shows with more coming up later this year.

Now I'm working to bring my photographs to a higher level. I have invested in new equipment. In September I got a Nikon D800 full frame camera and two new lenses. Better lenses and a camera that doesn't stop me from doing what I want to do. At the moment things are working out just fine and I have what I need to move ahead on my journey. I have several projects that I'm currently developing and a big project planned for early 2013.

Everything up until now has just been the beginning.

70s

As I was growing up in the 70s, I had the almost obligatory Instamatic camera with the big blue flashcubes. I enjoyed taking pictures, but I don't really recall doing it all that often.

In my mid-teens I had a friend whose father had a small darkroom in the basement. For some reason, and I really don't know why, I was fascinated by the concept. I never did more than basically peek into the darkroom once or twice and never looked at more than a couple of photographs that were produced there. And I never really did anything as a direct result of that experience.

But something happened. Deep down inside a spark must have flickered. And I knew it at the time too. I knew from that moment that I had an interest in photography and that someday I would become more involved. It was something that stayed in the back of my mind for years and years and years. I have no idea why it took so long.

80s and 90s

At some point in my twenties, I graduated from the big blue flashcube to another Instamatic-type camera: a Fuji DL-145. How do I remember the model number for such a silly little camera? It was still in my closet! Yep, after all these years that sucker is still with me. Haven't used it in over twenty years (before I moved into my current apartment). And the kicker - it still has film in it! And it looks like there have been four exposures! At some point I have to try to finish the roll and have it developed. Problem is, I opened the battery compartment and it's quite gunky in there - yeah of course I left the batteries in. I don't know if that can be cleaned up to make it work again, but I have a hankering to try. Someday. Not right now. I'm currently busy with a more big boy camera.

I still have some of my old pictures from yesteryear and I have no doubt that I will one day review them and possibly scan a few. Yeah, again, someday. I do remember some of the pictures, one of which I was quite proud. A picture of a tree-lined pond filled with playful ducks in San Fransisco. I remember looking at that picture and thinking what a wonderful puzzle it would make. That's good, isn't it?

Anyway, from the early 80s I've been in the computer industry developing software applications. I guess around the mid- to late-90s the photo bug started nipping at my heels as the digital camera revolution began to heat up. But again I didn't do anything right away. I do remember reading about digital cameras and the 3 megapixel mark stuck in my head as the jumping in point when digital images would become useful.

2001

I finally jumped in in April, 2001. (I know, that's a long time to be standing on the diving board.) I bought a Kodak DC4800 and I had just the grandest time with it. Although it was basically a point and shoot, it was also something a little more. It had a few extra manual controls than usual and it also had a lens adapter with a thread to allow an additional lens to be attached.

I'm not at all sure why now, but at the time I knew I wanted the macro lens. So I got that and a wide angle lens. The wide angle I never got the hang of because of the distortion, by my love of macro photography was born with this camera. And some of the photos were pretty good if I do say so myself. Here's a little bonus gallery (that only readers of the really super long-winded version get to see) of some of those early photos.

2002-2006

I lost the camera in the summer of 2002. I left it in a movie theater and didn't realize it until I was about 8 blocks away. I rushed back but it was gone. And I was angry - very angry. And I was angry for a long time. For at least the next two years, anytime I thought about photography I became so angry that I had to stop thinking about photography.

When the anger finally subsided I started thinking about getting another camera. So I slowly began my research. I knew I had to have a camera that would take great macros. I spent a lot of time thinking about whether I should get a single lens camera or a DSLR. There were a couple of single lens cameras at the time that were really good for macros. I remember spending a good deal of time on the Nikon 995 and Minolta A1. And I also wasn't sure if I wanted the "fuss" of, or had the dedication for, switching lenses and post-processing every picture out of a DSLR.

2007-2009

Eventually I did decide on the DSLR because of the lens flexibility which would allow me to use a dedicated macro lens and ultimately, better image quality. Having spent yet another eternity on that same diving board, I bought an Olympus Evolt E-510 DSLR in September, 2007 along with, of course, a macro lens.

Why the E-510? A couple of reasons. The Zuiko kit lenses were of higher quality than the kit lenses of either Nikon or Canon at the time. And there were two kit lenses instead of the usual one. The E-510 also had image stabilization in-camera instead of in the lenses. That just seemed to make sense to me (and still does) so that I would have image stabilization no matter what lens I used, whereas the Nikon and Canon cameras required more expensive lenses for stabilization.

After having spent such a long time without a camera, I enthusiastically dove in. I took a photography class at NYU and loved it. For the next few months I had a wonderful time and started posting pictures on the web.

And then ... I got involved in something else that sucked up all my time. I'm really embarrassed to say this, but I got totally hooked on a computer game. This game pretty much ruled my life for the next two years. Yeah, that's right - two years! There were also other things going on that made playing a video game much easier than getting up and going out to take pictures. So there I sat.

2010

How did I get back on track? One of my close friends was renting one of his apartments and the broker took horrible pictures of the place. (I saw them posted on the broker's website and they were really horrible and inexcusably unprofessional.) He asked me to take some pictures to replace the ones from the broker. The camera literally felt so good in my hands that I could not believe I hadn't been doing this all along.

That little bug that bit me in the 70s when I peeked into my friend's father's darkroom FINALLY got his photo venom fully into my blood. Since taking those apartment pictures in May of 2010 I have been moving steadily forward and at an ever accelerating pace.

Later that year I asked an artist friend to look at my pictures and let me know if they were good enough to submit to the curators of the GMHC Art Show. He said yes, I submitted them and they selected four of my photos to be in the show.

This happened very quickly and I suddenly found myself with only a couple of weeks to process the pictures and get them printed and framed. And I had no experience doing any of it. It was a truly hectic couple of weeks, but I got it done and I had a wonderful feeling seeing my work on the walls of a gallery along with the work of other talented artists with people stopping to look at it. And I even sold one. Sweet icing on the cake for sure.

2011-2012

Over the last couple of years I have only become more and more seriously involved. I've had work in a few more shows with others coming up at the end of 2012.

I've attended many many free lectures at the B&H Event Space, which if you're not familiar with them, are priceless gems. I have learned a lot and I have so much more to learn and I am enjoying every step of the way. My camera is with me everywhere I go and I have been researching my next step.

I'm considering 2012 my foundation year. I have a backlog of pictures that I'm working on to get onto this site. I've already done a big part of what I wanted to do: Update the site to host my own galleries and put up the portfolios. I started using Adobe Lightroom for the first time this year with the advent of version 4 hitting the shelves at a much reduced price and my need to manage my ever growing population of pixels. My old computer was choking on Lightroom and Photoshop so I built a new computer that handles things better. I got a pen tablet to help me edit better and save my wrist. (Still working on getting the hang of it though.) I have a gazillion ideas. I walk around with a small notebook and pen in my back pocket and record new ideas all the time. I have ongoing projects that I'm developing and a huge project planned with a friend that I hope to tell you about early in 2013.

I want to bring my photographs to a new level. Better lenses will help me do that. The Zuiko lenses that came with my E-510 were good - for kit lenses. Now I need to step up. But Olympus really isn't doing anything with their DSLR line, instead choosing to concentrate on their other divisions. So I found myself at a crossroads, which is a little like starting over. (Yes, another diving board moment).

The major questions I had been tackling for awhile were: Nikon or Canon; Full frame (35mm sensor size) or APS-C (smaller sensor size). Nikon and Canon both make great cameras and lenses and I'm sure I'd be happy with either. But since I was at this crossroads, I wanted to feel I was making the right choice for my future. Choosing Nikon or Canon makes sense because they are the ones at the top of the photo world and offer many of the best choices. Full frame brings me closer to a professional level, and while I'm not planning on becoming professional any time soon, I do want the quality and capability that comes with the higher end equipment.

I had pretty much decided on the full frame path, largely because that's the path I see myself on in the future and it seems reasonable to go there now and not make any expenditures in ASP-C lenses. (Yes, I could buy full frame lenses to use on an APS-C camera, and I considered it, but that gets into focal point issues that I've decided aren't worth the extra step.) Lenses are what makes the picture (well, after the photographer) so my investment should begin now.

And so it has. With the aspiration of bringing my photographs to a higher level, I have invested in new equipment. In September I got a Nikon D800 full frame camera and two new lenses, the 105mm f/2.8 macro, and the 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom. The macro lens is an excellent quality lens to bring to bear on my macro fetish. And the 28-300 gives me a full range of focal lengths as I walk the streets of the city. At the moment things are working out just fine and I have what I need to move ahead on my journey.

Everything up until now has just been the beginning. The stupid diving board is gone and I'm done with the pool. I'm going out to sea. Full steam ahead.

With the aspiration of bringing my photographs to a higher level, I have invested in new equipment. In September I got a Nikon D800 full frame camera and two new lenses, the 105mm f/2.8 macro, and the 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom. The macro lens is an excellent quality lens to bring to bear on my macro fetish. And the 28-300 gives me a full range of focal lengths as I walk the streets of the city. At the moment things are working out just fine and I have what I need to move ahead on my journey.