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Take A
Picture It’ll Last Longer
…that’s my
creedo and I will stick to it!
I am a photographer and photography has been an
addiction of mine since kindergarten. No really…that long! I STILL have
the first camera I ever took pictures with waaaaaaaaaaaay back then.
Its a little Kodak 110 camera.
Did it take good
pictures? No not really…but I still loved it! Somewhere in the midst
of all my albums and packages of photos is an album from my elementary
school days. It is filled with grainy photos whose colors have shifted and
lightened,
 but
they still hold their memories as strongly as ever. Each page of the album
is filled with pictures of squirrels and neighborhood cats, ponies at the
local fair, people who worked with my mom at the IHOP she managed in
Baltimore, friends making the typical goofy faces, the “first crush” ( oh
yeah..I remember his name… it was Brian Smith…he was blonde haired and
blue eyed, and his family moved to Florida after kindergarten, breaking my 5
year old heart).
In Junior High I graduated to a 35mm camera that I purchased with money I
saved
 from
allowances, birthdays and Christmases. I still have that camera also. Its a
Mamiya Rangefinder, and that camera to this day still takes some awesome
photographs. The albums from that period are of much better quality, and my
skill level was increasing as well. Far fewer photos of my thumb or the
camera strap are to be found, a lot more photos of friends and nature, and
lots of pictures of nature. In Junior High I also took my first photography
class. I think that is when the photo
bug really bit me deep. It was the late 70s, I was a non-Catholic kid in a
Catholic school, and I had a teacher who was a total cut-up, a great teacher
and irreverent as all get out. He really encouraged my in my photography and
my interest in the craft. I was “the” photographer that was called on
everywhere I went: newsletters and school papers, year books and publicity
campaigns at school held by local politicians, bands and advertising at
church and youth group, friend who wanted a good photo for one thing or the
other. I kept shooting and shooting, and by this time I had my first 35mm
SLR : a Pentax ME Super. I still have that camera, of course! lol Why should
things change ?! From there I started doing portraits and learning as I
went, I worked for several photographers, managed photo labs locally, worked
at 3 different custom photo labs, and more. By the time college came round I
was interested in photography and architecture, and decided to major in
architecture and minor in photography. After 18 months of college
photography won out over my interest in architecture and my major changed to
all photography. I
 never
turned back and have never stopped shooting. I just kept adding more
cameras, flashed, tripods, etc. to my camera bag(s) as time went on.
I don’t know what exactly sparked my imagination and interest in
photography, but I do know that even now each time I pick my camera up and
start shooting something inside me comes alive that is sleeping until that
camera is in hand. Opening a newly printed package of photos is the greatest
thrill to me! Seeing the images I envisioned with eye to camera in print
form is akin to giving birth. You know what to expect, pretty much.
You have a good idea of what the “child” might look like, but there is
always that small chance of a total surprise. When they look exactly as you
envisioned or even better, I suppose it is similar to the rush an athlete
gets when they reach a training goal.
I
have a fair amount of photography equipment.
OK…ok…
I
have a lot of photography equipment. Enough to outfit several people. Its
part of the
trade, and when you have a addiction, you need to FEED it, right? (She who
dies with the most toys WINS!)
The last wedding I photographed, my 35mm Canon portrait camera DIED at the
end of the day. It was locking up and hanging up on me like crazy, and I
could FEEL it. I started shooting triples of everything and I lost only 1/2
dozen shots out of 13 rolls. By God’s good grace it DID NOT die WHEN I was
shooting the wedding. Can I JUST tell ya …. *shudder* I don’t even want to
think of shooting a wedding and having something catastrophic happen. That
is one of the reasons shooting weddings are so stressful. No going back if
you crash and burn.
So anyway…the camera…Its dead, Jim.
And right
after I bought a set of studio lights and a brand new flash specifically FOR
a Canon camera. Nice. Spend $800 and your screwed. The camera is old enough
that it isn’t worth repairing… repairing it would cost more than simply
replacing the body. Stinks when you spent $900 on a camera and it is now
worth ffftt. Little to nuttin. So 2 weeks ago I purchased TWO used Canon
camera bodies and have been testing them all week. I am happy with the
results.
I
won’t be caught without a backup camera again, that is for danged sure!
First, last, and ONLY time for me!
Consider my addiction fed. Well, til I can get that $3000 digital SLR I am
drooling after. Hopefully these new camera bodies will help me reach that
goal.
Eventually.
Til then, if you see a “flash” out of the corner of your eye, realize it
could be me.
Just makin’ it last longer, tis all!
~Kathie
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