My Darkroom (via Disposable Camera, ca. 2001)
I became interested in photography around A.D. 2000. I was using a point and shoot camera and I opened the back as the film was rewinding. A friend said "oh you can't do that, the light ruins the film." This realization of my ignorance sparked my curiosity and I decided I wanted to learn more about photography. After reading a lot of books at the library, I was very interested and wanted to try more serious photography.
My mom had a Canon AE-1 Program with three lenses, but the body had been dropped and was no longer working. We fired up e-bay on dialup and found a nice AE-1 Program body in good condition. $50 later and I was in business with my very own SLR camera. My grandpa was an avid photographer, doing some professional portrait, wedding, advertising, and newspaper work on the side over the years. His passion confirmed to me that this was something worth getting in to, and would be a good way to spend more time with him while learning something. One spring break (which I usually spent with grandparents), I asked my grandpa to teach me to develop my own film. While he hadn't done it in some years, he still had all his equipment, and he taught me how to develop and print black and white film, and gifted me one of his photo print enlargers as well as an old timer and easel. He typically shot a Nikon 8008 in those days on Seattle FilmWorks color film, which he had printed on both slides and prints. In addition to developing, Grandpa schooled me on photographic technique, showing me in his book of Ansel Adams photographs how great photos use the Rule of Thirds, as well as tips on using natural light and diffused flash for indoor shots.
Starting with what I had received from Grandpa, I set up my own darkroom in the basement. I built myself a bench, purchased and plumbed a sink in to the basement, created light blocks for the windows, and purchased chemicals and supplies by mail order from the Porter's Camera catalog. Watching images appear in a print as I agitated it in the developer tray in the dim red light was like magic. Being a middle schooler, my subjects were any place I could walk to, so mostly the local park and cemetery.
Franklin, In. (Canon AE-1 Program, Kodak Gold 200, ca. 2000)
My interest ebbed and flowed over the years. In college I used my pizza delivery tips and bought a Nikon D70 digital SLR when it was already 4 years obsolete.
Self-Portrait (Nikon D70, Nikkor 18-55 VR Lens set to 48mm, f/5.6 1/20 sec., taken the first day I got this camera 3/4/2009)
Clouds Approaching Dusk (Nikon D70, Nikkor 18-55 VR Lens set to 18mm, f/22 1/40 sec., 3/17/2009)
Palms (Nikon D70, Nikkor 18-55 VR Lens set to 18mm, f/3.5 1/25 sec., 6/6/2009)
Art Deco Grate (Nikon N90S, Kodak B&W 400 C-41, 2015)
Looking Up (Nikon N90S, Kodak B&W 400 C-41, 2015)
Autumn Leaves (Nikon N90S, Fuji Velvia 50, 2015)
Grandpa and Adelina
My Nikon N90S 35mm SLR Camera
See Some Photos