What's your photography background?

[WarrenB]

I thought it would be nice to hear how everyone got into photography. I guess it's similar for most of us, but let's see who got you into and what camera you first used(if you can remember)

I remember the first camera I used was a single use/disposable Kodak, I would have been 9 or 10 I guess, if we were having a little holiday I seem to remember dad buying them in packs of 5 or 6 when they were on offer! You just snap away then take the whole thing in to get the photos developed, then the wait began to see how many were any good!
A few of you must have used one of these at some point!

I got my first 'proper' camera when I was around 13-15, I got a second(or 4th or 5th!) hand 35mm SLR, really can't remember the model, but I know it was a Canon of some kind, that camera seemed light years away from the disposables That was when I first got to know about shutter speed etc, sooo many shots were useless, it was a little nerve wracking waiting for the film to be developed! Now I think about it, I have no idea where that camera went

The first new camera I ever had was a 35mm Chinon CP-7M like this one.

It seemed so advanced looking with a little lcd panel on the top that you could press in different corners to change settings, that was when I really got interested in photography.
I would be reading magazines and books to try and get tips on taking good photos, I could see an improvement slowly over a few months and was really enjoying.
But as I was about 17 then I was looking for work, I was offered a job working with a relative doing house refurbishments and building work, so I jumped at the chance and was working 5-6 days a week and the photography took a back seat for a very long time.

I got back into it in my early 30's, I picked up a used Nikon D50 with 18-55mm kit lens.

Now this was when I really started to get the hang of iso, aperture and shutter speed. I think I gained more knowledge while I had that camera than any other. I also got my first prime lens, a Nikon 50mm 1.8 D, this was a nice improvement over the kit glass.

That got sold to a friend when a D3200 came along for a silly price.

I was practicing quite a lot with this one, then photography took a back seat again for a couple of years.

When I had time to use a camera quite a bit again, I found a Nikon D800 used for a really great price with a very low shutter count and a good warranty.

Now I am well into the territory of having kit much better at taking pics than me!! But it is actually pushing me to improve my skills and try and get the most I can out of the kit


So that went on a little longer than I expected

Would be nice to hear your photography history!

 

[Cash_Stronomer]

I have obviously,like most people, been taking pictures all my life with whatever camera I found cheap or got as a gift. Not sure how, but one day some of my photo's sort of 'spoke to me'. Kind of like the feeling I get when I write something. I can either dismiss without a thought, or get sucked into it. Hard feeling to explain. So now, here I am with a 'better' camera, and learning the tricks of the trade. I'm slowly starting to get the hang of what is going to make a decent shot, and what won't. As well, I'm really enjoying editing the pictures I get excited about taking. I might use a few too many effects sometimes, but I roll with whatever 'mood' the picture puts me in, and try and represent that by brightening, or darkening, or whatever it calls for.

 

[Edcculus]

I was always interested in photography as a kid. I remember my first camera was some little thing that shot 110 film. It didn't focus, and probably automatically adjusted the exposure. Growing up, my dad always had a Nikon F2, which I got to use once I was in high school. I also always enjoyed being the one in the family that got to use our little Olympus P&S to take the family vacation snapshots.

I've always done photography for fun, although I've been in the Graphic Arts industry since I chose my major in college. What really got me was the photography class I had to take as part of my major. It was 100% film. We got our assignments, shot B&W film, developed it and printed in the darkroom. Since then, it inspired me to build a darkroom of my own and get into Medium Format as well.

 

[grim]

I thought it would be nice to hear how everyone got into photography. I guess it's similar for most of us, but let's see who got you into and what camera you first used(if you can remember)

Thats a tough one to remember. The first one I used was my father's 35mm rangefinder. All I remember is top speed was 1/300 and you used Kodachrome 25. No autofocus, no meter, you learned sunny 16 or you didn't get a picture.

First new camera we bought was a Minolta XD11, the first camera in the world to have AV and TV modes.

The second new camera was the Minolta 7000(i)? Bought two bodies so we didn't have to switch lens in the field. The world's first autofocus camera.

 

[mtnredhed]

Tough to say. Probably a 127 film brownie that was a hand me down. It was either that or my Dad's 620 folding Zeiss Ikon

 

[ackvil]

My first wife worked at Agfa-Gavert and when we got engaged they gave us a very nice rangefinder camera. I used that for a while taking many 35 mm photos of trips we took. It was a very basic camera and was what sparked my interest in photography. After a year or two I bought a Miranda Sensorex 35 mm Camera. This camera came with a 50 mm 1.8 lens and used a spot meter. I used this camera for many years and ended up with many lenses. Unfortunately, after many years of good use the camera stopped working and the price to get it repaired was far more than what a new camera would cost.

I was working very long hours at the time and my replacement camera was a Canon A-1. This camera really peaked my interest in photography and was another camera I had for many years. I ended up with quite a few prime and zoom lenses with this camera and used it on hikes and travel. I still have the camera although it is not operable. Someday I may get it repaired. Interestingly, I sold most of the lenses on eBay and was amazed when I sold a 135mm lens for more than what I paid for it.

 

[Legion]

My first camera was an old Miranda SLR that was my fathers. Later he gave me his Minolta XGM when he upgraded to an X700. That XGM saw me through my first year or two of Photography school, then I switched to a couple of pro Nikons, Leica, and a Mamiya C330. After I finished study I was working in the industry, in one capacity or the other, so I always had work cameras to play with, and mostly used Leica M cameras for my own stuff.

These days I can still use pretty much whatever gear I want, but for my own snaps it is mostly Fuji mirrorless cameras.

 

[Guestabc]

My history cameras:
My first:



Then in over the years

 

[Guestabc]

And up to today

 

[WarrenB]

Great replies, keep them coming!
Nice to see what everyone was and is shooting with

 

[Alacrity59]

I was always interested in photography. Started by using the family's Brownie Hawkeye, put an used Yashika Electro 35 on layaway and saved my newspaper money to buy it. Moved into the darkroom side B&W and then colour using dye transfer. Improved equipment a bit. Mostly photography was for my own pleasure but did some for local newspaper and student papers in university for specific events. Busy life mostly back burnered it as a hobby but I've been actively and persistently pursuing it the last few years . . . not as much as I'd like but such is life.

 

[brians_myth]

I started to really get into photography about a year ago when I purchased my first DSLR. I have always been a fan of National Geographic and admired the work of their journalists and photographers and that has certainly boosted my love for photography.

8 years ago, I started to travel more frequently than I had ever traveled before. I knew I would want some photos to remember it all by. My first camera was a Samsung point and shoot. I visited 4 countries and, for all intents and purposes lived in 1, in 1 year. I will never visit 3 of those countries in my life again. On my way back to the US, I lost my camera in Atlanta's airport and, despite my best efforts, never received my camera back and with it, the pictures.

Bummed about it and (comically) scarred from the experience, I purchased a Nikon. I had always seen the advertisements in NatGeo and advertisement. It was a basic point and shoot but it did the job. My list of countries visited went from 5 to 22 in one year, 3 years after my first set of travels. Aside from my time in Vietnam and Cambodia, I retained pictures from every single one of them.

Fast forward 5 years and I still haven't visited any new countries (yet!) However, I live in Hawaii which damn well might become its own country shortly if the 10%'ers get their way. So I figured that I might as well invest in a DSLR to get higher quality photos since the end of my traveling days are FAR from over. And now I can enter those higher quality photos in competitions, like the ones in here with you fine gentlemen. And to think it started with NatGeo.

 

[Radium]

(typical camera gear these days)

It`s only recently that I discovered that there is a darkroom in here. Like most others when I log into B&B the first thing I hit is the various shaving sections.
Photography is a hobby for me and I`ve been doing it ever since my family asked that I take the family snap shots and I happily took the family photos. It was a Kodak 110 camera and my first 35mm camera was the Canon 7 rangefinder with a Canon 50mm f1.2 lens and I still have this camera. Then it was a Ricoh XR-7 k mount camera with a 50mm f2 Rikkenon lens which I used until it broke and then onto the Pentax LX K mount system which I still have and various other rangefinder cameras like Leica, Minolta, etc. I`ve dabbled into medium format too and as well as large format. To be honest these days I mainly use my smartphone for snaps though when I get together with my buddies we still go out shooting with film gear just for kicks. I`m really glad to have found this room and it`s nice meeting you all.

 

[KCPhotog]

I started back in the mid 90's playing around with a minolta 500si just tinkering around. Kinda developed a bit of an eye for framing and such but never pursued it further. Then in the summer of 2004 I was traveling a lot with the car/truck show circuits and using a lil sony *** point and shoot and taking photos. I started posting some photos on some of the car forums and caught the attention of a magazine editor. He and I started talking and he asked me to do general show coverage at the next show for their magazine. That went well enough and I started really reading a lot about photography in books and online. I picked up a Nikon D70 when it hit the shelves in mid 2005 and it was a night and day difference in results from my *** Sony. Next thing I know the editor is asking me to do features as well as show coverage. I nailed that so well he had me start doing covers, at that point pay was picking up and I switched over to a Canon 20D since at the time, the Canon CMOS was leaps and bounds better at lower light performance. Then I caught the attention of a few other automotive mags and did some more freelancing with them ranging from small photo sets to features and covers. I changed out to a 30D and then after a while got rid of that in favor of a 5D. All the while doing other things like senior photos, weddings, private automotive shoots and a lot of product photography...etc. At this point my 5D is still my primary shooter as its tried and true, I have a T5i for a backup and video and still even have a Nikon D70s laying around somewhere. I quit doing a lot of the magazine work as the travel got to be too crazy for the little money it really makes you. I still do some freelance product photography and such now and even a wedding here and there. I am actually trying to find a good firm to get back into full time product photography, but its very hard to do in KC.

 

[KCPhotog]

Forgot to mention I have also done a lot of film over that time as well. Not much 35mm, but mainly medium and large formats. Would love to find a steal on a nice collapsible wooden field camera, have always wanted one! My last LF was a monorail, great for adjustability, but definitely not for mobility! My favorite medium that I miss was a prestine Rolleiflex twin lens reflex....so much fun to shoot with!

 

[Edcculus]

Forgot to mention I have also done a lot of film over that time as well. Not much 35mm, but mainly medium and large formats. Would love to find a steal on a nice collapsible wooden field camera, have always wanted one! My last LF was a monorail, great for adjustability, but definitely not for mobility! My favorite medium that I miss was a prestine Rolleiflex twin lens reflex....so much fun to shoot with!

I'm hoping to jump into LF here in the next few years. I'll probably start smaller with 4X5, but 8X10 sure would be sweet. I don't have a big enlarger, so the 4X5s would still be contact prints.

Over the past few years, I've seen plenty of LF field cameras for decent prices. If you are really in the market, just start checking ebay, craigslist and the classifieds at apug.org. Your best bet would probably be APUG.org, since their classifieds tend to just be camera enthusiasts selling off extra gear.

 

[legrandfromage]

- Started with a Brownie Hawkeye
- Kodak Pony 828 and knockdown, typewriter table on wheels bathroom darkroom
- Voigtlander Vitessa L
- Trade Vitessa for an early Practika (waist level finder)
- Practika goes to college and falls apart under heavy use (to this day I wish that I had kept the Vitessa) Take a photo course in college
and get unrestricted access to huge darkroom. Spend too much time taking pictures with a borrowed Miranda
- Buy a Pentax Spotmatic and a couple of lenses in an Air Force BX. Use that until sometime in the '80's; get a Pentax SuperProgram.
Daughter gets interested in photography
- Take the Pentax and a bag full of gear (two heavy Vivitar zooms, winder, filters, film, etc.) on a trip and get so fed up with lugging the
stuff around that I take a break from photography for a few years. Daughter carries on.
- Daughter goes to college, then grad school; BA/Masters in Photography. I build first class darkroom in house; she uses it while I start traveling for work and never have time while home
- Finally get back in darkroom and can't take the back pain and chemical odors; darkroom dismantled and now in boxes
- Now shooting digital and printing. Prints are better than the wet prints and back doesn't hurt. Daughter lives next door and does
pro work part time;prints on my equipment. Dark room equipment goes to her.

Equipment wise, I have a bunch of Pentax film and digital bodies and too many lenses to count. Recently got a Fuji X100T and am getting beautiful results. Print on an Epson 3800 and find that watching the prints come out is every bit as fascinating as it used to be watching an image come up in a tray. Love my film cameras (Pentax 35mm, Mamiya 645, 6X7) but use them less and less. I shoot for my pleasure and sometimes gift pictures if someone really likes one. Occasionally sell one or two but don't make any effort to do that.
It's all fun and quite fulfilling. Next camera will probably be another Fuji mirrorless (XPro2?) and a couple of lens adapters. About sixty years in at this point.

 

[Bob L.]

Started out with a simple Brownie I found in the closet. My Dad left it there all by itself with a few rolls of B&W film and the original manual. He later told me he was hoping I'd be smart enough to read the manual before loading the film. I was, I did, and like him was firmly hooked.

Next camera was his Kodak Retina rangefinder. He graduated to a Nikkormat 35mm around 1965 and gave me the rangefinder.

Dad played with the Nikon Nikkormat for over a year before getting an F body. Guess who got a very nice Nikkormat with a new 50mm lens for Christmas that year. I was twelve at the time.

I stayed with Nikon and film until the early 2000s. My first digital was a Kodak DC290. I bought it. Had fun with it. But, it couldn't compete with film. It was just fun.

My Nikon D90 replaced my Nikkormat and my F body. Yes, those two cameras from the 1960s had been in constant, moderate to heavy use, for decades. Photoshop and the D90 replaced my darkroom and my need for film. I am still using the D90 but looking for its replacement. The D90 just wasn't built to be a generational camera.

 

[platon951]

first i use a gift new 127 plastic camera /next (college) my father camera argus c3 bought on brownsville texas mayhe 1955 -

 

[Graybeard57]

My first camera was a Kodak flashcube model, an Instamatic 124. Loved that little thing. In the Navy, I was a journalist, and we had a week of schooling in photography. I learned to compose and frame my photos much better, and remember those lessons to this day. My son has picked up the ball and run with it, I'm proud to say.