I AM...
OLD SCHOOL WITH A FRESH FUNKY STYLE
Frequently I'm asked, "When did you start taking pictures?" In a nutshell, the answer would be "back in the old film days which means, yes, I know about reciprocity failure and push processing." But most people just stare when I answer that way, so here's the whole sordid tale:
I AM...
OBSESSED
When I was 10 (in 1980, but don't tell anyone), I started begging my parents for a camera of my own. I loved to take pics of my friends and places we visited (I lived outside of Washington, D.C.). Finally, after two years of relentless nagging, my mom bought me a Kodak Disc camera. It was the suckiest camera on the face of the planet. But it was cute and it was MINE!
I AM...
ADVENTUROUS
When I left for the Air Force at age 19 (in 1989), I talked my mom into buying me a 35mm SLR camera. I loved that camera! It was fully manual and I had to learn to adjust the aperture and shutter speed to get good exposures. I loved that camera until it got knocked over by a friend while sitting on its tripod and cracked! Obviously, not a top-of-the-line camera.
While stationed in Japan in the Air Force, I bought a SWEET Canon EOS something-or-another that I think was never released in the States. It was wicked cool and produced great images. (This was 1990; still long before the digital revolution).
After the Air Force, I decided to take some formal classes on photography and darkroom work. I also upgraded to better cameras...two Contax bodies and a collection of incredible Zeiss lenses (nothing in the realm of lenses for SLR's even comes close to their quality), an old Mamiyaflex medium format camera, and a pair of Hensel portys (heavenly studio lights). I started a web design business, hated it, and added photography for money into the mix. There is nothing else I would ever want to do for work (or play, really, for that matter) than make pictures.
And so, years later, the digital revolution swept across the land. And suddenly it felt almost wrong to shoot film. So, I sat and watched and waited, seeing whether these digital images would stand up against tried and true film.
And boy, did they!
I BELIEVE IN...
HIGH QUALITY PHOTOGRAPHY
So, after much pondering and sweating, I finally went digital and invested in professional grade Nikon bodies and lenses, and added a few new lights and other modern gadgets to my bag. And it has been a fun, fun ride. I can't wait to see what's next!
Taken by my husband and business partner, Todd
And this was taken by my daughter:
Miller&Miller Photography
Hey! It's great to see an actual trained and educated photographer out there. Seems like these days all I see are people with "okay" cameras pretending they know what they're doing and it shows...sadly.
ReplyDeleteYou should still shoot filjm in additino to the digital! That's a skill you can't let go!
best,
R.E.
I looooooove these portraits, congratulations!
ReplyDelete