my photography journey…

part 1: I fell in love with photography when I was only 6 years old. My father had a Nikon film camera that I thought was magic. I was allowed to hold it and look through the viewfinder but I didn’t understand all of the buttons and settings.. Finally in middle school I got my very own camera. It was a thin Kodak Ektralite camera with an attached flash. I would take a roll and wait excitedly for the pictures to be developed at the drugstore or the drive-through kiosk. I took so many photos I filled up many albums, the kind with the page-size protective clingy plastic sheets and sticky pages.

part 2: In high school, I had my very own 35mm film camera. I had graduated to a “real” camera! Because I was the co-photographer for my yearbook, I had unlimited access to the school darkroom. It was a magical place and time disappeared as I learned to develop film and prints.

part 3: While in art school, I spent as much time in the darkroom as possible and took every photography class available. I am so grateful for my years in the darkroom. Now I like to use all kinds of cameras such as a Polaroid camera, a twin-reflex camera, 35 mm film and digital cameras as well as my phone. Night photography and landscapes are my usual fare but I enjoy taking photos no matter what the theme or genre. I have dabbled in alternative photography as well. I enjoyed making prints in the style of Atget. I have used watercolor or acrylic inks to tint photos or used various chemicals to create cyanotypes or sepia toned images. All forms of photography are exciting to me. I hope to continue to add more images to the slideshow as I can’t imagine I will ever stop making photographs.