In the Beginning

I got my first Single Lens Reflex camera in 1979. Although, I've always had a love of photography, before then I had only had small Kodak's or Polaroid cameras, but nothing that would really capture quality images. One of my best friends purchased an Olympus OM-1 camera and lens the year before just before we took a trip through Yellowstone National Park.  We both took lots of photos during the trip, but what his images lacked in compositional technique, were more than made up for by the clarity of the capture.

So, in 1979 when we were expecting our first child, I knew that I wanted to step up my photography. As a young Navy Petty Officer with a young family, I couldn't afford much, but I found an all manual Canon AT-1 camera and lens that was within my budget. Once I purchased it and started to use it, I discovered that I knew next to nothing about photography and I've been spending the last 31 years learning the craft.

Fortunately, I've had many subjects over the years - not just my kids, but my lovely wife and many of our lovely friends as well. The image to the left was from my very first shoot with two nude models and I still had much to learn, as the image is circa 1980. Still, I like the composition, the natural look, and the relaxed poses. The cropping and the light sucks, but as I said, I still had lots to learn. I suppose I could blame it on the constraints of my equipment - no flash, no light modifiers, and having to shoot in our tiny bedroom, but the reality is that I really knew next to nothing about what I was doing and any good images I got were primarily due to luck.

With practice and help from my beautiful wife, I think I have gotten a bit better: