# The Beginnings of YOUR photography



## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 2, 2012)

Hi again!!
So, to celebrate my 1000th post and my promotion to TPF Junkie, (I know, it took me only 2 months and I&#8217;m sorry if I &#8217;spammed&#8217; your feed) I decided to start a thread about the beginnings of YOUR photography. 
*I want to know how you got into photography AND how you learnt a majority of your photographic knowledge*. 
I do know that there has been a thread like this before but it seems to be &#8216;dead&#8217;. SO I want to give the new posters a go by starting a fresh one. It&#8217;s kinda like a movement&#8230;the new posters movement! 
I got into photography the first time I held a DSLR, one of my dad&#8217;s friends let me play with it, and the moment I touched it&#8230;I was bitten by the photography bug! But In this day and age, I myself had easy access to the internet, so I learnt 99% of my knowledge through the internet, kinda like being self taught. 
And if so, are there any people that learnt a majority of their knowledge through TPF?

Looking forward to your stories,
JoshuaSimPhotography


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## tirediron (Aug 2, 2012)

Joined the camera club in high school out of curiosity, back in 198*Cough* and found I liked it...  things just sort of grew.


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## KmH (Aug 2, 2012)

I was gifted a used Minolta SR-T 101 and a couple of lenses (1981). Loved the technical, artistic duality of photography.

The day after I got the camera I went to the closest public library and checked out some photography books to get started. Once I had read all that library had on hand, I started going to the main library in Downtown San Diego. I also started building my own personal photography reference library by buying my own copy of many of the books I borrowed from the library.

Photographic knowledge is supported by other knowledge, like knowledge of the visual arts, math, physics, technology, etc. Digital photography requires the photographer have much more technical knowledge than film photography did, in large part because computers are so involved with digital photography.

So my knowledge of photography comes from both formal technical education, and self directed art and photography basics education.


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## sm4him (Aug 2, 2012)

When I was probably 10 or 11, my grandmother gave me my grandfather's old Kodak Brownie (and all his slides and photos) that he'd had since sometime in the '40s--it had traveled with him as he worked government contract jobs in the Azore, Panama and Colombia.  It really became my "connection" with a man I'd never met (he died before I was born). In addition, my whole family was very talented  and artistic, but as the youngest of 5, I never felt like I was "as good" as the sibs or my mom in any artistic endeavor...until I found photography. In high school, I was the editor of our literary magazine and our sponsor, whom I really admired, greatly encouraged my photographic skills.
I got my first SLR as a high school graduation present (I'm not ashamed to say it...in 1979!) and the game was afoot!!  I really got pretty serious about it for a few years...but then Life happened. College, marriage, kids...still took pictures, but didn't take it seriously. SLR camera sat on the shelf while I used film point-and-shoots and then digital point-and-shoots of increasing capabilities.

About four years ago, I started getting serious about photography again. Was still using a digital point-and-shoot but I really delved into it and did everything I could to improve while saving for a DSLR. Takes a while for a single parent to save for anything that's not for the kids , so it took about four years, but in the meantime I used that little Canon Powershot to the absolute max of its abilities, even winning a few ribbons at our local state fair, up against much better equipment.
Finally got to take the plunge last August and bought my D5100.  I am now more serious about photography than I've ever been and loving taking my skills to the next level--and the next, and the next!

EDIT: Oh, and how I learned. Back in the days before the internet, we had these things called Books.   Seriously, mostly I learned by reading everything I could then practicing it, and by bending the ear of anyone more-advanced photographer I could find, back in those days.
Since getting my DSLR, nearly ALL of any advancement I've made has been the direct result of the help of several amazing folks I've "met" here on TPF...and reading. ALWAYS reading!

EDIT of Edit: Oh, and Congratulations on your 1,000 post! But SERIOUSLY Dude, a thousand posts in what, a month and a half? GO outside, take some pictures, PLAY, interact with REAL people...there's a whole world out there, waiting to be lived!!


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## Buckster (Aug 2, 2012)

A neighbor introduced me to photography with his TLR in 1969.  Been hooked ever since.


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## Tuffythepug (Aug 2, 2012)

When I was about 12 years old I was given a Kodak box camera for my birthday.   The first roll of 120 film went to the drugstore for processing and when I picked up my pictures there was an enlargement of one of my shots in the front window.  The owner of the store had entered one of my shots in a photo contest without me even knowing it.  So, having won a photo contest with a picture on my first roll of film I was hooked.  That was 50 years ago.   

I kept my interest throughout high school and when I got married and had a full time job one of my route customers who owned a camera store gave me a Pentax Spotmatic 500 35mm.   This led me to read everything I could find on photography;  from composition, to exposure, to developing and printing techniques.   I bought darkroom equip. and taught myself to develop and print.    years later I would be asked to help out at the local jr. college by giving assistance to beginners in the darkroom.   I started hanging out with photographers whom I could learn from.  I became a fan of Ansel Adams zone system for b/w photography and began to win awards at county fairs and local photo contests.

Fast forward about 30 years and I decided to give digital photography a try, Suddenly I found that much of my experience was no longer important.   Learning how to use a computer was the important thing suddenly.   So, after 50 years of taking pictures I feel like a beginner again.  That's the main reason I joined this forum.  I have a lot to learn.   I'm hopeful that this will be a good place to do that.


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## Robin Usagani (Aug 2, 2012)

The beginning of my photograpy is............................................




































*NOW*


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## rexbobcat (Aug 2, 2012)

I had a photography assignment in a multimedia class my sophomore year of high school. I thought it was neat and it was an artistic medium I could develop decent skills in. And it was nice having a purpose at family functions other than just being "so-and-so's son." 

Almost everything I've learned I've learned from books and the Internet. One other source is my professor for the two week intensive photography course I took in June, but that's about it. 

Growing up in a small cowboy town didn't really give me many options of mentors or teachers.


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## 480sparky (Aug 2, 2012)

My dad had a 35mm he bought in the early '50s while serving in Austria.  He 'upgraded' to a Polaroid in the early 70's, which he let me use while on vacation.

After that, I purchased my own cameras, the first being a Pentax K1000. I ended up with an MX and ME Super with 11 lenses (Pentax 17, 20, 28, 40, 50 prime, 50 macro, 120, Celestron 300, Tokina 500, 25-50 and 80-200).




Somewhere, in storage, is that old 35mm of dad's.  I've been searching for it in hopes it still works as I'd love to run a couple rolls of film through it.


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## cgipson1 (Aug 2, 2012)

I had an uncle who shot professionally back in the 50's-60's. I was fascinated by him and what he did, and would follow him around whenever we were visiting. He started taking me into his darkroom when I was like 4 or 5, and let me "assist" lol! He gave me a little Kodak Instamatic when I turned six.. and I was hooked from then on. He passed away in 1968, and so I lost someone I cared about, and a great resource who used to to show me what he did, and even take me on shoots occasionally when he was in town. 
I dabbled with it, until I was a freshman in High School. I purchased a Pentax K1000, and setup a small darkroom. It went on from there, until in the early eighties, I was working in a lab, and doing some minor shooting on the side. A friend convinced me to shoot a wedding (something I had been avoiding) and that led to my opening a studio (especially after an Olympus Rep dropped by, and gave me a great deal on a bunch of new gear (OM-4)). Did that for about six or seven years, had some family stuff happen, got burned out with 70-80 hour weeks.. and shut down the studio. Have played with photography ever since... sometimes just a little... sometimes a lot. I got back into it in big way about two years ago... and here I am.


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## Jaemie (Aug 2, 2012)

I've been around graphic artists all my life - family and friends. In the 70's I hung out at the San Francisco Art Institute mooching classes, taking photos of whatever, and learning zinc plate etching and silkscreen. Fun days. In college I took a zillion art classes - commercial design, drawing, painting, sculpture, lettering, art history, film - everything except photography(!). I got a degree in Psychology and then went to grad school for a MBA. I didn't seriously get back into photography until 2007, at which point I started learning slowly from reading on the internet. Now, I'm learning a lot here on TPF.

I got my first camera when I was 11, in 1973 - an Olympus rangefinder. I learned to use it in a fairly basic fashion, but I didn't really get "into" photography until in my late teens when I started using my dad's old Minolta SR-7. Then I drifted away from photography and just used P&S cameras until about 2007 when I bought my used Canon Digital Rebel, the camera I have now. As soon as I have more money, I'll get a Pentax K-5 or K-7.

Influences:

An uncle who shoots professionally - mostly MF B+W portraits. Galen Rowell. Edward S. Curtis. Leni Riefenstahl (minus the repulsive political ideology). Dorothea Lange. Alfred Eisenstaedt. Kishin Shinoyama. Eliot Porter. Many others. Various contemporary professionals.


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## TheDeeDouble (Aug 2, 2012)

The first time i thought to myself "I need a real camera" was on a submarine off the coast of Cozumel in 2006. I couldn't use any of the shots from my point and shoot because of the delay between hitting the button and the camera actually taking a picture. Then after seeing Trombone Shorty and Orleans Ave. at the HOB in New Orleans, I decided that I should be capturing local musician at some of our historic venues so that the memories could be preserved.  So I went out and bought the least expensive DSLR I could find and took some classes through an adult education program.


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## bunny99123 (Aug 2, 2012)

Got a 110 at age 10. Was 20 before I got a 35mm. Then got a digital P&S. Last year got a DSLR. I love pictures and art. I enjoy sketching and any type of art. 

I am still learning about photography, and I am sure I always will. Technology always changing.

 I enjoy so much taking photos. So, relaxing...the only thing in your mind is concentrating on your subject...


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## MLeeK (Aug 2, 2012)

I had an old TLR in my toy box as a kid. Boy, would I kill to have that camera now!

I've missed you guys!


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## pgriz (Aug 2, 2012)

My dad had a Leica "C" which was one of his prized possessions.  He did his own processing, and the darkroom was the bathroom.

My first camera at about 8 years of age was a Kodak TLR, with two settings. 

 By 16 I had a Practica 35mm.  That camera's viewfinder was kinda usable in bright sunlight, focusing was manual, and the exposure meter wiggled whenever if felt like it - so I learned to expose by guesstimating the exposure setting. It had f/stops, and shutter speeds to 1/500 sec. Shot mainly Tri-X (I think).  I have several books of negatives stored in the basement from that era.  Moved to Kodachrome and bought a Lunapro 6 meter to get the exposure right, as slide film was much more finicky.  Got several banker boxes filled with slides from THAT period.

Got very busy with work, life, and set aside photography for a decade.  But needed something for taking photos, so bought a Rebel S and that was my workhorse for a while.  However most of the family imaging was done with the digital video cameras when those started coming out.  Once the P&S had more pixels than 1mb, bought my first point-and-shoot, and was happy that I didn't have to wait two weeks for processing and dubious prints.  Eventually, moved to a Rebel XSi, and when that was stolen to my present T1i. 

 The big change for me photographically was joining a photo club, and discovering just how spotty my knowledge was.  Since then, I've been using my camera in my work (as a contractor), and my work-in-progress and finished projects photos are an important part of my selling kit.  The photoclub members also were generous with their time and expertise, and helped me expand my technical repertoire into flash photography, some studio and posing, and some nature.  Forums such as this one also helped me by having people give very useful links and references to books.

I still have all my old cameras, and I think the Rebel S still has a new roll of film in it, but it's probably 'way past its best-by date.  As for the Leica, the leather case has fallen apart, and the shutter may need to be replaced.  But it is on the shelf, waiting patiently for me to rediscover it and put it to use.


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 2, 2012)

Wow, a lot of people got their camera when they weren't even teenagers! I thought I was a young Photog!


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## topazsol (Aug 3, 2012)

I've always liked to take pictures for fun my whole life but didn't actually start learning photography until this March. I got my first DSLR and started taking pictures non stop every day, all the time. What I have learned, I've mostly learned online, TPF has been very helpful.


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 3, 2012)

Agreed, TPF has really helped me along the way, and has connected me with fellow photographers!


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## charlie76 (Aug 3, 2012)

Great thread idea, Josh.  I enjoyed reading about the others first experiences.

My dad had a camera...it was heavy and cool looking and black.  Ended up mine.  That is how I first got a camera in my hand.

However, photographic appreciation and technique comes straight from the study of other arts and art history...seeing how others paint, sculpt, silkscreen, everything.


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## manaheim (Aug 3, 2012)

My Aunt was a pro years back and I was fascinated by the idea.  Esp. when I saw the photography books with naked women in them.  (What can I say, I was 13... I'm being honest at least, so bite me.) 

Anyway, the idea always stuck with me (and not just because of the naked women, thank you... I did grow up eventually) and eventually I got a camera on my own.

I honestly learned most of what I know from this very forum.

Interestingly, later in life when my Aunt got back into photography (she had retired) I realized that she basically didn't know anything about the technical aspects... like totally clueless.  She had a good eye so her compositions were solid, but really the woman barely even knew what aperture variations did.  Totally bizarre.


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 3, 2012)

[/QUOTE]


charlie76 said:


> However, photographic appreciation and technique comes straight from the study of other arts and art history...seeing how others paint, sculpt, silkscreen, everything.


Yes, you have to appreciate art other than photography to really get an understanding of photography


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## Tee (Aug 3, 2012)

The beginnings of my photography began in an alley in Petaluma, CA. I was walking, saw an old bicycle propped up with a ray of sunlight casting down on it. I clicked. I was hooked.


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## Jaemie (Aug 4, 2012)

Tee said:


> The beginnings of my photography began in an alley in Petaluma, CA. I was walking, saw an old bicycle propped up with a ray of sunlight casting down on it. I clicked. I was hooked.



Yay, Petaluma. I know it quite well.


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## bratkinson (Aug 4, 2012)

I was a lad of 10 when I inherited my grandfathers' 616 film-size folding Kodak camera in 1957. The negatives were about 3"x5"...they were HUGE! I recall shooting the first roll in a hurry and got it developed thanks to my parents finances. Then my mom suggested I take a summer school photography course, which I did. I think they stuffed as much composition, exposure triangle, and even doing our own darkroom work into the handful of schoolkids there as they could in those 10 weeks! I was interested in trains by then, so I took some pictures of trains here and there. With no meter, it was pure 'these settings should do it' for exposure. Back then, Kodak was nice enough to print suggested exposure settings on the sides of the film boxes. (Or was it printed on a sheet of paper inside?) I still trashed most of my pictures due to exposure problems, like forgetting to change settings when changing film speeds, etc.

Then came girls, cars, beer, etc, and the camera got put away (I still have it). Spin forward 10 years and my train-oriented friends were taking slides of trains and projecting them when we got together so I picked up a viewfinder Minolta and started shooting 35mm. Shot 1000s of slides of mostly trains for the next 25 years or so and ended up putting away the gear when #2 now-ex came into my life and my work as a computer consultant consumed me as well. 

10 years later, I wanted to sell some stuff on ebay and got a Canon Point & Shoot. It did the job. Got involved at church and became their defacto photographer. I knew enough to put a good flash (a new 550 EX) on the point and shoot since all built-in flashes are worthless. Popups are too! I even did 2 weddings for a couple of down-and-out friends using the P&S and the 550EX. Ignorance is bliss!

About 18 months ago, the 2nd of my two P&S cameras was doing double exposures, flash lag, and that forever annoying shutter lag was driving me nuts! Time for a DSLR! So I found a used Canon 30D, and a pair of new EF-S lenses at a bargain and the rest is history!


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 4, 2012)

Wow, that is a very inspirational story, comparing you to me, i had everything handed to me on a silver platter!


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## tiaivas (Aug 5, 2012)

Actually, I was going on trips with family that were obligatory but were boring.  So to take up the time and to capture the shots as we were going to keep as a "keepsake," I started taking along a camera.  I found that my trips increased and so did the camera shots, until the camera took over the enjoyment of the trip. 

Colour Corp


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## Steve5D (Aug 5, 2012)

My older brother had been shooting with our Dad's old Konica rangefinder when he borrowed $460.00 from our Grandfather to buy a Canon F1 in 1976. I remember when he brought it home, and how majestic that big, black professional camera looked. He would go shoot pictures with it and then develop and print them in our basement. Seemed pretty cool to me, so that's when I started shooting with Dad's Konica.

Before long, I was on the staff of the yearbook and newspaper at my high school, but the rangefinder was falling short. I took some money I'd received for my birthday and bought a used Canon TLb, and it was life altering.

I fell out of photography for a while, while I was in the Navy (I retired in 2001). I had a camera during this time and, of course, took pictures, but it wasn't "photography" in the sense that I didn't see it as doing anything other than taking snapshots.

I bought my first DSLR, a Canon Rebel, back in 2005, and a wallet-sucking siege has ensued. I used to collect guitars, but that gave way to watches and cameras. Now, it's just cameras. I don't buy watches or guitars anymore because, well, there's always more photo gear to buy...


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 5, 2012)

Wow, it's good that you still followed your lob of photography after your absence. Photography is an addiction!!


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## pixmedic (Aug 5, 2012)

wow. MY beginnings seem rather dull now compared to everyone else.  I got started to help my wife with HER photography when she was "apprenticed" to a friend of ours who was a wedding and studio photographer. Back when the D200 first came out and he upgraded, he sold us his backup D100 and a few lenses and a SB800 for a pittance so she could second shoot for him at weddings. I learned little bits  here and there so I could eventually help her out when she started shooting on her own. I feel awful new to photography having started in digital and not Film, but that's how it is. I dont have the same "passion" for photography as my wife does, but I guess that's why I never gave up my day job


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 5, 2012)

Wow, so your start was kinda like an accident! Haha!


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## pixmedic (Aug 5, 2012)

JoshuaSimPhotography said:


> Wow, so your start was kinda like an accident! Haha!



mine? yea. more or less. It was kind of born of necessity. I enjoy photography, but it isnt something I would do full time. i would never give up EMS for it. My plan is to further myself in the medical field. Nursing school in the next few years. Get out of the field full time and into a hospital ER. Im happy to stay the part time amateur photographer helping out my wife.


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 5, 2012)

True. Even though photogrphy really is something that &#8216;helps&#8217; people, it will never be as &#8216;helpful&#8217; as actually healing them!


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## KaPOWitsCHRIS (Aug 5, 2012)

I was choosing my options for GCSE and I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do for them. One of my friends wanted to do photography and I thought it was something I could also do. I like technical stuff, computers, gadgets etc so I thought it was a good decision. So I did it for 2 years and then continued it for another 2 at A Level. 

Most of the stuff I learnt from reading some stuff on the Internet, what my Dad told me and strangely enough, I learnt very little about the subject in school but I learnt about exposure, aperture and ISO there. 

But yeah, that's my boring story


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 5, 2012)

Not boring at all! Nice story! Wow, what a coincidence.


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## Jaemie (Aug 5, 2012)

KaPOWitsCHRIS said:


> I was choosing my options for GCSE...



What's GCSE? Something something secondary education?


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 5, 2012)

Quick google=General Certificate of Secondary Education


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## Fred Berg (Aug 7, 2012)

It all began for me when I sent off for my first camera at the age of 8 or 9. It was a small, simple, B&W only camera advertised in the newspaper my parents took. I saved my pocket money, bought a postal order and waited for what seemed an eternity for it to arrive. The photos were tiny and very grainy but I was hooked.

My next camera took 110 cassette film and allowed me to take colour photos. It also had a slot on top for flash cubes.

Once I had left school and started earning, I was able to buy my first serious camera: an SLR from Miranda. It had a light sensor and, albeit very simple by later standards, an LED exposure indicator in the viewfinder, which lit a green light for good, orange for okay and red for bad exposure. I could now focus on what I wanted, set my own shutter speeds and choose the aperture myself. Heaven. 

In my twenties I had other things to do and so I drifted towards automatics which used 35mm film. 

 Seven or so years ago I bought a digital camera and enjoyed using this new technology for a while. We use a digital bridge camera nowadays as the family camera, but I have gone back to using film now that I once again have the time to pursue photography as a hobby. Digital I found to be lacking in some way on the whole.

These days I use two Revue SLR models, both of which were made by Chinon and have the Pentax K coupling. I also have a very nice viewfinder camera from Voigtländer and a folding middle format camera from Agfa; but the SLRs are my main instruments.


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 7, 2012)

Wow, you sure did evolve over the years! From a camera from the newspaper to a dslr! Haha!


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## Fred Berg (Aug 7, 2012)

JoshuaSimPhotography said:


> Wow, you sure did evolve over the years! From a camera from the newspaper to a dslr! Haha!



Never owned a DSLR, and probably never will (but who knows?). The first digital was a compact and the current one a bridge.


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 7, 2012)

Oh, haha, got mixed up for a second!


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## 12sndsgood (Aug 7, 2012)

I spent my youth outdoors a lot. camping, hiking etc. My dad pickd up a cannon slr to photo deer with. We would spend a lot of hiking time tracking deer and seeing how many deer we could find on a trip (most was probalby around 22) So he got the camera to get photos. Always enjoyed taking his camera and getting shots, but got older. got into cars, car shows. building cars and showing them off. started back by wanting to get photos of cars at shows that had good ideas, so I picked up a simple p&s and then got another one, and kept talking about getting a good one. put it off for several years because anytime I had the money Id wind up putting it into my show car. But eventually bit the bullet, Got my Nikon D3000 and have been into it full time since then.


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## paigew (Aug 7, 2012)

I fell in love with photography when I was a kid. I probably kept the disposable camera industry alive . I remember trying to get 'landscape' shots of the field across the street from the top of my swingset's monkeybars  I have a huge stack of useless crappy photo albums from my childhood that I will probably never open again! I had wanted a dslr for years but until recently (dec 2011) was unable to afford one. I never studied photography until I got my dslr and have learned everything I know through internet forums and google


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## MiiLovely (Aug 7, 2012)

Well my friend was getting into photography and always wanted me to model for her, so I did. Eventually she ended up wanting to be on the other end of the camera so I started taking a few photos of her. Slowly I started thinking more like the photographer and less like the model and was coming up with photoshoot ideas and wanting to go to school for photography (a few things in life happened that stopped that) but now that I have my life a little more figured out I saved up and purchesed my first dslr  It makes me a little sad that the friend who got me into photography isnt in my life anymore but ah well lol stuff happens.


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 7, 2012)

Wow, most people started with an old p and s, and now they all have DSLR's!


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## zombiemann (Aug 8, 2012)

My grandfather was an avid photographer.  Avid maybe isn't the best word... rabid might be closer.  When he passed about a year ago one of the notices that went out to extended family described him as "The one who always had a camera".  I got the bug from him.  I started with an old 35mm point and shoot (I don't even remember the brand).  I eventually moved "up" (or so I thought at the time) to a Kodak Advantix, then I went all out and got a Rebel K2.  I kind of got spoiled shooting with my K2 and didn't really delve into digital until last year when I splurged and got myself a Rebel T2i with 18-55mm and 75-300.  Not the best equipment in the world, but for my budget they do what I need them to do.  I want to get a few other lenses, particularly a 50mm f1.8 but I know I'm better off mastering the equipment I have now rather than spending a whole bunch of extra money.  

Eventually I am going to build myself a barn door type mount for doing wide angle astrophotography.


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## slackercruster (Aug 8, 2012)

!970 friend sold me a Minox for $12. Learned how to develop. Worked in various labs. Read books.


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 8, 2012)

Wow, 12 bucks! No.camera can be sold at that price now!


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## imagemaker46 (Aug 8, 2012)

In 1969 my Dad took me to a professional football game, handed me a camera and a roll of film, said, don't waste it, and away I went.  I've learned everything about photography from him.


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## Rick58 (Aug 8, 2012)

I started when I was 13 (now 54). My dad gave me his Ansco Viking, an old 120 folder, and a Weston meter. He had a permanent darkroom that was made from a converted second floor bathroom. I learned everything from him. As I got better, he gave me his Exacta VIIa and a 3 1/4 X 4 1/4 Crown Graphic all before I turned 16. I still have the Graphic which is still in beautiful condition. My old Weston is still in my dresser drawer also. I started old school and never found a reason to change.


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 8, 2012)

imagemaker46 said:
			
		

> In 1969 my Dad took me to a professional football game, handed me a camera and a roll of film, said, don't waste it, and away I went.  I've learned everything about photography from him.



So was your dad a pro or enthusiast !?


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## smithsam (Aug 8, 2012)

Hi Joshua!

Congrats on completion of 1000th post

Well to begin with photography, you need to grasp complete knowledge about how to use the camera. You can get immense knowledge through available reviews, books and videos. 

You can also visit my page for more info regarding photography 

Regards

Sam


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Aug 8, 2012)

Lol dude, I know my photography I was just asking questions regarding others, but thx for ur wishes


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## Rick58 (Feb 4, 2014)

I thought it might be fun to drag this old thread out of the closet. As I mentioned earlier, I received my first "real" camera in 1971 for my 13th birthday along with a Weston light meter. I've thought about this camera a lot as I've gotten older and have a lot of fond memories of that birthday and the scores of film that went through that old Ansco . After many near-buys, I finally picked up this old girl, an Ansco Viking 6.3, which is an identical twin to my 13th birthday present. I knew I wouldn't rest until I did.


I still have the old Weston III. Maybe now I'll have a reason to shoot a roll of that BN400CN. I thought of putting a roll through my Bronica's and the RB and even the Baby Graphic, but this feels different. I may just do it this time


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## table1349 (Feb 4, 2014)

There is a special pinkness to the sky as the sun rises on a crisp October morning, kissing the clouds, warming the fields, and waking the  livestock, who move quietly to their feet and begin to mill about their  pens, like patrons in a crowded theater lobby who, instead of waiting to  see a show, are waiting to be made into steaks or bacon.  Suddenly my mother hollered to father, who was at that very moment put the ROLLS Razor Safety Razor  that he had removed from its Strop Guard Case to his well lathered neck.  "It's time" my mother exclaimed as she turned off the burner of the white GE gas stove under the pan that held my fathers half cooked eggs.  Father gathered up her already prepared suitcase, helped my mother to the car and took off for the hospital.  9 hours and 37 minutes later my photographic journey began.  

It wasn't until 7 years later at the county fair and carnival that I actually realized I was interested in photography.  It cost me 75 cents and three tries to grab that little camera out from the other items in that carnival claw machine.  There it was, gleaming brighter than the barrel of an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock.  My very own miniature  no name camera.  The instructions strategically rubber banded to the camera said that it actually took pictures.  All you had to do was send in your money to get a roll of miniature film.  Film it turned out that also worked in the Minox B that was so popular in the great black and white television spy shows such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E.  I sent away my money, got my film and shot away.  The developed results left much to be desired, but I was the best spy on the block, because I had a real camera.   

At 10, while staying on the farm with my grandparents, I ran across a 620  Flash Brownie in a closet.  Quickly I snatched it up and took it to my grandparents.  It was their old camera, still in working condition and was given to me to use that summer.  The following Thursday night, that was the night that the stores stayed open until 8 p.m. so folks could do their shopping, I went to the drugstore and bought a roll of 620 film.  I proceeded over the summer to take some of the greatest portraits of cows, chickens and horses ever known to have been taken by a 10 year old boy.  

The following Christmas I was blessed with a Kodak Hawkeye Instamatic F Camera from my grandparents.  I was advised however to try and pick out better subjects than livestock.  Seems I had saturated the market with portraits of our farm animals.  126 film being easy to find, that camera and I became inseparable.  I took photos of every living person I knew, my dog, and whatever crossed my path.   Some were good, some were bad, but all were fun to take.

When I was 14 my uncle, who had suffered through some of my photographic sessions with the Hawkeye showed up at our door one day with a present for me.   A used but well cared for Leica IIIc that he had picked up in the Navy after WW II.  Included was a brown leather case that came with the camera when he got it.  By now I had learned to frame a shot but the Leica was confusing.  A downtown camera store was able to solve my adolescent dilemma when they found an old user manual printed in English in their file cabinets.  $2.00 later and I was on my way to learning how to do more than load film point and press a shutter button.  

In my Sophomore year in high school my journey really took off.  I was interested in a girl, she was interested in journalism, so I became interested in being a school paper and year book photographer.   While the romance was over in a few months, some exciting months involving the back seat of a 1969 Mercury Monterey station wagon, my interest in photography for both the paper and the year book skyrocketed.  I had an after school job, a little folding money and a desire for a good camera of my own.  At a local camera store was a used but well taken care of Nikon F2 with a 50mm f1.4 Nikkor lens.  The proprietor of the shop knew I was with the paper and year book staff, and while I was a bit short of funds for a used 135mm Nikkor f2, he let me have it anyway.  I was set for then next several years.  

I was also hooked on photography for good.  I quit my job at the pizza joint when I managed, with a friends, dads help, to secure a position with a well know commercial photographer.  I lugged lights, back drops, props, swept floors and did every other menial job there was.  But I paid attention when the shoots were happening.  The boss took notice of this and we began to discuss photography.  He took me under his wing and taught me everything I could absorb about the business and about photography.  I learned to use MF and LF cameras as well as his favorite tool, the Pentax 67.  I learned lighting, such that it was at the time.  It was the era of flat lighting for fashion and to me was and still is a boring mode of lighting.  I learned product photography and all aspects of commercial photography of the day.  I also got to learn a lot about portrait photography.  The studio was so busy with commercial work that the boss only did portrait work for commercial clients, friends and family.  2 1/2 years later I was off to college with a well rounded education in and a vast love for photography that survives to this day.


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## snowbear (Feb 4, 2014)

I was given an old brownie when I was 9 or 10 ('67 or '68).  A year or so later, I bought a Kodak 126 Instamatic with soda bottle money - IIRC, it was about $12.  When I was 15, my father got tired of me absconding his Minolta SRT-101 and got my first "real" camera, a Minolta HiMatic 7S rangefinder, for my birthday (I still have it).  I learned to develop B&W in high school, shot a little for the yearbook, and bought a SRT-201 a couple of years later.

I got away from it for a few years, but in 2007 I bought the D40.  The reintroduction to photography bought a seriousness (artistically) that I lacked earlier.  I took three photography  classes (two film, one digital) when I decided to get my BS (Univ of MD 2010).


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## minicoop1985 (Feb 4, 2014)

My mom gave me her old 110 Kodak when I was probably 8-9 ish. Took some horrible photos that are lost to the annals of time. Here and there I've picked it up throughout the years, but when depressive phases hit, I gave it up. What got me back into it was my dad's old Olympus OM-1n. Then I got a DSLR. Then it snowballed over the past few months and I'm still horrible but not as horrible.


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## limr (Feb 4, 2014)

The first camera I remember was my father's Polaroid Land Camera 100. Mostly I remember being blinded by the flash bulb as it burnt itself out, and begging to be the one to peel the print off of the backing. It was So.Cool. to see that print emerge after it was peeled off and kept developing. He rarely let anyone else shoot it, but it was always around.

Then we went to 110 cameras - we had a Kodak (who knows the model number) and I think my brother had one. Then we all slowly started moving to 35mm point and shoots. Someone had a Konica, someone else had a Kodak, and in high school, I got a Vivitar for a birthday or Christmas. That was when I thought, "Hey, now I can get creative!" I tried and tried to get various artistic effects, but was stymied time and time again. Kept trying all the way through college. Ended up with a lot of blurry shots.

I graduated from college in Dec 1992, got a temp job, and in March 1993, I bought myself a K1000, a Takumar 28-80mm zoom lens, and a flash. The first roll came out like crap, but I saw that I was finally able to at least change things in the picture other than making everything blurry. I bought a book and started studying. I got better - enough to keep me encouraged. 

Within a year, I was in grad school and had to focus on my studies. Still took pictures, though, and got a few that I still really like and have printed in 8x10. After I finished grad school, I worked for a year and the hobby was still a bit on the back burner.

In 1998, I moved to Istanbul and my K1000 went with me (the flash had broken by this point and I never replaced it. Never got a different lens, either.) Took lots of pictures - still not in a studious, deliberate sort of way but not just snapshots. Did more experimental things and used photography when I needed to express myself but couldn't do so effectively in any other visual medium.

In 2001, I moved to Braga, Portugal and again, the camera came with me. Took even more pictures. That camera went with me just about everywhere. Got to the point where I could take a picture and think, "Wow, that looks like a postcard!" and one second later, "Damnit, it looks like a postcard!"

Moved back to NY in 2003 and started teaching. In about 2005-ish (can't remember exactly), I was using a few of my shots for an activity of sorts (I was teaching ESL at the time) and two of my students from Taiwan asked who took the pictures. When I told them I had taken them, they became very interested and asked to see more. The next week, I brought in more of my pictures. They told me that I was good and needed a 'serious' camera. A week or so after that, they walked into class with a Mamiya 645 Pro TL, and 80mm lens, a 120mm macro lens, a Sekonic light meter (which unfortunately is now broken) and a camera bag. Turns out, they worked at Mamiya and built me a camera from parts that had been rejected for very minor cosmetic issues (so minor that I could never really tell what they were!)

That was when I started getting more serious about photography. I did eventually buy a digital point and shoot and hated every second of it, even if I did get some good images out of it. Bought a better digital camera, but it still never held my attention, so I've stuck with film. I just love it too much. And my 'new' gear got older and older - Russian rangefinders, TLRs, some SLRs from the 70s, and of course my trusty K1000 that will probably be cremated with me whenever I go to the big darkroom in the sky.

Last year, I dusted off that old Polaroid Land Camera 100 of my father's and started shooting with it, so I've come full circle


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## limr (Feb 4, 2014)

Oh, and Rick, that Ansco is beautiful!


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## Tiller (Feb 4, 2014)

I started with a Canon T3. I'm notorious for getting way too involved way too quickly when I get interested in things. I bought a 60d, and that has satisfied my digital bug up to this point.

Films a different story. I started with a Fuji 35mm donated to me by pixmedic. Liked it so much I went on a frenzy and bought 3 or 4 SLR's. A rangefinder came next. Then a Mamiya 645 Pro, and now a Calumet 4x5.

This week I'm buying a complete darkroom setup. What is wrong with me...


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## acparsons (Feb 4, 2014)

I took and class in high school and used BW on an FM2. Didn't own my own camera until I bought a point and shoot in 2001. Started there and became more serious in 2006 when I bought a D40. It has been going up since graduated to a some lower end Canon DSLRs, D80 and FM2 again, D300. I have a large format Pentax that I have yet to try, maybe soon. In addition to getting out every chance I got, I studied genres equipment, and composition for a year by reading books and articles. I also learned a lot by participating in Flickr groups and participating in photo commentary. Started a photography class for the local community and then taught it at a university last semester. Learning more in forum everyday.  Now, looking for places to publish/share my photos. I'm not a great photographer, but it's fun to share.


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## Braineack (Feb 5, 2014)

I took 3 years of photography in High School--learned on film. But I was never a scholar and really put little effort into learning/experimenting, I regret that.  I was much more interested in my Computer Graphics and Desktop Publishing classes at the time.

since we are posting pics, here's the actual camera I learned on:






and my 50mm f/1.4




_Can you tell a HS student used it?  Dat filter ring!  Thank god for all metal construction._

I also worked for a 1-hour photo after school/summer breaks in college when they still had those things.

During college I only had a little Kodak PNS (before cell phone cameras were a big thing) and that was better than nothing.

I went into graphic design after school and once I graduated I upgraded to a D40 because I missed having an SLR. I mainly used it to take pictures of cars on the track and at autocrosses, my big hobby at the time. Nothing really beyond that.

But it really wasn't until last May when I went to the Dominican Republic that I really got back into photography to do more than just take "good" pictures. I ended purchasing a Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4 lens, for my D3100 which replaced my D40, so I'd just have one decent lens I could travel with and while there I took some pretty good shots that I'm proud of.

That really sparked up my interest again beyond just taking car pics.  Now I think most car photography is incredibly boring.

Since then in the short spam of a year after joining here, I went from a D3100 to a D5100, replaced my 55-300mm with a 70-300mm, sold my 10-24mm and bought a 85mm 1.8G, bought a second flash and remote triggers and modifiers like umbrellas and softboxes. And now since I started part my little racecar and moving my money from cars back into this hobby, I've upgrade further to a D600 and a 24-70mm F/2.8 and I'm about to pull the trigger on a 70-200mm F/2.8 once I can sell my wheels/tires (today hopefully if this guy doesn't flake on me!!!).

I still don't shoot enough, and that bothers me with all this money invested into it. Come spring I have a few interested in portraits and I hope that it takes off a bit and I can monetize the hobby a bit by doing it. But besides my cats, I don't have much to shoot at home, so I need to start venturing out and making opportunities for myself to practice and learn.


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## Tom47 (Feb 5, 2014)

I started in the mid 70's with an Minolta 202 with a 50 mm lens took a photographic class.  I had Minolta XG 9, XD 11, plus the 202.  Got good enough to shoot weddings and engagement photos for a photography studio for about 12 years part time.  I have Minolta primes 20, 24, 28, 35, 45, 50, 100, 135, 200, and 400 mm the nice part was the studio had a photo store and equipment was at the stores cost.  I used Minoltas until 2003 when I went on a cruise purchased my first digital camera.  Switched to Nikon with the  D90 and purchased last may a 7100, the kit lens 18-105, 50 1.4,  70-300, and sigma 150-500 MM.  I now shoot mostly wildlife for my enjoyment.


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## TheFantasticG (Feb 5, 2014)

JoshuaSimPhotography said:


> I want to know how you got into photography AND how you learnt a majority of your photographic knowledge.


    Cardboard one time use film cameras from Eckards ( It was the precursor to CVS and Walgreens where I grew up).  Trial and error is where I learned the most. I learned almost as much from the internets be it forums or articles and of course, YouTube.


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## Newtricks (Feb 5, 2014)

Brownie box camera was my first around 1970, 110 soon after that, then a Kodak Retina > Minolta X-700 > Minolta Maxxum 7000 and a Nikon D7000 last year, learned developing film and prints from books, did my own printing and enlarging. After buy a DSLR last year I learned that much of what I knew about cameras no longer applied, hence my screen name... I'm an old dog learning "New Tricks"


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## Dikkie (Feb 6, 2014)

loriacaraveo said:


> Today, With the help of online we can easily learn about the basic tips for photographers which helps us to became a professional one's.


SPOT ON, man !


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## RichieT (Feb 6, 2014)

I started around 12 years old, early 70's, on a Kodak Retina IIa that my father picked up when he was stationed in Germany. Went thru a couple of 110's till I picked up a Minolta XG 1. Still use it on occasion. Went thru some P & S that never survived more than a couple of outings with my wife. Had some early digital P & S till I got the D40X. Moved to D 300 and now D 800. I also have a couple of P & S that I keep at work, in the car, plus a waterproof Fuji for canoeing and snorkeling. Never had formal training ( it shows) but I read a lot.


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## Stevepwns (Feb 6, 2014)

I bought a DSLR for the video capability's,  I have a youtube channel and wanted to up my video production game,  with no intentions of partaking in photography.  A year later, I am completely sucked in.


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## sashbar (Feb 6, 2014)

I joined our local photo club for kids after I was given my late father's camera. It was a small film Smena camera with a fixed lense. I attended the classes twice. On the first day our teacher showed us how to develop a print of an Autumn leaf. That was fun. On the second day some kid brought slides of naked women and we spent some time in the darkroom printing the images. That was fun as well. We were interrupted by the teacher who found the images and got angry. We all run away. I have never returned to that club and never had any other lessons in photography. I was probably 12 at the time. It was a long time ago in a country that does not exist any more, in a city that changed its' name. Autumn leaves and naked women though kept their appeal untouched.


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