# how long have you been a photographer



## MiKaLa119 (Jun 29, 2005)

Just out of curiousity.... but how long have you been a photographer?  and what do you consider yourself now?  amateur...pro?


----------



## clarinetJWD (Jun 29, 2005)

6 months, and I'm definately not pro.  I consider it to be a "severe hobby"


----------



## Nikon Fan (Jun 29, 2005)

Since last summer...and I don't consider myself anything except always learning


----------



## lazarus219 (Jun 29, 2005)

I'd say about 3 months, and i'd say im having lots of fun! and below an amateur


----------



## Digital Matt (Jun 29, 2005)

I've been a photographer for about 3 years, and I consider myself an artist.


----------



## JonMikal (Jun 29, 2005)

i have had a passion for the art of photography many years and have been practicing most of my life.  i cannot call myself a photographer as the term 'photographer' implies professional.


----------



## HoboSyke (Jun 29, 2005)

3-4 years. Isnt this digital revolution great !


----------



## spiralout (Jun 29, 2005)

I picked it up around December of last year.  I own a D70, so that makes me a pro, right?


----------



## vonDrehle (Jun 29, 2005)

I've been into taking pictures for about 3 years. But not really like I am now. Got my Canon Elan 7ne last christmas so about 7 months in my eyes. Though some might count the digital point and shoot days. I'm still a rookie though.


----------



## terri (Jun 29, 2005)

I have been seriously interested for about 5 years now. I consider myself a student of photography, not a photographer.  I would commit myself 24/7 if I could, but I can't. Makes for a long learning curve!


----------



## DocFrankenstein (Jun 29, 2005)

I'm an advanced amateur at this point. Been doing it for a bit more than a year.


----------



## Lensmeister (Jun 30, 2005)

ing for magazines and books for about 7 years.  Been with a camera about 25 years .... I consider myself a almost not bad person and average hobbiest


----------



## KevinR (Jun 30, 2005)

Have used photography as a serious hobby and as a way to make money on and off now for about 20 years.


----------



## SWFLA1 (Jun 30, 2005)

34 years..... yes, i'm old....lol

former professional and studio owner.... sold the studio, but still shoot a wedding or portrait every once in awhile....


----------



## ksmattfish (Jun 30, 2005)

I took my first photographs over 25 years ago, and got my first 35mm SLR about 19 yeas ago, but I became passionate about photography, and began to study it intently about 11 years ago.  I mostly do it because I love it, I've been advertising myself as a "professional" photographer for about 2 years now, but I'm still not making 100% of my income from it.


----------



## mentos_007 (Jun 30, 2005)

7 yrs now... but it became my passion 5 yrs ago...  I'm still learning


----------



## iSellJerseyShore (Jun 30, 2005)

I have been into photography for about 6 or 7 years.. But just last month, I stepped up to the Canon 20D SLR level... Pro or Amatuer? Somewhere in between id say 

I'm always picturing a picture whether or not im taking a picture.... That is my personal quote 


-iSellJerseyShore


----------



## Alison (Jun 30, 2005)

It's been a hobby for about 10 years. I opened a business (portrait/wedding) nearly 2 years ago but I just consider myself as always learning.


----------



## iSellJerseyShore (Jun 30, 2005)

AlisonPower said:
			
		

> It's been a hobby for about 10 years. I opened a business (portrait/wedding) nearly 2 years ago but I just consider myself as always learning.


 

That is the way to do it, turn a hobby into a business  ... How have things been going with it?



-iSellJerseyShore


----------



## airgunr (Jun 30, 2005)

Well, I've been taking pictures since I was a kid.  As far as actually taking a real interest and learning about photography and having a good SLR.  About 2 years.


----------



## joeboot (Jun 30, 2005)

I have been taking pictures for about 35 years.  I got my first SLR 30 years ago (my dad offered me his Leica M3 but I just _had_ to have a Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic F).  He also taught me how to operate a manual camera and how to use a darkroom.  Having four kids of my own, I spent 15 years using a point-and-shoot for 80% of my pictures but I'm getting into a lot more SLR photography these days.  I am still very much an amateur, but if you take enough pictures, some turn out great!


----------



## Kodan_Txips (Jun 30, 2005)

Since about 1962, on and off.  I started by using a contact frame, my family's negs, and red/sepia printing-out paper, exposing it all in sunlight.  Unfortunately you had to look at the prints briefly, and under artificial light, as they were unfixed, because the fixing solution was gold-based, IIRC, and cost a fortune.


----------



## cactus waltz (Jun 30, 2005)

On a steady basis since october last year.


----------



## mygrain (Jun 30, 2005)

I got my first SLR October of 2003. Been at it ever since. I will always consider myself a student no matter how professional my work gets or how much time I eventually spend shooting. It's a passion that has consumed much of my money and time...an addiction if you will.


----------



## Hertz van Rental (Jun 30, 2005)

I am a descendant of Thomas Wedgewood - who in 1802 did some of the first experiments that eventualy led to Photography. It's in my blood.
I've been taking pictures for 40 years. I started getting serious about it 30 years ago.


----------



## ThatCameraThingy (Jun 30, 2005)

Bought my first SLR in 1995. It was as close a you can get to a point 'n shoot. No manual overides. That was a Minolta

Then blew up the Minolta - Electronics expirement went wrong.
Then bought a Canon EOS 600 or something. one of the first AF SLRs

Then sold the Canon and bought a Pentax MZ-50.

Then in 2000 I started working in Photo Retail- manager of a local photo lab.
sold Pentax. and used one of the shops Nikon F80 

Then in 2003 I bought my Canon EOS 30 with BP300 and started adding lenses.
recently came across EOS 1n for a bargain.

Been working in Photo Retail for a while now, but wouldn't call myself a PRO. 

Rather an advanced amateur.

** My thinking goes as follows :  If you own a Nikon your an amateur. If you own a Canon your a pro .  wink wink nudge nudge  


OK OK just kidding

Hanno


----------



## Lanrod (Jun 30, 2005)

Been doing photography now for abot 10 years.  Travel a lot and I am finishing up my degree.  Shoot with a Canon 20D, Mamiya 645afd and a Holga.

Here's my site if anyone wants to critique.

http://www.jasonlandry.com

p.s.....please be patient, the thumbnails take a bit to load on each page.....if you are impatient, click on the big pictures and they will go through the array.  (still working out the bugs)

thanks.

J.


----------



## SLOShooter (Jun 30, 2005)

About ahh 10 years, off and on.  Seriously for about a year now.  Still an amateur, getting close to my first paid job though.


----------



## wharrison (Jun 30, 2005)

Well, I guess I'll elect myself to be the "old man" of this group; I've been into photography since I was first given an Ansco Panda by my parents around the age of 7 years in 1948. Still learning and enjoying photography!


----------



## gypsyIX (Jun 30, 2005)

i knew what i wanted to do when my mom let me borrow her kodak disc camera to take to the circus... when i was 6.  now i'm 27, i have a bfa in photography and i've been a "professional" off and on for the last 9 years or so.  i've done everything from headshots to photo retail to aerials from an nypd helicopter.  

but it all comes back to my art, and my art doesn't want to pay my rent!  

so no, i'm not a "pro" but how can you label something that is a part of your soul?  something intangible that you cannot stop thinking about?  it's different from love, it's need.  it's like hunger, you can eat but you will be hungry again.  i would starve to death without art.

i had a very prolonged dry spell, during which i felt dead inside.  my apartment had flooded, and i lost everything.  portfolios, over 12 years' worth of prints and negatives, scanner, everything.  (everything except my equipment, all cameras and light kits were unharmed... makes you think, doesn't it?)  i made a few feeble attempts to keep shooting, but it was like trying to build a home out of toothpicks.  now that i've had time to heal and accept my loss, i'm beginning to rebuild.  i have nothing to show for a lifetime of work, but i still have that spark inside that enables me to make art.  so i know that i can begin again, and if i work hard i can have a decent body of work in a reasonable amount of time. 

i'm sorry, what was the question...?


----------



## D-Ice (Jun 30, 2005)

For me it's a hobby. It has been for about 8 months. I'm just an amateur at this. I don't even have a good camera. Just a camera phone.


----------



## danalec99 (Jun 30, 2005)

One year and few months. The love is ever increasing.


----------



## BlueDeath (Jul 1, 2005)

I've been take pictures properly since my GCSE in photography 5 years ago. I have a minolta XG9, a very old school camera, digital just isn't as fun.


----------



## Mansi (Jul 1, 2005)

photog has always been an obsession even as a kid...
i got my slr in feb 2004.... shot a bit.. once in a while
my actual photog picked up only this year in jan/feb almost a year later.. i over used and abused my nikon.. almost like an addiction...
i just took a loan and got my dslr a month and a half back...
so in all seriousness it's only been 6 months.. im learning and absorbing from whoever n wherevr i can..
i just sold my first 3 pics.. so it is a start i guess!!!
i dont call myself a photog yet.. but i hope to some day
photography is me! and photojourno is what i want to do...


----------



## 303villain (Jul 1, 2005)

i got a nikon n65 just before my freshman year in highschool started, now im  a sophomoore in college... so about 5 or 6 years...  i started off ONLY taking bmx photos, moved into more artistic types about a year and a half ago


----------



## thebeginning (Jul 1, 2005)

i'm going with what digital matt said and saying i'm an artist.  id rather use that term than get into that 'amateur, professional, semi-professional' thing, at least here at tPF.

I've been photographing seriously since late january, so about 5 months.


----------



## Noodle (Jul 1, 2005)

I have considered photography a serious hobby for me for about 5 years. I then got a photographer's job in a newspaper. The best job ever - sparked a love for sports photography. To expand my hobby I started a photography business. I got quite a few jobs taking portraits, but not enough to earn a living.
I would consider a professional someone who gets paid to take photos and afford to live (as well as continue to pay for new equipment, processing, computers, discs, trips to exotic places to take photos, etc, etc) - my goal in life!


----------



## Christie Photo (Jul 2, 2005)

I shot my first wedding in 1971 and continued as a "weekend warrior" for 5 years.  I worked at two local studios for 6 years and opened my doors in 1983...  August 1st.

So, I have had my own place for 22 years.  Damn.  I should get a "real job!"


----------



## erniehatt (Jul 4, 2005)

wharrison said:
			
		

> Well, I guess I'll elect myself to be the "old man" of this group; I've been into photography since I was first given an Ansco Panda by my parents around the age of 7 years in 1948. Still learning and enjoying photography!


 
Sorry Pal you miss out by 2 years, I borrowed my Mothers camera without permission at age 7 that was 1942. But I have had the odd camera on and off over the years nothing serious until about 18 months ago when I invested in my Sony f717, and I have not looked back since. I have noticed the comments regarding not being a photographer, what makes a photographer, dictionary says someone who takes Photographs. Ernie


----------



## laudrup (Jul 5, 2005)

I've been into photography for about 6 months or so now. I started about a month or so before i joined the forum.

I started off with a really basic point & shoot Kodak 3mp digital, it had no zoom, drained batteries within seconds and was the size of a small continent!!! I enjoyed getting out taking pics and decided digital was the way forward.

Naively I decided that a new digital compact would be the way forward, I bought a casio 6mp camera, got bitten by the bug and was out snapping like crazy. I wanted to learn a bit more about photography and became frustrated with the lack of manual controls.

I then decided to buy a 35mm slr, i'd looked at few different models but stumbled upon a canon t90 with 4 lenses going for £150 on ebay! I bought it and haven't looked back since.

I've spent a fortune on getting films developed, but love it!
I started out with print films and have used a bit of velvia 50 for landscapes and a few rolls of b&w. 

I'm very much an amateur, getting used to the creative controls and composition etc but ,as has been noted before i feel like i learn something new each time I get a roll back!

There have been a few expensive errors along the way! For example using a wide angle lens and having a polarising filter fitted that led to vignetting on photo's. I'd paid £25 per roll of slide film to get developed, printed & scanned to cd!!! I also had a few shot ruined where I'd managed to get raindrops on the lens too! It pays dividends to pay attention to detail. It's all part of the learning curve...and I love the fact that I keep picking up new things each time I shoot!

I'm really enjoying getting to grips with composition to maximise the impact of photo's and it also get's me out and about and into the countryside often, and I also enjoy the fact that there are no end of subjects to shoot!

I like to think i'm a fairly creative person, I play the guitar, i've tried writing poetry and short stories, but with photography everything seemed to slip into place and it's so rewarding when a film comes back and you've managed to capture some good shots!


----------



## Chiller (Jul 5, 2005)

I've been working on it now for just over 2 years.  Sort of an extreme hobby for me.


----------



## Midnight Reign (Jul 5, 2005)

Im very new to this hobby.  Im not sure what my intention is with photography, but right now, Im learning more everyday, and enjoying it.  I have been trying my hand at photography for almost a year


----------



## df3photo (Jul 5, 2005)

ohh... my first photo class was in 6th grade... i enjoyed taking snapshots before that for acouple years... then threw highschool, then went to  college for it... still shooting now...kinda... just cant make money at it. but im going to start trying harder to really soon... www.df3photo.com let me know what you think.


----------



## barebonephoto (Jul 5, 2005)

It is crazy to say it outloud but I've been shooting for 14 years!
I have never done anything other than photography. I actually went through a tough time once because no one would hire me because thats all I had on my resume. The all that I would eventually leave to be a photographer. They were right. Ive had my own studio now for 4 years. I can't ever imagine doing anything else!

I love my job.

Emma
www.barebonephoto.com


----------



## Xmetal (Jul 6, 2005)

Almost a year - and I still haven't got a DSLR. 
People ask me if i'm a Professional after observing my Automotive works but I tell them i'm purely a hobbyist.


----------



## cmptrdewd (Jul 10, 2005)

I got my first digital camera on my 12th birthday and loved snapping pictures of everything. After studying about photography I found that my 1mp point n' shoot really didn't provide the creative features I wanted. So after a lot of practice with my "p n' s" and studying different cameras I found the one I wanted! The Canon PowerShot Pro1!! 

My parents had told me that I had to buy it myself because it was so expense. I saved and saved for what seemed forever. I had $400 in my savings account and it was getting around Christmas.  I never expected the present I was going to get this year!! 

My heart leaped for joy when I opened that box!! "It's... it's... it's the camera I wanted!!" My dad said that all the money in my savings account was gone to pay for half the camera, but I didn't care, I had what I wanted for so long!! 

I got that camera just this last Christmas and I consiter myself an noob/serious hobbist and know my stuff (one word: Books, lots of books!). I'm going to take a photography class soon because lately I've been in a creative slump. For me being 15 and stuck in the house most of the time (homeschooled) it's hard to find good picture oppurtunities, you know? I'm going to also use photography as a second income as soon as I can drive and have my own job.

But any way, I love my camera and photography and I always learn something new around here.



Have a day,
Aaron


----------



## LizM (Jul 10, 2005)

'Bout 20 years or so.  Bought my first SLR (Pentax K1000) with money from my first part-time job.

I consider myself an amatuer (it lets me enter contests!).


----------



## Islair (Jul 12, 2005)

I have and AA in Professional Photography, work in a portrait studio, work with customers and all of that jazz.  I would call myself a professional but I prefer the term "artist" for the simple reason that I dont enjoy portrait.  My real love is going out and seeing what there is to capture.  I sell editions, though not many yet.  My biggest fear is getting my hobby into a career though, nothing worse than it turning into work.  

So I enjoy my time behind the lens and hope it stays fun.


----------



## bumsrmyfriends (Jul 12, 2005)

I've been a photographer for about a year, but just recently got fully committed to it.


----------



## Middlemarch (Aug 22, 2005)

Got my first SLR 2 weeks ago.  I'm a newb, and proud of it.


----------



## Dweller (Aug 22, 2005)

I took my first shot since deciding to learn about photography in April of last year. Today I finally started organizing all my negatives so have been able to determine that I have shot about 684 shots in that time...

I should have gone Digital


----------



## dalebe (Aug 23, 2005)

I have been into photography now for the last 12yrs, but seriously about five years, i used to be a fanatic bodybuilder with a passion, but photography far exceeds any passion i have ever had, i go to bed thinking of it, and i wake up thinking of it, so i would consider myself as a keen amateur


----------



## Vmann (Aug 23, 2005)

Been shooting with slrs. Started developing and working in a darkroom at thirteen. I would still consider myself a novice.


----------



## Patrick (Aug 23, 2005)

22 years off and on....mostly on.


----------



## darin3200 (Aug 23, 2005)

I've been taking a lot of snapshots for most of my life, I developed (no pun intended ) a serious interest in photography around April or May of this year


----------



## 'Daniel' (Aug 23, 2005)

~Less than a month :shock:

I got my camera at christmas but only very recently started taking serious pictures.

I'm suprised so many of you have DSLRs after not even a year photographing.


----------



## montresor (Aug 23, 2005)

Since early 2004.... Read an article about the Holga and that was the end of life as I knew it. Since then, shooting when possible, but job gets in the way. I like cameras that are old and/or weird -- Koni-Omega Rapid, big Crown Graphic, Agfa Isolette I, Kodak Retinette 1a (German), Mamiya C330S... plus plastic toy cameras from the thrift store, a P&S in the pocket, a cheesy Fuji APS I got for $2.02 at ValueWorld (home of palindromic pricing). Recently jammed up a Contaflex real good.

Professional? Um... I got $50 for a moody portrait of Pierre Boulez I took for the local alternative weekly this year.


----------



## darin3200 (Aug 23, 2005)

Daniel said:
			
		

> I'm suprised so many of you have DSLRs after not even a year photographing.


Its the inexperience, after they shoot for a while and get better they relize the errors of their ways and go to film


----------



## summers_enemy (Aug 24, 2005)

I had a camera thrust into my hands by age 7 and have rarely been without one since then....so make it roughly 14 years   I am _definitely_ an amateur...


----------



## Rob (Aug 24, 2005)

The last three generations of my family have been keen amateur photographers, so I was introduced to cameras in a "take a picture of mummy & daddy" way from about the age of seven or so and started with my own camera at about twelve. So on and off sixteen years. 

As for professional, I regard a pro photographer as someone who devotes most of their time, and gains most of their income, from photography. I have a day job, but get the occasional wedding or corporate gig with which I usually get a few £££.

Rob


----------



## Scurra (Aug 24, 2005)

I'm like airgunr I've been taking photos for ever pretty much but I've only been seriously into proper SLR's and good images for the last 2 or 3 years. 

I'm not a pro (i'm not good enough to be) but at the moment I am getting all my income from freelance work for a web design company, although I am trying to get trained as a pro portrait photographer as a perk of my next employment move.


----------



## Becky (Aug 24, 2005)

I've always been into "getting a good shot" so to speak, but never really considered trying it more seriously. For the past couple of years I've experimented a lot with composition and basic techniques on a point and shoot digital, and recently (maybe a month or so now) when the opportunity presented itself for me to go down the dSLR route I jumped at it.

I'm now the proud owner of a Canon 350D and I love it... this was probably one of the best deciesions I've made... I'm enjoying photograph-ing so much! :mrgreen:

I'd like to get to a stage where I can maybe get some money for my photos but I'm not totally bothered.... my boyfriend is a video enthusiast and has some excellent video work and post production editing skills.  He does some incredible wedding videos etc, so maybe at some point in the future we could go into that sort've business together combining our hobbies!


----------



## crphoto (Aug 24, 2005)

I have been a serious hobbyist for the last 2 years but I first picked up an SLR about 20 years ago.


----------



## LittleMan (Aug 24, 2005)

I've been learning/using an SLR for the past 7 years.  I only just now decided that it is what I want to do as a carreer.


----------



## Patrick (Aug 24, 2005)

darin3200 said:
			
		

> Its the inexperience, after they shoot for a while and get better they relize the errors of their ways and go to film


 
:lmao: What if you go from film to digital then back to film?:roll:


----------



## LittleMan (Aug 24, 2005)

Patrick said:
			
		

> :lmao: What if you go from film to digital then back to film?:roll:


That's called trying something new... but figuring out that it wasn't all that great... 


:mrgreen:


----------



## jadin (Oct 5, 2005)

Go post here if you haven't yet.


----------



## LaFoto (Oct 5, 2005)

*"A photographer"?*

Big word.

I think I held a camera (Kodak Instamatic, my sister's first camera) first when I was 7 or 8 to take my own photos (horrible outcome!). 

That means that I have been taking photos (on and off) for ... shall I tell you? Ah, you know anyway, so there... some 38 years.

But all those years of taking photographs, including the last 6 or so in which I have decided to get better and take more than just your everyday snapshot still do not make me a _photographer._ Oh no. 

So in answer to your question about what I consider myself to be now I must say:
*AMATEUR* and nothing but *AMATEUR*.


----------



## elsaspet (Oct 5, 2005)

I got my first camera December of last year, so I am just now coming up on my first photography anniversary.

Although far from what I consider being a pro, I have been fortunate enough to quit my "day job" with the money I have earned from photojournalism and devote all my time to photography.  I'm just getting into weddings, and really love that as well.  As so many others have said, it's a constant learning process and I can only hope to get better.


----------



## sfaribault (Oct 5, 2005)

LaFoto said:
			
		

> *"A photographer"?*
> 
> Big word.
> 
> ...




My first camera was a brownie!! 

Steve


----------



## Hertz van Rental (Oct 5, 2005)

sfaribault said:
			
		

> My first camera was a brownie!!


But which one? Kodak have made lots of different Brownies over the years.
My first camera was a Brownie 127


----------



## ShaCow (Oct 5, 2005)

i would consider myself as 'a uber noob!' heeh


----------



## usayit (Oct 5, 2005)

I'm 30 and I've been shooting as far back as i can remember.  First with my father's minolta 7000 that I "borrowed" for several years and with his 110 pentax.  I basically was the self assigned photographer for the family during trips and took pictures of whatever I found along the way.  Sometimes little flowers and at times huge landscapes.  Never really focused on the art in photography until after graduation in 99..  I was too "distracted" with finishing my computer science degree.. ( joking ) 

Past several years have been fustrating for various reasons but I always emersed myself into photography to help keep my fustrations at bay.  4 months ago, I landed a full time position that required only 3 days of my week.  Leaves 4 days to devout to a focus on photography among other things.  Simply put... i want to learn the craft but if I make a living from it sometime in the future I would be totally happy.


----------



## uberben (Oct 5, 2005)

I bought my first SLR a year ago.  I bought my first DSLR two months ago.  My wife thinks I have to many expensive hobbies.  Photography is something I do to relax and be creative.  I would rate my skills as moderate with lots of room for improvement.


----------



## GliderPilot (Oct 6, 2005)

My great granfather was a professional photographer from about WW1 on and left his cameras to my after he passed away so I've been surrounded by cameras of all types my whole life (Ranging from old Bellows cameras to a WW2 vintage Rolleiflex). I've been playing around with shots, not really knowing what I was doing for pretty well the past 10 years. About three years ago I became the school photographer but I am by no means any more than a lucky amateur.


----------



## bmovie205 (Apr 1, 2006)

I hope this thread takes off again. It's great to see how everyone got started.
So, Here's my story.
Took my first photo with my grandfather's polaroid (it was pull apart film can't remember which) when I was 4 (1973). Moved up to an Instamatic. And then my parents bought an SX-70 and I was the only one to use it (1976). Still have it and used it today, Ha  . 1978 Parents bought a Pentax K1000 still my personal fav. I used it through high school taking photos for yearbook and that was the first time I stepped into a darkroom. Haven't been in a darkroom since 1991.
1999 went to a HP digicam. 3mp 
2002 got a Nikon 8700 because I really didn't want to have to deal with lenses because I would have had to buy everyone I wanted and my wife would have killed me.
Now I'm into Polaroid transfers (the last year) and Gum bichromate prints (the last month) OK my wife still smacks me on a regular basis when I have to buy film and chemicals. 

How long? 33 years.
Pro or Am? I've sold some photos and I've been laughed at, all on the same day,  so I'll go with both. Or neither? Hmmmm.
Later,
Toby


----------



## Torus34 (Apr 1, 2006)

58 yrs. Amateur.


----------



## Iron Flatline (Apr 1, 2006)

Well, I thought I responded to this a few months ago, but I guess not:

I started in college 20 years ago in New York City. I had a Canon AE-1 and 50mm lens, and later some other gear. My favorite was a hand-held off-camera flash. I hated developing my own film, but loved making my own prints. 

Being in a dark room with pretty girls at the age of 18 also had it's own rewards.

I continued shooting, but as college ended it became more difficult to get easy darkroom access. I had a girlfriend with a big appartment in Manhattan, and we converted one of the two bathrooms into a darkroom. That relationship ended, and photography became less important as my career took off.

I kept shooting, but only bought little cameras. I got really interested in it again when  Photoshop came  out, because it gave me the chance to work with pictures while sitting at a desk, not standing and breathing fumes. 

About 4-5 years ago I bought a digital SLR, the Canon D60. I've been investing in good lenses (and a LOT of other fun stuff) since then, and recently added a Canon 5D to my line-up. 

I wish my wife enjoyed photography as a hobby, but she is supportive of mine. Sometimes it would be nice not to go shooting alone though.


----------



## mal (Apr 1, 2006)

Just over a year. I've sold a few things and would love to make a career out of it eventually, but I've got a long way to go.

Elsapet: Would you mind explaining how you came to make a living from photojournalism? It's an area that I'm interested in but as a discipline it seems like it'd be pretty difficult to get into without knowing someone already in the profession.


----------



## fotogenik (Apr 3, 2006)

Have done point and shoot stuff for a few years.  Stepped up to my D50 dSLR in January and hope to eventually turn my hobby into a sustaining business.

Currently very rookie with aspirations of turning pro.


----------



## panzershreck (Apr 3, 2006)

technically by all means i'm still a noob

i bought my first camera a little over a year ago, and it wasn't until December that i did my first B&W shooting and developing/printing

since then i've done a lot more because of ease of access to the campus darkroom and with opportunities to go on trips overseas, such as going to Thailand to help shoot a documentary, i got a lot of really good shots out of that trip (a 90% success rate)

i've never been paid to shoot a photo, and i've never sold a photo, and honestly i don't really care if i do or not, though since right now i'm in a struggle to find money, i'd be more than willing to do anything with photography that'll make money, same with video, although both i'm more inclined to focus on artistic aspects than utilitarian market aspects, but the nature of both involves money, so ya gotta do what ya gotta do

i'm going to Havasu falls this summer with a 120mm camera loaded with color film, so that'll be really cool, it'll be the third time i take a camera somewhere


----------



## lyburnum (Apr 28, 2006)

I've been studying photography for 5 years, will have been 7 by the time I've finished my degree. However I started gaining an interest in photography when I was 7. Didn't get a decent camera till I was 15 though.


----------

