About
I “really” began to understand what photography could mean to me in college while getting my degree in Business. Choosing to take Photography 101 as an elective during my first semester, I quickly realized that this was something that actually resonated with me and provided a creative outlet and in a sense provided balance to my other course work. The pull was so strong that I actually took a photography class every semester for four years. By my Junior year I had exhausted all of the advertised courses and began to work with my professor at the beginning of each semester from that point on to define a project based curriculum.
It was during my senior year that I had to make a decision – do I consider going to grad school for photography or do I enter the professional world of business and utilize the degree I worked so hard to get. Keep in mind this was the 80’s and the business world was booming and made to seem glamorous and exciting with the promise of BIG bucks – do you recall the movie “Wall Street” and “The Secret to My Success”. Well as you can guess I chose the later – rationalizing that I could pursue photography as a serious hobby.
Unfortunately the distractions of starting a new job and all that comes with moving into the next phase of my life didn’t include photography. So my 5×7 view camera, Zone VI tripod and my 35mm kit got boxed up and buried in my closet.
Fast forward many MANY years… My wife and I were about to complete our second adoption from Russia and I thought to myself it would be a real shame if I didn’t capture some great images of this life changing experience. By this time all my 35mm gear wasn’t up to snuff and I certainly wasn’t go to lug my view camera around – we are after all in the “digital” age. So off to the store I go to purchase my first digital SLR, a Nikon D40x. Once I got got comfortable with all that is digital I was hooked…but coming from a 35mm and 5×7 view camera background, I quickly started looking for something that would give me better image quality and file size. After much contemplation I jumped off the deep end and purchased a full frame Nikon D700 and a full complement of lenses.
While I still maintain a full-time job in marketing for an architectural firm…I have now carved out a place in my life to do something that I really love and am passionate about. Who knows where it will go from here – but that isn’t the point. It really is a journey – one that offers me the opportunity to slow down and really take in what’s around me and capture it in a way that reflects what “I” see.
