A Passion For Photography

I've always enjoyed taking pictures, but only started getting serious about photography when my daughter was born and I started taking a gazillion pictures of her. It also turned out to be a hobby I could do without too much interference from a curious little girl. When I would try practicing my guitar for instance, she would always want to play too. After a couple of years taking pictures with an Olympus 740Z 3.2 MP zoom camera, I was ready for something more. I decided to purchase an SLR so I bought a Canon 20D and learned to how to use it. My main camera these days is a Canon 5D Markii. Never content, I still feel I am learning about photography and related subjects such as lighting. A few years back, I dug my old Brownie Flash Six-20 camera out of the attic. I used this camera as a kid until I was given a Kodak instamatic as a teenager. After reading numerous photography related articles and books, I began experiencing with different formats other than 35mm or digital. I loaded the Brownie with some 120 film (it was necessary to trim the plastic spool to make it fit. It's made to use 620 film) and took some pictures. Not too many local shops could develop the medium format film so I took a class with the city recreation department and learned to develop my own film. As fortune would have it, after expressing my interest in photography to my boss at work; he mentioned he had an enlarger I could have. Slowly, I built a collection of vintage cameras and would occasionly turn the kitchen or bathroom into a darkroom. I purchased a Graflex 4X5 Speed Graphic and learned to use it. This camera, more than any other camera I owned, taught me about the priciples of photography. It was necessary to purchase another enlarger to accommodate the large format (4" X 5") negatives. I went with an old Omega D2. This enlarger performs well and parts for it are still available. I have slowed down on adding to my camera collection and instead have focused more on fine tuning my skills. These days, I take pictures when ever I can. Recently, my daughter has started playing with (oops) I mean, using my small point-and-shoot digital camera. She has taken a couple good pictures so far. Perhaps she will learn to love photography as much as I do.