Since I was a baby—back in 1958—my mother took hundreds of photographs of our family life throughout the years, capturing small pieces of time frozen in little negative squares. Today, I can still look back with those images, and they awaken memories that would be forgotten without them.
In 1968 my dear Mom gave me a Brownie Hawkeye camera and started a fire in me for taking pictures. I remember her words of instruction, "Load the film in a dark place, never open the film door until you rewind, and keep the sun behind you when you shoot."
From that day on I carried a camera with me often. I took 13-year-old style fuzzy pictures of my hikes up the Roosevelt Mountain in Rockwood, Tennessee, USA, with my brother Steven, and a friend named Scott Haley. Every major event of my life has a few frames attached.
I started photograping my own family in 1979, and documented the growth of my five children up until today. Photography has been a part of my life all the way back to my earliest memories. I'll keep on shooting until I'm unable!
In recent years digital photography has replaced film in my life. I've found the digital process to be even more fulfilling since it allows me to completely control the process from the time I press the shutter until the final print. It has allowed me to be more creative, since the cost is low to shoot, and I can thereby experiment more. Using a digital darkroom or workflow is much simpler to me. No more chemicals!
Honestly, for me digital cameras answer two distinct needs. One, I love photography and want to make the best images I can possibly create. Two, I enjoy technology and love to see the progress of electronic devices. I guess it comes from reading so much science fiction as a boy. DSLR cameras are not only powerful imaging devices, they are also satisfying to those who love to fool around with gadgets. I like them so much that I wrote a series of books about using Nikon® digital SLR cameras successfully.
Now, my children are almost grown, and they all seem to have a love of photography, too. Two of my daughters are starting their own mother and child portrait service, so the nut doesn't fall far from the tree. I make all of my living from various forms of imaging, my favorite being traditional stock photography.
Recently, I've been experimenting with places like Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter to self-market and let others enjoy my images. Have you found that type of image promotion to be successful? I'm trying to go "viral" myself, these days, so I'm sure this blog will discuss issues along those lines quite frequently.
Camera technology is sure changing, and I find most of it quite fascinating. I just have to be sure to hold myself back from the rampant "upgrade fever" that seems to have afflicted most of the world. I still shoot often with my Nikon D2x from 2004, especially in the studio. However, I do have the latest cameras too. As an author of camera books, that'll always be the case. I'm just glad I have a good excuse!
Today, things are moving quickly and changing constantly. However, it all goes back to one thing—the image. No matter what device I am using to capture what I see, the picture itself is the reason.
Photography is not about digital cameras, it's the process of putting onto shareable media something that fascinates us. Don't let your images pile up on your computer's hard drive. Share them, distribute them, or license them. Let your art be seen. Life is short and you and I are creative creatures.
I just wanted to introduce myself and tell you a little about me and mine. I hope that you'll comment on my blog and visit my website. If you are an image or book buyer, I welcome you. If you are a commenter on blogs, comment away! If you are a lover of imaging, talk about it here or on one of my forums, PlanetNikon.com or StockImagingForum.com.
Remember why we do this: "For the Love of Photography!"
