First of all, thank you to everyone who has ever taken the time to reach out to me about photography. I figured it was finally time to blog about this subject. I get asked lots of questions all over the board and wanted to address the basics! I hope it will be helpful for everyone who feels so passionately about photography and wants to learn more. I'll share a little about where I got started. I've been shooting for half of my life (15 years) and I feel there is still so much to learn, always.
2002:
I first got into photography when I was a sophomore in high school. However, I was never that "dark room girl." I tried developing my own film, but it just wasn't really for me. Yeah, it's cool to do your own push/pull process but I was like "Meh, it's too dark in here, my eyes can't see." I started shooting with disposable film cameras, my favorite was the Kodak because you can hold the button down and do no flash! It was my go to camera when I went to a bunch of shows. From there, I learned that getting close up to the subject really helped make the photos interesting aka just get into the mosh pits and shoot from wherever.
2004:
After going through dozens and dozens of plastic cameras, I decided it was finally time for me to step it up and get a 35mm point and shoot, I think I got a Canon something and started shooting random things I saw.
2005:
It was time to step it up again and finally got my 35mm SLR, it was a Nikon N75. Nikon forever. It was autofocus, so it was super fast and easy to use. I brought it to more shows and really loved being able to use an SLR.
2006:
I had a whole roll of film not turn out after a show and was really upset and decided it was time to go digital. This was a very big deal in life. Digital cameras were REALLY expensive back in the day for like 2MP, no joke. It was a huge investment, but my first DSLR was a Nikon D50, it changed my life. I also was really into the fisheye thing (haha).
2007-2008:
Once again, upgraded for the Nikon D80, not really sure why, just did it. I started shooting parties at college (it was thing back then), I joined my college newspaper and did more photojorunalism, and of course, shot more shows.
Lomography:
In between all of this, there was this thing called Lomography, if you've never heard of it before, you've truly missed out on life, jk. It was another thing back then, and I had a bunch of their cameras.
Polaroids:
I was also really into Polaroids when they still existed and sold their film. I had a regular one as well as the Polaroid SLR 680, it was amazing. When I found out they were discontinuing the film, I went to Sam's and hella stocked up on packs. And then when I finally ran out of film, that was the end of my instant film obsession.
HOLGA:
And we can't forget about our beloved holgas, plastic evyerthing. 120vc and light leaks forever.
BLUE WALL SERIES:
So then I had this thing where I painted my apartment wall blue and did some shoots on it.
Then my last year in college, I painted it tourquoise with swirls.
2010:
I registered my photography business and started shooting weddings. I also finally went full frame a few years in. I upgraded for the D700 and then ultimately, the D800. I think the greatest learning curve is when you jump into the wedding industry. I feel like this is where I grew the most in my skills. There is nothing like shooting your first wedding--so many nerves and anxious bones. I truly believe that wedding photographers are some of the most well-rounded photogs out there. They are usually thrown into a high-stress environment and basically have to work with whatever light and situation they have in the moment. There's lots of directing, running around and thinking quick on your feet. I will never forget those nights where my body felt like it had been hit by a train at the end of a wedding day.
2013:
Then I discovered the backcountry....
Okay, I realized this post was way too long, so I will make a part 2 on actual photography tips. Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me and looking at all these funny old pics.