The Evolution of a Photographer, Part 1

My first "big boy" camera was a Canon AE-1 Program.

I had been saving for college living expenses from my summer jobs.  When I graduated High School, I got an award from the local bank that came with a check.  I don't remember the amount, but it was certainly more than I made in a week working part-time.  I had been wanting a 35mm camera for a while, but my living expenses were more important.  My mother suggested that I put the award check towards my college expenses and use my own money to go buy a camera.  It did not take much convincing.  It just so happened that JC Penny had a Canon AE-1 Program with 50mm lens on sale that week and three days later I was a proud Canon owner.

I didn't know much about photography and kept the AE-1 on "P" mode most of the time.  My primary responsibility was keeping the subject in focus.

Fast forward to Fall of Senior year in college.  A semester of "Art" was required to get your degree and I had signed up for the Photography 101 course 6 semesters in a row and never got it.  If I didn't get it the Spring semester, I would have to take "Art History" or learn how to draw/paint; neither of which held much excitement for me.

When the schedules came out in November, no Photography 101.  I talked to my Advisor and he made some calls.  None of it helped, no space in Photography 101.  He then mentioned that if I was local, Photography 101 was being taught over the Winter in the evening.

I had it all worked out when I went home for Thanksgiving.  I would work in the computer center during the day to pay my expenses.  My housing was already paid for, and all I needed was for my parents to pay for the credits.  Of course, this was after they just paid for me to re-take statistics over the previous Summer.  But hey, it was worth a shot and I really didn't want to take "Drawing for Computer Geeks" or whatever was being offered. 

A surprising "OK, but this is it" was the answer.

So a housemate and I (he needed the credit too) signed up for Photography 101. That's where I really learned how to use a camera.  No more "P" mode.  Three weeks of learning how to use your camera and develop/print Black & White.

Some of the photos from my final project are below.  The photos were scanned on my 6 year old flatbed scanner, and the quality is so-so.  The instructor's comment on my final project was "Need to spend more time in the darkroom to prevent such contrasty results." 

Yeah, I like 'em that way.

I got an A.  I think everybody did.

This was my "portrait".  Natural light on the beach in January.

My "depth of field" photo.  Instructor's comment was "This is the best DOF idea in the class.  Too bad it's out of focus in the enlarger."

My "motion" photo of the waves crashing on the beach.

"Night" photo #1.  My housemate and went out one night to get our night photos.  Our first stop was the Poughkeepsie Train station when I got this one.

"Night" photo #2.  This is the span of the Mid-Hudson bridge in Poughkeepsie at night.  My housemate and I decided to drive across the bridge and stop in the middle if there was no traffic and snap a picture.  About the third time over the bridge, I put my camera on the roof of the car and exposed for like 3 seconds with a tight shutter.  The fact that another car came screaming by was just lucky.  Probably not the smartest thing we ever did, but probably not the dumbest either.