"The Arsenal" - digging up roots

I was 9 years old when the surfing movie North Shore hit the big screen. Back then, our family couldn't afford tickets to the movies so we had to settle for a VHS tape once it became available. Our "very 80's" TV, complete with the oak cabinet, single crackling dried out speaker, and SEARS VHS dual head player gave us all of the theatrical experience we needed.

If you've ever seen the movie, then you already know about the main character's rise to a finer appreciation of surfing through his experiences in Hawai'i. Nearly 20 years have gone by and I'm referencing a B-rated movie. Why? Simple. The movie portrays an Arizona know-it-all who moves to Hawai'i to discover that there is much more to surfing than mastering a prefabricated wave created in a surf tank. That guy is me - the know-it-all of photography; the one with zero appreciation of all those other guys that grew up around the "roots."

Sometime around the end of 2004, I purchased my 2nd digital camera - a Nikon Coolpix 2100. Almost immediately after taking some pictures and learning its features I started to wonder what it was that made a picture "work." What was so different from the cheapo 35mm point and shoots that I had used in the years prior? What was in this camera that made pictures look so darned good? Prior to the Coolpix I owned a Kodak DC3200 that barely broke the 1 megapixel barrier. I enjoyed the convenience of taking pictures without the cost of printing, but for some reason the quality was never quite present. Even before my Kodak, a Pentax 35mm point and shoot camera served me in my attempts at picture taking.

Photography prior to digital was very frustrating. I wanted to tinker. I wanted to point my camera at the most random objects and get results - instantly. Flowers were just as much a target as were aging fence posts. Roll after roll I quickly became frustrated with the cost of film and developing. The results were poor. What was up with blue tinted pictures? Where did the vibrant colors go? Wasn't it all supposed to be automatic? "I need a better camera" was my mantra. Enter the world of digital photography and the camera that started it all for me - my little silver sub-$200 Coolpix. This little light box unraveled a new world. I doubt I am alone in this. Tinker I did. I have taken thousands of photos on that camera exhausting nearly every feature on it. Something still wasn't quite right about the pictures I took. Somehow I still didn't think they were "mine" or the result of "my" work.

Just this past week we dug up our camera stash. Shanti, my fiance and also an explorer of photography, started out way before I did. Some of the cameras that she has contributed to our collection are much like the blunt wooden surfboards of "North Shore." Something tickled inside. I don't know why - call me crazy - but I'm ready to revert to the learning experiences of many photographers that have gone before me. I'm ready to load 35mm film into her fully manual Nikon FG and challenge the printed product my new DSLR boasts. I'm ready to explore the world of medium format film through the most inexpensive camera possible - a Holga 120N. (I'll have to share where the inspiration behind the Holga came from in another entry.)

The thrills of skate and surf are long gone although I would be thrilled to find an old pair of my neon green and orange "jams" again. My "journey" to the appreciation of photography is alive and well. With my little assortment or "arsenal" I'm ready to learn and become a much better photographer both in how I perceive the art and the end result of my work. Starting with the 110 film Magimatic and my soon-to-arrive Holga, I'm looking forward to learning from each piece of equipment and its purpose in the wonderful world of photography. As I graduate from each camera, I'll be sure to post my progress here.

If you do end up renting and watching "North Shore", please don't kill me. Nostalgia has a funny way of remembering even the lamest things positively.

Until next time...

Camera collection from left to right: Pentax IQZoom 110 (35mm), Minolta MAXXUM 400Si w/ Quantary 6600 Zoom Bounce (35mm SLR, TOP Camera), Nikon Coolpix 2100 (2MP digital, BOTTOM Camera), Nikon FG w/ SB15 Speedlight (35mm SLR), Nikon D100 w/ SB-600 Speedlight (6.1MP D-SLR), Imperial MAGIMATIC TELE 518 w/ Vivitar TeleFlash (110 Film), Kodak DC3200 (1MP)

Fiery Hands

Woohoo! My first addition with real content. I'm thrilled to have finally started a weblog where I can share pictures and some of the thoughts behind them. Along the way I'm sure I'll offer some personal background and history, but for now lets pick up with what's new and current.

I never look at the clouds too much. The shapes they form change so often. Recently, my imagination seems to have been stifled a bit so I don't have much interest in figuring out if the cumulus creation is a dog, cat, or an old man. Today I spotted a cloud that brought back an interesting memory of my 3 years in Alaska. Oddly, the shape was too familiary. It reminded me of something I sketched sometime ago.

I used to dedicate a lot of time to charcoal drawings. For some reason - time maybe - I lost a lot of interest in whisking hours away aimlessly scraping charcoal on paper. I was glad to see this fiery cloud. With my newfound burning interest in photography, I think maybe this manifestation was a sign. Did I really abandon my art? Or did I just find a new way to express what's inside?

Photo Details: f/10, 1/30, ISO 250
Drawing: Spring '98, 8.5" x 11" charcoal pencil on sketch paper

ECHO...Echo...echo...

Much like a studio apartment, this space will soon be occupied by heavy thoughts and simple images - or, simple-minded thoughts and heavily edited images. Encouraged by enough friends, I suppose I'll share a piece of what I'm thinking and seeing. It'll be real and fun, but it might not really be fun. EMC Photo - Coming Soon.

(Temporary display location for banners.)