Photographers celebrate the world with a heightened visual passion, and I believe the world responds to that enthusiasm by providing us amazing things to photograph. I live in a small village just outside of Ottawa, and almost all of my photographs are taken within walking distance of my house or workplace.
I have been taking pictures since I first borrowed my sister's Brownie a very long time ago. Other than as a stint as a photojournalist in the 1970's I been doing it just for my own amusement. I shot with 35mm for a very long time, and then became absorbed with digital cameras. I loved the instant feedback one can get from a digital camera and I think that more than anything, using them allowed me to really understand how one can manipulate an image by understanding a camera's unique characteristics and how they respond to different settings. Ironically, shooting with digital led me back to shooting with film more often.A few years ago I had something of a photographic ephiphany when my friend and F blogger Rhonda Prince sent me a Diana camera. I believe that she said something like "you need one of these". I circled around it for some time - it was an odd little beast, and parts of it kept falling off. I finally loaded it - the first time I'd handled medium format film in years - and began a love affair with the Diana that continues. I really think she has a vision of her own, so I subtitle my Diana shots "Dianavision" because she really is more than a camera, she is my co-conspirator.
I'm now shooting with a mixed bag of medium format, 35mm, and digital cameras and it probably speaks to my passion (or obsession with...!) photography that I seldom go anywhere with out at least three cameras.
I'm very happy to join the F blog and look forward to enjoying the amazing images that the authors and contributors post on the blog and sharing mine with you.
