I suspect like most photographers, I didn’t know that I was interested in the craft until I got a camera as a Christmas gift. I was eighteen at the time and until then; I had an interest in art but little talent. With the Instamatic, I began making photographs that people said nice things about. With that bit of encouragement, I set off on my quest of becoming a Master Photographer and produce my masterpiece. Forty years of experience are behind me and I’m still learning and searching for the perfect photograph.
Although I took a couple of college photography classes, for the most part, I’m self taught. My greatest period of learning was my free time while stationed overseas. My band of buddies spent weekends scouring and shooting the South Korean country side then take over the base’s recreation center darkroom weeknights after work. We’d develop, print and mount all of our images and mail them home for our wives and girlfriends to see. All of my free money and time was spent on film and paper.
In the beginning, I wanted to shoot landscapes like Ansel Adams, fashion like Irving Penn, street scenes like Minor White, racecars like Pete Lyons, alleys like Atget and women like any Playboy photographer. As I practiced, it became apparent that I wasn’t going to ever become a Master Photographer. Perhaps that’s why, during a traumatic period of my life, the interest was so easily lost. I still thought of myself as a photographer, but I didn’t shoot.
Shortly after the new century began, a friend showed me some prints he made on his inkjet printer. I still had a black and white enlarger gathering dust in the laundry room. He was easily controlling color better than I could with black and white. I had to give it a try and when I did, I was hooked a second time. Just as before, I learned technique by reading and doing. Being thick headed, I had to sometimes read twice. It didn’t take long before I had some crude images to cobble this website together. I’ve been here since.
Since I’ve given up on becoming the second Ansel Adams, I no longer find fashion photography appealing and pretty women turn away when they see me with a camera, I’ve struggled to find my own voice. When I was younger, I thought I should shoot the whole world. Now I find myself revisiting the places that I’ve grown to love. I’ve accepted that being a Master Photographer is, for me, out of reach but the journey of mastering my craft is a long fun highway.
Please enjoy your visit and come back often.
jw