12/28/2015
Recently I was searching through my negative box and came across some negative proof sheets that I printed back in my Black and White Photography class at Cal Poly. One assignment that really stuck out to me was the still life assignment. Being a photographer, it made sense for me to choose my cameras as my subject. Looking back at these photos, I am reminded how diverse my gear has been over the years and how they continue to evolve to this day.
The first camera that I can remember ever using was my parents' Minolta SLR. I can remember running around Yosemite snapping photos of whatever caught my eye. This was where I really caught the photography bug.
When I moved to Yosemite after graduation from High School, I was given a Samsung camera. The main feature that I remember about this camera, was the fact that you could make panoramic shots by flipping a switch on the back of the camera. Looking back I realize that the camera was cropping the negative, and the printer would just print an enlarged version of the photograph. This camera served me well until I bought my first SLR.
I bought a Promaster 2500 PK from a small camera shop in San Diego. The shop recommended the Promaster as a reliable entry level camera. This was the workhorse camera that I used for the year and a half that I lived in Yosemite. I would snap off a few rolls of film and anxiously send them home for processing. There always was the anticipation of the packages that I would receive in the mail with the developed shots. This anticipation is something that I feel is lost with the current trend of digital cameras. My collection of over 5,600 negatives are a result of this camera. The camera served me well for many years until the shutter seized and I was forced to retire it.
My first digital camera was a 3.2 megapixel Toshiba point and shoot. The instant gratification of seeing the photographs in digital form was so amazing. It is funny to sit here almost a decade later and hold a phone that has almost 3 times the resolution in such a small package.
It would not be until my graduation from Cal Poly in 2008 that I would receive my first digital SLR, a Rebel xti. This camera has been an amazing tool in many ways and has allowed me to grow as a photographer. The instant gratification and simplicity of modern Digital SLRs means that a photographer has less limitations on their photography. I can take a photograph and instantly review my work. No longer will I take a photograph and wait for weeks to find out if I captured what I saw correctly.
Within the last month my wife Claudia upgraded my camera to a Rebel T6i. It is amazing to see how far cameras have evolved over the years. Now I find myself with a camera that has almost 10 times the resolution of my original digital camera, and the ability to take HD video. As we go into the new year, I am excited to see how far this new piece of gear will take my photography. It is my hope that my photography will continue to evolve alongside my gear, and that I will always remember that it is not always the gear that makes the photograph but the person behind the camera.
