Your Photographic Journey...

[Scott Rosenberg]

photography for me has always been very much about experimentation and finding new ways to present familiar subjects. as such, my predilections have wandered quite a bit over the years.

when i was just getting into photography, i wanted to shoot everything and learn as much as i could about not only what spoke to me creatively, but also about the craft and process. scenics, structures, people, still lives - it was all fair game! as i learned more about myself and the tools, my interests were honed somewhat and through a love of hiking and the outdoors, a passion for shooting landscapes emerged. over the course of the next several years, my interests shifted, and then shifted again. i now find what excites my is quiet, more contemplative photography and have been working on long exposure black and white imagery. it's a very different approach and has really challenged how i look at quite ordinary subjects.

i'd love to hear from some of you guys... what does your photographic journey look like? how many years have you been at it, and how has your way of seeing changed? what got you going previously, and where do your interests lie currently?

[Vaughn]

Instead of an experimentation, my photographic journey has been more of an exploration...discovering how light reflects off of familiar objects, and creates its own forms almost independently of those objects. I have been on this journey for over 30 years and it still excites me.

Photography and my love of hiking and the outdoors, while not a straight line journey, has wandered slowly upwards. As I gain the heights, my view is constantly enlarged...showing me more to see and learn...and revealing new heights to explore.

But it is not a race. My mountain climbing in the Sierras as a young man, and my time as a wilderness ranger in the Yolla Bolly Mountains of Northern California was never about reaching as many peak tops as I could, but to experience the journey upwards. Reaching the top was not the goal, but just the direction. This journey is for a lifetime.

My photographic prints have always been a way for me to share what I have learned on my journey. And as I have have gotten older, the desire to share and teach has gotten stronger. This is one of the reasons why the transition from wilderness ranger/mule packer to a university teaching darkroom technician was such a smooth one, and why I "waste" so much time on these forums. I think one of the most mis-leading expressions is "Those who know, do. Those who don't, teach." The phrase, "Those who understand, teach well" is far more accurate.

Vaughn

[Gem Singer]

Great topic, Scott.

Ever since I first watched an image appear on a sheet of paper in a tray of developer, under the glow of red safelight, I was hooked. I was sixteen years of age.

I still get the same thrill today, sixty-two years later. My interests varied over the years, but I always had a camera tucked away somewhere, along with the means to process film and make prints. I would put that camera to use whenever I saw something that I found visually interesting. As time passed, I honed my craft and created a visual history of my life.

Over the years, i have gained a vast amount of experience with the craft of photography. I learn something new every day. i don't consider myself
to be a photographic artist but admire those who are. A camera just feels right in my hands. I get a lot of satisfaction when i can share what I have learned with others. That's been my photographic journey.

[Merg Ross]

My photographic journey started at a young age, fifty-five years ago. I grew up in a community of West Coast photographers, my father among them, and their passion for what they were doing was infectious. I can say that their passion became my passion, an excitement that has sustained me to this day.

Like many photographers, for years I supported my creative work with a diversity of commercial assignments. Also, like Scott, I did a lot of experimenting early on, and concluded what I did best. In looking over my work of many years, there is a consistent vision throughout. At least, so I have been told.

When I am not photographing or printing, a certain restlessness overcomes me. Fortunately, the solution is easy; I am a few paces from my cameras and darkroom and, perhaps, the next image.

mergross.com

[Bob McCarthy]

Interesting subject. I would describe my own journey as bouncing from phases.

Technical phase. Being scientifically oriented my goals were always to discover something new. From the initial developing/darkroom work, to exploration of the suite of books by AA, to building the zone ruler described by Phil Davis in his books "Beyond the Zone System". More recently it has been understanding the nuts and bolts of digital process, initially the scanner, then Photoshop, and now direct digital capture. In all this time I've held on to film, initially medium format, later a couple visits to large format. Still own and use the Technika.

Shooting Phase - this began with 35 mm, evolved into medium format and then moved in and out of sheet film. My initial inspiration was tripod holes, mainly Ansel's. Did many of the visits at the right time, place. Goal was to accomplish a reproduction of his print quality, not that I ever achieved it but I felt I came close enough to feel like I partially mastered the B&W medium. Still learning, I have to admit.

Relaxation phase - I now shoot for self fulfillment. A day out shooting is often a communal experience with friends. Though I can go to the same place over and over and find something new to explore, some of my associates can not. So its a nice mix. But the key thing is to explore ideas, tones, and deal with my emotional side.

I'm always a tekie, I am that in my real life. My photography is now my own and not derivative as it once was.

It is my ultimate form of relaxation, whether in the field or in front of the computer/scanner. I've discovered my best skill is photo editing (developing).

Keeps me sane,

bob mccarthy

[bgh]

This is an interesting topic indeed, Scott, thanks for starting it. I might come at this a bit differently from others on the list. By way of confession, I'm a historian and architectural historian by training and inclination. I therefore started with photography as a tool for my job, not as an artistic medium; I needed to record buildings and landscapes, often as quickly as possible in the context of an architectural survey. This had always meant 35mm.

The thing is, as an architectural historian, I spent a lot of time looking at other peoples' photos of buildings. Every now and then, I'd break through the "what a cool building" line of thinking into the "what a cool photograph of a building" line. Whenever that happened, I got the itch to make photographs that looked as good as what I was looking at in the books. That line of thinking led me, some 10 years ago, to large format. I still do the vast majority of my photography not as art, but as documentation. I do try to make the documentation look as nice as I can, of course, though often with limited success. But, it sure is fun!

Bruce

[Ralph Barker]

Although my last attempt at acting was a freshman year failure as Tom Sawyer (well, almost failure - I did get to kiss the girl who played Becky), I love stages, too. I've gone through four:

Sponge stage - near-compulsive reading of all of the well-known and not-so-well-known experts, followed by the

Uh-oh stage - which commenced upon the realization that much of what the experts were saying conflicted, followed by the

Ah-HAH! stage - when I realized that some of the writings from the experts were the result of them trying to market their personal opinions (or those of their respective "schools") in an effort to differentiate themselves from the masses.

I'm now in the It's-all-OK stage - where I don't try to convince anyone of anything, even if they are fundamentally wrong.

[Steve Gledhill]

Your great question has prompted me to reminisce so this is more of a chronology:

I started with a Voigtlander Vito B in 1965 and a pile of Agfa slide film. That got me started but it wasn’t until I joined Ilford in 1974 working in Engineering that I really got the bug. Manufacturing film and paper – IN THE DARK – was an interesting challenge for the 12 years I was with Ilford. I bought my first serious camera in 1975 – an OM1, what a joy, and then an OM4 (even bigger joy) in 1985. From the time I joined Ilford (as an engineer, not as a photographer) I was a B&W enthusiast. I used the company darkrooms for free and had access to (almost) free paper and film. Ilford had several fine scientists and engineers who, incidentally, were also great photographers who offered me help and inspiration. What a treat to be able to make 16”x20” test strips – or was it a waste! As programme secretary for the Ilford Camera Club I organised the first ever photographic competition between the camera clubs of Ilford and Kodak! Ilford won the B&W section and Kodak won the Colour – as expected I suppose. I left that industry in 1986 for the IT industry but retained all my interest and enthusiasm – along with a promise to myself that one day I’d graduate to 5x4. This happened in 1994 when I bought a Zone VI. It followed a happy coincidence of meeting a fellow photographer from Texas whilst he was here in the UK. His 5x4 prompted me to buy mine. Since then I’ve attended workshops here in England and in the US, met several great photographers and been on many trips with them on both sides of the pond. I’ve moved from the darkroom to the lightroom and now scan my 5x4s for processing via PhotoShop and printing on my Epson 4800. Throughout this journey the landscape in all its interpretations has been where I’ve pointed my camera. And B&W is how I see. I can’t see that ever changing. But about 3 years ago I added another subject to my target area. Cathedrals and churches have now taken over some of my time and film. It’s not a religious thing at all, it’s just that these old buildings dating back up to 900 years are such spectacularly rich subjects with natural lighting inside to die for. And they are on my doorstep. I’m now retired and, once I’ve finished decorating the bathroom, I’m contemplating a new photographic project; walking and photographing the whole 177 miles of Offa’s Dyke, the Bronze Age and Iron Age boundary earthworks between what are now Wales and England. Just who was defending what against whom is debatable. Not in one go, rather in many short day hikes over the next three years. I may even blog it and have a notion that a self published book at the end might be a worthwhile objective. We’ll see.

So, reminiscing over and now planning ahead. Well I can’t let this damned recession get me down.

Having just re-read this it seems like something I might do at an AA session.

[Bernice Loui]

Such a journey, so much learned, so much to learn still... While I was a J-jill (a women's clothing store) sitting on a display table was a copy of Joyce Tenneson’s book “Wise Woman”. Picked up the book and started looking at these images and it brought me back to my own photographic journey experiences and gaining a deeper understanding of the human condition. I have been following Joyce’s photographic work since her commercial photography days. She was just one of
the many photographers that have helped me gain an understanding of art and influenced me in some way. I started doing photography somewhat seriously in 6x6, then 35mm, then 4x5, then 8x10, and finally settled on 5x7 for a host of reasons. I dabbled in digital and find it as useful a photographic tool as any similar photographic tool. In the beginning, I photographed nearly everything in my word, from family, friends, flowers, architecture, landscapes, city scenes and anything that caught my fancy. This resulted in many thousand frames of film. I grew each time from using the camera and looking at the resulting images. These days, I’m trying to find time and passion to seriously take up photography again, but not really sure what I have to say on a given subject and I’m not going to expose any film until my passion for a given subject has solidified. I still have the first copy of View camera Magazine from back in the day, that magazine served as a time marker for me as my venture into view camera photography began about 2-3 years before it’s initial publication.

I’m thinking of sharing some of my images taken during the 1990’s with this group for some feedback.

[Gem Singer]

Bernice,

You must have purchased a scanner, since you asked about one last Aug. Which one did you decide on?

By all means, share your images with us. They would be a lot more interesting to look at than "FS or WTB" ads.

Merg asked where the experienced photographers, that used to frequent this forum, have gone. Perhaps some have lost interest in LF film capture. However, I believe that many of them are still lurking around here. I know that I am.