My Personal Story in Great Detail

I initially made this part of my first post, and then thought better of it. I "spun this off" into a post of its own, making my personal history very brief in the first post. This is for a greater accounting of my personal journey into my photography hobby.

Early Years, 1980s

Nikon EM, my first "real" camera. Got it on
January 1983 when I was 14 years old.

Photography has been a love of mine ever since I was 13 years old and received a Kodak Ektralite 10 camera for Christmas 1981. I immediately fell in love with the ability to document my life with that thing. The pictures stunk, by any reasonable measure, but it sparked something inside of me that would never go away. Immediately, I outgrew it and longed for a "real camera" (like a 35mm SLR) that I could REALLY do something with. In this pre-Internet and "Tumblr" era, and with me being a recluse with few friends (none of which were into photography at all), the library at Snow Hill Jr High school became my friend. There, I checked out books and read books ad nausea about photography & the gear "advanced" users use for such pursuits. I also subscribed to Modern Photography (now Popular Photography) and Peterson's Photographic magazine. I had a HUGE box in my bedroom full of these issues.

One of My First "Greats," White Lake NC 1983

I learned everything I could about taking pictures & even developing them. F-stops, shutter speeds, ASA film speed, depth-of-field, guide numbers for hot-shoe flashes, "D-76" film developer, "fixing bath,"--I knew it all. During this time, a local professional photographer named Bob Aiken, introduced to me by my mother who could tell I needed someone to share my passion with, allowed me into his home while he did his thing, as I watched in wide-eyed amazement at it all. I would go into camera stores (including JCPenney's--back then, they actually had a nice selection of good cameras) and absolutely bug the heck out of those store clerks who knew I couldn't afford their nice cameras but entertained my conversations anyway. I suppose they thought it was really unusual that someone who still was 3 years away from no longer getting around via their bicycle or their parents' raggedy rust-bucket of a car could actually compare a Pentax K1000 to a Nikon EM in intricate detail (again, this was in the days before the Internet or smartphones) and know what the heck "Dektol film developer," ASA film speeds, "Ilford" black & white film and "fixed focal length lenses" actually were, even if my yellow "puppy dog" piggy bank only held enough money to buy a roll of film for a camera I didn't even own anyway.

17½ Years Later, Same Nikon EM,
I'm Still At It. Tucson AZ, Dec 2000

Finally, in January 1983, I scored my first "real" camera, a Nikon EM 35mm SLR. (I chose it over the Pentax K1000 because the Nikon had a self-timer, and as socially reclusive as I was back then, I figured I needed it.) From there, I really pursued my hobby with unbridled passion. A recluse socially, I photographed landscapes mostly. For years, off & on, I did what I could, and mostly missed. I tried close-ups of bugs in the flowers around our house, "star trails" our house, anything. 

However, finances were not great, especially in this pre-digital era where every shot you took would cost you--film processing, film itself, the cost of enlargements, trying to get slide film instead of "print" film when there were no "real" photography stores around--it was nigh impossible. I had a few hits here & there, but it never could really "take hold" in a big way for me during those years.

Digital Enables Me to Go REALLY Nuts, 2003-

Fast-forward to 2003. Just months earlier, I still had my Nikon EM for what was almost 20 years, and also had a vintage Nikon FE, which I had added right before I married in 2000. However, during desperate times late in 2002, I had pawned everything, and never got any of it back. Photography was out of my life, I didn't take a picture of ANYTHING. I'd try garage-sale point & shoots only to be (understandably) disappointed at the horrible pictures that resulted. Perhaps most heartbreaking of all: at the time, we were enduring a struggle whereby our 1st child, our son Fenton Isaac Harrison (who was a year & change old), was not home and we only saw him in visits which they allowed and during this time very few, in any, photos of him were taken, and the few that were taken were horrible in quality.

The Last Photograph We Took of Our Son. 
The Impending Loss of Him Inspired me to Start Taking
Photos Once Again. Oct 16th 2003.

In July 2003, funds were better, meanwhile we came to the realization that we would not be able to have our son come home with us as we had hoped. We were going to lose him. During all of those months prior, we had taken hardly a single picture of him at all during our allowed visits, and when we did, using those dinky point & shoot cameras, the pictures were so awful that, regardless of the heavy nature of the circumstances, we hardly bothered. 

Now, with funds better, and with a pressing desire to get many photos of our son while we still could, I re-entered photography land. Circuit City was closing out 35mm SLRs as digital technology took hold, and I got a Nikon N65 35mm SLR (with 28-80mm lens), my 1st "modern" SLR (with autofocus, auto-film loading etc), for only $230, only to shortly after upgrade it to a Nikon N80 (a much more "enthusiast"-biased model). I used it to take good photos of our son while we still could, and I also got back into "enthusiast" photography along with it.

However, even though funds were better, it was still something of an eye-opener when we saw how much we were spending on film & processing everytime we took photos of our son during visits, and while we got a few "masterpiece" shots here & there, many were merely "snapshot" caliber, what with all the clutter & sign-plastered walls present in the visitation rooms. It occurred to me--maybe a digital camera would be better for those situations, and I could save the N80 35mm SLR for my "enthusiast" work.

So, in August of 2003, I purchased our 1st-ever digital camear, a Nikon Coolpix 775, a 2 megapixel 3x zoom point & shoot. The technology now vs then is laughable, but it worked at the time. It was good for 4x6 snapshots without a problem, thus enabling us to capture shots of our son as much as we wanted without the fuss & expense of film, and to do likewise for "everylife" life--our friends, our times as husband & wife, our trips, everything. Finally, after 20 years of frustration, at least for "everyday" pictures anyway, film & processing costs were no barrier anymore. It was a perfect match for me as well, as I was very computer literate as well, I figured out concepts such as storage, light-edits, re-naming and organization of the files almost instantly.

So, it was set--the Nikon N80 35mm SLR allowed me to pursue my photography interests when I could, but I meanwhile could document everyday life without limitation using the digital. In December, I also added an old twin-lens-reflex 120 film medium format camera, a Rolleicord VA Type 2 that was 10 years older than I was.

Meanwhile, at our church, a new photography "lifegroup" had formed. Now, finally, I had a "peer group" to share my interest with. We would shoot every 2 weeks, and even with film & processing costs, I could afford that for our Nikon N80. Later, I even became the leader of this group when its founder moved onto other things.

Around this time, I had learned of sites such as Dpreview.Com and FredMiranda.Com, the former an "enthusiast's" site where I could learn more and talk with others of like interest, and study camera gear until my eyes popped out of my head. The latter allowed me to trade & sell gear, which would become important in 2004, the year I REALLY made my move.

In 2004, Nikon had introduced the Nikon D70, and this is what I REALLY desired to get my photography off of the ground--a digital SLR, and a relatively affordable one at that. It would combine the digital advantages (no film-processing costs, computer-based storage which I was a natural at) with the wonderful SLR body and image quality. However, at over $1000, I could not even come close to pulling that off. In May, I instead settled for a Coolpix 5700, an "enthusiast" point & shoot model. I started shooting and learning about RAW edits & the like with it, and sold my N80 along with it. 

Me With My 1st-Ever DSLR
November 2004

However, the REAL break came for me in Nov 2004, when I acquired my 1st ever DSLR, a Canon Digital Rebel. Selling for $900 with lens at the time, I found one for $550 at FredMiranda. By selling our spare Coolpix 5400 (a second "enthusiast" point & shoot which was acquired so my wife could shoot along with me during our shoots) and a computer laptop I was no longer using, I was right there.

From there, and with me getting a Nikon D50 (a lower-priced D70) in 2005, I REALLY started to take off, and as the cameras have gotten better and better, I have been at it ever since.

Now

We have 2 children that are at home, and I still photograph landscapes. I never realized my dream of a "wet" darkroom (although in my teen years I had purchased much of the supplies for one), but I am happily enjoying the digital equivalents we have nowadays. That currently consists of a Nikon D5100, the "best" DSLR, an Olympus E-PL1 "mini-DSLR" I take with me almost everywhere, and a Nikon D60 that my wife uses.


I am nowhere near as much of a recluse socially as I was then, but I can STILL be nervous in some situations, hence my gravitation towards landscapes--you're not risking someone's memories if you blow it (which, to this day, I STILL worry about). However, I am known to take chances and photograph portraits of people for hire on occasion. I certainly photograph my OWN children, as well as those within the family (shown, above left).

I LOVE Photographing Other People's Kids, and Do So 
Within the Family Very Often

Would I have re-entered photography even without the personal loss (our 1st son not returning home to us) inspiring me? I tend to this so. Maybe it was coincidence, and maybe I would've re-entered photography regardless--after all, the emergence of digital was HUGE. Regardless, we are very glad to have had a second chance with our 2 current children, and I am very glad 31 years after things kicked off to STILL be taking a stab at it with all I have in me to do.

How big of a mark will I make? Will this turn into a side-career for me or just be a "hobby" as my outlet for showcasing the beauty of the world? I don't know, & I can say I would be totally okay with this being "just" a hobby. I do know that the 1st 20 years of being held back, & the personal loss that helped re-boot me at the same time digital was liberating me, equates to as if an animal has been let out of the cage, free to actually live. And live I intend to.