Hi, I came across your site and was wondering how you got started with photography and what equipment you used and currently use. I would love to know how to get into it. –Frances
Thanks for contacting me! I’d be more than willing to share how God has led me into photography.
I look back to when I was 12 years old when I first took up photography. I was inspired by my uncle who traveled the world and always came back with incredible pictures of the wildlife, scenery, and culture of the places he visited.
When I asked for a camera for Christmas, Dad and Mom got me a little film camera. I treasured it, and was very careful to only take pictures that were worth the cost of the film. The pictures I took never gave me the results I was looking for though, so I started reading. This introduced me to manual photography which is really only achievable through using an SLR. That is when I picked up Dad’s film Canon Rebel. I loved the challenge and difficulty of creating artwork instead of mere snapshots.
I played with this until I was 16 when I attended two one-week IPS courses, one on basic photography and the other on lighting and portraiture. I excitedly came away with a knowledge of how the camera "thought" and could manipulate it in any way I wanted to get the result I wanted. The film camera no longer satisfied my growing desire for experimentation, so I partnered with my brother to buy a new digital SLR, a 20D.
This camera served me well until it died in October last year. I upgraded to a 40D which I shoot with now. My main lens is a 17-55mm f/2.8 IS. I also shoot with a 28-135mm IS and 70-300mm, both cheap lenses but usable when conditions are acceptable. I do all my post processing on an E1505 laptop using Adobe Lightroom for organization and Photoshop for finer adjustments.
I love to teach and write about photography (as well as desktop publishing) wherever and whenever I can. After launching Lenspiration last year, I have begun publishing pictures in calendars and books as well as selling them online.
I have found that perusing photography has caused me to grow into holding a very high standard of excellence. It is hard to find someone who will stand up for purity in their photography. It’s not popular. I have been challenged, but challenges are what have caused me to make concrete decisions about what I will or will not do. Accountability and a consistent walk with the Lord must go hand in hand with successful photography!
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