Last weekend my son Sean and his fiance Beth graduated from the University of Arizona. I travelled out to Tucson to celebrate this momentous event with an aging Sony video camera that ended up with problems and no still camera.
That last part is what bothered me – see, I was a photographer for over 15 years and took pictures of my kids while they were growing up. I was photographically burned out, so I put my cameras down and pushed headlong into the world of the world wide web.
I kept my old Nikon gear, but rarely pulled it out. I still have a full kit of darkroom equipment in a box in the garage that sits untouched. I just had no interest in shooting – until last weekend.
I realized I had sunk to a new low when I stopped at a grocery store to purchase two disposable cameras to record the event. I was photographically ashamed. How could I show up at my son’s college graduation without a decent camera to record the event? How could I not take pictures for the past 10 years?
So, I have taken the plunge and purchased a digital camera. I’m feeling passionate again about photography and look forward to recording some family memories; including my son’s wedding this summer.
I’ll be keeping some of my manual Nikon gear, but plan on selling a few bodies and lenses (if anyone is interested, shoot me an email and I’ll let you know what I have).
I have also been reading a book by David Hurn and Bill Jay called, “On Being A Photographer“. Bill Jay taught photo history classes at Arizona State University and I took a few classes from him. I didn’t realize until much later in my career, how much impact his teaching had on me. He was one of my favorite professors. David Hurn served as artist in residence at A.S.U. while I was there, but unfortunately I did not get to know him well. He is a wonderful photographer and I enjoy his work immensely.
I wish this book was around when I was starting out, but I appreciate and value its’ lessons today.