Photography

I got into photography when I was still in high school. I bought a cheap 35mm camera made by Mamiya and a 135mm telephoto lens to go with the normal 50mm lens. My best friend's mom told me that the local newspaper was looking for people to take pictures at high school sporting events. I was already working at a small mom and pop butcher shop but I thought this might be a fun way to spend some time and maybe see my pictures in print.

I met Lauren, a staff photographer for the Messenger, at a nearby high school where a girls soccer game was going on. She looked at my cheap camera equipment and said "that lens isn't long enough or fast enough." But she gave me a couple of rolls of black and white film and I stood on the sidelines and attempted to capture some of the action.

After the game I followed her to the Messenger offices where we developed the film and looked at the negatives on a light table. One of my shots was reasonably in focus and you could actually make out a girl's face in the frame. The shot appeared in the next day's newspaper and I eventually got a check that included $10 for that effort.

I was hooked. This was what I wanted to be when I grew up.

(to be continued..)