Photography

My dad was a dentist by profession and a photographer by hobby. One of the best things he ever shared with me was his photography. I don't know how long he had been into it, but I can't remember a time when he didn't have a camera whether it was his newest toy or an old, barely functioning friend. He usually took pictures of flowers and my sister, my friends, and me. When he took pictures of flowers, he always took a sample to practice his flower-identifying. He had thick binders full of these flowers and his books were also filled with them. To date, I've never seen such a large, beautiful collection. Though, his skills in photographing those flowers was more impressive. I have spent hours looking through his thousands of photos. I'm still not done. He covered nearly every event in my life up to age 11 plus life around him as he saw it. What's kinda funny is the fact that I don't like my picture being taken. He was the only person I really let take pictures of me. He passed many things onto me, but I think photography will be the one I'll take with me until the day I die just like him.

This is one of my favorites

I admire my dad for getting so close to this goose. It looked pretty mean to me.

He gave me my first camera when I was 5 years old. It was just a disposable camera, so I could take it to school and show off to my best friend in kindergarten, Amber. Most of them had red finger marks, but that was nothing my dad couldn't teach me how to avoid. I went through a film camera, a Polaroid camera with sticker-backed film, and finally a digital camera around age 9 or 10. A lot of people have told me that I was a really spoiled child and I can admit to that. In my defense, I will say I used everything my dad gave me. He did not appreciate waste. I've had my share of punishment.

He definitely knew how to capture memorable moments, for better or for worse.

Since that digital camera, I've had two others. I've learned from each one. Like the one I have now has a lot of manual settings, so I'm learning old school skills. I still need to get around to working in a darkroom, but I'm content with my Kodak for now. I just like taking pictures. When words fail me, I still have my camera. I'm definitely an amateur, but maybe someday I'll get close to my dad's skill. If I never do, I won't care. I'm just happy to take pictures and upload them onto my deviantART account. It's just a fun thing for me.

I have to share something else because it made me laugh. I randomly found this site through an announcement on Craft, I think. They had me at "buffalump". :P

Have a great weekend everyone :)

~Alyssa