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I started in 7th grade "Graphic Arts" class. We did things like drafting, setting type and for two six-week periods we studied photography. We made a penhole camera, loaded it in the darkroom, took pictures of each other, processed the film and made enlargements. During that period I saved 30-bucks from mowing lawns and bought myself a Yasica 44, which was a twin-lens reflex camera that took a 44x44 negative or positive (slide) image.
In college I bought a Pentax Spotmatic with a 50mm f/1.8 lens and a 200mm f/3.5 "preset" telephoto and a 2x TC. I ran hot and cold shooting races and nature, but religiously took pix of vacation and kids when they came along.
The Spotmatic was stolen in the late 1970s and I switched to film P&S cameras and only used them for travel and kids. I never had my own lab, so I got frustrated with trying to do such simple things as getting an image cropped. Processing was inconsistant and film was costly.
In 2006 I decided to get a digital P&S, mainly to document my grandkids for my mother. I bought a Canon G7 and quickly realized that I could do all the things I'd wanted to do, but couldn't get the labs to do with my work in the 1970s. I realized that bits and bites were FREE after I'd made the initial purchase.
When the G9 came out I moved up to that and then the slr bug came back, so I jumped right to the 5D MkII with the 24-105mm and the 70-200mm f/4L IS.
On one vacation in South Florida I noticed pelicans and osprey soaring on the updraft from my hotel and took some close ups as they flew by. That re-hooked me into nature photography. I bought the 400mm f/5.6L and soon after the 7D came out and I had to have that. A few months later, the 500mm f/4L IS joined the family.
You guys might find this interesting. When I bought the 400mm f/5.6L, I thought that was a really expensive piece. I decided that I'd test myself and if I wasn't taking at least a couple of hundred pix per month with it, I'd sell it. Well, three months later, I found myself taking 2000 to 3000 pix per month (my 7D is approaching 50,000-clicks). That took some of the sting out of the decision to move up to the 500mm. The first time I used the 500mm I literally felt guilty, like I was "cheating", because it was so much better. I'm still out of pocket over $6,000, but it seems like a very good investment.
I devote around 8 to 12-hours per week to photography, mostly chasing wildlife and processing the resultant images. Whenever we travel, I take the 5D2 and do a little street shooting, archetectural shooting and night shooting, as well as document our trip for my friends that travel with us. (They've all stopped carrying P&S cameras when I'm there).
Dave
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