Don Barton
01-03-2016, 8:42pm
I became serious about photography rather late in life; but I've discovered it's never too late to learn new skills. I could argue that capturing images is in my DNA.
I remember as a young pre-school lad going on excursions with my father to take photos of construction sites. When first married, my dad earned a meager income working in a photography studio where he learned chemical photo processing in dark-rooms. He then graduated to doing studio photography. And he even taught photography in night school.
His first camera purchase was a Graphlex 22, "America's favorite twin-lens camera". From there he moved on to freelance work and graduated to the large professional format 4x5 Super-D Graflex with which he produced stunning black and white photos. I used to help him develop these in his home darkroom.
I always wanted to take photos that had the impact of those I remember my dad taking. Over the years, I must have purchased over a dozen cameras. But alas, I never came close. Looking back, I now realise that I was basically a 'point and shoot' guy, always relying on the auto-capture button. The results were bland and boring.
Due to a change in circumstances, a few years ago, I found myself with a lot of spare time on my hands. So I decided to get serious about my innate photography interest. I purchase a high quality Canon 5D Mark II DSLR camera with some good Canon lens. I started reading and attending (via the Internet) a number of basic photography courses. I was hooked, the results I started to achieve were pleasing - to me at least. I have since replaced my 5D Mark II with a Canon 5D Mark III and have added a Sony Alpha 6000 mirrorless camera to my artillery.
As time progressed I discover I was actually beginning to understand the photography process, both pre and post capture. So this site is intended to journal this progress. At first I watermarked my photos, but I came to realise this was my ego controlling my brain. Since I'm not a professional, and do not sell my work, I really don't mind if people use my photos (as long as they acknowledge the source).
I have created a photo website on SmugMug here that shows my past work. www.dpb-photos.com (http://www.dpb-photos.com)
I remember as a young pre-school lad going on excursions with my father to take photos of construction sites. When first married, my dad earned a meager income working in a photography studio where he learned chemical photo processing in dark-rooms. He then graduated to doing studio photography. And he even taught photography in night school.
His first camera purchase was a Graphlex 22, "America's favorite twin-lens camera". From there he moved on to freelance work and graduated to the large professional format 4x5 Super-D Graflex with which he produced stunning black and white photos. I used to help him develop these in his home darkroom.
I always wanted to take photos that had the impact of those I remember my dad taking. Over the years, I must have purchased over a dozen cameras. But alas, I never came close. Looking back, I now realise that I was basically a 'point and shoot' guy, always relying on the auto-capture button. The results were bland and boring.
Due to a change in circumstances, a few years ago, I found myself with a lot of spare time on my hands. So I decided to get serious about my innate photography interest. I purchase a high quality Canon 5D Mark II DSLR camera with some good Canon lens. I started reading and attending (via the Internet) a number of basic photography courses. I was hooked, the results I started to achieve were pleasing - to me at least. I have since replaced my 5D Mark II with a Canon 5D Mark III and have added a Sony Alpha 6000 mirrorless camera to my artillery.
As time progressed I discover I was actually beginning to understand the photography process, both pre and post capture. So this site is intended to journal this progress. At first I watermarked my photos, but I came to realise this was my ego controlling my brain. Since I'm not a professional, and do not sell my work, I really don't mind if people use my photos (as long as they acknowledge the source).
I have created a photo website on SmugMug here that shows my past work. www.dpb-photos.com (http://www.dpb-photos.com)