My Photo History

My photo history actually starts in a foreign country where we didn’t live on a military base, so friends weren’t all that close.  One of the guys my dad worked with lived on the same street as us and offered to teach me about photography.  As a result, I learned old school photography.  This was back when film was something you actually held in your hand and loaded into the camera.  I also learned how to develop the film and to print a picture from the resulting negative.  Film was expensive so I did as much in-camera editing as I could.  I had to pay attention to the corners and make sure the scene was “just right” before pushing the shutter release.  Now that I’ve joined the digital age, I can appreciate those lessons I learned back then.

The Early Years

I learned photography using a Yashika Electro 35 GSN, and it was also the first camera I bought.  In addition to the camera, I also bought its auxiliary wide angle and telephoto lenses.  This camera is a rangefinder so what you see in the viewfinder is not exactly what you get on the film.  The auxiliary lenses are also a pain to use, so I didn’t use them much.  To cut down on these problems, I eventually bought a single lens reflex camera (SLR), the Minolta XG-M and several lenses, too.  I bought this particular camera because it was the lightest SLR I could find.  It had to be light because I liked to go hiking and any extra weight added up by the end of a hike.  I put a lot of Kodachrome and Ektachrome through that camera.  Some of those slides I’ve also digitized and put in the galleries below. I used the XG-M until digital photography became a thing. 

The Turning Point in My Photo History

Early in the digital age, I used a variety of digital cameras.  They were point and shoot because as a dad I didn’t really get to the wilderness much, if at all, and I really needed that kind of convenience.
After the kids grew up, I was able to embrace the new digital age. The first “real” digital camera I bought was a Sony Cybershot. I got this camera more for its size and weight than for it’s performance. Once again, this camera is small and light, a little bigger than a deck of cards. The camera was perfect for the 11 day wilderness backpacking trek our Boy Scout troop took the Summer I bought it.  Admittedly, I didn’t really knowing what I was doing on that trip with the camera. Even after reading the manual, some of it didn’t sink in and there are a few photos I’d like to get a “do over” on.

And Finally…

When I could afford a better camera, I bought a Panasonic DMC-G2.  This is also a small and lightweight camera, due in part to the micro four thirds format it uses.  Other than the light weight, the technical reason I bought it is because of the auto bracketing feature.  Being able to vary the exposure over five or seven pictures without touching the camera is really great.  It’s a great improvement compared to an SLR. (But what really sold this camera for me is because I could get one in my favorite color: red.)  A few years later I decided to upgrade the Panasonic.

Currently Using

This time I bought the Panasonic DMC-G7KS  a digital single lens mirrorless (DSLM) camera (but, sadly, not in red).  Compared to an SLR, a DSLM has a lot more features to learn and remember.  Thankfully, I got a 276 page “how to” manual for the G2 and most of that was also good for the G7, too.   The G7 is, essentially, an upgraded version of the G2, so it has more bells and whistles.  So, pretty much everything I learned for the G2 still applies to the G7.  I especially like the high dynamic mode on the G7.

I’m still learning how to use the high dynamic stuff, so stay tuned.

And that is my photo history; what about yours?