I want to talk a little bit more about photography, including my interest and inspiration. I was always drawn to cameras as a kid, and was lucky to have parents who let me play around with theirs. The advent of the disposable camera, while terrible for the environment, was a real boon to me as a young photographer. Starting in middle school and for several years in a row, I asked for new cameras for my birthday and developed quite a collection of point and shoots, including an awesome Advantix film underwater camera (remember Advantix film?).
Then, when I was in ninth or tenth grade, my Uncle Herb changed my life. He found an old manual Pentax at a garage sale, convinced the owner to sell it to him for next to nothing, changed the battery, and gave it to me. He had seen my interest in photography during a recent visit, and in a really sweet gesture, gave me an awesome tool in which to explore it.
I started following more photography blogs, which led me to family and portrait photographers which led me to wedding photographers. I don’t love weddings so much as I love people. Weddings are great places to photograph people. And some of the wedding photographers out there right now, wow. They are changing expectations and bringing art back into a genre that was all cheese and silly poses.
I’ve watched my friends plan weddings this year, including photography for their wedding days. Family members and friends have also employed professional photographers for portraits. It’s made me think more about what I could do and what it takes, which is why I’ve made exploring a photography side business one of my goals for this “semester.”
I’m curious, since more people were into this syllabus idea than I expected: is there something you’ve always been curious about doing that you haven’t explored in depth? How could you start to do it?
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courtney - I am so glad you have made exploring photography a priority in your syllabus. I LOVE your photographs, Whit. You have such an eye. And your I <3 Cheese photo hangs proudly on the wall over here.
Gawwd, I can't even begin to think of an answer to your question. I used to want to go further with my photography but swapped it for writing, I think. Sometimes I really wish I was more technically smart about my camera. One day, maybe!
Teresa - I have been thinking about your question, and I think gardening is the one thing I would really like to explore in depth–get really good at it. I am on the board of Grassroots Graddens, and I keep a modest little patch in the front yard, but it isn’t the same. My favorite aunt is a master gardener, and her yard is stunning. Dan always tries to grow vegetables in the backyard every summer, but I think if we teamed up we could really grow some great things. I have a Burpee catalog in my office, and I flip through it when I get the winter doldrums. I don’t order much, because I am never sure what I will actually be able to grow or have the time to tend. It’s in my “someday” file to have a proper raised bed in the backyard–I am thinking this may be the year.