I've come a long way from my little yellow point-and-shoot that used 110 canister film. I still have it somewhere, with the popup viewfinder, manual advance and I remember I could only use it outside on a sunny day because it didn't have a flash. I was 5 years old then, so I was learning simple tricks like keep the sun to your back to avoid shadows on your subject, and how to compose the image so the background was nice too. Not bad for kindergarten, right? At the time, both of my parents had point-and-shoot 35mm cameras (more sophisticated than mine of course) and my dad had an Olympus 35mm SLR tucked away in the camera bag up in the closet.
A couple years later, after the Navy moved us to Virginia again, my parents gave me a 35mm point-and-shoot that had a built-in flash! It was still a manual advance, but the addition of a flash added a new challenge to photography - indoor lighting. That camera and I took a lot of photos. I can't say they were very good, but some weren't bad. I was also still under the age of 12. The Navy moved us to Washington State a little while after my 9th birthday.
In middle school, I was able to take a photography course at a summer camp held at a local university. We were taught the basics of 35mm black and white SLR photography and I finally got to use Dad's Olympus. We did everything from start to finish, including processing the film and printing images. I enjoyed taking pictures before, but this was where science and art came together and became something I love.
The worst part about the film cameras, was waiting for the results and paying for the film and processing. It was almost impossible to improve a technique because I could hardly remember what I did in the first place. There was a rush of excitement in the house when we got the family's first digital camera. It was as big as a brick and heavy as one too, but you could take a picture, download it and see immediately what you had! Now that was cool. We didn't upgrade to a new digital camera for a long time, in fact we stuck to the 35mm cameras for 'real' photos. The next digital one was the complete opposite of the brick. It was tiny, just like my first little yellow camera! I took it to England with me in 2003 and it was great, but I realized I wanted something better, so I started saving and researching my options and the rest is history.
Today, I have my third Canon digital camera, and with that purchase made the jump to a digital SLR. It is faster, more powerful model, and pushes me to use my knowledge to take a good photo. Like all of my cameras before, it is a trusty friend and goes with me everywhere. I recently graduated from Johnson & Wales University, with a Masters degree in Nonprofit Management and I'm excited to see what the future holds. Regardless of where I land, I know I'll continue learning and growing with my love of photography and I hope something I've captured will enhance your world.
Gayle Melges joined Pixels.com Licensing on June 23rd, 2012.
