Behind the Digital LensMusings of an Amateur Photographer

15th Apr, 2010 Making a difference

Ever since I can remember I have loved to look at pictures.  It didn’t matter if they were of people I didn’t know or places that I had never been, or objects I had never seen.  I just love looking at pictures, or photos, if you will.  Black and white, color, sepia/vintage – those are the color formats that I love looking at.

When I got my first camera, a Kodak Instamatic, I was excited, but only took those quick snapshots that kids back then took.  Mostly of nothing and mostly frivolous.  I loved the camera, but as a kid I wasn’t very serious about taking good photos.

My next camera was a Kodak [gotta love the brand!] Tele-Ektra 110mm camera, but at this point in life I don’t remember the model.  I do remember thinking that at the time it was a pretty cool camera and it did take good photos.  And it was this camera that started me wanting a 35mm camera.

I’ve had only two 35mm film cameras, and they were both pretty much alike: Pentax K-1000 and a ProMaster 1000.  I loved my Pentax and used it extensively, but was limited by my budget.  The ProMaster was a replacement/addition, but by the time I bought it relatively inexpensive digital cameras were becoming popular, and the camera was doomed to be obsolete.

Ever since I became serious about photography with my Pentax I had wanted to make a difference in life.  Oh, I didn’t know how, or in what way, and still don’t, but that desire is there.  I see publications such as Life and National Geographic and the photos that they have held over time and  I know some of those photos have made a difference to people all over the world.  Remember the famous Afghan woman whose beautiful face and eyes became one of the most famous National Geographic covers?  For me, I had always wanted to take a photo like that, but of an elderly American Native woman on a reservation.  That has, to date, never happened. , and most likely won’t.

My desire to make a difference hasn’t changed, but I realize that I probably won’t make a difference to anyone through my photos because I will never be famous, which might be a good thing because that would be overwhelming and I’d probably lose my love for the art.  And so, my photos are there to make a difference to me; I’m not in any competition, I’m not out to make money, I’m not out to be famous.  If I can share my photos from time to time and have them appreciated just because I took them, I think that for now, that is enough.  They don’t have to be spectacular or life changing.  They don’t have to be whimsical or stunning, or even taken quite well.  Just appreciated for the time and thought.