I began taking photos at a very young age. I had my first camera, an instamatic 110 I believe, around the age of 8 or so. It wouldn’t be until my mom got me my first SLR that I would begin to take photography as an art form and begin to experiment and have fun.
I was by no means an artist but I was teaching myself how to compose images and “get the shot.” Most of my photos are lost to time, but a few I still have in digital form.
Back then I was shooting on a Canon T80 and later a Nikon 2020, which I still own. Both are “film” cameras. Owning my own camera allowed me to join the school newspaper and yearbook staff and further stretch my photographic muscles during my senior year in high school. I was allowed to carry my camera anywhere on campus and even into class because I was “school press.” I don’t have those photos but some ended up in the 1988-1989 yearbook and the few papers we put out that year.
In college I remained a shutterbug and even though expensive to get photos developed as a student with little income, a hobby I played with when time permitted.