What got YOU into photography?

**ehrwien** · 10-28-2019, 10:22 AM

I think what always fascinated me was that with photos one was able to capture a moment in time and make it last forever.

Born in 1989, when I grew up, all the photos of myself (disregarding school or id photos) were taken with disposable film cameras and tucked away safely in family photo albums that were taken out perhaps once a year or less back in the days (way less nowadays, if at all). I can't even remember, but I think a phone camera was not the first I made pictures with. It may have been a very cheap 2 MP point-and-shoot with a few MB of internal storage and no possibility of using any kind of external memory card. I took it to school with me, took pictures of my classmates and even printed some of those on the cheap printer at home.

Growing more and more displeased with the quality of the photos, I got newer and better point-and-shoot-cameras, but at one point I realized that the cameras were not able to tell how exactly I wanted a picture to turn out, and the limited selection of scene modes couldn't help me get my expectations across. So I closely followed the printed ads of the biggest electronics shop and snagged a hugely discounted Nikon 1 V1 in a double zoom kit and photographed with that and a later bought normal prime for a few years, even sometimes photographing some events for friends, further expanding my understanding of the underlying principles involved in taking photos in more challenging situations. And so, when I felt once again that I couldn't achieve everything I wanted to with my then current gear, I became a Pentaxian when I bought my K-S2 with 18-135.

And now I mostly have to keep my GAS in check and tell myself to go out and shoot pictures instead of only buying new lenses.

**StiffLegged** · 10-28-2019, 02:45 PM

I had a cheap Kodak 127 roll film camera as a kid, but what got me was seeing prints "coming up" in a friend's developer tray. I always noticed the camera ads in National Geographic years ago and like most keen young photography wannabees lusted after all sorts of hideously expensive gear, but settled for a secondhand Pentax SV and set about adding (mostly) secondhand lenses while developing and printing black & white images.

Seeing the work of Ansel Adams, I had a try at the Zone System to gauge exposure - for snow scenes, on Kodak Pan F. Looking at the dense negatives that came out of the developer tank, I thought "What have I done???" and took them to the darkroom with a heavy heart. I still have some prints I made that day and vividly remember the joy of discovering a full range of tones in these images! I also chuckled later at a friend's opinion that dodging and burning was "cheating!"

Work and family life got in the way later, but some years ago the chance of going digital brought me a K-7. All the memories of darkroom dodges have returned with learning post-processing, and, like an earlier poster, I too find the gear is pretty capable - unlike the goon brandishing it!

Pentikonian · 10-28-2019, 04:21 PM

Grew up reading Nat Geo, watching Wild Kingdom, looking through the family photo albums, watching Dad take photos on an old 126 fixed lens.

Don't remember seeing that camera after he came back from Vietnam the second time, and I never asked him what happened to it. I remember the next 126 was a Kodak Instamatic, X30 IIRC, with the self-contained flash cubes. Was used for family photos through the 70s and into the 80s.

My first camera was a 110 Instamatic in 1979. Got my first 35mm SLR in 1980, a Vivitar kit with a 50 and 135. Been snapping away since then.

**Gorgarath** · 01-04-2020, 06:21 PM

I'm not sure when I became fascinated with photography. I've enjoyed it for as long as I remember. I'd use my brother or sister's (I don't remember who owned it) old Polaroid instant camera and would take pictures all the time. I was nicknamed the family photographer growing up. Somewhere between probably 4 and 6 I got my own Polaroid instant camera. My sister had a 110 something or other that I tried a time or two but didn't really like.

I'd always try and borrow my mom's 35mm Kodak but was rarely allowed. After seeing my uncle's K1000 (I've talked about this elsewhere) around 8ish, I've always wanted an SLR camera. I just thought it was so cool that I could use different lenses for different views and whatnot. (I didn't understand a lot of what the SLR would actually allow me to do or maybe I'd have gotten one sooner.)

I finally got my own 35mm (I believe it was a Kodak, possibly my mom's as a hand-me-down and she might have gotten a new one) as a present probably around 10 or so. I bought a few other cheap P&S cameras in my teens, zoom lenses and timestamping and other things, but was still always disappointed with low-light photography and getting action shots. Took a disposable panoramic camera as well as another 2 regular disposable cameras backpacking at Philmont in NM at 16. Have used a few disposable underwater cameras as well. Started getting out of photography probably around this time as I was frustrated with what I was able to do. I think my first digital camera was one my parents got us when our oldest was born. Have had a couple other cheap digital P&S cameras since then as well. Still kind of didn't have the photography bug and was just using my camera on my phone as I'd have it with me. And eventually the cameras on phones got to be good enough that I didn't bother with a digital camera anymore.

A few years back (I think my join date is 2012?) I wanted to get a better camera so that I could do some actual photos with my wife and kids and such, but new cameras were so expensive and I just couldn't do it. And I've kept putting it off just one more year for the past several years.

Then I finally made up my mind a couple months ago that I was going to get myself a (D)SLR like I've always wanted and start taking more pictures. So I got on eBay and scored a really good deal on my K-7. And while I haven't gotten to use it as much as I'd like, I've still taken more photos in the past month than probably the past year. And I'm still learning how the camera works and am learning how to get my pictures even better. And how to sneak shots of my youngest so he doesn't try and hide from the camera... And while I'm loving my K-7, I see a K-5 and/or K-3 in my future for even better low-light performance and more fps. (Still kind of want a Q for an EDC camera for street shots and whatnot.) I also see a lot more lenses in my future despite having more now than I figured I'd have in a year, let alone a month...

dstar · 01-04-2020, 06:41 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Gorgarath

I'm not sure when I became fascinated with photography. I've enjoyed it for as long as I remember. I'd use my brother or sister's (I don't remember who owned it) old Polaroid instant camera and would take pictures all the time. I was nicknamed the family photographer growing up. Somewhere between probably 4 and 6 I got my own Polaroid instant camera. My sister had a 110 something or other that I tried a time or two but didn't really like.

I'd always try and borrow my mom's 35mm Kodak but was rarely allowed. After seeing my uncle's K1000 (I've talked about this elsewhere) around 8ish, I've always wanted an SLR camera. I just thought it was so cool that I could use different lenses for different views and whatnot. (I didn't understand a lot of what the SLR would actually allow me to do or maybe I'd have gotten one sooner.)

I finally got my own 35mm (I believe it was a Kodak, possibly my mom's as a hand-me-down and she might have gotten a new one) as a present probably around 10 or so. I bought a few other cheap P&S cameras in my teens, zoom lenses and timestamping and other things, but was still always disappointed with low-light photography and getting action shots. Took a disposable panoramic camera as well as another 2 regular disposable cameras backpacking at Philmont in NM at 16. Have used a few disposable underwater cameras as well. Started getting out of photography probably around this time as I was frustrated with what I was able to do. I think my first digital camera was one my parents got us when our oldest was born. Have had a couple other cheap digital P&S cameras since then as well. Still kind of didn't have the photography bug and was just using my camera on my phone as I'd have it with me. And eventually the cameras on phones got to be good enough that I didn't bother with a digital camera anymore.

A few years back (I think my join date is 2012?) I wanted to get a better camera so that I could do some actual photos with my wife and kids and such, but new cameras were so expensive and I just couldn't do it. And I've kept putting it off just one more year for the past several years.

Then I finally made up my mind a couple months ago that I was going to get myself a (D)SLR like I've always wanted and start taking more pictures. So I got on eBay and scored a really good deal on my K-7. And while I haven't gotten to use it as much as I'd like, I've still taken more photos in the past month than probably the past year. And I'm still learning how the camera works and am learning how to get my pictures even better. And how to sneak shots of my youngest so he doesn't try and hide from the camera... And while I'm loving my K-7, I see a K-5 and/or K-3 in my future for even better low-light performance and more fps. (Still kind of want a Q for an EDC camera for street shots and whatnot.) I also see a lot more lenses in my future despite having more now than I figured I'd have in a year, let alone a month...

My Grandparents They work in local newspaper
I start work after school 15 yo probably in dark room
After my first camera was Russian FED
Later Zenit
In US use Minolta 7 and move to Pentax
I miss time in dark room
and white and black proceeding film and paper

rubenr · 01-04-2020, 06:58 PM

I started off with video, and people start asking if I do photography also... and I said: yeah, sure. Started with a bridge canon sx20 in 2010 (many years before that I had a nikon m90), that canon lasted less than a year before I sold it; got a pentax Kx (that felt like it was made for me!), then a K5ii after that... followed by k-01, k3, another couple of k01's and a k3ii.

SpottyReputation · 01-09-2020, 11:14 AM

This is tough to answer. Probably my grandmother. She worked as a technical photographer for a number of years, so I believe she influenced my father (and her daughter, and her husband) to all pickup photography. My father was big into slides, so I have memories of the projector being dragged out, and revisiting trips in the living room. I miss that aspect of sharing photos.

Many moons ago, i was gifted my grandfather's old camera (there's some debate, my father claims that it was his...) which was the Spotmatic SPII that started this whole Pentax affair with me. I had had cheapy point and shoots before, but the move to SLR was a big step for me. My grandmother was the one that gave me that camera, and encouraged me to take pictures. Also provided my first critiques, which were very helpful.

Lord Lucan · 01-10-2020, 04:06 PM - **1 Like**

I probably have the most unusual start here - my father (a semi-professional) gave me an ancient Ensign reflex plate camera that I think he had originally bought in a junk shop. It came with a stock of glass plates (around 4.5"x3.5" AFAIR) which by then you could no longer purchase. We did our own developing and printing. The camera was a cube of about 8" sides, mostly made of wood, brass and leather, and had a focal plane shutter. You only used it on a tripod and I mostly used it to record things I had made.

**dipo 1** · 02-01-2020, 02:01 PM - **1 Like**

My grandmother, from the time I can remember when we went to Gran ma's she would bring out the old Browny and everybody got there picture taken, 1948 to about 1968. Then my brother came home on leave from Alaska (Air Force) With a Yashica, had a view finder on top and 2 lens (?) on the front looked similar to an old browny. I was fascinated with it. Went into the USAF in 1968 was transferred to Okinawa in 1970 and in 71 purchased a Pentax Spotmatic with an 85mm and a 135mm lenses. Used that until 2016 or 2017 when I bought a Pentax K5 had been used very little (1050 shutter releasses). So been with Pentax for 47 or 48 years. No Plans to buy anything else. Nuff said.

camera_nut · 02-23-2020, 03:03 AM

l dabbled in and out of photography when l was a kid. ln the 80s l had a Kodak film disc camera. Then about 1999 l got into railfanning. l started travelling to locations that had lots of freight trains coming through. At the time l had a Canon 35mm point and shoot. l decided l wanted to get some good train pics so in mid 2000 i bought a Nikon N60 and Sigma 28-80. Did not have internet at that time, so l bought a couple of photography books. A few months later l wanted telephoto capability so l bought a Quantaray 70-300.

photolady95 · 02-23-2020, 08:01 AM

My daughter's birth, who's now 52. I had a Kodak instamatic 110. Earlier, I was 12, I owned a Brownie, but my mother in her wisdom said it was too expensive camera for me to use.

I think she sold it because I never saw it after her statement.

Then life got in the way and I didn't own a camera until I started college in the 90's, I was 42, at the time. I was taking a photography course for my degree requirements. That started my interest back up and because we had to have an all manual film camera, I bought my first Pentax, a K1000. I miss that camera, it was rough and tough.

I was still shooting film when I joined this forum in 2009, then the powers that be on this forum talked me into my first digital Pentax K100D. Bought that one on KEH. Took my first bird in flight with it too. A Red-Tailed hawk.

10-28-2019, 02:45 PM	#47
StiffLegged Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2018 Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,616	I had a cheap Kodak 127 roll film camera as a kid, but what got me was seeing prints "coming up" in a friend's developer tray. I always noticed the camera ads in National Geographic years ago and like most keen young photography wannabees lusted after all sorts of hideously expensive gear, but settled for a secondhand Pentax SV and set about adding (mostly) secondhand lenses while developing and printing black & white images. Seeing the work of Ansel Adams, I had a try at the Zone System to gauge exposure - for snow scenes, on Kodak Pan F. Looking at the dense negatives that came out of the developer tank, I thought "What have I done???" and took them to the darkroom with a heavy heart. I still have some prints I made that day and vividly remember the joy of discovering a full range of tones in these images! I also chuckled later at a friend's opinion that dodging and burning was "cheating!" Work and family life got in the way later, but some years ago the chance of going digital brought me a K-7. All the memories of darkroom dodges have returned with learning post-processing, and, like an earlier poster, I too find the gear is pretty capable - unlike the goon brandishing it! Last edited by StiffLegged; 10-28-2019 at 02:51 PM.

10-28-2019, 04:21 PM	#48
Pentikonian Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Arizona Posts: 780	Grew up reading Nat Geo, watching Wild Kingdom, looking through the family photo albums, watching Dad take photos on an old 126 fixed lens. Don't remember seeing that camera after he came back from Vietnam the second time, and I never asked him what happened to it. I remember the next 126 was a Kodak Instamatic, X30 IIRC, with the self-contained flash cubes. Was used for family photos through the 70s and into the 80s. My first camera was a 110 Instamatic in 1979. Got my first 35mm SLR in 1980, a Vivitar kit with a 50 and 135. Been snapping away since then. Last edited by Pentikonian; 10-28-2019 at 04:22 PM. Reason: typos

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10-28-2019, 10:22 AM	#46
ehrwien Site Supporter Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 2,782	I think what always fascinated me was that with photos one was able to capture a moment in time and make it last forever. Born in 1989, when I grew up, all the photos of myself (disregarding school or id photos) were taken with disposable film cameras and tucked away safely in family photo albums that were taken out perhaps once a year or less back in the days (way less nowadays, if at all). I can't even remember, but I think a phone camera was not the first I made pictures with. It may have been a very cheap 2 MP point-and-shoot with a few MB of internal storage and no possibility of using any kind of external memory card. I took it to school with me, took pictures of my classmates and even printed some of those on the cheap printer at home. Growing more and more displeased with the quality of the photos, I got newer and better point-and-shoot-cameras, but at one point I realized that the cameras were not able to tell how exactly I wanted a picture to turn out, and the limited selection of scene modes couldn't help me get my expectations across. So I closely followed the printed ads of the biggest electronics shop and snagged a hugely discounted Nikon 1 V1 in a double zoom kit and photographed with that and a later bought normal prime for a few years, even sometimes photographing some events for friends, further expanding my understanding of the underlying principles involved in taking photos in more challenging situations. And so, when I felt once again that I couldn't achieve everything I wanted to with my then current gear, I became a Pentaxian when I bought my K-S2 with 18-135. And now I mostly have to keep my GAS in check and tell myself to go out and shoot pictures instead of only buying new lenses.

01-04-2020, 06:21 PM	#49
Gorgarath Total n00b Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 735	I'm not sure when I became fascinated with photography. I've enjoyed it for as long as I remember. I'd use my brother or sister's (I don't remember who owned it) old Polaroid instant camera and would take pictures all the time. I was nicknamed the family photographer growing up. Somewhere between probably 4 and 6 I got my own Polaroid instant camera. My sister had a 110 something or other that I tried a time or two but didn't really like. I'd always try and borrow my mom's 35mm Kodak but was rarely allowed. After seeing my uncle's K1000 (I've talked about this elsewhere) around 8ish, I've always wanted an SLR camera. I just thought it was so cool that I could use different lenses for different views and whatnot. (I didn't understand a lot of what the SLR would actually allow me to do or maybe I'd have gotten one sooner.) I finally got my own 35mm (I believe it was a Kodak, possibly my mom's as a hand-me-down and she might have gotten a new one) as a present probably around 10 or so. I bought a few other cheap P&S cameras in my teens, zoom lenses and timestamping and other things, but was still always disappointed with low-light photography and getting action shots. Took a disposable panoramic camera as well as another 2 regular disposable cameras backpacking at Philmont in NM at 16. Have used a few disposable underwater cameras as well. Started getting out of photography probably around this time as I was frustrated with what I was able to do. I think my first digital camera was one my parents got us when our oldest was born. Have had a couple other cheap digital P&S cameras since then as well. Still kind of didn't have the photography bug and was just using my camera on my phone as I'd have it with me. And eventually the cameras on phones got to be good enough that I didn't bother with a digital camera anymore. A few years back (I think my join date is 2012?) I wanted to get a better camera so that I could do some actual photos with my wife and kids and such, but new cameras were so expensive and I just couldn't do it. And I've kept putting it off just one more year for the past several years. Then I finally made up my mind a couple months ago that I was going to get myself a (D)SLR like I've always wanted and start taking more pictures. So I got on eBay and scored a really good deal on my K-7. And while I haven't gotten to use it as much as I'd like, I've still taken more photos in the past month than probably the past year. And I'm still learning how the camera works and am learning how to get my pictures even better. And how to sneak shots of my youngest so he doesn't try and hide from the camera... And while I'm loving my K-7, I see a K-5 and/or K-3 in my future for even better low-light performance and more fps. (Still kind of want a Q for an EDC camera for street shots and whatnot.) I also see a lot more lenses in my future despite having more now than I figured I'd have in a year, let alone a month...

01-04-2020, 06:41 PM - 1 Like	#50
dstar Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Albuquerque NM Photos: Albums Posts: 475	Originally posted by Gorgarath I'm not sure when I became fascinated with photography. I've enjoyed it for as long as I remember. I'd use my brother or sister's (I don't remember who owned it) old Polaroid instant camera and would take pictures all the time. I was nicknamed the family photographer growing up. Somewhere between probably 4 and 6 I got my own Polaroid instant camera. My sister had a 110 something or other that I tried a time or two but didn't really like. I'd always try and borrow my mom's 35mm Kodak but was rarely allowed. After seeing my uncle's K1000 (I've talked about this elsewhere) around 8ish, I've always wanted an SLR camera. I just thought it was so cool that I could use different lenses for different views and whatnot. (I didn't understand a lot of what the SLR would actually allow me to do or maybe I'd have gotten one sooner.) I finally got my own 35mm (I believe it was a Kodak, possibly my mom's as a hand-me-down and she might have gotten a new one) as a present probably around 10 or so. I bought a few other cheap P&S cameras in my teens, zoom lenses and timestamping and other things, but was still always disappointed with low-light photography and getting action shots. Took a disposable panoramic camera as well as another 2 regular disposable cameras backpacking at Philmont in NM at 16. Have used a few disposable underwater cameras as well. Started getting out of photography probably around this time as I was frustrated with what I was able to do. I think my first digital camera was one my parents got us when our oldest was born. Have had a couple other cheap digital P&S cameras since then as well. Still kind of didn't have the photography bug and was just using my camera on my phone as I'd have it with me. And eventually the cameras on phones got to be good enough that I didn't bother with a digital camera anymore. A few years back (I think my join date is 2012?) I wanted to get a better camera so that I could do some actual photos with my wife and kids and such, but new cameras were so expensive and I just couldn't do it. And I've kept putting it off just one more year for the past several years. Then I finally made up my mind a couple months ago that I was going to get myself a (D)SLR like I've always wanted and start taking more pictures. So I got on eBay and scored a really good deal on my K-7. And while I haven't gotten to use it as much as I'd like, I've still taken more photos in the past month than probably the past year. And I'm still learning how the camera works and am learning how to get my pictures even better. And how to sneak shots of my youngest so he doesn't try and hide from the camera... And while I'm loving my K-7, I see a K-5 and/or K-3 in my future for even better low-light performance and more fps. (Still kind of want a Q for an EDC camera for street shots and whatnot.) I also see a lot more lenses in my future despite having more now than I figured I'd have in a year, let alone a month... My Grandparents They work in local newspaper I start work after school 15 yo probably in dark room After my first camera was Russian FED Later Zenit In US use Minolta 7 and move to Pentax I miss time in dark room and white and black proceeding film and paper

01-04-2020, 06:58 PM	#51
rubenr Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Guatemala City Photos: Albums Posts: 337	I started off with video, and people start asking if I do photography also... and I said: yeah, sure. Started with a bridge canon sx20 in 2010 (many years before that I had a nikon m90), that canon lasted less than a year before I sold it; got a pentax Kx (that felt like it was made for me!), then a K5ii after that... followed by k-01, k3, another couple of k01's and a k3ii.

01-09-2020, 11:14 AM	#52
SpottyReputation Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Abbotsford, BC Photos: Albums Posts: 210	This is tough to answer. Probably my grandmother. She worked as a technical photographer for a number of years, so I believe she influenced my father (and her daughter, and her husband) to all pickup photography. My father was big into slides, so I have memories of the projector being dragged out, and revisiting trips in the living room. I miss that aspect of sharing photos. Many moons ago, i was gifted my grandfather's old camera (there's some debate, my father claims that it was his...) which was the Spotmatic SPII that started this whole Pentax affair with me. I had had cheapy point and shoots before, but the move to SLR was a big step for me. My grandmother was the one that gave me that camera, and encouraged me to take pictures. Also provided my first critiques, which were very helpful.

01-10-2020, 04:06 PM - 1 Like	#53
Lord Lucan Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: South Wales Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,961	I probably have the most unusual start here - my father (a semi-professional) gave me an ancient Ensign reflex plate camera that I think he had originally bought in a junk shop. It came with a stock of glass plates (around 4.5"x3.5" AFAIR) which by then you could no longer purchase. We did our own developing and printing. The camera was a cube of about 8" sides, mostly made of wood, brass and leather, and had a focal plane shutter. You only used it on a tripod and I mostly used it to record things I had made.

02-01-2020, 02:01 PM - 1 Like	#54
dipo 1 Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 374	My grandmother, from the time I can remember when we went to Gran ma's she would bring out the old Browny and everybody got there picture taken, 1948 to about 1968. Then my brother came home on leave from Alaska (Air Force) With a Yashica, had a view finder on top and 2 lens (?) on the front looked similar to an old browny. I was fascinated with it. Went into the USAF in 1968 was transferred to Okinawa in 1970 and in 71 purchased a Pentax Spotmatic with an 85mm and a 135mm lenses. Used that until 2016 or 2017 when I bought a Pentax K5 had been used very little (1050 shutter releasses). So been with Pentax for 47 or 48 years. No Plans to buy anything else. Nuff said.

02-23-2020, 03:03 AM	#55
camera_nut Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2020 Location: North Houston, TX Posts: 155	l dabbled in and out of photography when l was a kid. ln the 80s l had a Kodak film disc camera. Then about 1999 l got into railfanning. l started travelling to locations that had lots of freight trains coming through. At the time l had a Canon 35mm point and shoot. l decided l wanted to get some good train pics so in mid 2000 i bought a Nikon N60 and Sigma 28-80. Did not have internet at that time, so l bought a couple of photography books. A few months later l wanted telephoto capability so l bought a Quantaray 70-300.

02-23-2020, 08:01 AM	#56
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712	My daughter's birth, who's now 52. I had a Kodak instamatic 110. Earlier, I was 12, I owned a Brownie, but my mother in her wisdom said it was too expensive camera for me to use. I think she sold it because I never saw it after her statement. Then life got in the way and I didn't own a camera until I started college in the 90's, I was 42, at the time. I was taking a photography course for my degree requirements. That started my interest back up and because we had to have an all manual film camera, I bought my first Pentax, a K1000. I miss that camera, it was rough and tough. I was still shooting film when I joined this forum in 2009, then the powers that be on this forum talked me into my first digital Pentax K100D. Bought that one on KEH. Took my first bird in flight with it too. A Red-Tailed hawk.