Page 53 - The Visual Suite Vol2.6

The Visual Suite
53
One year after that vacation and a few more trips, I noticed something different. I was taking lots of pictures, and some of them were actually ok. I began to look at the world differently. I would look at simple everyday things and see a possible photograph. I wanted to have my camera in the car even if I was not planning to take pictures that day. I longed for the lens in my hand when I passed what I considered to be a great photo opportunity. I even looked at the sky differently, noticed the different cloud formations and varying shades of blue. I needed to capture all of it with my camera and every once and a while, when I did, it got a rush! Just like making a hole in one, bowling that strike you need in the last frame, or sinking the winning basket.
4 years later, I still get that feeling. With every image I create I have more opportunities to experience it over and over again. As I learn and experience more, the images will hopefully continue to improve. The more I learn the more I need to learn and that’s ok. Life without challenges is not life at all. Photography has become an important creative expression for me much like my music. So far they are coexisting peacefully. Every now and then I get to enjoy them both; like the time I snuck my camera into a Bootsy Collins concert and ended up with full access to shoot the concert from anywhere in the venue! What a rush! Perhaps this was supposed to happen!
Written by Vince Chapman
This was not supposed to happen. I just wanted a
nice camera to take on our family vacation to shoot video and take a few stills. As a Mass Communications major in college my course work included photography. I learned to develop film, (yes film) and pictures in the dark room. I took pictures at basketball games, around campus and around the city of Atlanta. I enjoyed taking pictures but never really committed to trying to become a photographer. After I graduated I worked in radio and television and never really came back to the photography.
We were going to Florida, lots of sun and beautiful sites, however as is true with a lot of parents with young children this was a return visit. I was going to use my new camera, a Canon 60D, to document the trip and have fun taking pictures. I considered getting the 7D which was more expensive, but settled with the younger brother; the 60D. By the end of the vacation I had actually read several chapters of the manual, and had devoured hours of YouTube videos and tutorials about f-stop, depth of field, shutter speed, and ISO settings. Some terms were familiar and the came back to me quickly others took a little longer to digest.