Now You Want to Take Photos?

“Growth of a Creative”

I have always liked taking pictures of other people and random things around me. I never thought about buying a camera and really giving it a try. I remember playing with my cousin’s polaroid camera back in the day and being excited to finally understand how to operate it. Later, down the road into my pre-teens, I got into buying the disposable cameras from the brands such as Kodak and Fuji, just to name a few. I had a lot of fun snapping candid shots of everybody and everywhere I would go, except for school. They didn’t tolerate us taking pics at all. That was automatic detention. Unfortunately, I would not always have the money to have the film processed, and I also did not know how to properly store the camera until I was able to have the photos developed. Case in point, back in 1997, my mother had a Birthday party at our house and all our family came out to celebrate. The disposable cameras had a limited amount of snaps that you could take and if you took any shots, they had to be worth it unless you had multiple cameras. I believe I took some good shots that night of all my family. I kept the camera for a while, then the unthinkable happened, my Uncle Junior passed away. That night was a time when I captured him and the rest of our family having fun and really enjoying each other. What made that situation worse was that I tried to get the film developed shortly after and the gentleman at the photo shop told me that the film was damaged. Lesson learned. Fast forward through the years, and the release of camera phones came upon us all. I had the Motorola T722i with a detachable camera. I took pictures of everybody. Good pics, bad pics, it didn’t matter because I had the power of deleting and saving pictures in my phone. Then the evolution of the portable communicator (cell phone) appeared in 2007. The very first iPhone. Yep, one of the most beloved devices in modern history arrived and I had to get one. This phone was a game changer in every way. While everyone would rave about the apps, and capability of the phone, I was interested in the camera. And that camera I used quite often. As more time went on and smartphones getting better and better, I set a standard for myself, I would not buy a smartphone that had a crappy camera. It’s just personal preference. I bought the Samsung Galaxy S8+ over the iPhone 8 Plus because the camera was better. Never mind what apps and other features were available, the only thing that I really care about other than talk or text, is my camera. I love photography. I love how it captures moments in time and how it can tell a story of great magnitude just being in a still frame. I love to see great works of art from other photographers and how they execute their vision, and I love how I found a way to connect two of my favorite artforms, writing and photography.