The Slippery Slope

[zakslm]

I doubt anyone is asking why I am back on Photo.net after a long hiatus.  But it is a logical question since it’s been 15 years my since I was last active on this site.  The short answer is that I succumbed to the “slippery slope” or the pull of a lifelong interest and hobby that I had suppressed since I had last signed on to Photo.net.

Photography has always interested me.  From the time I was a kid using roll film cameras (probably Kodak Brownie’s that belonged to family members) and got a Kodak 127 camera a birthday gift (had a built-in flash that took AG-1 flashbulbs!) I loved taking pictures.  I even had my own darkroom and learned to process black & white negative film – but I didn’t acquire an enlarger until I was in college.

In high school, I borrowed a 35mm rangefinder camera and took a black & white photography course where I had access to a full darkroom including enlargers.  That class, the instruction received and the gratification of making prints further drew me in to photography as a hobby. 

In college I had acquired my first SLR, a recently introduced Canon AE-1 with a 50mm f/1.8 lens.  I took a photography course in college where I had to shoot 2 assignments a week on Ektachrome and get them processed at a 4-hour lab near campus.  Then the instructor and class critiqued the best 4 slides from each roll.  I would recommend whatever the current equivalent of that type of class is to anyone who is serious about taking photographs as opposed to “taking pictures”.   

Over the next 30 years (and many thousands of photos later), I accumulated lenses and accessories and upgraded camera bodies a couple times that culminated in a switch to an EOS camera and EF lenses.  This led to assisting and apprenticing with an exceptional wedding and portrait photographer and even shooting some events on my own. 

When film-based equipment was being phased out in favor of digital by many pros and serious amateurs, I made the decision to sell my film-based equipment and accessories and pursue other interests.  I dabbled with a couple of digital point & shoot cameras and got into the habit of using my iPhone as my primary camera.

Two recent events reignited the passion that I have for photography.  First of all, I had cataract surgery on both eyes.  Not only could I see clearly, but colors appear more vibrant and vivid than they had in years!  Secondly, someone had taken a photo of my dog with a DSLR and made a print and gave it to my wife and I.  That print clearly pops vs. the prints we made from iPhone photos.  I was jealous!

I had resisted buying a DSLR for years even though my wife did not discourage me from doing so.  I knew it would be a slippery slope and once I did buy a DSLR, there would be no turning back.  But given the two above catalytic events, I decided it dive back in. 

Not getting too crazy at first, I bought a Rebel T7 with the kit lens, a 50mm lens, lens hoods and UV filters and started to take some photos.  I got reacquainted with KEH Camera and bought telephoto zoom and then bought a wide angle zoom on Amazon (both with lens hoods and UV filters of course).  Add SD cards, a used Speedlite, a camera sling and other items and there’s no doubt I’m on that slippery slope and I’m enjoying the ride!  I like my results and the enjoy process of learning digital photography and getting acquainted with my equipment.

I think I’m pretty much done accumulating equipment and accessories for now.  As for the future, upgrading to a full-sized sensor and/or mirrorless EOS camera is larger commitment that I can foresee making.  But who knows?

[JDMvW]

Welcome back in any case. Many of us have taken a sabbatical now and again, although yours has been a long one.

[Sanford]

15 hours ago, zakslm said:

I think I’m pretty much done accumulating equipment and accessories for now.

Good luck with that.

[Niels - NHSN]

16 hours ago, zakslm said:

I think I’m pretty much done accumulating equipment and accessories for now.  

That is your wife speaking.