When I was in my early twenties I went on my first big trip to Europe complete with backpack and a Kodak EKTRA 200 instamatic camera. I remember distinctively not wanting to look like a tourist and thinking that it would call too much attention to myself if I stopped to take photos. So I snapped off the required photos at the required places, such as the Eifel Tower, Windsor Castle and the Leaning Tower of Pisa just to show I was actually had been there.
It wasn’t till years later on a trip to New Zealand, with a pawn shop bought Pentax ME Super that I caught the photography bug. It was something about the beauty of New Zealand that inspired me to take photography more seriously. I started to notice the beauty around me, the velvet texture of moss on a rock or the way a certain tree stood strong and grounded against a dramatic sky.
After moving to a small town in Ontario and having my first child I decided to that I needed to do something for myself and get out of the house. I joined a local photo club and took a variety of photography workshops and courses. Being in the club helped me push myself further ahead as I learned new techniques and received both negative and positive feedback on the pictures I submitted for competitions.
During that time I became a real fan of roadside photography. It became habit to carry my tripod and camera in the car with me. Often, I would see something on the side of the road that would catch my eye. I’d, stop, take out my camera and tripod and shoot away while my son slept in his car seat.
Now, here I am years some years later now the travel agent with the camera that is always holding up the group or lingering far longer than anyone else. Sometimes being a slow poke is a good thing, you are more likely to catch the small things along the way that no one notices. This was often the case on my most recent trip to the Galapagos. I guess you could say now I have combined two loves, travel and photography.
Everybody can bring home the required snap shots of famous landmarks, but to me it is the untypical photos that really give a true glimpse of a destination and the photographer you are.
Thanks for the story. Love the fact that you didn’t let having you son with you stop you from taking photos. For me, I understand that I can’t always have the time to shoot something when my son is around, but I just use him as a model or capture the very moments that broaden my love for him. Nice work, and keep it up.
Thanks Adrian,
Now I have two of them …so I had let my photography kind of slide for a few years. Lately however I have been finding my mojo again. My trip to the Galapagos certainly got me motivated again.
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