Interrogation #1

So to enlighten (and more than likely humor you some) Anna and I will alternate interrogating each other on a weekly basis.  We drew straws and I get to interrogate first...

Erin:  Well, I'm going to start things on a more serious note as I'm sure this will veer off course in a few short weeks...  

When do you remember first being interested in photography?

Anna:  Thinking about when I first became interested in photography takes me WAY back.....to high school. I took an art photography class as an elective my freshman year of high school. It was an introduction to photography. Our first assignment was to take a photo with a pinhole camera we made out of an oatmeal tub. I think my photo was of the courtyard at my high school. We took photos with black and white film, processed it ourselves and made prints in the darkroom. All the fun stuff that is a lost art now in the digital age.

 

Erin:  Wow, WAY back...   so like 20 years ago right?  ;-)

Anna:  Ha Ha.  Funny.

Erin:  You're lucky you had that opportunity in high school.  My first photography class was an online class offered through VHS (Virtual High School).  My school was letting a few of us test this new online class thing to see if they wanted to offer it.  I think I was a Senior.  Anyway, it was all about composition, rule of thirds, viewpoints, that sort of thing.  I never got into the darkroom until college. 

And you're right, all the fun stuff is getting lost in the digital age.  There is something special about black and white film and developing your own work in the darkroom. There's just something magical about it. Watching that image slowly appear on a sheet of photo paper, the gentle sound of chemicals sloshing as you agitate the trays...   *sigh*   Ok, before I start seeing Unicorns and glitter in my reminisces of darkroom magic...

You mentioned you started out experimenting with pinhole cameras in class...  but what was your first camera? 

Anna:  I believe the first camera that I used in my high school photography class was your basic point and shoot film camera with a zoom lens. 

Erin:  I think every photographer starts out with some sort of point and shoot. The first camera I remember having was this thin flat thing that used 110 film, circa 5th grade.  It's probably buried somewhere upstairs at my mom's house.

What would you consider your first "real" camera?

Anna:  I got my first "real" camera, real as in film SLR, my junior year of high school. It was a Minolta. I eventually got a 70-200 lens when I got really serious into shooting. I still have that gear at my mom's house some where.  

Erin:  A Minolta?!?!  Me too!  Mine was a Minolta X-700.  I got it as a high school graduation gift from my brother. I had been using my dad's Vivitar that I rescued from the depths of his closet...   but I consider the Minolta to be MY first camera.  Mine's still at home too. I couldn't part with it.

So, What gear do you use now?

Anna:  Currently, I shoot with a Nikon D300s DSLR cameras. This is my work gear. I own a Nikon D50. While Nikon is nice gear and has great lenses, I will eventually own Canon when I invest in my own gear. I'm not a brand snob like some photogs. ;-)

Erin:  I don't know who you'd be referring to.  Not everything I own says Canon.... I think I have a Sigma 1.7x converter in my bag somewhere.   And you know darn well I owned a Nikon for a couple of years... until that incident with the Great Miami River...

Anna:   Did I say I was referring to you?  A little defensive aren't we?  ;-)

Erin:   Well, I just wanted to clarify that there are no brand snobs here.  I think Nikon and Canon are well matched competitors.  Anyway...  now that we cleared that up...

Did you take a lot of photos as a kid growing up?

Anna: Did I take a lot of photos growing up as a kid? Hmmm.... I really don't remember. I guess I took photos when we went on vacation or I'd take pictures of me and my friends. But like I said above, I really didn't get into shooting seriously until high school.

Erin:  Ditto. I don't remember taking lots of photos as a kid, but looking back, I took more than I realized.  Honestly, I over shot even back then.  If I had to pinpoint when I got serious about photography it would probably be 1999, summer before my senior year of high school when I was using my dad's Vivitar.  I remember taking it on my 4-H trip to Washington DC and taking lots of images.  That's when I started to see it an a Art as opposed to just Kodak Moments.

What inspired you to go pro?

Anna:  What inspired me to go pro? I don't really consider myself a "pro".

Erin:  I know what you mean.  I still don't consider myself a "pro" either.  But technically, that's what we are.  Two working professional photographers.  I've been trying to figure out why I feel that way, and I think it's just because there is so much to learn in photography.  So many different styles and genres to explore.  Maybe even those we consider the "pros" feel that way too.

Anna:  Interesting thought.  We'll have to find one to ask sometime.  :-)  Anyway, I decided to combine my enjoyment of photography and my passion for journalism in high school. By the end of my sophomore year of high school, I decided that I wanted to focus on photojournalism when I studied journalism in college. I wanted to be a journalist since a young age, it just took me a while to figure out my journalism niche.

Erin:  Well, there you have it folks! How it began all those years ago.  

Anna:  Yep, until next week.

Erin:  Wow, I kind of feel like some important news anchor signing off on the nightly broadcast.  I need a trademark phrase...  like "and that's the way the shutter clicks."  

Anna:  Seriously?

Erin:  or   "and that's where the F stops."

Anna:  Ok.  You're done.