Why and how I got started in photography
In 1979 I started working for C.N. Railway (laying track). With some of the money from my first two pay cheques I decided to buy a Minolta film camera and a few roles of film but I didn’t take many photos back then because I was working 14 to 16 hours a day (depending on our location). Also there was no place close enough to process or buy film. A few years later (November 01 / 2006 to be exact) I got into a construction accident and W.C.B. (Workers Compensation Board) now known as Worksafe B.C. wanted four 5″ by 7″ photos of the injuries that I sustained to my face from the incident (each photo from a different view), and that I had to get them done at a photo studio because they needed the receipts for their records, so I found a photo studio and told the guy there what I wanted, he grabbed his camera, pressed the shutter release button four times and then held out his hand and said
“That’ll be $275.00 please, plus tax”.
The first thing that came to mind was
“WOW! I’m in the wrong business”.
In 2008 I got a small settlement from W.C.B. for that incident and I started buying camera gear, photograhy books, and photo editing software like Photoshop and Lightroom. After a while my photos started to look Okey but I still wasn’t happy with them.
Below is a sample of some of my early photography efforts.
Thay looked Okey at the time but there was no common theme. It looked like my interests were all over the place.
Now I try to focus my efforts on images that motivate, inspire and put a smile on peoples’ faces.
Enjoy.