I was born at a very young age, and within a few short years (probably about nine) I owned my first camera – a Kodak Pocket Instamatic. As is the case with most people at that age, I used my camera mainly just for fun and to document my life – friends, family, vacations, holidays, etc. But for reasons I can’t quite recall, in 1986, something inspired me to invest in my first SLR camera. Still, I used this purely for documenting my life and just for the simple fun that photography can bring.
It wasn’t until sometime at the turn of the new millennium that something clicked, and I started to get more interested in photography as an art form, taking a darkroom class, and immersing myself in the work of the greats, while trying, usually without success, to learn how to take a good photograph.
The photographer Paul Strand was quoted as saying “It takes at least nine years to become a good photographer”. Well, I’m not sure where he got that random number from, but there must be something to it, because in my case, it was about eleven years. That is, eleven years before I felt like I’d settled into a style I could call my own; and I’m still settling.
One huge impetus for me, creatively speaking, was acquiring an iPhone -- my camera of choice these days. It opened up so many doors for me, unlocking a side to my creativity that had yet to be tapped into, and it continues to do so in ways I'd never imagined.
Although I’ve been earning my living as a professional musician for years, photography has been, and continues to be a huge creative outlet for me --an inexpensive form of therapy if you will -- that has become somewhat all-consuming. Where it will take me in the future, I don’t know. But presently, I’m just trying to see where I can take it, and hoping that as I continue to grow artistically, doors will open, unforeseen opportunities will present themselves, and who knows, maybe I'll even make a buck or two! Stay tuned!
-- Dave
It wasn’t until sometime at the turn of the new millennium that something clicked, and I started to get more interested in photography as an art form, taking a darkroom class, and immersing myself in the work of the greats, while trying, usually without success, to learn how to take a good photograph.
The photographer Paul Strand was quoted as saying “It takes at least nine years to become a good photographer”. Well, I’m not sure where he got that random number from, but there must be something to it, because in my case, it was about eleven years. That is, eleven years before I felt like I’d settled into a style I could call my own; and I’m still settling.
One huge impetus for me, creatively speaking, was acquiring an iPhone -- my camera of choice these days. It opened up so many doors for me, unlocking a side to my creativity that had yet to be tapped into, and it continues to do so in ways I'd never imagined.
Although I’ve been earning my living as a professional musician for years, photography has been, and continues to be a huge creative outlet for me --an inexpensive form of therapy if you will -- that has become somewhat all-consuming. Where it will take me in the future, I don’t know. But presently, I’m just trying to see where I can take it, and hoping that as I continue to grow artistically, doors will open, unforeseen opportunities will present themselves, and who knows, maybe I'll even make a buck or two! Stay tuned!
-- Dave
© David Ingraham