I majored in photojournalism when I was in college from the fall of 1998 through the spring of 2003. We were still shooting film and using the dark-room when I started school, and discussions often would center on whether digital photography actually had the potential to ever achieve the quality of film. I can't remember the last time I shot with my film gear, but I still keep it in my closet just in case this "digital photography trend" ever goes away.
I spent some time last night I fondly reflecting on the moments of anticipation as I eagerly wished the second-hand to tick away a little faster while waiting for my film to process in the sometimes crowded (and sometimes desolate) photo lab in Dwight Bentel Hall at San Jose State University. In these days of instant gratification, it's funny to think that I used to work several assignments throughout the course of a day without the ability to admire (or delete) my images on the back of my camera. After a long day of shooting, there was some real magic in that first look at my negatives. I'm not too interested in going back to that kind of technology, but it's fun to remember.
Here're a few images from the college (pre-internship) portfolio. These were shot on my Nikon F-3 and N90-S (film cameras) and scanned into the computer on the "high-tech" film scanners that the San Jose Mercury News donated to the photojournalism program just after the paper made the switch all-digital gear.
As an undergrad I aspired to be a "sports shooter."
I've recently been inspired to revisit my passion for photography, and I figured in order to motivate myself to keep shooting, I needed a place to "publish" my more recent images. I'm sure most of them will be of my wife and daughter (like this of them playing hide and seek during a trip to New York this past Thanksgiving).
I'm looking forward to many more posts and many more images. Here we go!
YAY! I will love following your photography blog for a source of creative inspiration.
ReplyDeleteVery nice Dave! Fun to see the old photos...hope you continue to mix some of those in with the new...
ReplyDeleteGreat work Dave. Always admired things through your eye!
ReplyDeleteI love the qualities of perspective, light, emotion, and humor you bring to your photos, David. You do far more than take pictures. You capture moments of life with all its warmth, joys, excitement, drama, sorrow, and sometimes plain old quirkiness.
ReplyDeleteI'm very excited about your blog and look forward to seeing more from you.
this will be a fun place to visit. LOVE that photo of jj and lucy. oh my goodness---perfection.
ReplyDeleteThese are great shots. You've got an eye. Well, two of them. But one of them does a great job at framing subjects and picking the "trigger moment."
ReplyDeleteAlso, although I merely took photography at PVHS, I too fondly remember the smell of a darkroom and the excitement of development. Glad I was able to experience that before film "died"
David I have been in awe of your ability to capture the real essence of the moment. When I share your photos Everyone is so impressed not just with the professional quality but also with the Essence of the photo. I am thrilled that you will be sharing your giftedness. I will love seeing more photos (especially of
ReplyDeleteLucy).