Re: I'm looking for inspiration!

From: Grafist@aol.com
Date: 08/14/05-04:59:32 PM Z
Message-id: <200.7c5d643.303126d4@aol.com>

In a message dated 14/08/05 03:13:29 GMT Daylight Time, Ender100@aol.com
writes:

> I know that everyone will be different, but I wondered how other people go
> > about this.
.....................................
You and Me and Photography.
                 I am entering my seventieth year of life on this planet and
sometimes wonder if there will be another chance to experience, at a future
time in another life, a relationship between myself and a technology which has
so many tangents. Also, is photography as important to others in the same way
as it is to me? Introduced to the marvel of the box camera at age five years
Grandpa explained how it worked and showed me some negatives on 120 film. Owing
to shortages of chemicals for amateur use due to the war but mainly, I now
realize, because time was short and bombs were dropping around us with worrying
regularity, we never got around to further processing the prints at that time,
 but the picture in my mind of the box camera stayed with me until much later
at age seventeen when I was making some cash of my own and began to
investigate by buying a bottle of universal developer, hypo crystals, a couple of
dishes etc., etc., My girl friend was willing to pose for a few glamour shots so
using the original box camera, step ladders and some sheets draped over as
background I came to realized what photography was all about.
Photography has been my constant friend through the years altho` several
times I have tried to give it up, always feeling a little guilty at doing so since
it refused to do what I wanted ONLY when my own vision and imagination became
tired or distracted, and I have always returned to some aspect of the art
with a renewed enthusiasm triggered off my some other seemingly unrelated
interest which brought me back to the familiar atmosphere of mind that we all know so
well. Whether it is processing, shooting, reading, discussing with others or
just realizing how photography has totally saturated our modern lives since
its invention, I can never again be without it, even if I never take another
shot or do another print. I spent most spare time of 2004 making a 12`` X
16`` back focusing camera and tripod from bits and pieces with which I will make
contact negatives on Ilford multigrade RC paper. I have no idea, at present,
what the subject will be....probably landscape or still life or even
portraiture. But, for now, its just good to think about it all and future possibilities.
                      Thanks to Gordon for making this list facility
available for discussion on photography which I note is becoming, refreshingly, a
little more philosophical of late.
        Best wishes to all who have been similarly hooked. I am grateful for
the many many hours of apparent failure, but learning, experienced during
processing and I do not regret one minute of it.
      Has anyone else ever tried to give up photography ?
                                   John Grocott - Photographist
                   
 
Received on Sun Aug 14 16:59:45 2005

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