How long have you been doing photography for? (dated 20/02/11)

[Neare]

How long, as of 20/02/11, have you been practicing photography for?
And by practicing I mean starting with the point of investing serious personal funds and/or time into photography. ("My parents gave me a 110 camera when I was 6" doesn't count 🙂)


I am currently at 1 year, 4 months.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

51 years. I became obsessed with photography at 10 years old and never got over it. At 10, I was given, by a family friend, an old, even then, Speed Graphic. We set up a darkroom in a garage closet. And the rest is...well, history (man, I'm old).

 

[Traut]

Ditto to Pickett.

 

[colyn]

I've been heavily involved in photography for at least 50 years now as a result of the Leica IIIa with Summar my granddad gave me when I was 6. Still have that camera/lens and still use it from time to time..

I was already developing film before then..

 

[maddoc]

When I was teenager (13 or 14 years old), I bought my first "serious" camera, a "Praktika SLR" + 35mm lens as a set for DM 239 from RINGFOTO. I will never forget that day and some of the first shots that I took with it. I later added a cheapo zoom but never really used it ...

Besides that camera I used my father`s ROBOT with Schneider Kreuznach lens, it had an amazing quality !

 

[mooge]

In August of 2007, I borrowed a Canon F-1 kit and some books from a friend... a two years later I learned how to develop black and white, and last year I started doing my own prints...

 

[oftheherd]

I began using my father's gear about 52 years ago, using it for about 1 year. The military intervened. 7 years later, it became part of my job, but a minor part. 7 years later, it became a major part of my job, and a personal passion as well. 18 years ago life got in the way such that I don't take photos as much, nor is it the passion it used to be. But I haven't totally given up either. For the last few years I have collected a lot of the gear I thought I had always wanted. But I am beginning to realize it is the photos I want, not the gear. I try to take photos more.

Not the answer you were looking for, but the way it happened.

 

[benlees]

3 years 2 months. I wish I started earlier!

 

[ornate_wrasse]

54 years for me. When I was 9, I was taking photos with a Brownie Holiday camera. At that age, I developed some contact prints in the bathroom in my parents house. Still have those contact prints, too! In the early 1970's I bought my first SLR, a Mamiya-Sekor 1000 DTL at the PX at Ft. McNair in Washington, D.C. More recently, I got into rangefinders and use both the M6 and the M3.

It's been a fun ride.

Ellen

 

[back alley]

over 40 years...

 

[crawdiddy]

I said 30+. I count my college years (19) when my friend Lee Day got me hooked on B&W darkroom work. I was *literally* hooked from that time on, although I have had non-productive periods since that time. There's something about silver gelatin printing that gets you.

 

[kshapero]

1976 got my first RF fixed lens, so that makes um....um...ah...35 years.

 

[DNG]

+40 years for me.....
At around 1968 or so (age 14 or so) my Dad bought me a Voigtlander Prominent with a 50mm f/1.5 Nokton ($50.00 in Miami, Fl), and a BW darkroom set up.
The rest is history...

 

[newspaperguy]

Ouch - Well over 60 years now. Back in 1947 I started processing film in deep tanks* for a neighbor who operated the local photofinishing operation in her basement.

*The "tanks" were square sewer pipes standing on end. All hand labor back then.

 

[nikon_sam]

I started in high school (summer school) in 1975...got into photographing, developing film and prints too...been doing it ever since...still have my first real 35mm camera that my parents bought me in 1976...
35 years goes by pretty quick...
Started with 110 then 126 on to 35mm, later a big jump to 4x5 then down to 120...

 

[leica M2 fan]

65 years for me! It still feels like it was yesterday, I still get the same thrill when I'm out looking for photo-ops. I would like to have another 65 years in the future!

 

[Neare]

Looking at the poll currently it's great to see that RFF has such an experienced member base. 🙂

 

[andredossantos]

First from around 1995-2000 and even though I was a teenager but I was pretty serious about it. I got kind've frustrated and this coincided with my camera breaking so I stopped. Around 2004 or so I began to feel the urge again and was intrigued by digital. I bought a P&S and then a Nikon DSLR and have continued to the present. So, around 11 or 12 years or so total.

Timeline goes like this-->
1995-2000: was b&w film
2004-2007: was digital
2008-2010: was film
2010-present: both film and digital

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

How long, as of 20/02/11, have you been practicing photography for?
And by practicing I mean starting with the point of investing serious personal funds and/or time into photography. ("My parents gave me a 110 camera when I was 6" doesn't count 🙂)


I am currently at 1 year, 4 months.

My dad taught me to use his manual 35mm SLR when I was 8 and gave me one of my own when I was 11. Does that count? I got a Rolleiflex at 15, Began shooting professionally at 16 (wedddings, which I did till after college to earn extra $$), and was in my first exhibit at 19.

 

[dogberryjr]

Always interested—I got a 110 for Christmas when I was 10 or so. I bought my first 35mm (a Canon T70) at age 19 thinking I could recreate all the photos I saw in the brochures (I didn't). I got away from photography for a long time before coming back to it a few years ago. Hope I am improving, because it is sure taking up a lot of time, energy and thought.