I remember my first camera. I was eight and it was Christmas. It came with several rolls of 110 film and a package deal to mail them in for printing and a new roll of film. I took pictures of everyone I knew! Eventually I ran out of my printing and film deal and at 8, who has money for that kind of stuff? My interest was piqued again when I was a teenager and my mother took photography classes at TCC. I watched her develop some old film from when her mother was a little girl traveling across country. They had the money for the film, but not to get it developed. We’re talking back in the days of the Model T Ford so you can imagine how old those negatives were. While I didn’t get to play with her camera, I got to go with her on shoots, watch her develop, and of course modeled whenever she needed one. Over the years that followed, I always held an interest in photography, but never got the opportunity to give it a try. Finally, a couple of years ago while I was on my honeymoon trying to take pictures with my husband’s little point and shoot camera, I just couldn’t get it to do what I wanted. It wasn’t powerful enough. It wouldn’t zoom enough, and the megapixels…what a laugh. That did it. I decided it was time to stop daydreaming about the photos I wanted to take and make it happen. As soon as we got back, I did some research and went out and bought my “professional camera”. It wasn’t good enough to be a more powerful point and shoot, it had to be a SLR (you know, the “professional” camera). The man who sold me that camera must have thought I was a complete idiot because other than turning it on, I had no clue how to do anything with it. But since I’m the type of person who jumps in with both feet without thinking if I should have any reservations or if I should wait and don’t believe in doing anything half way, I set out to absorb as much knowledge as I could as quickly as I could. Thankfully, I’m an avid reader and have wonderful friends who have been willing to share their wealth of knowledge and go out with me to practice, practice, practice.
Since the first day I held my camera in my hands, my interest has only continued to grow. It’s not enough for me to just go out and shoot. Have you ever gotten so excited about something that it’s consuming to the point you feel you’re going to burst from the excitement? Well, that’s me. Dorky, I know. I have to talk to everyone about photography (its okay if you have no interest, I can talk enough for both of us), read about it, and constantly buy new gadgets. While out and about discovering new places to spend my money on photography equipment, I met Tom McElvy and he told me about the Virginia Beach Photography Club and the Hampton Roads Digital Photography Club. I joined both immediately. How could I pass up the opportunity to be around others who share my passion? You would think it would all be enough, but no. So when our president mentioned the need for a new treasurer, the thought of being able to be more involved briefly ran through my brain before I found myself saying I would do it. While this is my first year on the board, I have high expectations. Not so much from being a treasurer, but from being in the middle of helping the club to continue to grow and become the best photography club ever and capture the interest of others who enjoy the feel of a camera in their hands. Of course, it takes a lot of effort to make that happen so if you’re not already on the board and when you saw the word dorky thought it’s not dorky at all, join the rest of us. There’s always something that needs to be done. This year’s board has so many big ideas, we’re going to need some help to make them all happen.