I started shooting with my mother's Instamatic in the late 70's, early 80's. Soon, I was given a Keystone 110 camera and took off on my own.

My dad decided that I was taking better photos than the 110 would allow, so he started letting me try out his Pentax Spotmatic, which he had picked up duty free on the way back from the Peace Corps.

Eventually, he and I took a class at PCC. I was about 12 or 13 years old, and probably the youngest person in the class by at least ten years. I learned about why that funny little light meter needle moves around, and about why I had more than one aperture and more than one shutter speed. The assignments forced us to try different types of photography, and I credit that with really getting me accustomed to shooting. All of our work was shot on slides, most of which I still have.

As an undergrad, I learned how to print in the darkroom from a friend, and then kept up with it through some of grad school.

At some point, I had to return the Spotmatic. I bought a Pentax ZX-50 to take on a trip. While I liked the 35-80 mm option, I eventually decided to go back to old glass.

A few years ago, I picked up a secondhand Spotmatic for less than $30. It had a "broken light meter." I tried out a new battery and after some cleaning of the contacts and some fiddling around (including a bunch of cocking and firing of the shutter while watching TV one evening) it works just fine.

I later built a 4"x5" pinhole camera, which I have used a little bit. I also shoot with a Weltaflex TLR, a Holga 120N (modified), and a Mamiya C33 TLR. Each camera has its own strengths and weaknesses and feel. I have a point and shoot digital that my sister gave to me, and I use that a bit, too. I am not a purist, but I have found that I can afford much more camera in film than digital, and the good folks at my local shop (Blue Moon Camera) do great printing and are always ready to answer questions and give some pointers.