A self-portrait assignment from a photography class.

It must have been my dad who first influenced my interest in photography.  I remember him taking many pictures of our family and even photographing the Apollo moon landing on the tv.  Growing up, I remember having various cameras including a Brownie, an Instamatic, a Kodak d "Disc", and a Kodak "Pocket" camera. They used flash cubes and Magic cubes for illumination.  Finally in high school I got a Pentax KX slr and photographed many events for my high school yearbook using Kodak Tri X black and white film.  I continued taking pictures and a few years later wound up photographing my sister’s wedding.

Then came college, marriage and kids, and my photo interest lessened until about six years ago when my wife won an HP digital camera and my interest in photography was renewed. I loved how you could take dozens of pictures and have near instant results without having to pay for processing.  About two years ago I bought a nice pocket camera and later I bought a Nikon D90 and have been having a great time with photography since.

What has helped me a lot is sharing my interest in photography with others and learning from them. A good friend of mine introduced me to this club and to local adult education photography classes.  Both of these have brought me many new friends and many new chances to expand my knowledge and skills.  The camaraderie is great and I have learned and done much more than I would had I not been involved.  I have recently started printing some of my work and I look forward to hanging it on my home and office walls.

[Please check back later to view more of Gilbert's photos].