What got you into photography?

Hey all,

I though it would be interesting to hear the reasons that people got into photography, and what kept them motivated.

Before you start, mention:
what level your at, pro, amatuer etc etc.
your first SLR
Age of first interest
things that kept you motivated
and most importantly, what got you into photography.

Ill start it off,

• My first interest in photography came when i went to tasmania two and abit years ago, and held my first SLR. since then i have loved it, although it was only about 6 months ago i really got into it, which led to my 400D/XTI.
  
• My first SLR was the canon eos 1000, then moved onto the 400D
  
• Ametuer but learning well
  
• what kept me motivated was the thrive to try and capture the perfect moment in time so it wont be forgotten, among with challenging myself to take better and better photographs.

Took up photography as a form of stress relief, a way to get back to nature the quiteness of the outdoors.
My first DSLR was a 20D 3 yrs latter 1Dsmk3
Im a amature with expensive tastes
what keeps me motivated is that passion I have for landscapes. The adventure of discovering new areas around me that I would have never wise seen if it were not for photography
Im in IT so digital is an extension of that as well as the technological side of photography intrests me.

My Grade 7 physics teacher got me into photography, long time ago..
I was *almost* 14 at the time..

My first SLR was Yashica FX-3 which I paid through the nose..
I was never completely happy with its performance, so I went back to rangefinders shortly afterwards and got me a Zenit E, which I got practically for nothing and which I still have.

What got me into Photography still keeps me there: the ability to take a moment of solitude, look through the viewfinder and see what’s right with this world..

Amazingly, I used to be one of the typical adolecents at Summernats (but I never drunk there). I always used drunk serverly one time I even deserved to die I was so stupid so I'm lucky to be alive, that's another story. I love to drink, I adopted a taste for single barrel bourbon & whiskey.

I always admired the comedy of the Fat Pizza crew, so me and a mate set out to do that sort of stuff with a videocam, never worked out, I wanted a better camera, so I got a debt for a really good HD videocam, I got a P&S and did video & photo for many car shows I went to, and I lose sight of the video side, and gained a huge interest in photography, and it went from there. I think it was because there's a lot more creativity and personalisation in photography that made me choose.

During the process I met my current girlfriend and I pretty much stopped drinking, but I love drinking still, I just do it less and it seems to cost me more to drink than anybody cause of particular choice

I got into photography about six years ago at 29. My first SLR was a Canon AE-1 my Mother bought in 1978, of which I still own.

I went digital with a Fuji S-7000 four years ago, and got fairly proficient with it despite the lack of intercahngeable lenses.

Still a rank amateur, but trying to improve.

I like being able to capture the world as I see it. Not much into the staged shots, I prefer being in the background capturing what happens around me. Improving my skills and always trying for "That shot" keeps me interested even though I'm having trouble getting results with my new setup.

I can pin down what to one picture. I had that AE-1 on vacation, taking a few shots of the mountains, and managed to get this gorgeous shot of the mountains, trees, complete with a hawk flying across the scene. I have no idea what happened to that picture, but I decided then that I was going to persue this.

I'm an amateur. The first SLR I technically handled was a Minolta from the 1970s (my mom's), the first digital was the 20D after a quick brief use of the D70 on a newspaper assignment.

Photography came to interest in 2003 when my dad bought a Kyocera from Hong Kong. I suppose the real origin was the devotion of my mother to take pictures at every event and gathering. I took it further by taking pictures of everything and preferring candid shots over posed ones. I took a few shots with the Kyocera (and later a PowerShot) but did not develop an interest in documenting everything - everyday photography - until November 2005.

Since then, the ever-increasing desire to photograph the moment - and the thought that there's the next day for the next moment - is the reason I continue to go out every day to take pictures even though if I know inside that i know that it's probably not going to be a good day anyway.

On the digital SLR front, the desire to want to become a newspaper photographer is what keeps me motivated to try to learn more and take moe shots.

I have no idea what got me into photography... Looking back I have to say that I was always grabbing my dad's cameras. And he's always been a serious 'point and shooter' Earliest memory was maybe being seven. But I was always distracted by pictures I found them endlessly fascinating and more honest than paintings or drawings.

I am a fairly passionate amatuer. My first DSLR was an Xt, which I still have by the way. Thinking of turning into an IR.

As for motivation that depends on what i'm shooting, why i'm shooting it and what it's for. For landscapes because I think it's pretty or interesting or unusual or the light is too perfect not to make a photo out of it.

But for portraits I have to say that it's because of the people my small way of acknowledging the humanity that surrounds me and showing it's value. But in wildlife shots action, sports whatever it's for the adrenaline. There's nothing like knowing, not thinking but knowing that what you just took is the best of the day or week or month. And it's a kind of therapy. It's a great way to spend time with yourself. It focuses your energy concentration get's your left and right sides of the brain interacting.

what level your at, pro, amatuer etc etc.
Amature (about 2 months)

your first SLR
First was a Xt which I never used before I upgraded to the 40D about 2 weeks later.

Age of first interest
I have always like photography, but never went beyond point and shoot. I never even heard of something like shutter speed until the last 2 months.

things that kept you motivated
The desire to learn and become a "good" photographer

what got you into photography
I could not find anyone to take good quality pictures of my cars, I decided to learn how to do it myself. I bought a "good" camera to do so, then quickly found that I needed how to work it. This opened up a whole new challenge and world I never knew existed. Then I found this site and found that there is so many cool things you can do with a camera and the know how to use it .
.

I'm a serious amateur/semi-pro.

I first owned a Canon A40 P&S, then a Canon A75 P&S, and after it finally died, I upgraded to a 30D and haven't looked back.

I was always interested in photography, but I didn't have the patience for film. When I moved to Hawai'i 6 years ago, digital cameras were becoming affordable, so I made the jump.

To stay motivated, I have to say that has been easy. There is such a wide variety of beautiful things to see here, and I can always find something new that very few people ever get to see (I do remote hiking/camping). Not to mention a trip to Costa Rica

The main reason I got into photography was to have a visual memory of my life/experiences. I found out that Alzheimers runs in my family, so I thought it would be nice to be able to look back when I'm older at memories I may or may not remember.

John

Greetings All -
Main reason - Age. I suddenly felt, just a few years ago, the need to record things I saw and felt that made and make an impact on me and that I could explain to my grandchildren. Sure I took pictures in the old days. My first SLR was a PetriFlex and then an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic II in the 1960s. Shot mostly slides, now moldy and faded from poor attention, much like the memories recorded by them. I have a drawer full of crinkled B&W photos. I don't want to make that mistake again. When I was young, time was not so important. I can always go back and take that picture or I will remember that place or event with clarity and share my thoughts. Not true. I didn't go back, I didn't get that picture, I have been to too many places to recall them all with clarity. And I want to shoot these incredible moments in time, not so much for me, but for my kids and their kids to know me better. To see what impressed me and what was important for me to record for posterity. In looking at my photos of them, I hope they will see themselves growing up in a way they could not have possibly recorded themselves at the time, and when they see my sunrises and sunsets, or landscapes, or places I have been and seen through the lens, it will inspire them to consider photography early in their lives. Maybe in a small way, it will record my existence. When someone says, what did my (great) granndpa look like? Or... what was he like? Perhaps my photos will speak for me. I hope they speak well of me and the world around me. I sure hope so.
John

The magic - at age 13 I saw prints "coming up" in the tray of developer and have been hooked ever since (Thanks, MR. Parno, hope you, HCB, and AA
are having a grand time).

Long story for me.. I was into surfing but when I was 17 I had a surfing accident and couldn't surf for a month.. I met a pro photographer shooting a surfing contest while I was "sidelined".. He allowed me to look through his camera,,Nikon with a 650mm Century ( I think) lens and allowed me to take a few pics.. I was hooked.. Saved up my money and bought a Mamiya MSX 500 with 200mm tele lens to shoot my own surfing shots.. Got into portraiture and seascapes also..

A few years later I got a job as assistant to the photographic department at major iron and steel company.. Became department head later..

30 years as a pro photographer, 17 years with a newspaper.. Now teaching ESL in Laos..

what level your at, pro, amatuer etc etc.
Amature- shooting DSLR since xmas, but been into photography for almost 2 years

your first SLR
My XTi which I got at Xmas
I do own a Minolta X9 SLR with kit lens that I got in highschool (about 10yrs ago) but never really got into it.

Age of first interest
Always been a little interested. Started buying P&S cameras about 5 years ago and my interest slowly developed and took a huge leap when I got my Sony H5 superzoom P&S.

things that kept you motivated
Getting good pictures! The desire to learn and become a "good" photographer- in the future being able to shoot a few weddings and help pay for my gear would be nice..

what got you into photography
Gear mostly, I think. I love electronics! Lenses to me are like diamonds to women I think. But there must be some part of me in the artistic side.

what level your at, pro, amatuer etc etc.
Amateur, Just getting into everything and finished setting up a computer this weekend for post processing work.

your first SLR
Canon D40 that I'm still learning everything about.

Age of first interest
Since the first digital camera's came out since I didn't like taking film in and waiting.

Things that kept you motivated
The fact that I pick things up very quickly and I want to get out of IT work and into doing this for a living.

What got you into photography
The idea of being able to do things with my wife more and hopefully kids as they get older. I need something to destress myself before I implode and this does it for me.

what level your at, pro, amatuer etc etc.
Def an amateur
your first SLR
Many moons ago - A Ricoh KR-10
Dropped it for many tears then got a Canon Pro 1 bridge cam and then a 30D
Age of first interest
First interest - about 21............. New interest 43
things that kept you motivated
A need to keep busy
and most importantly, what got you into photography.
Crippled by a car accident in 92 I was going out of my brain with boredom, so first off I took up digital art with Photoshop and just sort of drifted into Photography again, bolstered by my fascination with cats