My Start in Photography
February 5th, 2008
This past week, my wife and I took a trip to Nashville. She had a conference she needed to attend and I decided to tag along. While she was busy during the day, I was left with some time for myself. I decided to take some time and drive down to Columbia. Columbia Tennesee is a very nice small town about 30 minutes south of Nashville. It has many elements of a traditional small town. There is a courthouse square with angle parking. There are parks and statues and mom and pop shops. It’s just a nice place.
Columbia is more than just a quaint southern town. My family hails from there. In fact there is a road called Rieves Bend Road. (Notice how the spelling on the road sign was corrected. )
This road runs to the Duck River. Long ago, there was a shallow spot in the river near where my family lived and people use to ford the river there.
There is a point to this post, if you stick with me a few more minutes. One reason I drove down to Columbia was to visit my family cemetary. As it turns out, my family migrated to the US in the late 1600’s to early 1700’s. No one has been able to figure out when, but my Great-great-great-great grandfather was a Revolutionary War veteran. While poking around the cemetary I found my Great-great grandfather’s tombstone.
Anyway, all this thinking of family reminded me of how I got started in photography. When I was 12 or 13, my uncle gave me his old camera and darkroom equipment. The camera was an old Graflex Century Graphic medium format camera. My uncle also gave me a old Omega B-5 enlarger and assorted darkroom accessories. This started my love for the art of photography. I spent thousands of hours over the years developing film, creating prints, and just playing around learning the craft. It was so satisfying to watch an image appear on a piece of paper resting in a tray of developer.
My uncle passed away many years ago. Little did my late uncle know that the gift he gave to me when I was a young teenager, would shape the direction of my life forever. I thank him every day.