DON DURFEE
The first camera I remember using was a Brownie. It was the beginning of a life-long love affair. It was magic! Being able to capture a movement, pose, emotion, mood, and being able to view it and share it with others was wonderful. I tried every kind of camera I could. There is probably still a box of them in the basement at my parent’s home. They were mostly cheap and mostly plastic and you had to send the film away to be processed, but it was great. Anticipation, disappointment, excitement, and occasionally success at capturing what was intended. Did I say that I thought Polaroid was the answer to everything photographic? Then came 35mm and slides, and black and white prints. Could it get any better than that? I became a wedding photographer and hated it. I’m much better with creatures that don’t talk. That first magic feeling has never changed. Every time a new scene, face, creature, shape, or shadow appears in the viewfinder that initial feeling comes flooding back.
My way of approaching photography is neither terribly original nor exciting to others, but to me, it is as important as breathing. Slogging around a swamp, walking through a park, driving down a country road, or any time there is a camera in hand is when it happens. An object, the light, color, an angle, a movement, and shapes are what move me to stop and try to capture what that instant means to me. Sharing the visions of my world is total joy.
My way of approaching photography is neither terribly original nor exciting to others, but to me, it is as important as breathing. Slogging around a swamp, walking through a park, driving down a country road, or any time there is a camera in hand is when it happens. An object, the light, color, an angle, a movement, and shapes are what move me to stop and try to capture what that instant means to me. Sharing the visions of my world is total joy.
