My Start in Photography #1

The beginning of my story, my start in photography, actually began before I ever realized it. It would take many years of reflection until it dawned on me that an interest began when I was young; I just hadn’t realized it until my mid-twenties.

When I really began to think back, I recall my parents having one of those old Polaroids, the instant film cameras. I also recall going through family photographs and seeing all the negatives that my parents had. When I was around 13, I really enjoyed having the opportunity to buy disposable Kodak cameras. I would use up the rolls taking photos of the family and our pets, many of which are currently in family albums. When I went to my school’s 8th-grade graduation trip, I also took a few rolls, in which I took photos of the places we went and of friends. And then there was silence for a number of years…

A few years after high school, I moved to North York, Toronto. I lived, worked, did whatever. Occasionally, I’d take snap pictures with my phone when with friends. Around 2009, when I was about 21, I purchased a Canon PowerShot, a simple point-and-shoot type camera, which I would again use with friends on occasion.

I met my wife and got married in 2011. In December of that year, we took a three-week trip to her home country, South Korea. That’s when things got interesting. I still didn’t realize my interest in photography at the time; however, looking through the photos I took with my phone, I began to notice how I was drawn to capturing images of things that interested me, outside of family and friends. Below are some of the images from the trip. (Places include: Gwanghwamun, Myeongdong, Munsan, DMZ, Insadong, Namdaemun, Cheonggyecheon, Seoul Tower, and Seoraksan National Park.)

Returning home, you may think that’s when things took off. But that is far from what happened. Returning, we just returned to normal day-to-day life. Before, during, and after the trip, I still didn’t think for a second about ‘photography’. By the end of 2012, my wife and I decided to move to South Korea to be closer to her family. Our son was then born in April 2013. We have a large collection of phone pictures of the first months of my son’s life.

We continued living our everyday life, still giving no thought to photography. Until about February of 2014, when I began going out to explore on my own. I visited different places in Seoul and would often take pictures of what I found with my phone. This continues until the end of August 2014…

Insadong

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gwanghwamun Square

Cheonggyecheon Stream

Gapyeong (During Family Trip)

Plantation (A Family Park in Goyang)

Gyeongbokgung Palace (More)

Dongdaemun Design Plaza

In September 2014, something major changed that really kick-started my journey. I purchased my first DSLR, a Canon 600D with an 18-55mm kit lens. That was a new beginning for me, and I’ll be happy to share all about it in the next article.