Arizona Treks

Recently I have been a bit introspective.  Wondering why I choose photography.  In my youth I drew and painted with oils.  In my mid-years I developed computer hardware and software.  Now I am photographing.  

In the 7th grade I had a burning passion for painting with oils.  There was an art teacher that took a special interest in me and really helped me get started.  It was something that I loved to do and spent as much time as possible painting.  I never drew or painted from nature but rather from my imagination.  Then with a family and career I made a choice to put the art aside and focus on building a career that could support my family.

That was a reasonably successful career that went from designing computer hardware systems and later became writing and designing software.  I had a passion for this and put my all into it.  It is a creative endeavor and satisfied the need to create and express myself.  

I developed a deep love for nature and have backpacked extensively in central Arizona.  I never carried a camera on the trips but have many memories of the trips and some of the wonderful backcountry here.  

About 5 years ago now I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and kidney cancer.  This was a shock and a bit of a wake up call.  I had spent my life creating things that quickly became obsolete.  There was no legacy left behind for my children to remember me by.  Nothing for the grandchildren to have a peek at who I was.  Remember, at this time it looked very much like I would not survive more than a couple of years.

So I began photographing.  It was more permanent than software and digital cameras were getting quite nice so I thought it would be interesting to photograph Arizona as I saw it.  This quickly became a passion, almost to the point of obsession.  There are those that label it as an obsession to this day.  But as I learned to control the camera I became less satisfied with the digital cameras, upgraded them, and then realized that film might be what I was looking for.  It seems it was and moved quickly form MF to LF film and there I am.

I had a desire to photograph most of my adult life but a camera more than a simple point and shoot was not in the cards until about 5 years ago.  So in a way, it was serendipity which brought me to photography.  But it was a strong desire to create something of myself which would last longer than the current version of software.  It was also a resurgence of the old promise I had made to myself to get back to a visual art later in life.

Thinking of different mediums the ones I connect with the most are those which are more permanent.  The ephemeral arts were a mysteriously.  Why would someone take the time to create something that will last only a few hours or days.  I appreciate these forms but have never understood why someone would create them.

Think about why you photograph.  What brought you to where you are, why do you pursue the art, or is it even an art to you.  A little introspection is a good thing.