Everyone has a story. This is mine.
This past weekend we were at the Exposure Photography Symposium. We met a lot of great photographers and great people. The speakers were informative and more so inspiring. We loved getting to know everyone and hearing their stories. It inspired me to tell mine so that it can be told, and as a cathartic exercise.
Why do we as photographers take pictures? Every one of us has a different story. A different catalyst that got us to where we are now. Due to recent events in my life, I feel compelled to tell my story. This story has 2 parts. The first part is about what got me here. The second is about why it matters.
As you likely know, Scade Photography is a family run Business. When I was a wee one, my dad started taking pictures of me because he wasn’t happy with the photos of us he purchased. So like many of the new photographers today, he began taking photos of his children, got good, and was asked to take pictures of others. That is the simple synopsis. The full story will be saved for another time. And I suppose one could say my story is similar, but it just started a little earlier. I shot my first roll of film when I was 2-3 years old of my little sister as a baby. My dad still has these images somewhere. They aren’t great or artistic or even in focus really. But it was a start.
As a kid, I loved photography. I remember asking dad to load film into my camera for me. I remember him teaching me how to use the internal metering system in the minolta SLR camera. I took photos of people, of toys, of pretty much anything around me. I once went to the 7-11 down the street, bought those cool styrofoam planes with propellers you put together, and then flew them and took pictures of them in the air. I took 3 rolls that afternoon. I was hooked. I took a camera with me all the time. I wanted to be like my Dad, and I loved everything about it. Taking the pictures, changing film, sending them away and the excitement of opening up a new pack of 4×6 prints and seeing what worked out. I used to watch the film processing machines at the grocery store spit out other people’s photos. I used to watch my Dad’s lighting videos, read his training books. I understood “the zone system” when I was 8 years old. I went to Quebec when I was 11 with school and I took 11 rolls of film in 5 days.
I am impressed that I at least knew how to hold a camera stably at this age.
ignore the short shorts and check out the Contax camera with Carl Zeiss lens!
But then for some reason, it became less important. I still took photos. But it wasn’t something I had to do. I didn’t want to be a photographer like my dad. I didn’t know what I wanted to be. Photography was something my dad did, and I didn’t. At least from when I was 14-23. I played sports and I had my computer. I went to University. I got a degree in Health, fitness, and well-being. I worked at a physiotherapy clinic, I worked at schools, I worked at a music store, I worked with underprivileged children, I worked with adults with developmental disabilities. All of this made me who I am now, but I was unhappy. I was in a relationship and it was falling apart. I sought new ways to express myself. To find myself. I ended up finding something I used to love. Photography. I asked my dad to borrow an old camera of his and I went crazy. It was like I was a kid again. I took a 12 hour course at metro college on how to use the camera, I read books, and I explored whatever resource I could.
This past weekend new friend mentioned to me that many photographer’s get into photography at a time when they are unhappy. They hypothesized that it could be that we are looking for the beauty in things. That the reason it affects us so much is that we are creating happiness and beauty from things that we see everyday. It allows us to focus on the good things around us, and not what is bringing us down.
My Dad was impressed with what he saw. He asked me to come along with him on a wedding. It was fantastic. I took roll after roll, and there were some pretty decent shots. I did whatever I could to learn and get better. I went to my first WPPI convention in Las Vegas, and it opened my eyes to the possibilities. I ignored Vegas and soaked in everything photography related I could. I joined the Professional photographers of Canada. I attended seminars, and I experimented. It got to the point where I couldn’t do anything other than photography and got really stressed with my other job. After a doctor ordered stress leave, I made the decision to pursue my career.
I Jumped. I committed. I worked with another photographer that had a huge influence on me, and with my Dad. Eventually I got too busy and my Dad and I began working together full-time. It became a family business. Dad the main photographer, I was his assistant and the computer guy, and my Mom running the office and business aspects. Throughout the past 5 years, my role increased and we have had several photographers work with us as well. In 2008 I went to 2 workshops (Red Leaf Studios and Jesh de Rox) that changed the way I think about photography, and life. They changed my perspective, which in turn changed my life.
Last September I got engaged to Stephanie, and we are to be married this Summer. The same weekend we got engaged, Steph took the plunge and made the decision to leave school and become a photographer. As with me, her passion for photography overwhelmed the rest of her life. We then had my mom doing accounting, bookkeeping, and office management. Dad, Steph and I as full-time photographers, my sister Kristina, and our good friend Jeff as part-time photographers. A family business.
In November something tragic happened that rocked our little family business. My Mother Bev passed away suddenly at the age of 55.
To continue reading “Everyone has a Story” click here to continue to part 2.
- Shaun
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