A PERSONAL ENDEAVOR

One of the best things about photography is that it is personal. You can do your own thing...copy others or be unique; or work from an abstract, surrealist or documentary point of view. What matters is to use your eye and your mind and let your images reflect your perception.

I have been photographing since high school. My father taught me the basics of cameras, film and exposure. I still have some of the equipment I learned with: a Sekonic light meter (that requires no batteries) and an Edixa Mat single lens reflex with a Schneider lens. While it wasn't clear or obvious to me when I started, I ultimately learned that good photographs have little to do with equipment. In the environment of the craftsman, I went beyond my teacher. I learned, I explored, I grew.

Stairway, New York, New York

I could have made the photograph above with a range of equipment. A view camera, a Holga, a point and shoot, the camera on my phone. I used my digital Pentax K20D to photograph, looking upward, the stairway in the Apple store in New York City on 5th Avenue and 58th Street. It was a quick grab and I knew I had something interesting. My daughter, Sophie was wondering what I was doing.

It's all about the way we look at things. It really doesn't matter whether you see beauty or drama. Photography is a personal endeavor and is more about your vision than the materials used making the image. For me, there is the added benefit of holding a tangible product in my hands, a print. While I embrace digital wholeheartedly, I feel better when I generate a print. It will last.

Making images is a never-ending pursut. If you get bored or tired with one approach, work around it and come up with something that works better for you. No limitations. Most of all, relish in the simplicity of creation...no politics, no lies. Just a photographer, her tools and a subject.

www.antoniogerman.com