Finding Yourself Behind the Camera

Finding a hobby can be a challenging feat. Once you find it though, you fly. That's how I feel about photography. For me, taking up photography wasn't planned. It was an accident but I fell in love with it very quickly and cut to 5 years later, I'm now the owner of 10 cameras. Sounds dramatic, I know but each camera has a different purpose. Each camera has a different feeling.

How do you find a camera that suits you?

For me, my cameras represent my personality and style. I'm very quirky and love vintage and retro items. I only have two digital cameras, the rest are all film that varies from 35mm to medium format. I even own a multi-format pinhole camera. I buy a camera for its uniqueness and not for what it does. Each camera is special in its own way.

You have to ask yourself what style you like and then go from there. If you like vintage get a vintage camera. If you want a camera that is the best quality then get a new digital. Remember that there are loads of brands out there. There isn't just Nikon and Canon. There's Olympus, Sony, Leica and a lot more. Please do your research. Don't you want to look cool with a camera that nobody has seen or heard of before?

I stumbled across a Siemens B camera in a lovely shop called 'Back in't Day' and I work in the film and TV industry and none of the cameramen had ever seen anything like it. I love it because it's unique and this camera has seen the war. Finds like this don't come along every day. Even though it is a little temperamental, it looks good on a shelf.

Pick a camera that best suits you and your style and that's when you'll feel confident. I know photography brings out my confidence because it's the one thing I know how to do well. The rush you get when you see the photos for the first time after getting them developed. Or that feeling when you've spent hours editing a photo for it to finally feel finished and it looks amazing.

Finding your happy place

I look back at my life before I found photography and it's not something I really remember now. I feel like it has always been in my life. I definitely found my identity by picking up my first camera. I found myself.

Nothing beats the feeling of being out in nature alone with your camera. For me, that's my free time. The time where I'm at peace with myself and my life. Nothing makes me happier and that's special. Everyone should have a special hobby that takes them away from all their troubles and makes them forget all the horrible things going on in their life and the world. Photography is my escapism and it could be yours too.

If you haven't found that special something yet, I recommend just picking up a cheap camera from somewhere and just seeing how it makes you feel. Get out there start taking photos and you'd be surprised where a camera can take you.

I'm still on my crazy photography journey and I can't wait to see what other cameras I end up with and all the photos I'll collect along the way.

I will be doing a post on what cameras I use and why so please stay tuned for that if you want to know more. I will go into detail about how different film cameras work and the different styles they have so if that is something that interests you make sure you give it a read.