Yes,
Inside a US Air Force Military Base
It IS an Endless Learning Process, this Portraiture adventure of mine, - and there is Always Something NEW To Learn [and Experience] and one should always mindful of Improvement and of Taking Things to the Next Level - Constantly.
But since I mentioned, just a post or two previous, my First Ever Favorite Portrait subject - Allow me to share a scanned image of one of a very, very few analogue prints that I've kept all these years of my a former neighbor of mine.
BACKGROUNDER
I was working for an architectural firm (my first job ever), then - when a project had me assigned (along w an office mate) to an American military installation - as inside a U.S.A.F. base - yes, as in U.S. Air Force ! w/ F-15 Eagles, F-16 Falcons, C-5 Galaxies ... erc., etc. within the environs.
I stayed , lived (along w my officemate Edwin) with an American family. The base was home for both of us, for five long months
Twas like living in the States, even the air "smelled" different ! - Truth be told !
Suffice it to say, then, I decided to borrow my cousin's Pentax SLR - and for the entire duration of my stay - I strived to take photos for posterity and ended up making my first serious attempts at Portraiture.
That is HOW it all started - My Love Affair with Photography.
If not for those five long months, trying to capture my new "neighborhood" in still images, I really can't say how my "architectural career" would have evolved. Still, it took another three years [after that stint] before I finally got my first ever SLR, a Nikon FM2, And it that three year span - I painstakingly taught myself portraiture - using my sister, mom, and first cousins as models ----
FAST FORWARD TO TODAY
Now, taking portraits, particularly -> on-the-spot, on-a-whim IS second nature for me.
With my added/current involvement in sports photojournalism, It' simply more fun - being in sports events practically almost everyday !
Anyway, before I forget -
Her family was our next door neighbor and pretty much everyday she'd drop by to hang out with the kids of my "foster family" -> an American couple and their two kids.
She'd watch me take photos of the neighborhood, the greenery - the base [particularly, the residential area] had lots [and lots !] of trees ! I'd take shots at dawn, and dusk [in particular], the people I worked with, my office mate Edwin, still life photos in the house [doing experiments w/ different aperture/speed settings], then she'd
look at all those prints [which I'd scrutinize] I'd bring home from the photo shop - She was just around all the time - so eventually I started talking her portraits.
HINDSIGHT
My first portraits were amateurish - and the 50mm, normal lens I was using really didn't give me many options - and well, whatever - like most beginners - I fumbled -took underexposed, sometimes overexposed images -Twas tough ->particularly within the limits of FILM ! --> Hindsight, I suppose that's how I was "compelled" to learn to visualize way --- way before hand HOW my pictures might, should and would look -> Firstly, in my Mind -- Well, so much for those "old school" / "school of hard knocks" /" I paid my dues" days ......
At least, I was able to save some analogue prints [particularly my early solo portrait attempts] ......
By the way, Her name is Dianna, a native from Dyess, Texas.
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Sure, I have a TON of favorites, these days [sometimes they change, on a whim - sort of, hahaha !] - But Truth be Told - i have my REAL, Honest-to-Goodness favorite subjects
[To-Die-For - kidding !] Of Course - I will NEVER reveal their names - But as far as the ORIG First Favorite of mine --> There is only one, of course .
Dianna - was Makulit !, Madaldal ! Mahilig talaga mag-pose, Fiesty, Bluntly tactless YET hilarious - HOW on earth could I not notice her ??
PS - She actually drew the straight hair on the blackboard and simply waited for me to take her portrait.
Yup, that's where i Fell In Love with Portraiture, in a US Air Force Base [not kidding]
--> in a galaxy, far, far away [Kidding of course].
brosi gonzales
BACKGROUNDER
I was working for an architectural firm (my first job ever), then - when a project had me assigned (along w an office mate) to an American military installation - as inside a U.S.A.F. base - yes, as in U.S. Air Force ! w/ F-15 Eagles, F-16 Falcons, C-5 Galaxies ... erc., etc. within the environs.
I stayed , lived (along w my officemate Edwin) with an American family. The base was home for both of us, for five long months
Twas like living in the States, even the air "smelled" different ! - Truth be told !
Suffice it to say, then, I decided to borrow my cousin's Pentax SLR - and for the entire duration of my stay - I strived to take photos for posterity and ended up making my first serious attempts at Portraiture.
That is HOW it all started - My Love Affair with Photography.
If not for those five long months, trying to capture my new "neighborhood" in still images, I really can't say how my "architectural career" would have evolved. Still, it took another three years [after that stint] before I finally got my first ever SLR, a Nikon FM2, And it that three year span - I painstakingly taught myself portraiture - using my sister, mom, and first cousins as models ----
FAST FORWARD TO TODAY
Now, taking portraits, particularly -> on-the-spot, on-a-whim IS second nature for me.
With my added/current involvement in sports photojournalism, It' simply more fun - being in sports events practically almost everyday !
Anyway, before I forget -
Her family was our next door neighbor and pretty much everyday she'd drop by to hang out with the kids of my "foster family" -> an American couple and their two kids.
She'd watch me take photos of the neighborhood, the greenery - the base [particularly, the residential area] had lots [and lots !] of trees ! I'd take shots at dawn, and dusk [in particular], the people I worked with, my office mate Edwin, still life photos in the house [doing experiments w/ different aperture/speed settings], then she'd
look at all those prints [which I'd scrutinize] I'd bring home from the photo shop - She was just around all the time - so eventually I started talking her portraits.
HINDSIGHT
My first portraits were amateurish - and the 50mm, normal lens I was using really didn't give me many options - and well, whatever - like most beginners - I fumbled -took underexposed, sometimes overexposed images -Twas tough ->particularly within the limits of FILM ! --> Hindsight, I suppose that's how I was "compelled" to learn to visualize way --- way before hand HOW my pictures might, should and would look -> Firstly, in my Mind -- Well, so much for those "old school" / "school of hard knocks" /" I paid my dues" days ......
At least, I was able to save some analogue prints [particularly my early solo portrait attempts] ......
By the way, Her name is Dianna, a native from Dyess, Texas.
Sure, I have a TON of favorites, these days [sometimes they change, on a whim - sort of, hahaha !] - But Truth be Told - i have my REAL, Honest-to-Goodness favorite subjects
[To-Die-For - kidding !] Of Course - I will NEVER reveal their names - But as far as the ORIG First Favorite of mine --> There is only one, of course .
Dianna - was Makulit !, Madaldal ! Mahilig talaga mag-pose, Fiesty, Bluntly tactless YET hilarious - HOW on earth could I not notice her ??
PS - She actually drew the straight hair on the blackboard and simply waited for me to take her portrait.
Yup, that's where i Fell In Love with Portraiture, in a US Air Force Base [not kidding]
--> in a galaxy, far, far away [Kidding of course].
brosi gonzales
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