How long have you been behind the lens?

[JustJazzie]

EDITED FOR TYPO: have no idea why I put 17, it's 11.
Didn't know where to put this, so I thought I would throw it in here! I am curious how long everyone here has been taking pictures. I realized yesterday that I picked up my first slr nearly 11 years ago! And if we go back to when I was 10 and having my friends dress up and "model" in front of my bed sheet backdrop with a disposable camera then we can add on another 4 years. WOW! There has been a few times in between when I didn't have a camera for while so it's been a slow journey but I always come back. And yet, I feel like I still know nothing about this hobby at all. Every time I think I have an answer, I learn something new which changes everything! I know what makes a good picture, how to take a good picture, but still feel like an "ameture" when I go to critique others.... Anyways, I would love to hear where everyone else is in their journey! If your a professional, how long had you been practicing before you thought you were "there?"

 

[SnappingShark]

Since about 1990 with an old T90(Canon) and various point and shoots, but only with DSLRs for a couple of years

 

[paigew]

Two years this week I have been a dslr user/owner

 

[480sparky40 39]

I first picked up a camera in the mid '60s.

 

[limr30 3]

I got a point and shoot Vivitar 35mm as a high school graduation present in 1989 and had that through college. Since it was a step up from the 110 cameras we'd had when I was younger, I started becoming interested in making 'artsier' pictures. That camera sucked at that, even though it was great for snapshots. I got my K1000 in early 1993. Still have it, still shoot it.

I improved a lot when I first got my Pentax, and then I feel I plateaued for a long stretch of time. Other things in my life took more of my attention. When I found myself getting sucked back into this hobby about 3 years ago, the learning curve got pretty steep once again.

So even though that's more than 20 years behind a camera, I feel it was the first few and the last few of those years that have made the biggest difference in my skills and quality of work.

 

[Braineack]

I started in 1996/7, shot film in HS, and then worked at a 1-hour photo after school. Problem was I was much more interested in computer graphics at the time, went to art school to pursue digital art, and ultimately ended up as a graphic designer.

I picked up my first DSLR back in 2007, the D40, and it's been a downward spiral ever since (especially since joining this site). I've always appreciated photography, and a lot of my knowledge of cameras and ability to take a some-what decent shot have always carried with me to this day.

Now I've become a bit more serious about it again I'm trying to soak up everything I can, buy better equipment, and really trying to produce good work and possibly monetize the hobby.

 

[Rocketman1978]

14 months, the month my daughter was born I saw it as a good excuse to buy a bunch of gadgets. Always enjoyed taking pictures but never had decent equipment. Wish I had gotten into it before her birth because my time has been limited ever since, lol.

 

[rexbobcat]

I started with a Canon p&s about 5 years ago. I got it for Christmas and, for a little camera, it made some pretty damn nice photos even though I could only shoot in JPEG. Then I began helping the school yearbook staff take photos (mostly of sports) because they hated it with a Canon XS, but I didn't really get serious until the local paper asked if I wanted to shoot sports for them at the end-of-year sports banquet where a slideshow of photos was played.

So I bought my first legit DSLR, the Canon 1D Mark II and an 85mm f/1.8. Now that I look back at those days, I realize how much I didn't know, and now I know how much more stuff I still don't know. lol

 

[DBA]

I believe it was April 2012 when I got my first DSLR (D5100), feels like 5-10 years ago though. It's been a crazy [almost] 2 years!

My gear has also changed considerably since then.

 

[DougGrigg]

Since I was 17, So 4 years coming up to 5! oh how time flies! I never had a chance to do photography when I was younger than that, but I'll definitely be encouraging my kids when I have some one day!

 

[Derrel]

I shot my first photo in 1973 as a boy; in 1975 I bought my first 35mm camera. I'm no math expert, but I'm going with 38 years.

 

[Juga]

Not nearly long enough...1.5.

 

[runnah]

Ugh, 15 years. Although a large part was behind a video camera.

 

[nmoody]

Behind a camera? Most of my life but I have only understood how use one and more specifically a DSLR for the past couple of years.

 

[amolitor]

There has probably always been a camera oriented with its back to me, somewhere in the world, my whole life.