I wonder how many people would be photographers still,If the shutter didn't make sound.
Dont compare yourself to other people because you will never be them(you will always be you), but look to them for inspiration and ideas.
Thats's cool that you started off as a film photographer, Im sure you know a bunch of stuff US new digital photographers are trying to learn.I dunno exactly what drives me, or even if I would call it "passionate", but there's definitely something going on in me that won't just let this photography thing go.
I caught the bug in 1969 when I was 10. That's when a neighbor showed me his fancy TLR and introduced me to the idea that taking a picture isn't just about pointing a camera at something and pressing the button that makes it go 'click' - common in my suburban household. No, a real photographer could do all KINDS of stuff and make a photo look any number of ways because they had CONTROL they used beyond just the shutter button when making a photo.
DOF was just the coolest thing I'd ever had explained to me at the time, and from the moment I looked down into that hood at the large ground glass screen, with it's upside down image of the world in front of me - I was totally hooked, and there was no turning back. What had been seen could not be unseen!
That was the summer that a man on the moon was walking around snapping photos with a Hasselblad, including the soon to be iconic "Earthrise". That was the summer that photography came out of nowhere, slammed me in the head full force from every direction, and took over a large part of my brain and my life.
I immediately bought a cheap point and shoot Kodak, which was all I could immediately afford on my 10 year old allowance, and started snapping. Then another cheap camera, and another, and another. At 19, finally with a decent job and a little money in my pocket, I started to get gear-serious, and got a used Nikon F Photomic. Still have it, love it and shoot with it occasionally - the thing is solid as a tank. More gear followed. More lenses, more cameras, more gizmos.
I poured over books and magazines to learn how to control it, filled notebooks full of settings to compare when I got my film back, and kept shooting - anything, everything, it didn't even matter what, though I've gone through plenty of genre phases where I concentrated on learning some particular aspect of photography.
And it just never stopped. I'm still buying gear, still reading everything I can get my hands on to keep learning how to control it, still shooting anything and everything. The only significant difference is that I've gone digital, so no more notebooks full of settings - I have EXIF for that, and no more binders and boxes full of negatives - I have hard drives and backup hard drives for the RAW files.
I got the bug at 10 years old. I'm 53 now - and it just never stopped. I don't see it ever stopping as long as I'm still breathing. I can't explain why it grabbed me the way it did and never let go - that would probably take a shrink, and I just don't care enough about the "why" to pursue an answer.
I think everyone should stop once in a while, and look at the beauty in nature all around us even in the little things.
[This is a question for everyone, I would like to know] For me [1] is I like for people to see themselves as do, everyone has beauty in them, or something that's just special about them and everyone doesn't see that and I like to capture it. [2] Since I became interested in photography I look at light everywhere I am, and the light that just makes me scream inside is early morning like or evening light. Even if I'm not photographing what I see, it just makes me feel so much better and seeing beautiful light in the sky or reflected on a tree is so simple, but it just makes me feel all warm inside. Anyways write below what you shoot that makes your heart sing.
