Expanding My Reach (1980 to 1988)

Well, when my TX died I had to save up for a new body. Luckily I had put some money away and my father was willing to front me the difference so I could get myself a used AE-1. This was amazing to me especially since I now had a power winder and 135mm zoom to round out my kit. I was in the big time. I was getting pictures of my high school football team and having the pics published in the school news paper. They may have well been published in Time Magazine, I was so proud. Looking at them now I think they are bit soft. :o)

But looking back at my trusty AE-1 the best part was the auto-winder which got me to a speedy 3 frames per second. Thinking about it a bit more I think this explains my soft pics. With manual focus I wasn't re-focusing fast enough when shooting sports. At least thats my story and I'm sticking to it. :o)

While the AE-1 was not revolutionary, as it was still fully manual, the metering was so much better than the TX and I was now taking pride in my shots much more. Futher, this was the period during which I was able to setup a basic black and white darkroom. I now had so much control over my processing it was scary. To this day I believe I only scratched the surface of what I was able to do with that rudimentary darkroom setup but it still ceases to amaze me, and do through experimentation alone.

This was the period where I experimented and grew in what I could do. Unfortunately this hobby often fell to the back of my teen interests and goals at times. However, I'll tell you I never moved, either it be to college or my first apartment without my trusty AE-1. It was always there, maybe not used for months at a time, but always there.

Looking back at this time I have accepted three things.

1. Even when life gets busy I will always have an interest in and participate in this hobby.
2. It was the time when I grew the most in what I could do as I now gained confidence in my abilities.
3. I would never do this for money, it was just too darn much fun.

Credit: Thanks to the Canon Museum from where I got the pic above.