"Photography is for nerds... it'll get my ass kicked." Those were the words out of my mouth a week before highschool started for me as a freshman. My mother had tried to get me involved in something productive. I scoffed at the fact; I'd rather be mountain biking, hiking, playing Super Nintendo, bullying kids at the bus stop and spraying soda in their hair, attempting to lose my virginity, playing hide and go seek up the street until midnight under the streetlights... not having a camera around my neck and looking like a tourist. So I did it, I took a class. I found that there were cute women in my classroom, and even some of my friends. There were darkrooms I'd never been in before, photographers like Frank Cappa, Cartier Bresson, Alfred Stieglitz, Robert Frank and Ansel Adams to study, techniques to master while photographing and developing. I went through this class, and I looked more forward to going to it when I woke up in the morning each day. I liked the fact that I could control light, my subjects, my depth of field; the fact that people could critique my work only disciplined me more, molding me into the kind of person I am today, as well as the styles I like to flourish in. If this was being a nerd... I didn't care anymore. I wanted more. I took yearbook and newspaper, in a year I became the editor in chief of both departments throughout my highschool year.

I applied at the Brookes Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara and got accepted after two years in junior college; by then, being in the darkroom became more of a labor than a labor of love. I had a lot of other things on my plate besides photography... I had a job working for a family business. I then got into the hospitality industry and made better money, affording me a digital camera. This was much more convenient for me, it was simple: I'd shoot it, load it up on my computer and viola... no time wasted in the darkroom (which I respect that some things will never beat the kind of manipulation that you can do in a darkroom and I miss it on occasion).

So here I am. My eyes still see exactly what I want to shoot, and I share them with you. Enjoy what you see... your comments are more than welcome.

Regards,

Brandon Fick



My work on this site was taken by cameras such as the Canon Powershot SD630, Pentax P30t, IQZoom 90MC, and SF1 models. My current pieces are from a Panasonic Lumix FX3; it fits my busy lifestyle.