Norm_A's photostream  

Greetings visitor!

    Welcome to my profile. Photography, in all of it's forms, is a truly wonderful thing. It has played a role in my life for four decades. I have marvelled and been inspired by great photographs I've seen on Flickr and hope to contribute something as payback. Boundless inspiration is to be found here.

Why Flickr? I use Flickr because it seems to be the best for photo networking. I'm interested in photography and have little interest in social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. I make contacts without the intent of being someone's online friend, but rather because I find their photography interesting, or at least occasionally. :o)

I don't consider myself artistic and only moderately talented in photography. I just try to make interesting photos while avoiding the most common mistakes in composition and not becoming dependant on processing every single image with some one click filter. Once, photography consumed a great deal of my time, but much less now. Read on if you care to know more about my photogaphic history.


night shot by Mark Fritzler, handheld under incandescent light

My Photographic History

    I started taking pictures in my teens during the early 1970's with a secondhand Mamiya 35 mm SLR. The built-in meter didn't work and the lens refused to focus accurately. I had to estimate the exposure for every shot. Due to this, I began to gain a deeper insight into the technical aspects of photography. It's amazing to think that digital photography wasn't even dreamt of at that time. Shutter speeds, ƒ stops, guide numbers, darkrooms, enlargers and chemicals were photography. Inspiration came from books and photo magazines. I was hooked.

    In 1976ish I bought my first proper camera, a Nikon F2. After several years of faithful service it unfortunately met a watery grave when I capsized a canoe while trying to take a picture. The F2 with a 50 mm f1.4 sank like a rock. In it's absence I began using a 35 mm point and shoot camera and in time I replaced the F2 body and standard lens.

    Mainly because of the cost of developing and printing, I did most of my shooting on b&w film. For years I yearned for more control over the final result, the print, but just didn't have the knowledge.


shooting with 4x5 view camera in 1978

    In 1978 I persued my interest in photography by taking a one year photographic technician course at Red River Community College in Winnipeg. I then took a course at the original Winona School of Professional Photography. The school was started in Winona Lake Indiana in 1912 (as the Indiana School of Photography) and was operated by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) until its move to Chicago (Mount Prospect) in 1988. Famous photographers from around the world taught there during summer-only classes.

    Around this time I spent a few years working in a camera shop, selling camera gear and darkroom supplies. I also custom printed b&w and colour enlargements. Over the years I spent about 3,000 hours working in the dark or safelight. Not heard often today are terms like 8x10, 11x14 and 16x20 which meant a photo was valued. Although they seem to be making a comeback, camera shops, as oppossed to big box stores are much rarer nowadays. Looking back, it now seems so old-fashioned.


shooting with Linhof Technika in 1981

    I shot only on film until 2004. Then along came my first digital, a Nikon Coolpix 8700. After a few years it unfortunately became my second camera to meet a watery death when freak high winds filled our canoe with water while in the middle of a lake. My wife and I spent two hours clutching an upside down canoe, the paddles and the camera while trying to get to safety. Much else was also lost. We managed to survive the ordeal but unfortunately the camera didn't. Currently, I shoot with a Nikon D40X and occasionally an Olympus Stylus 850 SW.

    From my perspective, the advent of digital has significantly changed the "art" of photography. Image manipulation software has made virtually every hobby photographer into an artist. Over/under saturating, false colour, tone mapping (HDR) and vignetting are running rampant! This seems both a blessing and a pitfall. Throngs of people are producing fantastic images that they couldn't have dreamed of if they had to use traditional photography. Even greater numbers are taking aesthetically poor photos and jazzing them up as a form of expression. It really is quite amazing, the broad spectrum of people that have become obsessed with photography and Flickr. Or maybe it's the other way around.

I hope you will find my photostream worth the time you spend here.
May peace, health and the decisive moment be with you. Cheers!


self-portrait shot in hotel room mirror Dec. 2007



View my photos on Flickriver (scroll or hit the Spacebar to advance)