eijiphoto

I became interested in photography at an early age through my my father who dabbled in it a little and the high school photography class. I studied black and white developing and printing and learned a great deal about the technical aspects of photography. Although I loved photography and soaked up everything I could learn about it I didn't see myself as good enough to pursue it further. After high school I went into the Army for 3 yrs and didn't shoot with any cameras. After the army I picked up my dad's old 120mm twin lens reflex camera and started shooting again. This was fun but nothing more than a hobby for me. Unfortunately that camera was stolen shortly after I moved to California in 1999 and I didn't pick up a real camera until my brother gave me a DSLR for my birthday 2 yrs ago. I was back into the hobby for a while off and on...life happens. I was putting 100% of my efforts into another pursuit. Then life slapped me in the face...hard. The goal I was after slipped though my fingers in the blink of an eye and with out warning. I had no idea what to do and not much hope either. It seemed I had nothing despite my friends and family urging me to pick up and try again. That didn't work but I knew I needed something. I saw that camera collecting dust on the shelf and I though, why not? I started to go out doing street photography, meeting amazing people and seeing amazing things along the way. How I saw the world and the people around me completely changed. I became able to communicate things in my images that I was never able to before. I was able to show how much I cared about the people around me through the lens of my camera. When I picked up that camera...it clicked...This is what I am here for.