Gallery Collections

Simple Question: “Grandpa, do you have a favorite thing to photograph? You know, like animals or clouds or buildings or cars? Maybe barns or flowers? How about little kids like me or old people like you? Birds? Ants and caterpillars? Dirt, glass, grass, the sun, the moon, the stars?”(paraphrase)

Simple Answer: “Yes.”(no need to paraphrase)

When I picked up my first Kodak Brownie in the 50s, I was hooked. It was a little black and silver cube with a leather strap on top and a gray wheel that clicked when turned to advance the film.

Magic.

All you had to do was look down through the viewfinder, push a button, and in just a few weeks you picked up your pictures at the drug store! They came little yellow packets.

Magic.

I took pictures of Taffy (my dog), by brothers and sister, mom and dad, trees, the house, the car. Anything I wanted in glorious black and white.

Magic!

Then, into my world came color film, the ubiquitous Instamatic with the cool flashcube, the slim pocket Instamatic, and the most amazing of amazing cameras…the Polaroid. Click, pull, wait 60 seconds, peel, and voila!

Now, talk about your MAGIC!!!

And, along the journey I was introduced to 35mm film, darkrooms, and my very first Nikon camera! Oh, yes, in the words of the great American poet, Paul Simon:

They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s
A sunny day, oh, yeah

I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away

So, yes, now, in the 21st century with my digital-age Nikon camera, I love to take photographs of animals, clouds, buildings, cars, barns, flowers, little kids, old people (like me), birds, ants, caterpillars, dirt, glass, grass, the sun, the moon, and the stars.

In Gallery-Speak we put all of these subjects into collections: