Photo and Personal Style: Nothing made into Something (part 1)

Ravimi Photography:

It started as nothing...

When I first started photography I really did not think it would become one of my strongest passions and skills in life just a few years down the road. I started in highschool when a club I was in asked for a volunteer to run the Media team. Being an upperclassman I decided it would probably be best to take the initiative and become the Media Director for the club. 

And that's where it began.

Seriously, I picked up my professors camera and never put it down (well sometimes when I went to the bathroom, but only sometimes). 

Since I didn't have my own camera I had to borrow, with an unnecessary amount of begging, my mom's point and shoot camera. After a month of unnecessary begging I begged one last time and got my very first camera; Casio Ex Fh100.

One of the first pics I took, full manual
with the Casio

Once I had the Casio (took months of research to find the best cheap camera, with the most manual control I could get) I stopped everything and started taking pictures.

I wasn't that good.

But I loved it.

Because I was so intent on learning as much as I could I had decided (before even getting the camera) that I would do EVERYTHING (pretty much means whatever the camera would allow) in manual mode. And after a month and 10,000-15,000 pictures later (no joke), I realized the beauty of the Casio, and unfortunately the limitations.

Some more pictures of my first exposure with a camera 

(Casio FH-EX100) 

trying out the sepia with some classmates

First pic I took of my dad

WOW I've been looking for this for SUCH a long time haha.

 After my first 1000 hours of photography (this includes studying and pure shooting) I new I had discovered a life long passion. And most importantly I decided to never let go of my no post processing photography style, along with a complete dedication to manual mode.

By this time I had my first DSLR (same one I still use btw) and within the first couple months of having it my style grew stronger, along with my knowledge.

Second stage of development: first (and current DSLR)

Canon T3i

These pictures were taken just before a 1.25 years of starting photography

Continued in Part 2

Creating Purpose: Favorite photographers and my gifts to them.

Who inspires me......

There are multiple reasons why a great photograph is "great". Some of those reasons just deal with the subject, technique, or many other elements that touch the heart of the viewer. These photographs are created by skilled photographers that are able to capture, not only what they see, but what they feel, or don't feel. I personally have many photographers I admire that make me think of how wonderful it is to be a part of the action that creates those inspiring images: photography.

One of my favorite photographers is the amazing and equally famous photographer Steve McCurry. His most famous photograph also happens to be one of the most well known photographs in the world (according to multiple sources, this being one of them), Afghan Girl. McCurry captures the individuals he photographs for who they are at the present time. When I look at his portraits I'm always sucked in by the eyes of the individuals, but most importantly the soul behind those eyes truly helps me experience the soul of the image.

If Mr. McCurry ever read this I would share this picture, of mine, with him.

I took this on my last trip to Cuba. This lady is almost 100 years old and she has completely lost her mental ability. During my visit she would yell out "MAMI! MAMI!" (which means "Mom! Mom!"). But what surprised me wasn't that the people around her would not get irritated, but instead her own daughter would respond, "Estoy aqui," (which means "I'm here."). 

Another one of my favorite photographers is Arno Rafael Minkkinen (you can see his pictures here). Minkkinen uses his own body in his photography. His long slender form is blended into the background at times to create a sense of unity between the world and the human form. But at other times his limbs extend outwards as if trying to reach the infinity of the horizon. It's a very intense collection of photographs and as someone that has a great appreciation for the human form I truly admire his work; especially this one.

For Mr. Minkinnen I would love to share this picture I also took in Cuba.
.......

actually, I'll hold onto that picture. I'll show this one instead:

The other picture hasn't been released to the public yet since it will be part of a collection I will be exhibiting in Cuba (possibly this coming 2013 summer). If somehow Mr. Minkinnen does read this please contact me and I would be more than happy to share the original picture with you.

The picture above was taken in my college dorm living room with a really dark blue sheet as the background and 2  regular desktop lamps. 

I have many many other photographers I admire and would love to present my pictures to as a gift of appreciation for showing me their world, through their eyes. But that would make this into an entire book instead of a blog post haha.

Anyways, in this post I shared with you who inspires me to continue on my path of photography. Ultimately the world I see is what truly inspires Creative Purpose.

Who inspires you?