I recently bought a camcorder; simple reason - as a photographer I concentrate on taking pictures that are needed for school, special projects, Dreamstime, etc.; but in the meantime I seem to forget to take pictures of the people I love. My computer contains thousands of images with landscapes, nature, still life, but there are only some with my loved ones. My Dad died three months ago and I cannot forgive myself for not taking pictures of him. I took his presence for granted and now I only have my mental images of him... and they will fade away. So I bought the camcorder because I learned my lesson the hardest way possible. I try to record their faces, how they talk, move, smile... to have a piece of them if God decides to take them away.

Believe me, it teaches you everything that a digital camera never will. Don't get me wrong; I am a huge fan of DSLRs and Photoshop but I admit that I would never learn to compose a photograph if it weren't for a film camera.

Using a DSLR and Photoshop (or other software) allows you not to think during the process of making photographs. You know that if you take a photo and it is not going to look right you're just going to delete it or, if easy enough, correct it in Photoshop. Underexposed/overexposed? Not a problem, I'll just use highlights/shadows option and voila la... Something got in your frame? This is easy; crop it/erase it/ clone it. You don't have to worry about agitation marks, dirty lens or crooked horizon... everything is fixable. And if you really want to ...

The beginning I shall say. I am a poor photography student from Chicago... well, not so poor since my parents still support me and pay for my rather expensive tuition :).

I was hoping that maybe (and hopefully) I would be able to earn some money by selling my photographs. Who can blame me?

I have never thought about becoming a professional in this field. It is funny but I used to think "How lame is getting a degree in photography?" Since then I've grown up a little (my brain filled up with wiser thoughts), and I cannot forgive myself for thinking such stupidities. Photography is the coolest and the most fascinating thing I can imagine myself doing. For me it is a process, which is composed with many different parts and tasks. Let me give you some examples.

-Film ...