My Photography Why's

A Camera “Click” Is A Story Being Told

At The Click Of A Button

(originally published on Our Prime Of Life – our Lifestyle and Travel Blog)

I broke down and did it.

My husband, the lovely man that he is, might not have fully understood my rising need, but he understands my heart and knew I needed to hear “The Click.”

That sound a camera, a “real” one, makes.

I needed to hold the solid heft in my hands, to focus on possibilities.

Have a moment frozen in time.

My iPhone does that, but not in the same way.

A “click” is firm, fixed, and sturdy. For me, it is a mental thing.  It brings me into the moment.  It brings me into romance and a courtship of sorts. Finding the best of something. That angle, that light, that composition – realized.

To caress a photo into life is a wonderful thing.

A photo gives recognition.

Even the mundane can be interesting. One just needs to look.

A photo can change a perspective of the world around us.  What power lies in a photo. What stories.

My photos display my story, the one I know about. Not only about me, but my surroundings at the time. Where I placed my feet.

But it also allows other viewers to develop a story of their own. They don’t need to know mine, the photo will speak to everyone differently.

A photo is many-faceted.

So far, my “new” photography is a learning curve. And there is a lot to know, a lot I have forgotten. All those settings, manual, autofocus, scenes, f-stops, RAW, video, lenses; more to remember and think about.  And to tell you the truth, I don’t know what the hell I am doing…YET.

Right now, I am not as spontaneous as I am with the iPhone – point, shoot, keep or delete. But I like challenges. This is going to be fun!

Here are some of my first unedited attempts. Lightroom and Photoshop are going to be whole other projects completely and I must remind myself to put my new toy down occasionally and focus on my memoirs. I am busier than ever.

When I first took pictures in 1978 it was on a minuscule 110 the size of a lipstick with negatives smaller than my big thumbnail. I brought a huge number of those disposable cameras on my first trip to Europe. Three months with my mother in a tiny car we named the U-ey since she made so many U-turns, often hilarious ones that brought us on an adventure and started my wanderlust.

After seeing what I had accomplished I broke down and bought a Pentax K1000 for the second and third European trips and beyond. It was the first of many throughout the years. All manual, I just looked for the meter to center and shot. That worked most of the time. Or it failed spectacularly. But it was sure fun!! And I got some truly wonderful photos after many months of waiting to get the film developed. Now, that was anticipation!

Always workhorses the K1000’s got banged and beat up around the world.

It was that click that became a mantra.  That documented friendships and sunsets, safaris and train rides; and so much more!

My camera sometimes knew more about me than I did myself. I would find out secrets once the film was developed, my life revealed. I could look without seeing. Then I could be surprised at what surfaced.

I thought I would share some photos taken from my Pentax K1000 way back when. The quality isn’t the best as the slides and negatives had to be scanned for portability before we sold everything and moved to Mexico.

What truth is whispering behind these photos?

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4 Comments

  • Reply
    Danielle Anderson
    March 4, 2022 at 6:54 pm

    Love this, Ria! I’ve always had a passion for photography, but that’s faded with time (and busyness). I am living vicariously through your lens!

    • Reply
      Ria Talken
      March 6, 2022 at 3:41 pm

      It is a lot of relearning and then I throw in a digital camera!! But I am loving it and am switching to the camera for most of my photography now. I will be adding some photos to this blog soon. I hope you will enjoy it.

  • Reply
    Vig Gleeson
    February 23, 2022 at 3:32 am

    Wonderful photography Ria!
    Keep having fun with ‘The Click!’

  • Reply
    Lisa Meltzer Penn
    February 22, 2022 at 6:44 pm

    Terrific story! And pictures, too. Have fun with your new companion.

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