More Background

I’ve owned a camera for almost as long as I can remember. Most people probably do. I have pictures from when I was a kid (4x4 prints I think) that I took with that camera. It was a Kodak point and shoot with manual film advancement and it took flash cubes. From there I had a little plastic 110 camera, then a 35mm point and shoot with automatic film advancing and rewinding and an electronic flash. These cameras were all used for “capturing the moment”. Pictures of family get-togethers, pets, outings, vacations. They produced snapshots, the kinds of photos you would expect to find in a typical family photo album.

When I graduated high school, I bought my first SLR. It was a Minolta Maxxim with several automatic modes as well as a full manual option. I knew that an SLR camera offered much more room in the way of creativity than a point and shoot, but college came and between homework, studying, a job and a girl friend, the camera became a dust collector. I never really got to explore the creative possibilities and again the camera generated more basic snapshots.

Fast forward to today. Approximately a decade after graduating with degrees in Engineering Physics and Electrical Engineering working for two different fast paced startup companies trying to push new technology into medical practice, I feel the need for change. Maybe not a total change, maybe balance is more appropriate. Contributing to the advancement of healthcare is a very rewarding cause for getting out of bed each day. And it pays the bills. However, staring at pixels and the corner of a room without windows day in and day out does not feel like a sustainable situation.