My photography journey # 1

Roman details shot on Canon Ixus 40 between 2006 and 2008.

I love to read about other people’s journey in photography. How they began, how they got better, what inspires them, what photography means to them, and how they (sometimes) end up making a living out of their passion.

I find it so inspirational, and I thought it would be fun to share my own story in a series of posts. It will also be a great way to slowly introduce myself properly, since I am still new here on Substack.

Foggy morning in Villa Borghese Rome, 2008. Shot on Canon Ixus 40.

I took my first steps into photography as a passion in 2006-2007, and in 2008 I started getting more serious about it.

In 2006-2007 I was living and working in Rome (and in Florence for a short period), and this is where my first photos were taken.

In the beginning I would just bring my Canon Ixus 40 pocket camera with me, whenever I went out. I wouldn’t head out to take photos on purpose, but the camera was always in my bag, and while I would usually use it only to document events with friends, somehow I slowly started to capture things I saw in the streets.

When I look through my photo archive, I can see, that something happened around the end of 2007. The number of photos taken around Rome and Florence with my pocket camera increased significantly. (In fact most of the photos in this post are from the end of 2007 and 2008), and there is a reason for this.

During this period through my work I attended a Nordic cultural Festival in Florence, and I remember seeing a series of photographs of modern Danish architecture, which I really liked.

I loved how the photographer had played with shapes and lines, and I remember telling myself right there in front of his photographs, that this was something, I would like to try and make myself.(Funny side note: A few years later my very first sale was a detail shot of one of the same buildings captured in one of the photographs, which had inspired me at this exhibition).

After this I began to take photos more deliberately, and right from the beginning I was drawn towards Roman details. I would wander the streets with my camera and capture things such as windows, signs, walls and graffiti.

I ended up with lots of pastels combined with some black and white conversions. Editing was done in iPhoto, and I had no clue, what I was doing. (I will spare you the sepia conversions and the crazy out of ratio crops, which can still be found in my photo archive).

As mentioned my focus was on the little details, and today I can see how my style back then was already rather minimalistic.

Roman details, 2006-2008. Shot on Canon Ixus 40.

Up until today some of these shots are still among my very favorite photos. Obviously not because of their quality, but because I love the subjects, I captured, and because I still remember the feeling of true happiness, which I had while making them, editing them and sharing them on my Flickr account and shortly after also on Facebook. (Yes, this was way before Instagram, when sharing photos online was still fun!). I felt almost high, and I believe, it’s a feeling, you can only get, when you are truly passionate about what you do.

As I was looking for photos for this post, I realized for the first time ever, how colorful and happy my Roman photos are compared to the ones, I shot in Florence, which are mainly black and white.

I never thought about it before, but it makes sense, as Rome has always held a very special place in my heart, and even today, after having lived in Florence for fourteen years, the city has never managed to make me fall in love with it, the way Rome did.

The photo below from Palazzo Pitti was one of the very first, I made in Florence, and I still like it very much today.

Palazzo Pitti in Florence, 2007. Shot on Canon Ixus 40.

In 2008 I was officially hooked on photography, and I finally upgraded my Canon Ixus 40 to a semi-professional DSLR, the Canon EOS 40D. (More about that in part two).

I eventually lost my old Canon Ixus 40. Or maybe I threw it away. I honestly cannot remember. All I know is, that it’s gone, and I am a bit sad about it. It would have been nice to have it in my camera collection, because it’s where everything started.

I have even been looking on eBay to see, if I could find a cheap one to replace the one, I lost. But apparently these cameras are now considered almost vintage, and they have become a bit pricey, compared to what they are worth, so I will wait until I find a true bargain.

How did you start your photography journey? And do you still have some favorite photos from the very beginning of everything? Feel free to share a few (or many) lines!