I bought a camera drone. I absolutely have refused to even consider doing so for as long as I can remember. Then again, I felt the same about digital cameras at one point also. My first camera was a 35mm Pentax, K-1000 and I’ve had a progression of Pentax models since then. Nothing but Pentax – from that K-1000 to a point and shoot right up to my current full-frame digital. And plenty in between. As I remember, my refusal to go digital was because I had an assortment of lenses I wanted to keep using and could not do so with the first digital cameras. Then, Pentax came out with one that worked with my lenses, so I made the jump. Heck, in all honesty, I still have some film rolls that I haven’t had developed. So, why not a drone? I’m coming to accept the fact that I’m sometimes slow to change. I’ve never been in the first group to jump on the bandwagon and that’s probably part of it. But then, I started thinking about those shots I’ve always wanted to take – the disappointment of seeing a shot but being unable to physically get into a position to take it. So, I rationalized, justified and leapt right in. There is a definite learning curve in its use from a photography perspective, but, I’ll say this. Learning to fly the thing has unleashed my inner child in a big way! It’s loads of fun!

     Since I mentioned the undeveloped film and some of my cameras, I guess I need to get back to my progression from my epiphanies in the dark room to my photography today. One would think that after my experience developing film and creating prints, with the wonder and excitement with which it struck me, I’d have gone full tilt into learning all I could about photography. One would be wrong! Yes, I bought that Pentax and progressively fancier models over the years, however, I used them for what the old Instamatic was designed – snapshots. Ain’t that pitiful? Nothing at all wrong with snapshots, mind you, and I still take my share. But I darn sure didn’t need the nice 35mm with different lenses to take them. It wasn’t until I moved back to Mobile from the West Coast when my interest and excitement in and about photography were once again stirred. And, that happened during a Photo Journalism class I took at South Alabama. It all came rushing back when we had to create a portfolio of Black & White shots, then develop and print our own. Yes, the desire was reborn in the dark room, where it started oh so long ago. And then, the learning began.