Photography is Like Your Favorite Old Coat

Photography is like an old, favorite, well-worn coat that you hope you never have to get rid of. It something with which you have a history, envelopes you, is comfortable, keeps you warm all over, brings back memories and it fits perfectly.  Photography and an old coat makes one feel good, no matter what else is going on in the world.

I love photography.  I have loved it and practiced it continuously since the spring of 1970.  I had had cameras before that (Kodak Brownie and Instamatic 126), but I never really felt anything special about making images.  When a very close cousin (more like a brother) came back from Vietnam, he gave me his camera, a Minolta Hi-Matic 7 fixed lens rangefinder (I still have it.)  I walked around my college campus and casually took pictures. One day, I drove over to Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport, parked at the end of the runway and took pictures of the undersides of the jets as they were landing directly overhead.  This was a long time before 911 and you could do things like that without worry. After I shot that roll, I took the film to have it developed and when I opened that envelope and saw those prints, something I still cannot explain to this day, came over me and I absolutely fell in love with photography.  From then on, I couldn't put the camera down.  Still can't.  Don't ever ask me to give up photography.  I won't do it.

I am as, or more, passionate about photography today as I was in 1970.  I have gotten, and still get, more pleasure and satisfaction from this craft than from any other interest or pastime I have tried in my adult life.  I derive more satisfaction and feelings of accomplishment from producing an excellent image, than almost anything else in my adult life (of course there are exceptions such as raising two wonderful children).  Also, now, I get as much satisfaction in sharing my images and helping others enjoy the craft as I do making images.

If you are reading this blog, I hope you enjoy your photography as much as I enjoy mine.  If not, you truly are doing yourself a disservice.  It is a great hobby, profession, pastime, activity, interest or recreation.

Thanks for looking.  Enjoy!

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly.  Thank you.


All content on this blog is © 2014 Dennis A. Mook.  All Rights Reserved.  Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution.  Permission may be granted for commercial use.  Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.