Tom Wood, photographer

[floppybootstomp]

I found this news item interesting, about this guy who's been snapping away since 1973:

Tom Wood's Men & Women

And I think this excerpt from the story's text is so true:

You can photograph the same face 50 times and 49 are not interesting, but one is and it goes to another place.

For myself, I now really regret not taking more photographs throughout this life so far, a million missed oppurtunities.

I stumbled into photography by accident when I landed a job in '69 as a reporter for a local newspaper. My publishing house being somewhat cheapskate they gave me a camera and asked me to double as a photographer as well. I was given a Praktika SLR and a dozen rolls of black and white 35mm ASA 400 film (that film was so I could take pix of evening time football matches without using flash) and went on to take snaps of Rotary Club Dinners, Police Station award ceremonies, car crashes, fires, disgruntled council tenants, visiting dignitaries and royalty and anything, basically, that didn't move too fast for me to capture on film.

I was given access to a darkroom capable of processing only B & W film and my interest grew. I eventually bought a Pentax Spotmatic for myself and then a Megablitz flash pack, a huge thing that had a rechargeable battery pack, kinda like carting a car battery about over your shoulder.

And then I part exchanged the Pentax for a Nikon F and lastly managed to buy a Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex camera, it took a roll of film that took only 12 x 2.25" square negatives but the quality was outstanding.

But I never stayed with it, I eventually realised journalism was not really where I wanted to be, I felt the need to be more practical with my hands and heart, so left the profession.

A bad period followed, drugs, sold both cameras just to pay the rent and never really got into photography again. The drug period was short lived, rather enjoyable if the truth be told, but my practical ambitions found fruit and a million years later here I am today.

I once aspired to be a creative photographer but I am now honest enough to realise I will never be. I try and sometimes I come close but some folk simply have the knack, the gift. I don't, I think, but I still like to try.

I will soon probably change from Canon G9 to latest Canon high-end compact, currently the G12, I think. But I still have a yen to get me's a DSLR, maybe I will, maybe I won't.

Anyway, I found Tom Wood's track record interesting and as I said, I only wish I'd done the same thing. But I didn't.

 

[Quadophile]

I hear ya! That was a good link you posted.

Since we are on the subject of people allow me to share here the finest quote on photography I ever came across. It was published more than three decades ago in "Reader's Digest"

“An ordinary artist is the one who can look at a pretty girl and see the old woman she will become, a better artist is the one who can look at an old woman and see the pretty girl she used to be, but, the greatest artist is the one who can look at an old woman, portray her exactly as she is and force the viewer to see the pretty girl she used to be.”

 

[muckshifter]

well, blow me down ...

I'm off today to see an photographic exhibition where my niece has some 'commendations' of her work, not the first time, she's very good.

I like taking pics, like to 'see' something in what I snap, doesn't always work like that, invested some time ago in a conikon (Sony) DSLR ... that camera has done me proud.

Started out with an old, even then, Zenith in 1970 ... film was good fun.

Nice find.