I will be 74 years old next month. My interest in photography started in high school when my small school built a darkroom and started a photography class. In the first year the class was offered there were only two of us who were in the class. I remember clearly the first time I watched a plain piece of white paper turn into a photograph in front of my eyes in the darkroom. It was a magical life changing event for me. I instantly connected with the process and the possibilities photography held for self expression. So here I am 60 years later still pursuing the photographic process. During those years the equipment and process has changed numerous times requiring a re-education to stay current with the process. The changes always had a period of ebb and flow to the creative aspect of photography. New techniques and to be learned and equipment exchanged. It is more costly and time consuming in the electronic world of photography with hardware updates and digital procedures constantly changing. I still have the desire to create and explore with photography but miss the process that I fell in love with in the darkroom. The AI technology that will soon be unleashed on the world will probably spell the end of the creative process of the individual and will usher in the the computer generated art that has very little heart and soul.
