starbearvisions

My name is Tom.  StarBear Visions is my "hobby". 

I spent most of my working life producing broadcast media.  Not such a bad thing, but being on the technical side of things, not all that well paying in the small markets where I lived.  I supplemented my income by also teaching basic photography and darkroom at local colleges, and even had my own video and photographic studio for a time.  I worked many other "jobs" during my life journey -- some I may share in future postings, or not... 

But without doubt, my passion has always been in still photography.  I give thanks to an uncle who let my brother and me "play" in his black and white darkroom whenever our folks got together for a family visit in his home.  This particular uncle and aunt had no children, so it was down to the basement darkroom for us kids to go entertain ourselves whilst the adults talked about living and life in small USA town...

The darkroom was magical.  Visions would appear on blank white paper; the chemicals were poison; and the laws of order were hard and fast rules -- everything had to be done a certain way and in a critical time-frame.  We were apprentice wizards of alchemy.  I was about 3 or 4 years old when we began my training, my brother, 4 years older.

Our uncle gave us a few of his older cameras to learn how to capture visions as well.  They, too, had to be used just the right way.  In time, he sent us home with an old enlarger and all the trays and tools needed to build our own darkroom.  Which we did; in our farmhouse; in a closet under the stairs...

Such an experience left me with a life long love for photography.  The 1950's era Popular Photography Annuals my uncle also gave me stimulated my desire to photograph artistically, especially images of naked ladies in nature.  I lived my dreams, that too was lifelong and magical!  It's only now, since working for a living is no longer possible, that I can get back to my favorite pastime.

So many old negatives to digitize, so little time....

I still have remnants of my many home darkrooms I've built over the years, but today I do my image capturing using digital cameras and a computer with image editing software as a substitute for a darkroom.  None-the-less, creating visions remains magical in oh-so-many-ways.  And just as frustrating, I might add...

I hope you enjoy my visions.  Thanks for stopping by as I build my postings of Nature and Natural Beauty.