Joseph Metzler Studio

I still feel the excitement of getting my first camera, an Instamatic knockoff. I was amazed that I had this magic tool that allowed me to capture images! But my first serious camera was a Pentax SLR, which I purchased while taking photography classes in high school. I quickly went all in, photographing for the yearbook, building my own darkroom, and even photographing a wedding while still in high school. My passion continued into college and beyond but eventually, as I pursued my chosen career as an architect, I picked up my camera less and less with each passing year. There just didn’t seem to be time for photography with everything else in my life.

Years passed. Then one day, as I started to wind down my architecture practice, I set about to scan some of my favorite slides from the preceding years. I started to feel the excitement again! Hard to believe I had forgotten the feeling! I dug out an early digital camera I had purchased years earlier and started playing around. And just like that the excitement had returned.

Today, I find photography even more exciting that I did when I was younger. I feel a bit addicted to the rush of being in the right place at the right time to capture a fleeting moment, when sky, lighting, or composition, are just right and speaks to me. And then I can’t wait to do it again!