So, I have a confession: figuring out how to organize some of this stuff is really difficult.

There are days I went out on deliberate photoshoots that produced 50-500 photos and THOSE are relatively easy to work with. That is–they have enough content to be a post unto themselves.

But you see, I was that obnoxious dickhead who took my camera EVERYWHERE and used it CONSTANTLY, long before it had become socially acceptable to do that to the extent that I was (though Instagram, Facebook, and modern social media have changed that now). So I have hundreds of photos… well, like these. That are kind of a collection of random crap.

Some of these collections of random crap have photos that are substantial in some way, or maybe have some kind of artistic or personal value.

But not these ones. These were just basically me figuring out how my new camera works. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was taking photos of the people I was close to back then, so the subjects of the photos were often things I cared about, but these weren’t done with any real deliberation or sense that this was me trying to create a specific image. I was just pressing buttons and seeing what happened. There are a LOT of photos where I was tinkering with settings and some of those are abrasive enough on the eyes that I don’t plan to post those, but this gallery here is the very first batch of photos I took with a camera that was mine.

I suppose I should have produced better photos; I’d taken a couple photography classes using a borrowed camera. I knew the “fundamentals,” but I think I didn’t take digital cameras very seriously until I got a DSLR. The irony there, looking back, is that I’ve taken some photos with my current cell phone that would rival anything I’ve ever taken on any more sophisticated “dedicated photography device” (as opposed to a computer/phone/multitool that fits in my pocket).

Oh well. I was having fun with it. I suppose it’s possible if I hadn’t enjoyed myself I wouldn’t have kept taking photos, so maybe it worked out for the best.