My first exposure to photography was as a 5 year old or so when my dad took my older brother and me into the kitchen that was all dark and masked off. There were pans of chemicals in the sink and he showed us how a picture would show up on a white piece of paper like magic. It overwhelmed me at the time, but I never forgot that moment of seeing the wonder of something I didn't understand at all.

TOGETHER

Years later, in high school, I once snapped a photo of a friend that I wanted to see right away. I noticed an ad in the base newspaper (I was a Navy brat) that the base photo lab was going to be giving a free class on processing black and white film, which was what my photo was on. I took the class and instantly got hooked. Before long I was doing life-sized posters and cool reverse solarizations on Agfa Bromide #6 paper. Way cool. I ended up as a photographer for the school yearbook and newspaper and lived in the darkroom my senior year.

WAITING

In college, I took a class under a pro named Tim Cox in Wise, Virginia. This was my first experience with having a pro explain things like what made a good image, how the brain sees images, etc. I shot a lot of Kodachrome 64 after that and loved it. Tim talked me into buying a Nikon FM, which was fully manual, the best way to learn.

BILLY CAYE

Getting into a professional life after college, photography remained a love but sat on the back burner for years with the exception of the occasional photo of the kids or a scenery or macro shot here and there.

Joining the Metro Camera Club and attending meetings has been a great experience by giving me the opportunity to learn from others, develop new skills and be inspired to get out more and do what I love to do.

Today I shoot with a Nikon D300S and lighting with a pair of SB-800s and a pair of Alien Bees AB800s. Portraits are my photos of choice, but I also love macrophotography and still life.

HARD AT WORK


MORNING SUN

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