John Olsen on Fstoppers

Silverstream Photography

My passion for photography started many years ago in Jr. High. My first camera was an Nikon F2 Photomic with a 50mm 1.4 and a 105mm 2.5. Still have them but rarely use them with the advent of the DSLR. I was a professional photographer for 16 years, now consider myself a semi-pro. As a pro I worked for a large hospital shooting every kind of operation imaginable, along with many other assignments for Marketing and PR purposes... from magazine covers to multi-image shows. I processed my own film and prints using Kodak chemistry and used batch/machine processing for Ektachrome film. I processed black and white film manually. I have shot literally thousands of images on film and produced video on tape. I don't consider myself a videographer then or now, but like the medium. I also enjoy my DSLR and the creative power it provides. I feel that if Ansel Adams were still alive, he would be shooting digital or transferring his negs to digital for editing... he was always on the cutting edge of photography and not shy about using new methods... such as Polaroid. As for tools, it comes down to talent. I view it this way, if you go to a restaurant and have a great meal, you wouldn't congratulate the chef for the kind of pots and pans they use, but instead would thank them for how well the meal was prepared. The same goes for photographers. Great tools, will only magnify talent, but I can also shoot a great instamatic photo with an Kodak Instamatic camera. Cheers!