michael j champlin

laughter

Originally uploaded by mjchamplin.

the lovely jill.

An excert from a paper i wrote a while back.

I took my first photograph at the age of six, using my grandmother’s old Polaroid camera. I immediately thought myself an artist. The Polaroid graced the refrigerator of my parents’ house for a number of years, of course, and now resides in my treasured box of photographs; it’s at the very front, for the sake of chronology. Since the days of polaroids and family snapshots (though I maintain an affinity for both), I have gained a new perspective on photography, and subsequently, the world. Photography, at its most basic, is a simple acuity to the world in which we live. Things now catch my eye subconsciously; I have learned to recognize beauty in simplicity and distinctiveness in the ordinary. But I would not contend that photography has brought me wisdom. Insight, perhaps; but even this could sound conceited. Through photography I strive to attain perception, and in doing so I hope that others may begin to notice as well; to appreciate the subtleties of daily life, of nature, of each other.