Message from James Clarke
My father is a keen amateur photographer and I guess his influence rubbed off...
I remember pulling apart his Ziess Ikon when I was small and we couldn’t put it back together again but at least I learnt how cameras work!
He taught me a lot about photography using his fully manual Praktica PL nova I SLR and a hand held light meter (remember those). BTW Those old Praktica had a lot better view finders than the modern SLRs and dSLRs with spilt prism made for easy manual focusing.
Made an animated movie on Super 8 film when I was 10.
Did photography classes for two years in junior high school (black and white), everything from capture to printing (remember dark rooms and chemicals?). Did a lot of Art (both TEE and Applied) in senior high school and chose painting as my major. I also dabbled in silk screen printing in junior and senior high.
Studied a Bachelor of Commerce (Information Technology major) at Curtin University (graduated in 1995).
In 1995 I bought my own camera, a fully auto everything Canon Prima AF-7 (with a built-in 35mm lens) duty free on my first trip overseas (to Thailand) to document my visit to the Hope of Bangkok Church. Continued to use the Prima on a number of subsequent overseas trips (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, and Japan). The camera still works today.
Studied a Master of Business Administration (MBA) part-time from 2001-2004 and didn’t have much time for photography during that time.
At the end of 2004 I was given a Sanyo VPC-AZ1. I was impressed just how great digital was, it restored my enthusiasm for photography! Went back to Japan in 2005 and Singapore in 2006.
Gave my one of my sisters the Sanyo VPC-AZ1 in April 2006, and bought a Nikon D50 thanks to the good advice of Ken Rockwell! Made two more trips to Japan with that Camera. Picked up a Casio EX-Z850 as a carry everywhere in Japan in 2006.
Bought a Nikon F80 (film SLR aka N80 in the USA) second hand in January 2008, as a cheap full frame alternative.
Sold my D50 in May 2008, and bought a D80.
Moved to Kyoto, Japan on the 8 of November 2008
Sold my D80 in April 2010, and bought a D700.
Gave one of my sisters my Casio EX-Z850, and bought a Nikon P7100 to replace it 2012.
Purchased a Secondhand D300 in August 2016, which paired well with the D700.
Decided to downsize and sold the F80, D300 and D700 in May 2019, and replaced them with a D7500.
Moved back to Perth Australia in October 2019.
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