I am a photographer. Making that statement gives me great satisfaction. Looking back from this particular vista, I realize that I have flirted with photography over the course of my life. Armed with my little Kodak Instamatic, I was the "official" photographer of family vacations while growing up. I remember experiencing the alchemy of the high school darkroom as I watched my first print appear from the developer, and experimenting in that "dark chamber" to produce an unusual image that made the inside cover of the yearbook. As a young adult I began a mail-order course with the notion of becoming a professional photographer. But like many flirtations, these came to nothing more than that temporary flush of exhilaration that we all feel from time to time in our lives. Lack of time, money, or perseverence left no room for them to flourish. But like an old flame, photography reentered my life several years ago in the form of a 35mm camera loaded with color film, an interesting art deco power plant, and a clear blue sky. Since that day, I've educated myself in two photography programs, taken a number of seminars with well-known photographers, spent as much time I could among other not as famous but still very good photographers, showed work in several exhibitions, and even made a little money along the way.
 
Most importantly, though, I discovered that unlike many other facets of my life, photography is something that I can do as well as I choose. I have no limits except for ones that I place upon myself. My success or failure depends on no one but me. If I continue learning my craft and developing my way of seeing the world around me, I can continue to grow as a photographer. If I get lazy, or distracted by other things, then my photographs will be just pictures. I am inspired by Monte Zucker, a great portrait and wedding photographer, who followed the philosophy that "good enough" really wasn't.  He said that he went about his career in photography always trying to be the very best that he could be, never settling for less.

I am a Photographer. To me, that means that every exposure that I make, every film that I develop, and every photograph that I print and finish, will be the absolute best that I can do.

Dan Henderson