How did you get your start as a photographer?

Family were photographers, so it kind of fell on my lap at an early age

My parents were always into photography.  When I was younger my father gave me my first camera, it was a hand me down, but it was fun for me.  And it stuck. 

Well ever since I was about 15-16 I've had a passing interest in photography I joined the Military at 19 and received a Canon AE1 35mm from my father and got a little more involved in but I was more focused on art(ink and acrylics, I then suffered a brain hemorrhage at the age of 24 so needed an artistic outlet so I just naturally levitated into the medium of photography and have been addicted ever since. I have developed quite a passion for the hobby and even had a couple shows and paid gigs

Got an iphone for my birthday and that started it all for me. Had instagram on it and it was all over!

I picked up a camera! 

I took photography in high school. The emphasis was still on film at that point. I forget the camera I had, but it was a blast learning how to use it. Been into photography ever since.

Had a girlfriend that shot weddings and her assistant fell through on her just before a big gig. I got roped into taking his place. We broke up, but I've been shooting for years now.

I borrowed my dad's Minolta rangefinder and started taking candids of all the girls!  When I graduated they gave me a Pentax K1000.  In college I worked as a second shooter and darkroom tech (mostly black and white).  Our studio's basement had a B&W processing lab from the 40's and 50's, which we got running again and processed a few shots for the fun of it.  I had a great time, and we shot everything that year: portraits, rodeo's, architecture, and magazine covers for a mountain man magazine.

I'm a new student to photography. My daughter gave me a camera as a gift last Christmas, but I've been snapping ever since. Never too old to try something new

Another former painter here. I first got a camera to record subjects for future paintings. I still paint, but as the years have gone by I've found myself becoming more and more attached to the photos on their own.

So interesting to hear everyone's stories!  I didn't get really interested in photography until after I retired.  I read everything I can find to help me understand how to get better at it.  I just love the idea of capturing something and being able to keep it forever.  

Father was 2nd generation photographer, so this was with me at young age

I always had an aptitude for art growing up and spent a lot of time crafting, doodling, etc. When I went to school to study art further, I found that there was a very short but rich history behind photography. I think the medium often attracts individuals that are willing to break boundaries and innovate, which I find both fascinating and exciting. I'm not much of a photographer myself, but I've always loved discussing photography and the ideas behind it.

Wow, you guys did not disappoint! Reading all of your stories has been a pleasure, thanks to everyone that's shared!

Around the age of 15, I began going to a lot of car shows with friends, and wanted to 'snap' some 'pics' so brought a crappy 110 film camera. As with a lot of guys, as me and my friends were into cars, we also read a lot of car mags.

Step forward a decade and I brought a Pentax P30T which was MUCH better at capturing cars at shows (and the odd trip to the drag strip where I first got to practice my panning) and my bedroom walls were filled up with large prints of the cars I shot.

In my late 20's, I was doing a lot with computers and, as I earned a decent wage, I brought an amazing (at the time) 2.1MP Sony Cybershot and never went back to film.

Maybe 3-4 years later, I spent quite a lot of money on a Fujifilm Finepix S2Pro (6MP extrapolated to 12MP) and began submitting Car show and event photos to a couple of magazines. When I was asked to shoot a local feature car for them, I asked if they wanted me to write the article; they asked if I thought I could and I said you be the judge.

After that, I was producing event coverage, feature car shoots and writing the articles as well.

I also moved to Canon (40D) and a rather expensive 100-400L to shoot the emerging drift scene and became the D1NZ photographer for a year or so.

I was also working days at the local paper, in prepress and got trained in the full Adobe Suite (CS3 at the time).

Moved to a 7D and when the editor of one mags I had been working for left, I was offered the job...and took it.

I did this for a while but, as it was a privately funded mag, and our ad sales guy screwed us over, it shut down about 8 months later.

Got a short contract with a heavy transport magazine publisher, and then back to the paper (freelance) writing articles.

Moved to a 7DII recently, but it's mostly just back to a hobby now...

Lot of fun along the way though...