I’ve been making photographs since I was 12 using my parent’s folding Zeiss Ikon camera. Along with that early use came the excitement associated with the ritual of dropping off a roll of film and later picking up the bright yellow Kodak envelop with negatives and prints.
In high school, I became the yearbook photographer and found the camera to be a pass to enter the worlds of other students and groups otherwise off-limits. By the time I got to college photography was a reliable habit. I learned to process film and make prints and eventually found my way to Penn State’s student newspaper, “The Daily Collegian.” Steve McCurry was there at the same time and offered unseen lessons. While most of the photo staff spent Friday nights drinking, playing poker, and worse, McCurry was in the darkroom working, a habit which I suspect laid the passionate foundation that supported his career.
After giving up my parent’s dream for me of being a geologist, I left school and appraised my skills to earn cash — welding, or photography. A summer working as a welder in the shipyards of Dravo Corporation convinced me that I would take a different road. So with my portfolio in hand, I found my way to the black and white darkrooms of Penn State’s Still Photography Services unit and my professional career began.
Fast forward 47 years and I’m retired from a long career as a photographer. For most of that time, I was a staff photographer for Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences shooting assignments from feature stories on the mushroom industry to advertising for the undergraduate recruiting programs. And along the way, I took on freelance assignments for a wide range of clients from The New York Times to Pabst Brewing Company.
Somewhere in the middle of that work I made time to get an MFA degree in Art and start Scooter in the Sticks.
Photography is a part of this blog, and a part of me. In the photography section I’ll be sharing some of my past work and the ongoing, non-riding work and projects I’m chasing.
Steve Williams
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