For this mom, a love of photography evolves with the cameras

Editor’s Note: Here at NolaVie we love our moms, so today we are giving publication to stories about moms or stories written by moms. And, there’s a theme: Moms and technology. NolaVie writer Brian Friedman told his mom about this project, and she wrote a piece about her love for photography–from early development to modern day use. All our love to you, Linda (aka Brian’s mom), and all you mothers out there.

Photo by: Linda Friedman

I took up photography about seven years ago – before the Digital Age. I think I started with a Canon camera (SRL), and all-in-all I took two photography courses. The darkroom procedures never set well with me due to the very strong chemicals mixing with my very bad allergies. I always thought that composition, design and color were very interesting, but I never really knew if I was a good photographer.

Enter my brother Frank. He gave me a digital camera for my birthday, explained how to use it, and I said goodbye to darkrooms and hello to my Panasonic Lumix. Landscapes, animals, reflections in buildings and family portraits all caught my lens, and I loved that I could put the photos on my computer and go from there. I did go from there, having a few minor amateur exhibitions at NOMA and the artist corner at Touro Infirmary.

Photo by: Linda Friedman

These first digital cameras were compact, so while they were fun, there was a lot of quality missing from the photos. That’s when I bought my first DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera – I believe it was a Canon Rebel. The quality was really excellent, and I liked the fact that I could take video pictures with it and not have to lug a big video camera around. Still, these cameras became heavy after long periods of time, such as while traveling.

I then discovered the Mirrorless Camera which, of course, doesn’t have a mirror, making it a lot lighter. And the quality is just as good without the mirror.

I know a lot of people love to take pictures with their I-phone and they are quite good. But at the moment, I still prefer the camera. The I-phone is really good for spontaneous pictures but I can still carry my camera in my purse or a light bag. I have to say that once in awhile I use my I-phone, which is great for storing photo’s that you can share with other people.

-Linda Friedman, Mom to Nolavie’s Brian Friedman