Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Who are you?

Hello all and welcome to the unofficial And1 Photo Blog. Before we get too far along, a brief introduction and some answers to your questions.

Who is Kevin?
My name is Kevin King. I'm a professional photographer living here in Mesa. My wife (Nona) and I have lived in the valley for the past 6 years, and we've been members at Central Christian Church for the past 4 years. I've been making a living with a camera for about 3 years now and I'm loving every minute of it.

Do you get paid for this? Why pictures at Central?
No, I do not get paid for this. I enjoy using my abilities and tools to capture the many events Central is always involved in. This is my "servant ministry". Some members teach children, conduct baptisms, and visit the ill at home. I take pictures in the hopes they'll benefit Central's calling and image to the community.

What other kinds of photography do you shoot?
Currently 90% of my business is wedding photography, with a small amount commercial ad work (my ad work was recently published in a 6 page spread in Arizona Foothills). In the coming year we expect to shift significantly into documentary and freestyle portraiture. Exciting things are happening.

How did you become a photographer?
I've tinkered with cameras since I was a kid. I swiped my father's "nice" camera when I was 12 years old. It had sat unused for over 5 years. I read the manual in the camera bag and learned how to set the shutter speeds, apertures, and how to read a light meter. Most kids wanted video games - I wanted film.

The only "formal" photography class I ever attended (and actually the only real "art" class I've ever taken) was highschool photography. I finally understood not only how, but *why* the mechanics of a camera worked.

This lead to my first "real" job working for a local pro camera shop for nearly 3 years. Our regular clients were other professionals, newspaper shooters, and even a National Geographic photographer. You pick up a lot of the "photo" business sitting behind the counter of a shop like that.

A couple years later I found myself in the military where I picked up some additional experience as a Staff Photographer. I learned enough to know I didn't want to make a career out of photography.

Shortly after moving back to civilian life - I had an overwhelming drive to pick up a camera for real. I got serious about it and began a very steep and significant learning curve, in pursuit of photography on the professional level. That was 2001. Here five years later I'm happy to say God has allowed me pursue a skill I love as a career. I feel truly blessed in this - it's a pleasure to share this ability for the benefit of Central, and it's current and future members.

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