Jan. 2003
President's
Message
Focus On...
Focus On...
Craig Kunitsky
The first time I touched a camera was during my second year of high school
at Sanford in Hockessin, DE. The inspiration to even try photography at
that time came from my artistic mother, who always surrounded our house
with beautiful landscape paintings.
Copyright
© Craig Kunitsky
I took my first and only photography course at this school with a Pentax KMount and a 50mm lens. I was very proud of that camera, and took it everywhere. My first major piece (or at least I thought) was a picture I took of a conch shell in my basement, using only candlelight. It was fascinating to me that I could create a detailed image from so little.
My camera was put aside as I pursued a long college education, first obtaining a chemical engineering degree from Lafayette in Pennsylvania, then a master‚s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia (UVA) and finally an MBA from the University of Delaware. A couple things during this time did spur my interest back into photography. As an engineering student, many of my classmates were from oversees, and they would often show me pictures of exotic locations. I soon wanted to travel far and wide and capture these places on film.
As a graduate assistant at
UVA, I was able to put enough money together to get a Canon Eos Elan IIE
and two Sigma lenses. Around the same time, I subscribed to about 4 different
photo magazines, and just read and read. I was pretty much hooked at this
point, and I believe that this was the first time I considered photography
as a true part of my life.
From 1997-2002, I have been able to travel to three other continents and
in many parts of the U.S., taking photos along the way. I am fortunate
to now have a job that allows me to travel extensively for free. I recently
purchased an Eos Elan 7E and several new lenses, including my favorite,
a 20mm Canon f/2.8 for those wide landscape shots. My ultimate destinations
for landscapes are Iceland and Nepal. Ironically, my long-time girlfriend
has family in Iceland and my best friend is from Katmandu, so both these
trips are a real possibility.
How did I end up at the Delaware Photographic Society? My mother signed me up of course, and I am thankful that she did. I have learned more from this group than I could have ever imagined. I especially want to thank Bill Talarowski for the guidance he has given me in moving many of my slides over to the digital world. I am learning more about this medium every day and am excited about the possibilities there.
In closing, I believe that each picture I have taken is not just a record of where I have been, but represents some part of myself as well: artistic, to capture things that others may not see; adventurous, to be willing to try anything and go anywhere to capture something once; perfectionist, to never be truly satisfied with my work and strive for improvement; and humorous, because I like to make people laugh. When I am out taking photos, with the elements of nature in front of me- in that moment, I am truly content, as a photographer and as a person. At the age of 30, I have never made a penny on any picture, and I do not know if I ever will. As for now, just having my photos alongside those paintings of my mother‚s has been rewarding enough.
If anyone wants to look at a collection of over 230 of my photos, I have put them online at: www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=402706