History of WOP
Last modified on 2009-02-17 01:09:32 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Here is your introduction to WestOUT Photography (WOP)
Let’s start at the beginning. WestOUT Photography started out in 1999 with me as a lover of ART but no real outlet. I picked up a disposable camera and took some pictures. I liked how the pictures came out but was not completely happy with the results. I then picked up a Minolta XTsi 35mm Film camera for my wife. I used it more then she did. From there I took hundreds upon hundreds of pictures and enjoyed capturing beautiful scenes. At this point I was into nature photography and did not think much about taking pictures of people outside of friends and family at home and family gatherings.
In 2000 after several hundred dollars invested in film and development the digital age started to beat at my heart. I loved film but just was spending so much money at Ritz with development. I did some research and came to the conclusion that the Nikon Coolpix 990 was the camera for me. I saved up some money and made the splurge into the Digital Photography arena. The camera was 3.34MPixel’s and every bit of what I wanted. I spent countless hours snapping anything and everything that moved.
As 2001 came a friend at school was working on starting a calendar and wanted me to be the photographer for it. I agreed to shoot the models and this began my plunge into the world of “Model Photography”. I enjoyed working with the models my friend provided me to work with but sadly they were not as dedicated as they lead my friend to believe. She scrapped the calendar but I had been touched by the “Model” bug. I then branched out and started up my account on a website called “One Model Place” June 20, 2001 to be exact as per my OMP page. Through this website I met many beautiful ladies to work with and gained an even deeper appreciation for capturing the beauty one displays.
In 2002 I moved to Sacramento and continued working with models. I developed a better eye for what I did as time passed and I worked more. I did not perform much photoshop work as I am a strong believer in the natural beauty that one possess should be displayed and not an edited view. I will explain my belief in retouching at another time. I then began to work with a young lady named Davina and helped her develop her models as well as website. Through this relationship I learned even more about models and photography and grew a really good friendship. I learned additional styles of photography to suit her needs as a client. This was the first real business relationship I had as a photographer. This was the foundation that started to build my photography business into what it is today. I started out with the name “NorCalModels” aka “NCM” for 2 reasons. One my name is Calvin and I am from Northern California. So NorCal could be Northern California or Northern Calvin. I thought it was cute and had fun with it for a number of years. When I moved to TX in 2004 “NorCal” did not seem to fit any more.
In 2004 I moved to Texas for my job to move into a better field and support my family. With the move came a name change. NorCalModels did not seem to fit no more since I was now in Texas and I wanted to start a new display of my ART with the camera. I picked the name “WestOUT Photography” to represent myself because I am from the “West Coast” and we use to always say “Peace Out”. With that in mind I combined the two to become “WestOUT Photography”. I really liked this name because it was unique and I can take it anywhere and be known with it. With my move to Texas came change and adjustment. I quickly learned of the term “TFCD” which stands for “Time For Compact Disc” and “TFP” which stands for “Time For Prints”. The idea behind this is that a photographer and a model can work together and lose very little of anything outside of time spent working together. This often is abused in the TX climate that I experienced. Many talented models and photographers abuse the idea simply because there are so many models and so many photographers that anyone paying one another is often not common place.
This now leads me into 2008. I had become drained of all the free work that was being tossed around like medicine in a hospital. I put my camera down in September 2008 roughly. I had purchased a Nikon s600 Point & Shoot and started to really love its flexibility because I can carry it everywhere. So I left models in stand bye and just clicked and snapped things I liked on the fly. But in November I started to want to shoot again but did not really chase any ideas. December came around and I started to jump up with ideas. First idea I had actually came from Brett over at OMP. He told me to shoot what I want and only a weekend a month. I then set out with the idea to shoot only what I want. Which was a sexier look and style then before. Also I will only edit 5 images of a shoot as a courtesy. Additional edits cost depending upon the edits desired.
Now we are into 2009 and I am happier then ever with my photography and have been pretty active with shooting my ideas and themes. Please look at my gallery and share your thoughts.
This is all for now. Stay tuned for further updates. The “About” page will not be always static. I will place in here various things about me that identify who I am as a photographer.
Thanks,
C.
