Laur N.
Artist | Hobbyist | Photography

Netherlands

When I was younger than I care to remember, my father bought me a Zenit camera. Wish I could tell you that it was love at first sight and that I learned my skills clicking around the house like a crazy paparazzo monkey. Truth is, I wasn't even remotely interested; my twin purposes in life at the time were to learn to play guitar and meet girls.

It wasn't until college that I discovered it again, gathering dust somewhere on a shelf. I took it on a couple of trips and slowly, through trial and much error, I came to realize that I didn't care much about Russian-made cameras that bled light in your photos and red-tinted every natural light shot. So I got myself a second-hand Canon EOS 30 with an EF 24-135 US ISM lens and never looked back. I loved that camera to bits - I was shooting and scanning film when the digital revolution happened - and I still miss it to this day. It taught me almost everything I know.

Thousands of shots and three digital cameras later, I discovered that what I love the most is to photograph people: faces, expressions, the glint of an eye, the shadow of a smile - and especially that extra shot, when they stop posing, let their guard down and have their real selves shine through. It feels like everything I've learned, technique, framing, composition, was just so I could be ready to capture the moment. When everything is just right for that one shot - that's what makes it worthwhile.

Still love my Canon, just for the way it feels "right" in my hands. But now I know that old Zenits can also make beautiful pictures, if the subject is right.

Thank you for visiting.

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