Our Club Members - Howard Chew

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I discovered the joy of photography after receiving my first camera at the age of 22.  It was a thoughtful gift from my brother, as I was embarking on a drive to the Midwest. I  knew very little about photography at the time, but was grateful for the gift, as I soon fell in love with it.  

While driving through Pocatello, Idaho, I passed a photo store that advertised free lessons It turned out to be a thirty minute talk about f-stops, apertures, and asa. That was all I needed to get started and was the only formal training I’ve had.

Underwater photography became my passion in 1982 after a colleague invited me to a Los Angeles Underwater Photo Society meeting. The new dimension of photography -of an amazing world I had never seen before - was compelling. I became a diver, and over the next decade photographed oceans around the world. Between my Nikonos IV and housed SLR cameras, I exposed thousands of rolls of film over the years. The digital era was still a decade away.

When my children were born, priorities changed. I sold my equipment before it became obsolete. My kids are older now, but I no longer dive for other reasons.

I enjoy topside photography a great deal as well. I shoot  Canon cameras, various models over the years, currently 40D. 

Howard