My Journey through Breast Cancer

On October 11, 2013, I was diagnosed with Stage II Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) ... or as we like to call it, extreme measures for a nap (EMFN). For a while, this blog will be my cancer journal. Enter at your own risk.

08 April 2008

dad's show

On Saturday night, my parents hosted a gallery of my dad's favorite photographs. It was a huge success, with more than 125 people making their way up to the house for a perusal of his work. The last guests didn't leave until after 10:00. Many can't wait for the next one.

Some history:

My dad has been an amateur photographer since before any of his kids were born. He had a chance to take a couple classes by Ansel Adams himself, and eventually spent some time as one of his assistants. In the house where I grew up we had a dark room in the garage, and I still remember sitting on the table watching his prints come to life as they swayed back and forth in the various chemicals. I remember a myriad of photos in various sizes and subjects drying on towels laid all over the house. My brothers, sister and I were always handy subjects when he couldn't leave the house to pull out his camera.

Over the years, life got busy and he didn't have as much time for his favorite hobby. And then about 12 years ago we moved, and left the dark room behind. His camera was put away, his hobby put on hold.

Introduce .... the digital age. At first he was wary that a digital camera could do what his handmade view camera could. He was sure a laser printer wouldn't give near the quality of the chemical processes he knew so well. But technology got better and better, and quickly. He started researching, he bought a camera, he found a top-of-the-line printer, and he began learning a new way to practice his favorite pasttime. In fact, he found he could do more with his digital camera, programs and printer than he had been able to do with his view camera, enlarger and chemical processes.

And thus was reborn Doug Hammer, the photographer. For the last several years he's had opportunities to photograph across the United States, in Europe, in Africa, as well as his own back yard. His kids don't make the photos as often as they used to, but he's sure there will be grandkids one day, and they'll be fun and shiny new subjects, I'm sure.

I've posted a few samples of his photos, these you can find on his website, http://www.doughammerphotography.com/. I encourage you to go, take a look, see what he's done, especially if you weren't able to make the gallery on Saturday night. Yes, he's a hobbyist, but he's extremely good at what he does. He has an artistic eye balanced with a broad knowledge of the technicalities involved in a good photograph. And you can tell he absolutely LOVES his found-again art.


Abandoned truck in Virginia.

Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

Zebras, Africa.

Dad, explaining the finer points of photography to a few gallery-goers.

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