Photo credit Raewyn Smith Photography
Michelle Vollemaere
My lifelong love of photography started with the stacks of National Geographic magazines that were always in our home, and a Kodak Instamatic 255X, given to me for my 13th birthday. That Kodak never, ever, produced any pictures that matched my Nat Geo-inspired expectations, and thus started my quest to create perfect images. I’m still working on that.
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A decade or so later I bought my first SLR — an Olympus OM10 — motivated by the brand’s aspirational advertisements in those aforementioned magazine stacks.
I used to be a word nerd, working on magazines and newspapers, and, just for fun, I studied languages: Italian, German, French and Latin, so far. All that study led to some unique travel opportunities and the chance to take my camera to the world. Well, a part of it at least.
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Predictably, perhaps, photography usurped word-nerdery as my number one passion, and now I spend my spare time and money on learning (and putting into practice) everything I can to improve my images. I take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way: I go out anywhere and everywhere with my photography friends, try all sorts of new things, go on workshops and photography tours, watch YouTube, and even say “yes” when people ask me to take photos for them because I “have a good camera”. I also have a supportive mentor who manages to critique my images without crushing my soul.
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I am still a dedicated Olympus user: my two go-to cameras are my trusty OMD EM10 Mk III, which I refer to as my O.M.G, and my EM5 Mk III, which has just about every feature I need. Just about. There is still a new whizz-bang OM Systems OM1 on my wish list. I’m still working on that, too.
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Photo credit Raewyn Smith Photography