P#20 Q1A: An Intriguing Path to Professional Photography

The Year Was 1970...

Bryan Peterson: I started back in 1970, fresh out of high school. I was anxiously anticipating being sent off to Vietnam, as most 18-year-old boys were at that age and that year.

That particular year and the year prior, the government had resorted to a lottery system where your birthday would be chosen in a random order. Depending upon where that birthday came up would determine your fate.

Quite honestly, I had no plans for college. I just assumed that I'd be going to Vietnam. However, I must also confess that I was very fortunate to have graduated because my GPA was the lowest it could possibly be to get a diploma. That had everything to do with my interest in art.

I was more interested in sketching and drawing and cartooning than I was by anything the teachers had to say. As a result, when I did graduate and after the threat of Vietnam passed, I reasoned I would turn my attention toward the field of commercial art.

I had no formal art training, yet I had reason to believe that I could make a go at it simply because I had made some income off of my drawings and paintings for a couple of years prior to this.

My older brother said to me, "Here's an idea - why don't you photograph those very landscapes that you want to draw? I'll teach you how to make the prints then you can draw from the prints without having to actually spend the hours that you're complaining about on location to do the drawing."

I thought that was a great idea. We went out that weekend, loaded a roll of film. I'll never forget it. It was a roll of Tri-X black and white. That evening we developed it in the darkroom, made some prints, and I said, "This is incredible. Why would I spend time drawing when I can have the immediacy of the photographic print in a matter of hours?"

That was when it all began.

In Closing

Bryan Peterson didn't start out in photography. He started out doodling in class, worried about what the future might hold. When his brother introduced him to the idea of using a camera as a creative outlet, Bryan fell headfirst in love with photography and never looked back.