I have started to play with cameras and darkroom when I was around 15 years old, to greatest chagrin of my family, since it always ended in my prolonged use of our bathroom as my darkroom. My first cameras were a Czech made Flexaret Meopta and later I got Russian made Iskra. Of course the film used at that time was only black & white and thus my learning in the darkroom reflected that. My army service interupted my photography hobby and it was only in 1965 after my arrival to Canada I got Minolta line of cameras, ending with Maxxum 7. It was at this time also that I ventured into colour photography, but my own processing was only in B & W. In 1970 I purchased large format Hasselblad camera to complement my Minolta line and to appreciate the capabilities of photography from large format film and excellent qualities of its lenses. It was at this time that I started a small business venture that included taking pictures of newborn babies at one of the Toronto's hospitals under the name of D & R Labs. After two years I opened a photofinishing store, gallery and studio "Photo-Arts" on Charles street in Toronto.
Workshops and Presentations
After I started taking my photography seriously, there was emerging a need to learn more not only about the equipment used, but also about the creative side of photography.
Nov 29, 2006 Aperture in Depth with Vincent Laforet, Pulitzer Prize Winner (57693) at Ryerson Cebtre for Computing & Engineering, Toronto. Also presented by Bill Frakes winner of the Gold Medal by World Press Photo.
For viewing my selected images under
different topics, please visit my Photo Gallery
For my blog related to photography visit my Blog about
photography.
Presently Used
Equipment
Cameras:
Nikon D300
FujiPix S5 Pro
Canon G9
Lenses:
AF Nikkor S-18-55 mm f3.5
AF Nikkor S-18-200 mm f3.5 VR
AF Nikkor S-28-105 mm f3.5 VR
AF Nikkor S-80-200 mm f2.8 VR
AF Nikkor 80-400 mm f4.5 VR
AF Nikkor Micro 105 mm f2.8
Other Accessories:
Nikon Speedlight SB-28 flash
N2 di-GPS mini receiver - visit my example of GPS tagged images
Printers and Scanners:
Epson R1800
Epson Stylus Pro 9880
Computers:
MacBook Pro
MacPro
Wolverine ESP 250 GB photo vault
Workflow Software:
Adobe CS3 suite
Apperture 1.5
Adobe Lightroom
iPhoto
To purchase prints of my images, please visit William Barek Photo
Gallery.
My Favourite Links with Photography
Information:
Phototools.com - has excellent collection of
information on tools for photographers
digitalphototools.com - focuses specifically on digital
photography
Wilhelm Imaging Research - Provides reliable research data on all aspects of photography.
Ken Rockwell - Provides great variet on all aspects of photography, very useful in the spite of his somewhat strong opinions.