I remember a camera my parents had. A Kodak Instamatic 25. At home we'd play around with it, taking snaps of each other. Occasionally there was even some film in it. Afterwards, we'd drop it up to the Chemist and a couple of days later collect the results. Some of the prints had heads chopped off, subjects too far back, hilarious, but they were photos, our own photos.
In my early teens I got a small camera from an Uncle, it was part of a promotion at a business he owned. This was tiny and took really blurry shots on 110 film, no bigger than a matchbox, it was the first camera I actually owned.
Sometime later a friend of the family's son called 'round for a coffee. He worked for a newspaper and had all the gear. While they chatted he offered me the camera to play around with. I remember going outside and putting the full-size professional camera to my eye, focusing the lens, pressing the shutter, I was addicted. A few months of putting petrol into people's cars later I bought my first proper SLR camera.
We used to walk around Cork for days with our cameras, me and a friend, just taking pictures of things, anything. When we returned, we would develop and print the photos in a tiny darkroom I had at home. I particularly liked people shots. Folks said I seemed to be able to catch nice moments. That summer I graduated from the local garage to a job in the shop I bought my first camera in.
Shortly after my sixteenth birthday a friend of my sisters asked me to photograph her wedding, Initially, I said no, but she talked me into it. It was my first wedding to even attend - not to mind photograph. It lashed rain all day, but the pictures worked and she was delighted.
From there I finished school, dabbled in college but, most importantly, I spent four years working in a professional photographic studio before setting up on my own ten years ago. We still have that Kodak Instamatic 25 at home and I'm still walking around taking pictures of people. So, that's my story, what's yours?
BT
Born in Cork (8 lbs 3 oz) Brian Terry is the fourth child, of five, of Breda and Dominic Terry, Bishopstown. Brian has been shooting weddings since 1991, he has worked professionally since 1996. He is married to Debbie and has two daughters, Ellen and Sarah and a son, Dominic. Brian has two offices nationwide, Monkstown, Cork and Baggot Street, Dublin 2.
