My name is Gary Hicken. I am a photographer. Am I a professional photographer? I’ve been paid for shooting weddings and providing content of products the company I work for provides on social media. Does that actually make me a professional photographer? That raises the question, “Am I a photographer?”

I am 67 years old as I write this. I still physically work to supplement the income necessary to have a roof over my head, a car, and my wife, whom has a major health issue that I care for and support. This supplement money is necessary for our survival and I took my love for capturing images and started finding a way to share my photographs in a way that would help us. My goal is to spend my days taking photographs instead of working in a building.

My father did wedding photography on the side when I was a child. His cameras and books were of strong interest to me and from the age of seven on, I had a camera. In the sixties and seventies I was introduced to the imagery of the most famous photographers at that time. I was given my first 35mm camera for graduating high school. On and off, I’ve been capturing life, memories, time, beauty, art, and history.

Along with my zest to capture the artistic side of me through photography, I’ve always sought out problem solving. This led me to my life careers as an electronics technician, Unix administrator and engineer, and a software engineer. Photography was never a consideration as a primary income even when I started shooting weddings on the side. But any time I saw things that captured my eye, I either had a camera to capture it, or if it was a permanent thing, I recorded the time and returned later to capture it. Today’s cellphones mean I have an everyday carry whether it is my higher-end cameras or just the phone.

My problem-solving mind has made my love for mechanical and electrical objects a desire. My photography will be artistic but my knowledge of the photography equipment will likely be the dominating subject on this website. As for my photographs, I’m working on the first issue of a zine called “INFUSION.” I will post when the zine becomes available for sale. But this blog will cover more of a how-to or how things work.

To go back to the question, am I a photographer, I’d rather be considered an artist. My pictures will be critiqued and never will I share photos meant for personal use. Photography is not per se, art, but art can be made using photography. Should I be commissioned to take photos in return for money, I may or may not choose to do so. But every photo I provide to you will be considered art and not professional photography.

My photos, with the exception of samples on line, will be provided in print form. They can’t get lost in the sea of thousands of other photos only to never get looked at again. I plan on offering along with the zines, wall prints, cards and calendars. There’s far more value to them this way.

More to come as I move on. Now to finish editing the zine.