In the summer of 2004, I remember saving two lousy paychecks from my old, poor-paying retail job. Those two weeks of excruciatingly difficult work went towards my first camera: a Kodak 3 megapixel compact camera.

Two summers later, the $200 investment was retired in favor of a $2,000+ system, courtesy of that same poor-paying retail job. Although expensive, money does not mean a thing when this hobby has grown to become one of the greatest passions that I’ve ever fallen in love with.

~ James Nguyen

I am a graduate of Fairfield University - a small liberal arts school that is approximately one hour northeast of New York City. What was my major, you ask? People have mistakenly assumed that I majored in Photography. I’m flattered, but the truth is, I studied Communication, along with a minor in Journalism.

I gained a lot of my experience through volunteering for photo assignments at The Fairfield Mirror, the school’s independent newspaper. Soon thereafter, I was asked to do freelance photograph work for Campus Currents, the official news publication of Fairfield University. Working for both outlets has given me the exposure (pun intended) to shots that I would normally not have access to.

Currently, I am employed for non-photography related work at   Aetna, Inc. and am still a freelance photographer for Fairfield University. I also offer photographic services for a very low cost as a way for me to continue building my portfolio.

My Equipment

Body: Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D

Lens: KM 18-70mm/3.5-5.6
         KM 28-75mm/2.8
         KM 50mm/1.7
         KM 70-210mm/4

Memory Cards: Sandisk CF 1gb Extreme III
                       Sandisk CF 256mb Ultra II

Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2
               FrameFun Version 2
               Google Picasa 2
               Noise Ninja 2
               One-More Watermarker
               QImage 2005 - Professional Edition

Shout Outs!

Jean Marie Santopatre, Official Fairfield University Photographer (and my Photojournalism professor) - She taught me how to appreciate the not-so-artsy photographs (e.g. war shots) and

My Friends - For encouraging my photography ventures (and also for criticizing my expensive camera and lens purchases ;-))

My Mother - I remember being really young when she gave me her non-working 35mm film camera so that I could play and toss it around. THANKS MA!

Billy Joel - His song entitled, “A New York State of Mind,” puts me into a photographing mood. After all, NYC is the photographer’s candy store. Plus, I love oldies rock!