Film era
I joined the press club when I was 12, still in 4th grade. My adviser needed contestants for the inter-school press competition. I wanted to earn some extra-curricular grades, I volunteered and joined the school publication. I SUCK AT WRITING! Well, by writing, I mean, my penmanship is unreadable. I can't win if my handwriting is bad. My adviser told me that if I am interested, I should ask my parents to buy me a camera for me to fill in and register as a Photojournalist.
After hearing that, My mom bought me a Camera.
My first camera is a KODAK KB ZOOM 35MM FILM CAMERA WITH 28-50MM Aspheric lens (photo grabbed from https://picclick.com/Kodak-Kb-Zoom-35Mm-Film-Camera-With-28-50Mm-202636241566.html)
I can still remember the first time that I got that camera. I got excited that I emptied my first roll of film in two days (photography is a luxury before haha) What sucked is that the film processing is a lot expensive and it will take days to see the images.
Fast forward to the day of the competition I met students from different schools with massive and expensive cameras. The rich ones have SLR cameras with Autofocus, and some students got Analog film cameras that they inherited from their parents that are photographers. I felt so small and challenged since my equipment can't compete with what they got. I feel like I brought a toy compared to those who are much more senior than me. But it did not stop me. I still won 5th place and that's an awesome achievement for a small kid. I get to advance to the next stage which is the Regional Competition. Sadly, the regional event is too much and the competition is tight. I still competed until I was in 6th grade. Same camera, same event, I still won at the City level but failed at the Regional level.
I graduated elementary and went to the largest school in our city. I applied for the same position and got declined. There are existing photojournalists and they got into the nationals. The coach told me to reapply when I'm in my third year. Our school has its own program for journalism. The good thing is that there is no bias in the application and they opened the competition to all interested participants. Luckily I was the selected student.
This time, I got a wonderful coach that is an actual photojournalist (he coached the top participants). He thought me most of what he knew. He made me join competitions outside school (I won haha). He lends me the Press camera. A major upgrade from my first camera.
Canon EOS 300 35MM FILM CAMERA WITH 18-55MM Lens (Photo grabbed from https://www.35mmc.com/01/09/2018/canon-eos-300-review/)
My skills improved and I got a higher placement at the City level. (2nd when I was in 3rd year, 1st in 4th year). My highest placement is 4th in the Regionals, but only the top 3 are qualified to participate in the Nationals.
Digital age
I never thought of having a DSLR camera. At first, I want to pursue a degree in Communications arts but decided to change it to Engineering. Still, I got my first DSLR in my 2nd year at the University after I joined the school publication. I became friends with different enthusiasts, and we created a club. I was able to hone my skills. I did some gigs to earn on the side. I got some of my photos published in the local newspaper.
Nikon D5100 with 18-55 lens (photo grabbed from https://www.reviewed.com/camcorders/content/nikon-d5100-dslr-camera-review)
Sadly, in 2014 my camera retired. I also decided to focus on my studies and finish my degree. I stopped doing photography for a while. I still take photos of my friends from time to time if they lend me their camera.
In 2020, I saw an ad. A guy is selling his camera for 8,000 Pesos (around $160). I bought it and started practicing again in the hopes of improving my craft and build a business around it.
My current gear is Nikon D90 with 70-200mm and 35mm f1.8
(photo grabbed from https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product-archive/dslr-cameras/d90.html)
In time, I still want to upgrade my gears and have my own studio.