Kam Zarrabi, a local resident for 15 years, will be displaying a number of his photographs at the Silver City Library during the months of April and May. With few exceptions, the photographs on display at this exhibit have been shot in Silver City and the surrounding areas.
Kam doesn’t claim to be a professional photographer; however, he has been a photography enthusiast as a serious snap-happy hobbyist dating back to the 1970s. Through the years he has been convinced that, even though expensive high grade equipment, which he has owned and used, do play an important role in producing top-notch results, it is actually the eye of the photographer or the sense of composition and aesthetics that play the biggest role in photographic creations. “The 12 x 18 photograph of the street lamp against the blue skies was taken with a cheap $120 point-and-shoot Kodak camera which I was carrying in my shirt pocket while taking a walk along the Ditch recently,” says Kam.
“Due to increasing advances in technology, modern digital cameras, including even some smartphones, are capable of taking pictures that are as sharp and lifelike as those taken by the best of the older film type cameras,” Kam explains. “Just grab your digital camera and start snapping shots of anything that is the slightest bit interesting as you walk or hike around. You can then review them on your laptop and delete all the ones that don’t live up to your expectation, and save those of interest in a file on your computer or a memory chip. It is fun, and it doesn’t cost you anymore no matter how many shots you take: You couldn’t do that with a film camera not that long ago.
“If you also want the prints of your favorite photographs, there are a number of places that would do the printing and even the framing for you. However, if you prefer to do the printing yourself, the choice of the printer and the type of the photo paper to use will be important.
“The simple hobby of photography sure beats lying on the couch and watching boring reruns!”