Welcome to our seventh Bergen County Camera Customer Spotlight. This monthly posting features a customer who’s made an impression on us. They might have grown in their understanding of photography, gained a mastery of the craft and / or have become a strong advocate of our way of doing business in the world of photography. During the next month you will see this customer’s images displayed on our digital signs in store, in our emails, blog posts and social media. We hope you both enjoy and are inspired by this new addition to In Focus and look forward to your comments and suggestions.
Don Parenta is this month’s customer profile. Please enjoy a few of Don Parenta’s images in the gallery below.
Here is a word from Don:
“I would like to thank Bergen County Camera for allowing me to feature some of my photography for the month of September.
I got the photography bug in college in 1975 when I changed my major from Phys Ed to Communications. A required photography class was the start of my love affair with photography.
Throughout college and for a few years afterward, I made a few bucks taking pictures for several hair salons and wherever else I could talk them into hiring me. I used a Canon A1 and AE1 with a 50mm and 20mm lens – that’s it! I also did my own black and white processing in the basement of my parent’s home. For my nice Italian family, the basement was also where all the cooking happened, so I was always vying for time before dinner, to develop a roll or two of film in my “darkroom”. Drying prints was a trip. I used the clothes line that ran through the kitchen, and often found myself negotiating with my mother and grandmother to share the kitchen with them, working around the prints drying on the clothes line.
It turned out that video was the main-focus of my college curriculum and luckily, it became a career for more than twelve years (1977-1989). I was an ENG/EFP freelance cameraman and ended up at Cablevision in New Jersey where I met my wife Maureen; then on to News 12 on Long Island shooting news and features, aerial videography and shooting for Sports Channel, MTV, Prudential, Howard Stern and other interesting gigs. In 1989, I hung up my video career because the hours were crazy, and started a career in technical sales.
Moving on throughout the years, video and photography continued to fascinate me but for silly reasons, life got real busy. I put both aside for a while until I bought my first point-and-shoot digital camera in 2000 and that spark re-ignited my interest in photography. Digital plus very active children playing sports got me back into photography. For nearly 15 years, I primarily shot sports, chasing my children from elementary school sporting events to college football games.
So, to wrap up this story, today I enjoy an eclectic choice of subject matter with specific interest in scenic photography; my subjects including the antics of raptors (eagles, peregrine falcons, osprey and owls), to buildings and more recently, street photography. My Nikon and peripheral equipment was all purchased at BCC and includes both Nikon D3 and D4 bodies with prime and zoom lenses to cover most needs. My darkroom is now filled with two MAC’s, two Epson printers, inks, papers, with not a clothes line in sight. My favorite scenic locations are the Lake George Region; Island Beach State Park, NJ; and the Delaware River in PA and NY to name a few. Most weeks, I work in Manhattan a few days and often take my D4 and a short lens just in case I see something interesting to capture and share. If you ever find yourself in Bolton Landing on Lake George, stop in Trees, a great store on route 9N where my framed prints are on display and for sale. Enjoy!”
Find more of Don’s photos at his website, photographybydonparenta.com/
