AUTOBIOGRAPHY I was born 1943 in California. I was an auto mechanic for 10 years, then I was a carpenter for 10 years. I did what they call piecework, (getting paid by the square foot), and it was extremely hard work. I became a building contractor for another 10 years. Toward the end of my career I bought a camera to record the houses I built. I was intrigued with the features it had and photography became my hobby. In 1989 I decided to move to Oregon for a change. 45 years in the Bay Area was enough. I became a Realtor when I got here and pursued that for 2 years but I wasn't cut out to be a salesman. I was getting to old to be banging nails all day so I started looking for a job that I might like and still be my own boss. So in 1991 I found my present job; a photographer. I remembered the joy I got from my photography hobby and thought I would give it a try. I didn't know which division of photography I wanted to get into so I read books on all of them. I decided on wedding photography and invested in equipment for shooting weddings. Before I did my first wedding I got a few scenic shots just for fun and never looked back. I remembered seeing scenic pictures in magazines when I was a boy and wishing I could afford them for my room. I have always been a visual type person so it all came together for me. I needed a market for my pictures so I learned how to frame the photos I had enlarged and took them to some local galleries. The galleries weren't working out so I joined a local weekend market (Portland Saturday Market). After a year at the market I realized my little 35mm camera wasn't cutting it so I advanced to a large format 4x5" camera and then to an 8x10" camera. (Recently I have returned to the 4x5" film size). After 9 years at Saturday Market I thought I was ready to break away and get my own gallery. About the third year at the gallery in Northwest Portland 9/11 hit and the sales plunged so I was forced to go back to the market and run the gallery at the same time. I spent another year at the Northwest gallery and moved to my present location in Southwest Portland. I have been here on Washington Street since 2002. I still do the market on the weekend and had a helper at the gallery on Saturday. She moved away so now I run to the gallery from the market on Saturdays (By appointment). Latest addition to biography; On 2/5/05 I moved to California because of the Oregon economy, lagging sales, and to be with a previous girlfriend. I will keep this business and expand it to California pictures also. In case you are wondering; I made this website and maintain it...................Brent Bradley |
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