The first thing I became in life was a photographer. In the late 70s, my Dad offered to buy me a camera. I scoured the ads on the back pages of photography magazines and settled on a camera that wasn’t exactly the cheapest but was far from the most expensive. My Dad took me down to the Worthington Daily Globe where he asked then-small-town-staff-photographer, today world-famous photographer Jim Brandenburg about it. He responded, “Well, I’ve heard of Vivitar.”
I asked my Dad how I could pay him back. He told me to repay him with my future royalties. I didn’t get that chance as he passed away not long after.
My Vivitar 220SL with a 50mm f1.8 lens rarely left my side. It was a completely manual camera. A little needle in the viewfinder told me the proper exposure to set and a split prism inside ensured I focused it properly. Forty years later, I still have that camera.
My name is Mitch Traphagen and I am the proprietor of Stories & Light Studio. A little about me:
· Press Secretary / Communications Advisor for a U.S. Congressman.
· 15 years as a multi-award winning columnist and photojournalist.
· 10 years art reproduction work with a commercial printing firm.
· 10 years as a senior systems developer for Fortune 30 corporations.
I have traveled the world, from the first to the third. I am experienced in working with entrepreneurs, government officials, corporate leaders, and artists.
You can ride your motorcycle right into my outdoor studio in Phillipsburg, NJ. Or, just bring you, your spouse / partner / family / parents for a beautiful (and easy-going) morning of shooting some wonderful memories and portraits at my studio in beautiful Downtown Easton, PA.
I will work hard for you.
Mitch Traphagen is a member of:
