Donni Mac

Marysville, CA - United States

I spent the early part of my childhood in the rugged Alaskan interior near the northern border of Mount McKinley National Park now called Denali National Park. Three hours from groceries with no TV, no phone, and sometimes no lights meant a lot of time to explore the beautiful Alaskan wilderness. In those days we had a Polaroid Instamatic camera. I remember in the evenings setting by the coal stove inside our cozy little dwelling and looking at the photos that camera produced, and being in awe of how I could just hold in the palm of my hand a little piece of the paradise that surrounded us outside.

A few years later I was introduced to film photography at Hunter School in Fairbanks Alaska. One of our first projects was to create a camera out of a round oatmeal container. I still remember the feeling when the rest of the class stood still in front of me as I opened the make-shift flapper/shutter to capture the moment on the photo paper tucked neatly inside. Then later in the dark room and the first time seeing the result magically coming to life, I knew I had discovered a new passion.

Several years and several cameras later a lot has changed, but one thing remains the same, that special feeling I get when I click the shutter button and then see the results magically come to life.

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