When Andy Hodapp found an old, broken, decrepit twin-lens reflex Yashica for eight dollars at a thrift shop in Montana, he knew he had to have it, had to figure out how it worked.

Andy’s passion for photography first stemmed from his love for anything mechanical. Gears, levers, buttons, all working in perfect harmony, bring him comfort, a place for everything and everything in its place.

Andy writes “While finding out how the Yashica worked by taking it apart intrigued me, seeing what it could do, I could do, brought me true joy. Landscapes, the human body, the night sky, animals-they could all be viewed from my perspective by others.”

Andy Hodapp has Dysgraphia, a disease that inpairs his fine motor skills making it difficult for him to fluently express his emotions by using his hands to create things. Photography allows him to use his camera as an extension of himself, allowing him to show the world through his eyes.

“Out in a field by myself or on busy city streets, I can show others that fraction of a second that so enticed me, enthralled me. The abstract world of social interactions around me can be captured and changed by me.   And while I have never had any formal education in the process of photography, I have learned through trial, with failure often resulting. But when all my past experiences come together, something magical is created.”

Andy’s passion for photography started with an old broken camera he got at a thrift shop in Montana, and grew into something he wants to do for the rest of his life.

“I have taught myself so much in the last couple years about the technical process of photography, yet I still have so much to learn from the beautiful world around me.”