I've been shooting pictures since Grade 2, when I was given a Kodak 110 for Christmas. So I guess I've been photographing kids for 35 years, technically.
After my film equipment was stolen a few years back, I made the decision to go digital... and never looked back. I had put in the hours with darkrooms, enlargers, spools and chemicals. I sort of miss it—the way old people miss boarding school—but I'd never go back. Digital is clean, powerful, and very flexible—but in the end, it's only as beautiful as your eye.
Photography is a constant journey, and I doubt there is any pro out there who really thinks he's "mastered" it. None I've ever talked to, anyway.
On a personal note:
I have a great family and great friends in New Toronto (Toronto used to be called York. I guess that means I live in New York. How cool is that?)
People ask me, why don't you do photography full-time? I guess the short answer is, I love it too much. I never want photography to seem like a "job". I want it to be something I look forward to, like a weekend road-trip or a steak at Ruth's Chris.
I think it was best put this way...
"When you marry your mistress, you create a job vacancy."
-Sir James Goldsmith
All the best!