About Me

Take your camera, point it at the subject and press the button. Not much to that is there? So what is all the fuss about photography? This is what I thought as a young man growing up with my Brownie that used 127 roll film. Sure wish I had some of those B&W photos I took back then. I later graduated to a camera that used 126 roll film, probably because it was getting to where the images from my Brownie just weren't quite what I was looking for. Then in the early '70's I graduated to one of those spiffy cameras that used the new 110 cartridges. Those were the equivalent of today's digital point-and-shoot cameras. (I actually still have a Minolta underwater camera that uses that format!) Somewhere along the line I graduated to an SLR and my first was a Yashica TL-Electro. I loved this camera and used the heck out of it until I dropped it and damaged it beyond repair. That was my first 35mm camera. With this camera I explored color, B&W and slide films. I discoverd a type of film for slides that was the cut ends of movie film that was repackaged. That was some great film. My next film 35mm SLR camera was the Canon AE-1 Program. This camera I still own, but no longer use. I actually had walked away from photography for quite a few years and therefore this was my last film camera. Then I happened upon a small digital P&S camera from Olympus which could shoot at 640x480 format. This was a D320 and what a great little camera it was, too. The next model, D320L, could shoot at a resolution of 1024x768. This camera was eventually given to my daughter upon the birth of my first grandson with the promise that I get pictures e-mailed to me weekly. That lasted for about two weeks. I then graduated to my second digital P&S, the Olympus C2100 UZ which is a 2.1 megapixel camera with up to 10X optical zoom. Another fine camera which my wife inherited. Olympus makes great P&S digial cameras with the best optical zoom capabilities. Check out their newest model, SP-590 UZ that has up to 26X optical. However, I digress. From this point I got pixel hungry and bought the Canon Powershot S400 which has 4.3 megapixels. This little camera is great, but I am afraid I have all but worn it out. During its liftime I did purchase an underwater enclosure and took many exposures underwater. I did pick up a used S500 that has 5 megapixels, but since have donated it to my wife because she like the small size. During this same time I started to feel the limitations of the P&S cameras. I purchased my first DSLR, a Canon Digital Rebel, in late 2004. It was at this time that I also made the concious decision to make photography my lifetime hobby, you know, something I can do even when I am too old to do most anything else. After taking some pitures with this camera I soon realized that the digital world of DSLR's was quite complex (I never was one to use the automatics.) I started reading books and articles about what makes a good photograph and more importantly, how to make a proper exposure. Since then I have graduated to the Canon Digital Rebel XTi and the Canon 40D. I recently went to a full frame sensor camera selecting the Canon 5D Mark II. This camera is a dream camera! I have also added the Canon Powershot G10 P&S with underwater housing to my camera bag to replace the S400. I have taken some courses in the local area and found that the quality of the information can vary from not so good to outstanding. It was after taking a course with a gentleman named Dick Cicone that some of the more complex aspects of photography started to gel. I then took a workshop with a couple of gentlemen by the names of Mark S. Johnson and Charles Needle in a little slice of heaven called Callaway Gardens. I came away from that workshop with lots of enthusiasm and many new ideas and directions I could go. I am presently on that journey. Part of that journey is my membership in one of the local camera clubs, Capital City Camera Club. In this club I have found many people with astonishing talents. I learn something new at each meeting. Well, if you have made it this far in my saga you are a person of great perserverance indeed. Thank you for taking the time and interest!

In My Bag

Presently I carry the following in my camera bag:

 

 

Featured Photo(s)

As I get a chance to get out and take photos I will feature one or more of my latest photos here.