Cranking through some Velvia
in the San Juan Mountains
As a youngster growing up in Missouri, I used an inexpensive camera to take black and white pictures of my dog, my friends, my sister, my parents, aunts and uncles, bugs and anything else that got in my line of view. I used my camera like a gotcha-machine. I would sneak up on anyone (usually my Mom) and try to surprise them. When the pictures came back we had a lot of laughs from the hair-curlers and deer-in-the-headlights shots.
I got through that younger period of my life intact and continued to play with cameras throughout my teenage years. Later, while in the United States Navy, I used a rangefinder and a Super 8mm movie camera to record my experiences while traveling the world.
Later on, I started getting some good feedback from friends and family on my skills with a camera. That positive feedback increased my confidence and I started thinking of getting a better camera.
I moved to Colorado after my time in the US Navy and purchased my first 35mm camera - a Nikon FE. Almost every weekend, I explored the roads and trails of the Colorado Rockies with my camera strapped around my shoulder. I taught myself how use the camera as a tool to capture the beauty of the landscapes I visited so I could share these scenes with my family and friends.
Some of my most memorable times in the mountains involved getting up early to capture a sunrise, or staying out late to experience the good shooting light that usually occurs right before sunset. To this day, I continue to spend as much time as I can in the mountains of Colorado and the canyons of the Desert Southwest.
Nature photography is my hobby. As such, it allows me the opportunity to express my creative desires with no pressure to meet a production schedule. I have other hobbies but none of them are as all-encompassing as photography. My camera gear usually travels with me almost everywhere I go. Its a heck of a lot of fun to be doing something else, see a potential picture and have the camera gear with you to make a great picture.
Equipment:
While I may have gathered together a lot of camera gear over the last few years, making a pleasing landscape or nature photograph really depends more on knowledge of the subject and having the patience to wait for the "right" light. The camera is just a tool and a good photographer needs to know how the camera will record his vision of the scene. I strive daily to improve my understanding of this, for it is not an easily accomplished skill.
A digital SLR may be in my future, but for now I still enjoy shooting film and scanning the slides in my Nikon LS-4000 scanner.
35mm Cameras:
- Nikon D-200 (Recent)- Ebony RW 45 (Recent)
- Nikon F4S (2)
- Nikon F3
- Nikkor FTn (astrophotography)
Lenses:
- Nikkor 24mm 2.8 AF D- Nikkon 28mm 2.8 Series E
- Nikkor 50mm 1.8
- Micro-Nikkor 60mm 2.8 AF D
- Nikkor 105mm 2.5
- Nikkor 300mm 2.8 ED
- Nikkor 35-105mm 3.5-4.5 AF D
- Nikon 75-150mm Series E
- Nikkor 80-200mm 2.8 AF ED
- Nikkor Teleconverter TC-14B
Accessories:
- Nikon Speedlites SB16A, SB16B, SB-27, SB600- Bogen/Manfrotto 3021 Tripod
- Bogen/Manfrotto 3047 3-Way head
- Lowepro Photo Trekker Classic
- Lowepro Orion Off Road Beltpack
Film:
- Fujichrome Velvia RVP (ISO-50)- Kodak E100VS (ISO-100)
Digital Photography:
- Nikon Coolscan LS-4000 scanner- Epson Perfection 4870 PHOTO Scanner (Recent)
- Epson Stylus Photo R1800 13"X19" Printer (Recent)
- Adobe Photoshop CS3