Statement a & Background

As a serious photographer beginning in 1974, I acquired my first complex camera – the Rollei 35.  My focus was taking photos while hiking and rock, snow, and ice climbing.  Scenery and a desire for more control over my framing brought a switch to a Pentax SLR which enabled many new avenues for images, and then into an Olympus all-in-one zoom camera.  Almost exclusively, I shot with Kodachrome 64 (following advice from the National Geography Pocket Guide to photography).  My style is similar to that of Galen Rowell.

Printing was saved for only very special images as the process was expensive and needed to be done by a lab.  In 2002, I got my first look at digital photography and rather quickly switched over to a Canon pocket zoom camera.  I sold all my 35mm equipment at the same time.  I slowly bought faster, higher resolution cameras staying primarily with Canon.  

Early retirement in 2005 from Hewlett-Packard has allowed almost 100% dedication to photography ever since.  Visiting Tanzania in 2007 with a 30D and Canon 100-400 lens sealed my interest in wildlife photography.

My cameras have been upgraded to the Canon 50D and the 7D.  An Olympus underwater camera captures excellent images as well.  I teach PhotoShop Lightroom and ProShow Gold/Producer.  I’m a member of our local Placer Camera Club, the Photographic Society of America, Placer Arts (Placer County, CA), and the Viewpoint Gallery in Sacramento.

Digital photography allows me edit and print my own images.  I edit my images using Photoshop Lightroom and CS6 primarily and I use DXO and On One tools for special cases. My HP 13” x 19” photographic printer was a great investment.  To this day I can print the majority of my images easily.  Hahnemuhle paper is my favorite.

At this point, I have posted a rich and varied collection of photography from around the world to my website.  My work is available for sale.  My wife and I offer photography trips both near and far.  We look forward to working with a wide variety of people, providing and sharing photography tips and tricks for many years to come.