Hi. My name is Kevin Smith and I work for the Toledo Metroparks as a Grounds Maintenance Assistant. Living in northwest Ohio there aren't any grand landscapes such as mountains, vales, hills, or even many waterfalls. But we do have a state scenic river, the Maumee River, the largest river that empties into the Great Lakes.

As an artist, I was once a Romanticist. But after reading the book In the Heart of the Sea I began reconsidering my thoughts on nature. Now I'm an anti-transcendentalist. Nature is not our friend. As an ally, it is dubious. As an enemy, it is ruthless. Understand that animals in the wild do not live in peace and harmony. They are always competing for resources, territory, and mates. I'm glad to live in the West where we do better than that. In Western Civilization we understand that just because you want or need something does not mean it is right to just take it from someone without permission. Instead of raiding like many peoples of the past, or stealing from each other like many animals do, we trade. Instead of fighting for food, water, and shelter, we cooperate to create an abundance of the best quality goods we can with what resources we have. Instead of having the strong dominate, we have the strong protect the weak. All this because of our philosophy that every single human being from young and old, male and female, weak and strong, dumb and smart is made in the image of God. It is a civilization of virtuous people, justice, and morality that has taken the very best of mankind and nurtured it for thousands of years. Don't let it go, whatever you do. It is a civilization more precious and fragile than any the world has ever known. Defend it with every muscle in your body, and with every word you speak.

These days I don't take as many pictures of landscapes as I used to, but when I do it is often more somber than it used to be. Now I'm thinking of getting into portrait photography.