My Passion for photography started when my dad gave me my first camera, a Kodak Brownie Super 27 with black and white film at the age of 6. When I was 11 or 12, he introduced me to the darkroom and taught me to develop my own pictures. Then, he passed down to me his Argus C3 Rangefinder camera. With that came 35mm film in color slide film “Kodachrome 64”, as well as black and white film, and then color print film. Shortly after that, my collection of cameras included a Rolliflex twin lens with 120 roll film (medium format) and 35mm Pentax SLRs. In high school I served as the president of the Camera Club. After college, I worked in photography both as a repair technician and camera salesman. Continuing to develop my passion and skills under my father’s tutelage, I photographed weddings, landscapes, and nature.

My professional turning point was the sale of my first picture, a mosquito close-up on my arm, fully engorged with blood. I entitled it “The Last Supper” for obvious reasons. A mosquito control company was so impressed with my work they purchased several copies for their offices. Realizing I could sell my photographs, I began to market myself, taking on every assignment I could get - Product photography, food photos for advertising, commercial machinery, and architectural photography with the use of large format 4X5 cameras, and weddings. By the time I was 35, photography was no longer a passion, it had become a “job”. What had given me a creative joy was now stifling that creativity. A long sabbatical began, 20 years of work in various construction trades, cameras set aside except for an occasional family trip with our five children.

Then one morning as I left the coffee shop, the ‘quintessential ‘ Currier and Ives Christmas Card scene presented itself, an image only I can see now. There were five deer at the bottom of a farmhouse yard, Christmas lights still on, and a light snow covering the ground. Two of the deer were bucks with beautiful antlers. That Christmas my wife and I exchanged cameras as gifts to each other. She wanted pictures of the grandchildren; I did not want to miss another “Kodak Moment”.

Now, the medium was Digital, 12mp 3X zoom, pocket size to be exact. A year later, I upgraded to a 14mp 26X zoom camera, but I outgrew that even faster. My Passion was back! Landscapes, and nature are continuing themes, and I like trying to capture that perfect moment when the light illuminates the landscape perfectly, capturing the beauty of nature as God intended. My camera is simply a tool which allows me to capture the breathtaking artwork of the Master Painter.

My favorite quote is, “Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter.” Ansel Adams

A few of my other favorite quotes:

“A good photograph is knowing where to stand”. Ansel Adams

“What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are”. George Eastman

”Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography”. George Eastman

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer."-- Ansel Adams

I now shoot with Canon Equipment and consider myself a photographer of God’s Art.

“Please enjoy the view that God has painted for us”. Greg Amedee