I live in the northwestern portion of Michigan's lower peninsula. There are many things in my area of the state labeled with the prefix "Crooked Tree". For example, there is Crooked Tree Urgent Care, Crooked Tree Landscaping, Crooked Tree Septic Service, etc.

I felt Crooked Tree Photography would be a fine screen-name on flickr to display some of my work.

My email is at crookedtreephotographyclub@yahoo.com . . . but there is no such club. It is, however, where I receive mail for this account.

I will follow the work of any flick member who appears to have time to follow my work. However, I usually only check this site about once a week . . . or it would devour my time.

As far as my outlook on my photographic work, if you are still reading:

I spent decades seeing and photographing the ugliness in the world. Now, through my photography, I share the less objectionable things I see in my life. The world around me is my studio and my photography leads me to many beautiful places in that studio. My photographic aim is to end up with an image I can share that looks like what I saw in my mind's eye and to have it appreciated by the viewer.

My decision to take a photograph is sometimes a surprise, that is, something I notice as I drive along a road, or a movement that catches my eye as I stroll through a park. But usually my creations are the result of a wonderful anticipation. I love the anticipation of a shoot, the anticipation of a visit to a new area. Even the anticipation of returning to an area I have visited many times. Then, during the post-processing in the digital darkroom, I edit the photograph to get an image that pleases me, an image that represents the beauty of what I saw. In art, I feel everything is okay.

My work is located wherever my travels take me, whether a brief walk or a planned vacation. Landscape images are my favorites, but I will capture anything that strikes my eye properly. I am making an effort to process my photographs multiple times . . . to bring out the various flavors contained in any photograph. I experiment with making the image look brighter or dimmer, fuzzier or crisper, older, foggier, or any other option available to me. I usually choose only one version of a particular photograph as the 'finished' product to post to flickr.com. But any photograph is never finished; it can always be processed again.

Since my eyes are my most important tool, I want my raw photographic file to be crisply focused and contain a balanced light. It should have true colors, appear unblemished, and be free of distractions . . . ideally. While most of my images are unique, some are of classic, world-famous locations that no photographer can pass up.

I downsize all images before uploading to the internet. I feel this is essential even though I recognize it downgrades the quality to some extent.