I'm a retired archaeologist, photographer and painter, hiker and tourist, Scrabble enthusiast, part-time barista, full-time husband/dad/grandpa.

Flickr, what a concept. It’s a constant source of inspiration to me, a continual educational experience, and I find the members are extraordinarily talented and generous.

My approach to photography is to use it to enhance the experiences I most enjoy. I love hiking and travel; I love being immersed in the wonders of nature, culture and history. And since 2005, that includes my grandkids. So I see those experiences as the main course and photographing those experiences to re-enjoy later is the dessert.

When I switched to digital, I decided to forego bulky SLRs and lots of lenses and other equipment. I want to be as portable/unobtrusive as I can be and still be able to exercise a certain control over the medium. I use two cameras, plus a tiny folding field tripod and a hiking staff/monopod. My cameras these days are the mid-sized Canon PowerShot Pro1 and the compact Canon PowerShot SD870 IS (both can fit in my jacket pocket, the ultimate test of a useful camera!). These are a decent compromise between total versatility and total portability, and also provide a challenge to produce rewarding results and have fun within the limits of the photographer and cameras.

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