I have been interested in photography since getting my first camera at age 7. Many cameras later and retired for several years, I am able to spend a good bit of time on photography. Since going digital in late 2003, the post-capture stage has become significant and quite enjoyable. Working in Lightroom, I try to make my images look natural, rather than going for dramatic effects such as greatly-darkened clouds or shades of blue not seen in the sky. The ability to make images look more the way the eye sees them by opening up shadows and toning down highlights has increased my enjoyment of photography greatly, compared to the days of getting color slides back from the lab with processing decisions already made and locked in.

In posting photos, I generally jump around among subjects and times, rather than posting all the photos from a given trip or photo outing before moving to another one. However, I have many albums in which related photos are grouped, and I make extensive use of tags, so related photos can easily be found long after they were posted.

Starting with the Canon EOS Digital Rebel and a kit lens in late 2003, I upgraded to the EOS 20D (2005), 40D (2007), and 7D (2010). When the EOS 5D Mark III came out in March 2012, I switched to full-frame and have used the 5D Mark IV since September 2016. Lens now include several Canon L-series models covering the range from 16mm to 400mm, as well as a few Zeiss and Sigma prime lenses. Recently, I added an EOS 80D, for the enhanced telephoto reach of a crop-sensor body.

I provide tags and other so viewers will know what they are seeing; to me, this makes photos more interesting. I am unlikely to comment on photos with no information; knowing only that a picture was taken of something, somewhere isn’t very satisfying.

During my time on Flickr, comments have become less common, a regrettable trend. Especially in the first few years, I got to know several Flickr contacts (now “followers”) well enough through our comments to meet them several times for joint shooting sessions. I “follow” relatively few people; my basic approach to commenting is to look at photos posted by people who have commented on some of my photos. People who never comment but select large numbers of “faves” may be blocked, particularly if they have no photos that can be viewed.