ABOUT ME:

I am a third-generation American currently living in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area of Texas (USA) as of November 2009. As you will be able to tell from much of my photostream, I have spent a good amount of time in Europe ... almost 4 years living in Berlin, Germany. My initial reason to be on Flickr was to provide a better means of allowing close friends and family back in the states to see photos during our (mine and my wife's) time in Europe.

As of February 2007, I was as active with my previous account as my life allowed to also share some of those photos with others here on Flickr and interact with a world-wide community of people who have much of the same passions: photography and travel. My perception on photography, how I take photos, and how I post-process them has dramatically changed during the years since then. Although I did take a couple of classes in college, I only started to seriously pursue photography after purchasing my Nikon D70 the later part of 2004.

Computers and art have always been part of my interests since early childhood and the basic foundation of who I am today. I graduated from Florida State University in December 1997 with a major in Studio Art (specializing in Graphic Design) and a minor in Computer Science. Today, I have over a decade of experience in internet design and programming, in which I am currently self-employed allowing me to easily accompany my wife as her career takes us from place to place. In late 2010, I reorganized to add gallery fine art photography for home and business display to my portfolio of services.

This is my second Flickr account (as of September 2010), which I opened in order to start fresh and go with a more focused goal in mind. I hope to maintain an active relationship with prior Flickr friends and make new ones moving forward. What I post here will be only sampling of my growing portfolio. For a more completed collection, please keep up with my personal site at www.mrathmannphotography.com.

COMMENTS (ANY LANGUAGE WELCOMED):

Although it is nice to receive awards and praises, I do openly welcome negative critiques that are constructive. I strive to improve all of my photos until I feel nothing more needs be done to them. Having a chance to know how others perceive my work is what I find truly beneficial in helping me to grow artistically.

If you feel more comfortable commenting in your own language, please feel free to do so. I have a relative understanding of German, can slightly recall some of the Spanish learned in high school and college, and my wife is rather fluent in both French and German. All other languages I will be happy to put through a translation site to help with the general meaning. The important thing is that it is felt you are able to easily express yourself.

As for comments that come from me, I am open and honest. If I truly feel that it is prudent, I will give a true critique of the photo at hand with any advice I am able to give. It is my philosophy that one will never progress with their own art if they cannot (1) accept open criticism, (2) give a well rounded critique, and (3) actually do something with the feedback that is received ... at the very least to give it a try to see if they like the change or prefer what was done before.

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY OF YOUR PHOTOS/VIDEOS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE IN YOUR FLICKR STREAM: You may wish to consider doing so. The majority of those you will find here on Flickr, like myself, will block you as soon as they see that you have made them a contact, posted to a gallery, and/or faved any of their postings. It is all about sharing in a community such as this.

COPYRIGHT AND PURCHASING INFO:

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No rights granted unless in writing by Michael Rathmann. All of my photos are copyright registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Please do not use any of my work without my explicit permission. If you wish to blog anything you find here or my personal site, please do not edit in any way, shape or form ... and be so kind to properly notate and link back.

If you are interested in purchasing or acquiring permission to use any of my photos, please contact me via FlickrMail.