Greetings visitor!

 

Welcome to my profile. Photography, in all of it's forms, is a truly wonderful thing. It has played a role in my life for five decades. I have marvelled and been inspired by great photographs that I've seen throughout my life. My hope is to contribute something back to the photographic community. As for Flickr, boundless inspiration is to be found here.

 

Why Flickr? I use Flickr because it's a great platform for photo networking. I'm interested in photography and have little interest in other forms of social networking. I make contacts without the intent of being someone's online friend, but rather because I find their photography interesting. :o)

 

I have never considered myself artistic and at best only moderately proficient in photography despite the formal education and training I've had. I simply try to make interesting photos while trying to avoid the most common mistakes in composition and not becoming overly dependent on processing every single image with some one click filter. At one time photography consumed a great deal of my time, but then it waned. Over the last few years the pleasure of creation is returning. Read on if you care to know more about my photographic history.

 

My Photographic History

 

I started taking pictures in my teens during the early 1970's with a secondhand Mamiya/Sekor 35 mm SLR. The built-in meter didn't work and the lens had questionable focus. I had to estimate the exposure for every shot. Due to this, I began to gain a deeper insight into the technical aspects of photography. It's amazing to think that digital photography wasn't even dreamt of at that time. Shutter speeds, ƒ stops, flash guide numbers, darkrooms with enlargers and chemicals were the tools of photography. Inspiration came from books and photo magazines. Needless to say I got hooked not only on photography but also the darkroom and its magic.

 

In 1976 I bought my first proper camera, a Nikon F2. After several years of faithful service it unfortunately met a watery grave when I capsized a canoe while trying to take a picture in less than ideal weather conditions. The F2 with a 50 mm f1.4 sank like a rock. In it's absence I began using a 35 mm point and shoot camera and in time I replaced the F2 body and lens.

 

Mainly because of the cost of commercial developing and printing, I did most of my shooting on b&w film. For years I yearned for more control over the final result, the print, but just didn't have the knowledge.

 

shooting with 4x5 view camera in 1978

 

In 1978 I pursued my interest in photography by taking a one year photographic technician course at Red River College Polytechnic in Winnipeg after which I took a course at the Winona School of Professional Photography. Winona school at the time was located in Winona Lake Indiana. It began in 1912 as the Indiana School of Photography and was operated by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) until its move to Chicago (Mount Prospect) in 1988. Accomplished photographers from around the world have taught there during summer-only classes. Around this time I spent a few years working in a camera shop, selling camera gear and darkroom supplies. I also custom printed b&w and colour enlargements. I estimate that over the years I spent about 3,000 hours working in the dark or safelight. Now days I hold a mouse and stare at a screen. What a switch.

 

shooting with Linhof Technika in 1981

 

I shot only on film until 2004. Then along came my first digital, a Nikon Coolpix 8700. After a few years it unfortunately became my second camera to meet a watery death when freak high winds filled our canoe with water while in the middle of a lake. My wife and I spent two hours clutching an upside down canoe, the paddles and the camera while trying to get to safety. Much else was also lost but we managed to survive the ordeal. Unfortunately the camera didn't. I've had a number of cameras over the years and currently, I shoot with a Nikon D810.

 

From my perspective, the advent of digital has significantly changed the "art" of photography. Image manipulation software has made virtually every hobby photographer into an artist. Over/under saturating, false colour, tone mapping (HDR) and vignetting are running rampant! This seems to be a blessing and a pitfall. Throngs of people are producing fantastic images that they couldn't have dreamed of if they had to rely on old school photography. Even greater numbers are taking aesthetically poor photos and jazzing them up as a form of artistic expression. I hope I don't sound too pessimistic but it really is quite amazing to think of the broad spectrum of people that have become obsessed with photography and sites like Flickr and other sharing platforms.

 

I hope you will find my photostream worth the time you spend here.

May peace, health and the decisive moment be with you. Cheers!

  

View my photos on Flickriver (scroll or hit the Spacebar to advance)