I'm Scott, from Lafayette, Colorado in the U.S.A.

 

I figured this is for you to know who I am, so I apologize if it runs a little long.

 

My grandmother gave me this camera when I was a child: www.flickr.com/photos/manelgomez/15358003237/in/faves-ray...

The Diana is an all plastic camera that shot 120 roll film and was a perfect and inexpensive introduction to the world of photography.

 

Photography has always been in my family - my grandfather had extensive archives of slides he took while traveling the U.S.A. Everyone in my immediate family loves to take pictures and my mom and brother even used to have friendly slide show competitions with each other when we returned from summer vacations.

 

Growing up as a teenager I shot daily life on a Kodak Instamatic 110 camera, and later graduated to various Fuji, Ricoh, and Canon point and shoots. During early adult life I had my first SLRs - a Canon EOS 630, and later an awesome Canon EOS 3. This camera would actually autofocus on the focusing point you looked at in the viewfinder. I have no idea why Canon didn't pursue this technology going forward - it was flawless and amazing.

 

In the later years of film I converted from print film to transparencies (slides). Due to their extremely limited lattitude they were a great teaching tool for manual exposure. I was a huge fan of Kodachrome, Ektachrome and Fuji Velvia. I shot a lot of landscapes and read a ton of amazing books. Does anyone remember the Amphoto and Kodak books? They were great. Of course I followed the works of Ansel Adams, but I also followed Galen Rowell and John Shaw. John Shaw's books are still amazingly accurate and useful for anyone wanting to shoot nature and especially macro. I read those books many times and had them for over 10 years before becoming brave enough to try macro on my own. Having to always use a tripod scared me off, and slide film was relatively expensive for the waste rate that comes from shooting macro.

 

During this period I made the conversion to digital. My first digital camera was a whopping 3.4 megapixels, and I shot a lot of daily life and vacation stuff with it, much like my 110 instamatic of old. I got my first DSLR about 7 years ago - a Canon EOS 40D and just upgraded this summer to the 70D. I also created my Flickr account around the same time, but really wasn't active until I started shooting macro this summer.

 

John Shaw used a bracket and TTL flash for photographing butterflies, but I learned through research on the internet that many people have adopted this technique for shooting all living insects. Once I knew I didn't need to be tied to a tripod, I took the plunge into macro and I've been hooked ever since.

 

I love shooting macro and insects - because It's like being on safari, but you can chronicle their lives within walking distance - sometimes in your own back yard. There are amazing stories every day that play out right under our feet.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my bio.

 

Note: I upload photos here at a about 30% of the resolution of the original shot, and these uploads are usually under a Creative Commons license. Please contact me to discuss terms if you would like to license the original, full resolution shot under a different license.

 

IMPORTANT:

 

If you would like to use one of my shots that is published under a Creative Commons license (see each photo for appropriate license info and acceptable uses), please credit me by my real name and Flickr handle, and make sure to include a link to the Flickr page of the photo, as well as a link to the appropriate Creative Commons license text.

  

My photos that have been on Explore:

1. Ruby Meadowhawk Here To Greet Me, 2. Widow Skimmer At Season's End, 3. She Rules The Skies - Damselfly Catching Gnat, 4. Ruby Meadowhawk Bathed in Sunshine, 5. Attack Position - Paddle-Tailed Darner, 6. Reakirt's Blue On Yellow Flower, 7. Field Crescent Landing, 8. My First Mantis - Carolina Mantis,

 

9. Monarch Of The Sun, 10. Red-Legged Grasshopper Enjoying A Daisy, 11. Great Spreadwing On Dry Grass, 12. Summer's Joy, 13. Jewels of Morning 2

  

My photos on flickriver: