PROFILE

I have enjoyed a long lived passion for photography. Although I never pursued it as a profession I've always maintained at least a moderate interest in the craft until late in my work career it became a true avocation. Before the digital age I maintained a black & white (and some color) darkrook in my home, then with the digital "revolution" and retirement became a "full time" photo enthusiast. I now travel widely with an array of photo equipment. Most trips result in several thousand images to keep me busy in the "off-travel" months.

I view photography as a dynamic process from conception through field work, to post-processing and the final print. Many photographers tend to emphasize the field work with the camera. That's vitally important but to me that's only the beginning. The image from the camera is the raw product on which much work remains to make it an acceptable image for viewing or printing.

To accomplish this goal I immersed myself in a variety of professional seminars and self study projects to keep myself current and on a continual upward learning curve. My work over time I believe reflects this effort.

RESUME

I do not actively seek commercial exposure for my work but do exhibit in occasional contests and venues such as this website. I participate annually and successfully in Photographer's Forum Best of Photography contest (have been published in its annual nearly every year for the past 13 years), occasionally blog at www.facebook.com/rovingcamera, and on occasion sell prints and cards which are in all respects of high artistic quality.

Some of my professional grade training includes seminars with Rocky Mountain School of Photography, Nikon, Rod Plank, John Shaw, and George Lepp. In 2009 I participated in a workshop photographing Polar Bears at Churchill, Manitoba, and regularly avail myself of training provided by NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals), and NIK and OnOne Software (products which I use in my post-processing workflow).

I use Nikon cameras in the field equipped with a range of Nikkor lenses, a 100mm Tokina macro lens, and a 140-400mm Sigma zoom telephoto for wildlife. I utilize two tripods (Manfrotto and Gitzo equipped with Kirk ball heads), and use Lowe Pro bags to haul it all around. I shoot in RAW format, organize the thousands of images I produce annually with Lightroom, and do my post-processing with a combination of Lightroom 3.5 and Photoshop CS5, with NIK, Photomatix, OnOne and ArcSoft Plug-ins. When I print I use an Epson printer and Epson inks with Epson or Canson papers.

While all this is well and good I find pre-shoot
preparation vital to a successful end product. Even though being retired allows me time to travel I still find myself pressed for adequate field time. When I arrive at a destination I need to be ready to hit the ground running with a general plan in my pocket of what I hope to accomplish. I do extensive at home research then map out a photo plan for the trip. I do not, however, make it so detailed as to preclude flexibility, surprise, and plain old serendipity which I find happens most often when one is well prepared.

I hope the images in these portfolios reflect the effort put into their making.