New Gallery

It has been a long time coming. I have finally decided to put forth the effort to venture into the world I love so much.

While I don't have that usual story of "I was born with a camera in my hand" I can certainly say "I grew up with my eye through a lens."

I first discovered my love of photography during the Muskegon Air Show in 2002 (I mourn its loss with anger and sadness every year...) with my parent's Minolta Maxxum 5000i. I don't remember exactly how many rolls I went through on the second day, but it was enough to deter my 'bug' for several months due to the cost of film and developing.

Late 2002 saw the release of the Olympus C730UZ and in early 2003 I got my first digital camera.

I kept nearly 1600 pictures that year. The bug bit down hard. Due to its point and shoot nature, I was unable to capture the images that I wanted (it was infuriating to shoot a bird in a bush when the camera would keep focusing on the branches... by the time it finally focused, the bird flew away; that happened far too many times). This frustration led to the Canon EOS 300D Digital Rebel w/18-55 and w/75-300 IS lenses. I was in heaven (sort of).

There were many things I loved about my Olympus - rarely had to retouch the pictures, never had to adjust the colors, and it NEVER had any problems (except its limitations). My Canon had plenty of issues, I always had to retouch my images, the colors were bland (at best, even with upping the in-camera settings), and after a year it began having lens errors (very frustrating to have the camera randomly shut down just as you push the shutter).

Last year, August, I got a job at The Camera Shop of Muskegon. This led me back to Olympus. I was able to take the 520 out for a test spin and fell in love. While I was forever tainted with the need to retouch images, the 520 made it far easier. I kept borrowing the camera until they announced the E-620. I had to have it!

Olympus let me loan an E-620 for several months (got it a month before it was available to the public... should have milked for all the fame I could have.) Then, on June 19th, I finally got my own.

I have since increased my arsenal of gear, but more on that later; for now, I only want to say that I feel it has been far too long since I started this love affair and want to announce the new online home for my passion of viewing life a little differently, TTL (through the lens).

Please take a few more moments (I know this was longer than necessary, but oh well, what else do you expect from me?) and check out my new gallery!

Also, the thumbs up are a simple way to say you like, even if you don't feel like commenting!

Thanks!