About Me
I am a native Oregonian that was born in Salem and moved to the Portland area when I was 10 months old. Growing up in Portland my mom wanted to make sure that my sister and I had some experience with the great out doors and took us camping to several of the places she had camped when she was a kid. Almost every year we would go to Bend, Ore and spend a vacation either skiing or camping. We would camp almost every year up at Timothy Lake and spend time hiking and exploring the surrounding area. Some of my favorite memories as a kid was when I would go fishing with my grand father. He would take me up the Clackamus River to Roaring River and Alder Flats. I especially liked going to Alder Flats because there was a small hike to the river through old growth forest to a specially beautiful spot of the river. My grand father was very much into the outdoors. I am sure this is where I got my enthusiasm for the environment.
I have always been interested in photography. As a child I took several pictures of the family dog and of landscapes close to home, there must me 200 picture of our first family dog Tricky. I got my first SLR camera when I was around 12 years old. Signed up for a few photography classes. I learned some basic tips about setting up a shot and composition. Motion and movement in pictures was something that interested me even then. Black and white was my medium of choice back then specially because I learned about how to use a darkroom and develop black and white pictures.
In high school and college I lost interest in photography (moved onto other things can’t remember why I put the camera down for all those years) but renewed my interest in the outdoors during college. I moved to Ashland , ore during college and started taking up old sports that interested me mainly skiing. Rock climbing and hiking became ways for to relieve stress and enjoying the outdoors. Running and swimming became my main forms of exercise. I started trail running because I was able to combine running, a sport I liked, with being outside and seeing scenery. I hate treadmills. To push my self I took up white water kayaking which is fun but now I think sea kayaking is more my speed. During those days I enjoyed being outside as often as possible. Of course even as a kid I was a dreamer staring out the window thinking about being outside.
During my late twenties my life changed a lot. I discovered a new identity that changed my perception of the world. I made new friends and spent lots of time at the bars being very conscious of what I was wearing and how I was acting. I renewed my interest in fashion, even as a child I always had to have the right look, clothes, and when I had hair, the right hair. During this time I had an adventure that lasted four only 4 months but would change how I would look at life. I moved to San Diego this is not one of my happier points in my life but it made me realize what was important to me my, identity. I did make some great friend out of the experience and still talk to them on a regular basis. I moved back to Portland and realized that the person I was is the kid that liked the outdoors, fishing with grand pa, and trail running.
A few years after moving back I met this guy and even though it was not a long relationship I credit him getting me back into photography. I don’t think he even know that he did this for me. During the short time we spent together he would always have a camera in hand. It was a cannon SD 300. These are great because they can slip into a pant pocket and take some good pictures. Being around him I learned about perspective and angles. It was when I really developed my eye. I purchased my first camera a SD 350 in late 2004. Only a few shot from this camera are still around because in 2006 while backpacking in Olympic National Park the camera took its last picture in Royal Basin. As any avid photographer knows when a good camera takes it’s last picture you never forget. During the rest of the trip I used a disposable camera. I was in nursing school there was no money to replace the camera while on the trip. I quickly replaced the camera a month later.
I have never liked the shots I have gotten from SD600 as well as the SD350. A few years following the purchase of the SD350 I renewed a friendship with a very talented and creative friend. He is an artist that I enjoyed spending time with. For a while, he thought we wanted to be a professional photographer. He purchased DSLR one of the cannons and we would go out together and take pictures. He had a very creative eye he would see art out of simple forms. I was most impressed with art vs architecture. He would see a building change the perspective and the object would become art. This is where I realized that photography was actually an art form and that there was art in everything we looked. I did my best after this with my little point and shot but in a few years I had outgrown the capabilities my SD600.
In 2008 it was a low year for my photography I took pictures mainly when I was on vacation. I did finish nursing school and started a job in an ICU. With my new found wealth I decided to make a purchase that would change my photography for ever. In March of 2009 I purchased a Nikon D300. I had done a lot of research with both Nikon and Cannon. There really is no difference in quality of the pictures and lenses are expensive for both camera. I chose the Nikon D300 because of a few advantages I was interested in. The Nikon D300 is a professional camera that is mid-range price. It has the most control or manual options in this price range. I knew this would be a camera that I could grow into. The menu on the camera was easier for me to figure out than the cannon. (Warning ease of use is all about preference don’t take anyone word for it check it out for yourself.) What really made me decided was a simple thing. My first SLR was a Nikon FE very old but great camera that still takes a good picture. I had two lenses with that camera. Nikon has never changed the mount for their lenses. I was able to use these lenses with the D300. I personally checked this out and the light meter was able to read using the old lenses. I then researched where to purchase the camera and end up buying it at Costco.com. I purchased it with the 18-200mm telephoto lens. This lens has the highest rating of all of the lenses that come in packages with the D300. It take good quality pictures but it dose have three problems. The lens is not well sealed. I have gotten dust inside the lens which makes black spots in my pictures if the aperture is set high around f22. The spots can be removed but this is frustrating. The other problem involves the zoom of the lens called zoom creep. If the lens is extended at all and at an angle the lens will creep out or in. It requires holding the lens for long exposure shots. The last problem is with vignetting. I use a polarizer for many of my outdoor shots and I find vignetting is happening on the left side specially if there is sky in that corner.
Over all I am happy with the camera. I am spending as much time as possible trying to improve my photographic skills and I hope you will check back often for updates.