My name is Harry Behret , I’m 60 years old, and I live in Viera, Florida. I moved to Florida in 2004 (just in time for three major hurricanes) after living in NYC for 57 years. I retired from the federal government (Social Security) after 27 years of service. I ran outreach centers in Harlem and the South Bronx for five years for the NYC mayor’s office prior to working for the feds.

I’ve been taking pictures for my entire life. I had no formal training in photography until I did a workshop with Ron Reznick in 2004.

Photography has been a passion for me since my folks got me my first Kodak Brownie in the 1950s. I really got into it heavily in 1967 when I bought my first SLRs (Mamaya Sekkor and then later a Minolta) while serving in Vietnam in 1968. Photography served as an outlet for my creative juices during the two years I served in Vietnam. When my unit took incoming fire I was the fool rushing to get his camera while everyone else was rushing into bunkers.

Right now I have the Nikon D2X and the Nikon D200 as my camera bodies but I have pre-ordered the D3 and D300. My lens collection consists of the Nikon 50mm 2.8; the Nikon 65mm 2.8 micro; the 85mm 1.4, the 300mm F4, the 500mm F/4; the 17-35mm 2.8, the18-200mm 3.5-5.6 VR, the 28-70mm 2.8, the 70-200 2.8 VR, and the 80-400mm 3.5-5.6 VR lenses. I also have the Sigma 105. 2.8 macro lens. For support I use the Gitzo 1325 tripod with a full Wimberly head and a Manfrotto 1325B Monopod. I use an SB-800 flash and a Better Beamer also.

Right now my favorite places to shoot are the Viera Wetlands, the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and the rookery in St. Augustine’s Alligator Farm. The Viera Wetlands consistently provide me with a variety of wildlife subjects to shoot in a setting where you can get closer to your subjects than anywhere else I have shoot. From November through February Merritt Island is awash with local and migratory birds. Both the wetlands in Viera and the NWR at Merritt Island also have sublime lighting in the early morning and late afternoon. The rookery in St. Augustine gives you a front row seat for the nesting,& mating behavior of a number of local birds as well as the development of their chicks from March through June.

I shoot wildlife in Florida because I live in such close proximity to it and it’s the most challenging type of photography I have tried. When I lived in NYC I did mostly street photography. After 57 years in NY the opportunity to shoot wildlife became a passion once I got started with it.

I found the transition to wildlife shooting to be very challenging. Getting proper exposure on my subject was much, much tougher. When shooting a street scene or in the subway I usually had time to spot meter the extremes and make a decision on exposure. Shooting wildlife I had to do a quick survey of a scene and consider the possibilities of what my subject might do and what exposure adjustments I would have to make for those possibilities. I usually shot manual in NYC while when shooting wildlife I usually shoot aperture priority with matrix metering.and make exposure adjustments depending on my subjects.

The biggest difference actually is logistics. In NYC I was able to carry all the equipment I needed in a vest and a monopod usually served as my camera support,. Shooting wildlife required a lot more equipment especially after I bought the Nikon 500mm F/4. I usually tote my equipment in a Beach Rolly as I can't afford a sherpa.

The biggest influence on my photography has been Ron Reznick. The workshop I took with him was a breakthrough experience where my work took a quantum leap forward and the growth process has yet to stop. Ron taught me more about exposure, light, color and composition than I had ever learned before or since. Ron also has a passion and enthusiasm for photography that is contagious.

Every one of Ron’s shots show the care he uses in composing the shot. His galleries are a great lesson in composition. His use of light and his exposures are always dead on.

Another major influence for me has been Arthur Morris. His book, The Art of Bird Photography, is a must read for any aspiring nature photographer. His galleries are always a source of inspiration and education. His use of light in his shots is just amazing.

Finally I have had the privilege of shooting with some wonderfully talented photographers from the Dgrin, Nikon Café, and Naturescapes Internet forums. They never fail to inspire me or to teach me something when I have had the opportunity to shoot with them. Their comradeship and their talent is a constant source of empowerment.

There’s so much to like about Smugmug it’s hard just to mention a few. From past experience with other sites I have found that uploading shots to my Smugmug galleries is amazingly fast and easy. With other services I used to dread the upload process.

The ability to customize your site and galleries can’t be beat, the printing services are top notch, and the support staff is great.

Smugmug has given me greater visibility than I ever had enjoyed before. I don’t actively sell my work but through Smugmug I have received offers for my work that I had never received before with other services.

Last month I sold one of my eagle shots to the National Parks Service for one of their publications. I have received a steady stream of offers for my shots from the visibility gained by being on Smugmug.

Right now I feel there’s too much emphasis given to gear. If you listen to some folks you would think that you couldn’t take a picture unless you had at a minimum a $1500 lens attached to a $2000 camera sitting on a $1000 tripod.

Photography ain’t about the gear, its about composition, light and exposure. Unless you can use the light effectively, compose an interesting shot and set the proper exposure all the gear in the world won’t help you...

Take a workshop, take a photography class, read books and articles on photography, study shots done by photographers you admire and try to think about how their got those shots. Most importantly of all is to keep on shooting. Examine your shots, both the ones that work and the "failures." Review your settings and what you did on those shots. Learn from your failures. Photography is a skill where you are constantly growing. There is never an end to the learning process in photography.