I’m 55 years old, married, no kids, living in Jacksonville, FL. I currently work for an engineering consulting firm as an information technology specialist.

I’ve had no formal training in photography. Everything I know I’ve learned from reading books, magazines and internet discussion boards.

I’ve been practicing photography since the mid 1970s using mostly Olympus OM system gear. My first SLR was an Argus CR-2, which I purchased on an impulse shortly after graduating from college. After a few months of learning on my own, I met an advanced amateur photographer who had a darkroom in his house. I learned quite a bit from him before he moved away. During the 1980s and 1990s, I did a lot of photomicrography, capturing images of microscopic mineral crystals through a microscope. This was all color slide work, using tungsten-biased slide film. When the Olympus E-1 hit the market, I switched to digital. The E-1 and FourThirds/OM adapter enabled me to do digital photomicrography using my existing microscope adapter. A number of my mineral images can be found here: http://www.mindat.org/gallery-2504.html. My two major hobbies are photography and mineral collecting. Since moving to Florida from New Hampshire in late 2007, I no longer live near good mineral collecting localities so that leaves just photography.

I carry two bodies – an Olympus E-3 and E-510. I usually have the ZD 50-200 f2.0 lens on the E-510 and the ZD 12-60 on the E-3. This way, I have most of the focal lengths I typically need with minimal lens swapping. I also have a ZD 50 mm macro lens, FL-50 flash and a number of other lenses, including the ZD 14-54 and 11-22. I also have an Oly E-330, which I keep more or less permanently mounted on the microscope (I brought my mineral collection to Florida).

I like to photograph landscapes and natural colors, tones and patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. My objective in a photograph is to capture attention by means of a flash of color or a compelling composition and then hold attention by providing subtle detail for the viewer to explore. I certainly don’t always achieve that objective but, hopefully, once in a while...

This might seem trite but I guess I’ve been more profoundly moved by Ansel Adams’ work than by anyone else’s. I have been influenced to some extent by many photographers... Franz Lanting... just about every National Geographic photographer...

I’ve had my SmugMug galleries for a couple of years. I like the viewer interface and the customization options.

SmugMug has provided an easy way to get my photos out on the web and into the eyes of lots of viewers.

Don’t spend a lot on camera gear until you’ve learned how to make good photographs and what kind of photographs you like to make. A good photographer can make good photographs with just about any camera.