I am 49, married to my wonderful husband for 28 years. I have 3 kids, boys, aged 27, 22, & 20. I am mostly a mom, that’s what I’ve done for nearly ½ my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I started taking pictures before I was 10. My dad was an avid hobbyist and taught us how to shoot and process film from camera to prints. We had a nice little darkroom setup in our basement.

My first “real” camera was a 1939 Rolleiflex twin lens reflex camera that had been my grandpa’s. I obtained a Voitlander Besa L rangefinder at some point. My first SLR was a Pentacon Practika LTL that I got when I was 10 or 11. I had frequent access to an Olympus SLR in 1979, and in 1981 I got a Minolta XD5 for Christmas. I still have the Minolta and do use it on rare occasions.

During high school I took 2 years of photography courses with Jay Smith, a former Senior Combat Photojournalist for the First Infantry Division covering Saigon and North Saigon in 1968-1969. He was an inspirational teacher and an exceptional human being. He died tragically several years ago when he drowned while on a fishing trip in Round Valley Reservoir.

In 2003 I stumbled upon my first photoblog; Kathleen Connally’s A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania. I knew nothing about photoblogging, I had never heard of it before, but I was hooked. I started every morning with a peek at her blog. I’ve had the opportunity to meet her and shoot with her as well as being a subject of one of her “flour” shots. Kathleen is fabulous talent and she's a lot of fun to be around.

Being a mom and keeping up with all my kids’ activities caused me to put my stuff on a back burner. In 2005 shortly after my oldest son enlisted in the military I decided to pick up the camera again after 20 plus years of neglecting serious shooting. My husband got me an Olympus E300 DSLR for our anniversary. In February 2006 I started this photoblog. In July 2006 I bought a Nikon D200. I currently shoot with a Nikon D700 full frame digital camera and an assortment of lenses. I also have assorted studio equipment to handle larger projects.

I enjoy all manner of subjects and styles and am constantly trying new things. I love new challenges. In addition to this blog I have done some stock and assignment photography and publicity work for several local orchestras and individuals as well as some portrait work and small-scale events. I've dabbled in some freelance photojournalism locally for human interest stories. I have also done small scale promotional materials for several local organizations as well as doing web gallery and catalog photos for local artists. I have sold stock photos that were used in TV and print advertising as well as doing assignments for large and small organizations but I am not a full on pro and do not aspire to be one, however work does come my way now and then.



I shoot full manual and RAW and post process using Lightroom 4 and most recently Photoshop CS6, but I try to keep my images looking as "organic" as possible, and prefer to get it right in the camera rather than "fix it later" in photoshop. I don't spend a lot of time post processing, which is basically converting RAW files in Lightroom. It typically takes me less than 30 seconds to convert a photo in Lightroom with very few exceptions. I try to obtain results similar to what could be achieved with traditional film shooting and processing. That doesn’t mean that I think all heavily post processed images are “bad” since I find some to be quite lovely, but generally, I prefer a more subtle approach for my work. I do think there is a point at which it becomes more about computer graphics than photography, and while a great deal of talent, skill, and time goes into that, I prefer to spend my time behind the lens rather than in front of the computer for my work.

If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that I still have a lot to learn. It’s most important to have fun with it, and to have a passion for it. If you don’t have fun and passion, it will show in your work. I've also learned not to take myself too seriously and shoot for myself. If I am always out trying to please others it will often lead to frustration. I rarely publish things I've done professionally here on this little website. I mostly only publish things I did for fun with a few exceptions.

I don’t think of myself as a great photographer, I may never be a great photographer; but, I am definitely loving what I do and I'm always striving to become a better photographer today than I was yesterday. And sometimes I just like to be silly!

If you like my style and are interested in more information about my approach to photography, post processing or work-flow you can always contact me through my contact button. I'm sorry but I do not do weddings.





Primary Photography Equipment:

Nikon D700 FX (Full Frame) with MB-D10 Multi-power Battery Pack Grip
Nikon D200 with MB-D200 Multi-power Battery Pack Grip

Nikon 28-70mm f2.8
Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VR
Nikon 85mm f1.8
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Nikon 60mm f2.8 macro
Nikon TC-20EII Teleconverter

3 Kenko extension tubes for Nikon, 12mm, 20mm, 36mm

Tokina 80-200mm f2.8

Tokina 12-24mm f4 DX
Nikon 10.5mm f2.8 DX
Nikon 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 (I don't use this one at all not sure why I keep it. Probably not worth trying to sell.)

Fuji HS10 compact super-zoom bridge camera for when I don't want to carry the big ones.

An assortment of UV, polarizing, ND, and Grad ND filters.

Op/Tech Camera Straps and rain sleeves.

Nikon MC-36 cable release

SMDV RF-N3 wireless trigger

Several Tri-pods, mono-pods and ballheads my favorites being from Gitzo.

Assorted gear bags and backpacks. My favorite being the Tamrac Expedition series 4 and 5x.

Several SB-800 and SB900 Speedlights, Nissin Macro ring flash. Bowens 1500W/second 2 light studio lights, 1 Photogenics 750w/second studio light. Various light stands and umbrellas, reflectors and Cheetah Stands modifiers. 3 pocket wizard Plus II radio controls.

Assorted other gadgets and studio equipment too much to list here.