photography

 
Amish girls on bicycles here in my home region of Northern Indiana. The Amish don’t wish to be photographed, but the prohibition is becoming less strict as there are cameras everywhere these days. My general rule is that if individuals can’t be iden…

Amish girls on bicycles here in my home region of Northern Indiana. The Amish don’t wish to be photographed, but the prohibition is becoming less strict as there are cameras everywhere these days. My general rule is that if individuals can’t be identified, the Amish don’t mind as much (some don’t mind at all, but that’s still rare). Some will allow photographs as long as they aren’t asked to pose, since posing would be a demonstration of pride, which is discouraged in the Amish religion.

I got started doing photography when…

… my grandfather gave me a Brownie Starmite camera on my seventh birthday. I put more rolls of 127 film through that camera (I still have it) than I can count. With that gift, I was basically hooked. I took my father’s Kodak Flash Bantam camera on my first trip to France when I was 16, and overexposed about 10 rolls of the now-discontinued 828 Kodachrome, but salvaged a few pictures and a lot of great memories.

When I went to college and began photojournalism classes at Indiana University, I purchased my first 35mm camera, a Minolta Hi-Matic 7s rangefinder, and used it for many years until I lost it in the Atlanta airport in the early 80s. Today, I shoot with a variety of cameras, my main one being a Canon t6i. It, along with my trusty Rolleicord, has accompanied me to France three times so far. I also have another Hi-Matic 7s, which I bought for nostalgic purposes, but my go-to 35mm rangefinder these days in an Olympus 35-S.

The photos here are just some examples of shots from Paris, the Cote d’Azur, Chicago and other locales. Most, but not all were shot digitally, and some are even iPhone pictures, which shouldn’t really be surprising, since the iPhone has all but replaced point-and-shoot cameras.

I welcome comments, critique and other feedback. Just use the feedback form on my contact page.