Happy Independence Day!! Thank you to those that have, do and will serve this great nation to protect our freedom.

This morning I was out for an early morning run when I stopped briefly to capture these images along the Mississippi River. It was a cool, calm and foggy morning about 20 minutes before sunrise.

A quick edit of “Early Morning Foggy Reflection” to B&W with the Mono filter in the iPhone Camera App creates the foggy mood and draws attention to the reflection of the bridge in the calm water. Glass still water on the fast moving Mississippi River is rare as the slightest breeze against the swift moving current generates rough ripples.
Still Mississippi Waters
Waiting for Loved One in Surgery…

I was recently in a surgical waiting room waiting like everyone else. Constantly I would check the clock to see that only five minutes had passed since the last time I looked, The gentleman sitting in front of me seemingly staring at the clock on the wall tells that story.
As far back as I can remember photography has been an interest of mine as well as a pastime passion. From taking family and vacation snapshots with my parent’s Instamatics to Polaroids and my first 35mm Yashica range finder I have enjoyed photographic imaging. Back in high school when I started to consider career options I didn’t really consider photography or arts as an option. My chosen career path lead me into engineering and business. Therefore, photography has been a side a hobby that I have fallen back on for as long as I can remember.

I enjoy capturing images and preserving visual experiences. I take and have taken many, many photographs and love seeing the results. When there was only film, I anxiously waited for processed prints to return. Today, digital makes for more instant gratification. I’ve struggled sharing those results with others. Intentions have been there, but many have been roughly archived once I viewed for myself. In the digital age Images are reviewed then filed away on a hard drive. However, they are well organized in virtual photo envelopes (folders) placed in a digital box (hard drive). Being backed up in the cloud they are much safer than the numerous slides, negative and prints stored in a traditional manner to the former. While I enjoy them in the moment they are ultimately stored away with few shared with others and little analysis for improvement.

The only formal training I have had is a one semester creative photography art class in college where I learned, with film, the technical and compositional basics along with developing and printing in a darkroom (yes, dating myself). In the past few years I have picked up a lot of the same in the digital world by various online resources, books, and trial and error. I enjoy optimizing and improving images in post processing.
With this blog I will attempt to regularly share my favorites whether past or present, film or digital, color or black and white and a little of the story behind them. I will share some of the tips and techniques I have picked up over time. I hope that by sharing my experiences others will share their experiences too. I do have much more to learn than I do to teach, but may be I can be of help to those that may have the fever and just getting started. And by blogging I will self critique my own work as I consider images for posting.
Thank you for viewing and reading.
©Doug Boyd 2015, All Rights Reserved