Richard the Lion Hearted Print

I was a licensed, practicing Civil Engineer for 35 years and am now retired and a grandfather of 8. Life for me started in an Army Air Corps field hospital in Seymour, IN. We then moved to another airfield in GA and then to my grandparents house in Anderson, IN when my father was posted overseas. Later we moved to Marion, OH where I finished school and went to The Ohio State University for my degree. I also got a masters at Colorado State University on a fellowship. I married and the first decade or so we lived in 5 states, and had 3 children. We finally settled in Springfield, VA; I worked in Washington, DC; we became coach / leader / supporter of kid activities; our kids grew-up and graduated from college; my wife and I retired; and we became care-givers for 3 of our parents and for our young grandkids (the oldest is in college now). A few years ago, life began to slow down a bit which allowed me to spend more time on my hobbies. After my family, my real passion since childhood has always been travel and photography. We travel much more now and I spend considerable time on processing digital images photographed on outings and trips. My creative influences come from three sources - family crafts, family photos and living near nature. Growing up, I was always exposed to crafts. My mother was a seamstress, made quilts, sweaters and many of my clothes. My aunts were similar. Grandmother crocheted tablecloths and doilies, and won prizes for her quilts. All of these crafts were always on display in the homes. Photography was always a big part of family gatherings - both the taking and showing of family members. And growing up, I saw nature daily - living in a rural area, roaming my grandparents farm, traveling and camping. Photography is my media to create an initial image. I seek out vignettes of natural forms - usual nature in wild places but sometimes cultural forms. I prefer simple, clean subjects typically with color - preferably bright colors. The composition of subject should have an appeal and modest tension from image shape, subject position, background clutter and shade intensities. The photos are enhanced or altered with Photoshop to achieve this goal. My life experiences direct me to real life images as my subjects although I like to alter the subject sometimes in color and tone.