PHOTOGRAPHY STUDY

I have taken 100,000+ photographs over 40 years covering a wide variety of subjects in Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland, North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, New York, California, Canada, Mexico, Italy, England, Germany and Switzerland emphasizing portraits and landscapes early on and now Nature.

Many of my early photos were taken with my first 35mm camera, a Mamiya/Sekor 1000 DTL, acquired in 1970.

Many of my current photos are taken using a Nikon D800 36 mega pixel camera with a Nikkor 24-120mm F4 lens or a Nikkor 200-500mm F5.6 lens.

My back up camera is a Nikon D7000 16 mega pixel with a Nikkor 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 lens or Nikkor 18-105mm F3.5-5.6

I use three Nikon SB 700 Speedlights with light modifiers including a Wescott Apollo 28″ softbox, a 60″ Westcott Ed Pierce Signature Edition Halo umbrella, and an 8″ Lastolite Joe McNally Signature Edition softbox.

And I always carry a CoolPix A pocket camera to never miss “the shot.”

I like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic for most digital editing and only occasionally resort to Photoshop.

I print with an Epson Stylus Pro 3880 using Ultrachrome K3 vivid magenta archival ink.
Prints sizes are usually 8.5 x 11, 13×19 or 17x 22 inches on a variety of Epson papers including Velvet Fine Art, Ultra Premium Presentation Matte and Ultra Premium Luster.

I took a film photography class at Washington & Lee University in 1970 and a Photoshop Elements class at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in 2010 taught by noted Photographers Jim Cowan and Frank Renault.

I took the 2-year Professional Photography course at the New York Institute of Photography.  I am a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, regularly watch training videos on http://kelbyone.com/ and attend Photoshop World expos.

Otherwise, I am self-taught and my study has included:

LIFE LIBRARY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
1970 The Camera
1970 Color
1970 The Great Themes
1970 Photography as a Tool
1970 The Print
1971 Special Problems
1971 The Studio
1972 Frontiers of Photography
1972 Documentary Photography

MORE BOOKS ON PHOTOGRAPHY

1977 Susan Sontag On Photography
1981 John Szarkowski Portfolios of Ansel Adams
1983 Susan Victor Kodak Pocket Guide to 35 mm Photography
1991 John Shaw Focus on Nature
1996 John Freeman Practical Photography
2001 Kris Tufto Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7
2001 Terry Tempest Williams In Response to Place and The Last Great Places
2002 Robert Caputo National Geographic People and Portraits
2003  National Geographic’s Greatest Photographs  Through the Lens 
2003 Susan McCartney Photographic Lighting Simplified
2004 Julie King Everyday Photoshop 7 & CS for Photographers
2005 Susan McCartney How to Shoot Great Travel Photos
2006 National Geographic  Love
2006 Scott Kelby Digital Photography Book 1
2007 Selina Maitreya How to Succeed in Commercial Photography
2007 Diana Walker The Bigger Picture 30 Years of Portraits National Geographic
2007 Peter Skinner Sports Photography How to Capture Action and Emotion
2008 Joe McNally  The Moment it Clicks
2008 Scott Kelby Digital Photography Book 2
2009 Scott Kelby Digital Photography Book 3
2009 Joe McNally The Hot Shoe Diaries
2010 James Cheadle & Peter Travers The Portrait Photographer’s Lighting Style Guide
2011 Freeman Patterson Photography and the Art of Seeing
2012 Joe McNally  Sketching Light
2012 Scott Kelby The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 Book
2012 Scott Kelby Photoshop Elements 10
2012 Barbara Obermeier Photoshop Elements 10
2012 Dennis Thomas Nikon D7000 Handbook
2012 David Busch Nikon D7000 Handbook
2013 David Busch Nikon D800/D800E Handbook
2013 Mathew MacDonald WordPress The Missing Manual
2014 Jay Maisel It’s Not About the F-Stop
2014 Mathew MacDonald WordPress The Missing Manual, Second Edition
2014 Frank Doorhof Mastering the Model Shoot
2014 Scott Kelby Photoshop for Lightroom Users
2015 Jay Maisel Light Gesture & Color
2015 Scott Kelby How Do I do That in Lightroom?
2015 Rick Sammon  Creative Visualization for Photographers
2016 Peter Hurley The Head Shot
2017 Frank Lee Ruggles  Chasing Light
2018 Scott Kelby The Flash Book
2018 Scott Kelby Lightroom Classic for Digital Photographers
2018 Scott Kelby How Do I Do That In Lightroom Classic?  2nd Edition
2019 Scott Kelby The Landscape Photography Book
2019 Rick Sammon  Photo Therapy Motivation and Wisdom  Discovering the power of Pictures
2019 Scott Kelby Photoshop for Lightroom Users
2019 Pete Souza  Obama An Intimate Portrait
2020 Coronavirus Covid-19 Worldwide Pandemic
2021 Scott Kelby  Lightroom 7 Point System2022  Joe McNally The Real Deal
2022 Scott Kelby  Lightroom Classic Book
2023 Scott Kelby Light it. Shoot it. Retouch it.

DVDS
1998 Philippe Azoulay The Adventure of Photography 150 Years of the Photographic Image
2011 Bob Krist Nikon School Great Digital SLR Pictures and Movies
2011 Matt Paden Nikon D7000 Multimedia Workshop Magic Lantern Guides
2011 Sharon Latchaw Hirsh How to Look at and Understand Great Art
2011 Richard Restak Optimizing Brain Fitness
2012 Joel Sartore Fundamentals of Photography
2014 Annie Griffiths, et als, Masters of Photography
2015 Joel Sartore Fundamentals of Photography II

NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF PHOTOGRAPHY
    Professional Photography Course (DVD’s, books, CD’s, online) 2012
Unit One
        Eye of the Photographer
        The Camera
        The Lens
        How to Use your Camera
        Freelance Opportunities
Unit Two
        Image Capture
        Exposure
        Exposing and Developing Black-and-White Film
        Digital Image Processing
        Filters
        Developing your Eye
Unit Three
        Natural Light and Available Light
        Artificial Light
        Electronic Flash and Strobe
        Travel Photography
        Nature and Landscape Photography
        The Perfect Print
        Clarity in Your Style
        The Darkroom
Unit Four
        Photographing Children and Pets
        Basic Portrait Lighting
        Studio Portraiture
        Location Portraiture
        Glamour and Nude Photography
        Wedding Photography
        The Business of Wedding Photography
        Unit Four Update Digital Tools and Techniques
Unit Five
        Photojournalism 1
        Photojournalism 2
        Fashion Photography
        Macro Photography, Astrophotography, and Copying
        Color Film Processing
        Color Film Printing, Finishing Touches
        Unit Five Update Digital Tools and Techniques
Unit Six
        Advertising and Still Life
        Architectural Photography
        Video Handbook 1
        Video Handbook 2
        How to Open your Own Studio