Photographer (passionate hobby), traveler, gardener, veteran, grew up with nothing, grateful, skeptical, easily distracted & healthy sense of humor ๐
UPDATED NOTE: All the photos I post here are shot by me. Photography is my hobby, not my job, thus my partially anonymous profile (& I'm well aware of cancel culture). I make (shoot) real photos with real cameras (currently, Nikon Z8, Nikon Zf & Panasonic Lumix G9 II). I travel several times a year, so there will be a wide variety of locations & subjects.
I don't 'specialize' in any one type of photography. I'm more of a generalist & will make photos of anything I find interesting or beautiful. I don't create AI images & don't us AI for imaging. I do occasionally (rarely) use an AI assist tool in Adobe Lightroom while editing to remove a stray electric pole, wire or construction cone, etc in a shot, but that's still a real photo. Nearly EVERY photographer does that. It's not big secret.
As I mentioned, I'm well aware of cancel culture, so for now, I'll stay partially anonymous because I don't want people that don't like my comments trying to talk to my employer (but just wait until I retire๐...it won't be a concern of mine anymore). I support free speech & your right so say whatever you want to. Everyone else should also support my right to free speech.
There are tons of garbage accounts here on X, stealing other people's photos and posting them as their own or with no credit. I'm NOT one of those accounts. I am the creator/photographer/owner of ever image I post. I block all the fake accounts that try to follow me & you should too (accounts that try to be something they are not...like someone saying in the profile they're based in the U.S. or Europe, when they're really in Nigeria).
Pardon any typos if there are any that I overlook or have to go back & correct before the 1 hour edit window closes. I sometimes use speech to text conversion to write, for convenience (if using my phone to post), so in that case I'm more likely to overlook a mistake. Thanks for stopping by (if you're a real person and not a scam/fake/catfishing/or other garbage account). ๐๐
My most reliable Shagbark Hickory tree (yellow leaves) is still trying to put on a show this autumn despite the very dry late summer/fall. You can see plenty of brown leaves on it too...just drying up and falling off rather than getting pretty. :-( Panasonic G9 II with Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens (150mm equiv).
Wild horses at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. The park is split north and south by Medora, ND. Medora is a nice little town with an awesome outdoor theater that has a play about the American west AND dinner is served. When I was there, it was steak and other good stuff on the plate.
2017 - Panasonic GH5 with Olympus 12-100mm f/4 lens.
Camp Nelson National Monument (Kentucky). 2024 - Olympus E-M10 III with 14-42mm & 45mm f/1.8 lenses. Camp Nelson served as a critical Union Army hub during the Civil War. Established in April 1863 as a fortified supply depot and hospital, it supported major campaigns in Tennessee and Virginia before evolving into the third-largest recruitment center in the nation for African American soldiers.
Politics does wear on you/your mind. I probably look at it too much, but I'm good at disconnecting from it immediately after looking at it and going back to other things I actually love (photography, nature, rubbing the belly on my cat and feeling his thumping purr, etc). Other than the basics of keeping informed about what people really need to know, I wouldn't recommend that people spend lots of time looking at political news. We already understand where each politician stands anyway.
Regarding the wire, everyone's idea of what art is can be different, but in my opinion, I think a simple small piece of wire mounted to the wall doesn't count as art. When I think of art I think of creativity and skill...meaning, you have to at least try. Putting a piece of wire on the wall isn't really trying. But that's just my opinion. ๐ Some people go even farther and sell invisible art pieces. ๐ https://t.co/zUr6g5HHkQ
@mandolinaes ๐
"One day, those unimportant photographs might be the ones we're most grateful to have taken." That's a good point. I love seeing very old photos and seeing how life was back then. Maybe some day all of our photos will mean something to a random future stranger.
It's very possible that it was the type of photography I was selling (stock photos) and then I thought what it would be like if I had to sell photos for portrait shoots, weddings and things like that...and I just thought it would be too much pressure to perform regarding people photos to make it fun (for me). For example, people expect more from portrait and wedding photos for obvious reasons (they want themselves to look good or for you to capture the right moment). I would say that if I could shoot whatever I want and when I want, it would probably be more fun to sell photos...but then, if I'm shooting what and when I want, that still sounds more like a hobby and I'm not taking it seriously enough. ๐ Well, I DO think I could enjoy selling photos if that's all I had to worry about and I could concentrate the on the type of photos I like, not be forced to shoot what someone else is asking for. I guess that's the irony - because I think I make my best photos when I'm inspired and motivated and when I'm inspired/motivated I think I would naturally make photos that are more appealing to others as well. I think if you kill the joy, it shows in the photos. I know for sure I've become more lazy in my photography lately (not looking for scenes as often as I used to) and I have less nice photos to show for it. I start thinking about editing (which I don't usually enjoy) and all the time culling photos, editing...sitting at the computer...then I start thinking, no...I have enough for now, I don't want to shoot too many photos. Really it's just a personal issue with me more than anything. I need to think back to the years when I had lots of great photos (meaning, photos I loved) vs more recent years and think about why I was more motivated back then to shoot more and be more creative in general.
@PMclaine89201 Right. The Union often named these places of battle by a nearby creek (Antietam in this case) or other nearby natural feature but the Confederates would usually refer to the nearby town name.
Antietam National Cemetery (near Antietam National Battlefield). Located in Sharpsburg, MD. I'll go ahead and add that this is related to the American Civil War, since too many people these days have forgotten about or were never taught the history about the civil war and therefore wouldn't recognize the name Antietam. This is where General McClellan was fired from his command of the Army of the Potomac by President Abraham Lincoln because he was a wussy / lazy (wouldn't pursue General Lee's retreating army). He was replaced by General Burnside and of course the bridge over the creek is named after Burnside. Antietam is not too far from Gettysburg of course. Nov 2023 - Nikon Z8 with Z 24-120mm f/4 lens.