Full Spectrum

Sony A100
Minolta 200mm macro
ISO 100, .4secs @ f32

I discovered NPN sometime in 2001. I had been dabbling in nature photography for a few years but didn't belong to any clubs or critique forums. I was strictly a film shooter and enjoyed viewing my slides for personal pleasure. I finally joined the digital age in 2001 when I bought Photoshop 7 and a Nikon film scanner. I started posting in the macro gallery primarily images of butterflies I shot at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences Cockrell Butterfly Center. Knowing what I know now the shots were moderately awful but the moderator at that time was Danny Young, aka NZ Macro, and he would always find something good to say about my shots. On lots of them it took a lot of effort on his part.

I really enjoyed landscape photography but my opportunities in Houston were pretty limited. On vacations I would often shoot 70-80 rolls of film and then spend the rest of the year slogging through the slides. The ES&S mods were always kind and my images got to where they were competent at least.

I started gravitating to Flora photography after we moved into our current house in 2003. My wife Chrissy got into gardening and I found her flowers irresistible. This one was about 10 feet out the front door and I really liked the color spectrum in the shot. It is in our personal wall of fame in the living room and is one of my favorites.

Participating in NPN has done more for my development as a photographer than anything else by far. I've been involved with a club but the feedback here is beyond compare. I appreciate Jim's diligence in keeping the site on the cutting edge even in tough times. I remember coming back from vacation one summer and catching up on NPN doings and learning that a bunch of avian guys had branched off and started their own site. I'm so glad Jim and Donna pressed on through the adversity and now NPN is so much better . Being the Flora moderator for almost three years has been a huge privilege. I've learned so much from folks like Ronnie Gaubert, Nathan Buck, Pat Sampson, Cindy Mead, Catherine Reilly, Giuseppe Guadagno, Mike Moats, Michael Lowe, Ramamohan Pai, Larry Lynch and everyone else who contribute to the finest Flora gallery on the planet. To Jim and Donna my heartfelt thanks and may the next ten years be better yet. >=))>