OpalSea's photostream  

I use no flash, and am almost always hand held. I prefer the natural shooting style that this allows me; I am less noticeable in crowds, and I can more easily carry my camera and regularly be inspired by things that I see without seeking.

I am a writer (literature....on a quest to write a plotless novel worth reading; wish me luck) and a poet, with a degree in linguistics and a music concentration. I occasionally give lectures on the music of language, where I teach writers to write musically. Music is the language of emotion.

I really found photography when I bought my dad a digital slr for his birthday, and he wouldn't use it because he's too attached to his Nikon 1970's 35mm film camera. The first shot I ever took was with that film camera, of a toucan through his 105mm macro lens when I was budding paleontologist.

I love macro and I love haiku. Both for the same reason, their ability to create powerful emotion in such a small space.

And, in art and life, I'm obsessed with beauty, color, opals, the ocean, and how all things seem to relate in science, art, and life.

Art is ultimate science and the ultimate philosophy, because it is looking outside of yourself to find what's hiding inside.

I work in portrait and event photography in NC, but don't usually post those shots here, since I like using flickr as a place to explore/experiment and discover new ideas and make flickr friends. I also work as a web developer, currently as a board member with the NC Poetry Society and as an e-learning developer at NCSU in Virtual Microscopy.

Thanks for visiting, and hope you enjoy my work. I love comments, and always try to return the kindness when I get the chance :)