keith011764's photostream  

My education in photography stems from natural curiosity, observation of wildlife and many hours spent in the woods, open fields and watersheds that surround my Illinois home. After graduating from a point-and-shoot Kodak LS443 to a Canon EOS digital Rebel in 2004, I furthered my education by shooting locomotives in rural Minnesota for many years with my friend Jerry, a published photographer whose passion for trains is an inspiration to me. I have since upgraded to a Canon 50D 15.1 mega-pixel DSLR and numerous amateur and professional lenses.

My subjects vary from plants and animals to buildings, landscapes, people and even machinery if the lighting is right and the subject matter is interesting. On each shoot, I take a large volume of photos and rarely field edit. Once in front of the computer I carefully look for subtle patterns within each composition, discard bad shots and go to work using Photoshop. I'm not afraid to walk away if the shot isn't there -- if there is something that I just can't get, I jot the info down in my notebook and wait for better day.

From plants and animals in their natural habitat to their interaction with man and machinery, my interests are diverse. I am fortunate to have visited some very interesting places in my lifetime - the United States, Canada, Mexico and all over the Caribbean, but I feel equally as fortunate discovering an uninhabited natural area to photograph or see a new bird in my yard. In fact, some of my most memorable experiences with wildlife have happened very close to home - coming face to face with a white-tailed deer while exploring the woods behind my property, observing the methodical march of Sandhill cranes as they make their way across my yard in the early morning hours, and feeling the stare of a family of raccoons hidden deep within the cattails at nightfall.



Observational photography is of interest to me, as it forces the photographer to use advanced lighting and composition skills to make a mundane, everyday image interesting. My 2009 "Photo a Day" project dove deep into this style of picture taking. Urban exploration has also become an interest of mine, with many abandoned homes, factories, farm buildings and other places in need of infiltration before they are razed and replaced by new housing developments. This activity is usually illegal as trespassing is almost always necessary to access places that people don't normally go, but I never vandalize property. One of the cardinal rules of urban exploration is "Take only photographs; leave only footprints", and I follow it to the letter.

Most importantly, my photography has awakened a need to protect the diminishing natural environment around me, and has made me conscious of my effect upon its delicate balance. It is my hope that my photography inspires, enlightens and produces a sense of gratitude for the natural world that surrounds us all.