Flickr: k15n1

I'm an amateur (and sans colottes) photographer. I want to make that clear at the outset, in the case that you've accidentally stumbled on my profile without looking at any of my photos. If there's any question, refer to my photos, all of which are sure to convince you of my non-pro status.

I'm also 30-something and have a BSEE and have studied biochemistry. Quite a switch. And I go to a church.

I try to discipline myself to think in terms of the ART of photography, despite my engineering training, which encourages the bad habit of comparing lenses and camera bodies with others of similar persuasion. My equipment (350D + 17-85 f/4-5.6 IS) is sufficient to deflect all blame for imperfect images that might be directed their way right back to me.

I like to think of my photographs a record of things that are REAL (as defined by my eye at the moment I saw the subject). Consequently, I don't get into image manipulation, un-natural light or models as much as some. I try to limit my image manipulation to fixing poor exposures and color balance and a bit of sharpening here and there---and even those are adjustments to make the image represent what I saw in my mind's eye when I looked through the viewfinder. Un-natural lights such as studio configurations are too manipulative for my taste. To me, models are paradoxically such an distortion of reality that I cannot bring myself to use them. But it's hard to avoid adjustment of exposure, color balance, dodging, burning, and sharpening. And anyway, these are the basic sorts of things photographers have been using in the dark room for as long as there have been photographs.

I have a new policy on pictures of children. There are not any posted here.

FORMULAS: [Percent teen-age girl] = [number of self portraits] / [all pictures] * 100
For me, at the time of writing, that's 1/371*100, which is 0.27% teen-age girl. And I'm comfortable with that.

POLICIES: I've decided to block people who have illicit material in their favorites or do not have photos that I can see. But I'm not an attractive woman with A BILLION partially-clad and suggestive self portraits posted, so I doubt that I'll have any need for this policy. Still, it's fair and seems to be the consensus for fair use here on flickr. And I block people who have no photos available to me.