I want to take a moment and thank Jack for asking me to be the Photographer of the Month. I feel very proud to be honored in this way.

Since the feature is relatively new, I believe the Photographer should give some history on his craft. I came from a family that developed their own film in a bathroom/closet conversion. Then the Polaroid Land camera came out and both my Uncle and Grandfather were the proud owners.

My photography started after I graduated from high school and purchased the Kodak 110. This camera carried me through my honeymoon, helped raise my children, and was on hand for the respective holidays. When you came over to my home, you always had to look at the little photo album for the latest events.

Unfortunately, my photographic skills never improved until "Riding/Discovering Oklahoma" on motorcycles with Doug Aitken.

He taught some simple skills in "framing" and "Rule of Thirds." Several classes at the local colleges, "Coffee Breaks" with James Pratt in Edmond, and Question and Answers via the Internet to improved my skill level somewhat. Constant practice honed the skills to today's levels.

I have worked my way through several Kodak cameras and moved into the Canon Digital series. The 10d, 20d and 40d have once been in my camera bag. The XTi and XSi are my knock around cameras. Big screens, many light combos, and various lenses have improved portraits, landscapes, and news events recorded for church and various clubs. But my favorite "practice" is riding motorcycles and recording the sites.

I found the Canon "G" series cameras very convenient when used in this environment. It fits in my jacket pocket or can be hung from my neck.

I can take a picture while moving or waiting for a traffic light to change, using the view finder or the 3" display on the back of the camera.

The quality is set at the highest level to make prints 16 x 24 inches. The mode dial is set to either basic or creative zones and the party begins. I compose my photo so no cropping is required.

After I return home, I run the photos through Photoshop Elements program. There I use the histogram to adjust the black and white graph. The tones are set to intermediate settings. Then I use a duplicate background layer to adjust luminosity, unsharp mask, and opacity. I then adjust the image size for the purpose I have intended. I save the picture and do not make any permanent changes to the original.

The "purpose intended" could be an individual photo for entry into either PRINTS or PDI Club Competition. I may want to use the photo for sharing with other riders to put on their walls. I also enjoy making a DVD story using the pstory.msi software, add words and music to show anyone willing to see and hear about my trip. I am currently making the "Highway Knights" famous. Some of these even will be enjoyed by the elderly at various church luncheons very soon.

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