Member Bios
George Schlossnagle
I've been photographing since the mid 90s, when I bought a Minolta XG-M to document my time serving in the Peace Corps. I started in candid portraiture, but moved over time into landscapes/astro-landscapes and am dabbling in birds/wildlife.
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<br />My camera journey is something of a full-circle at this point, having started on Minolta, moved to Nikon, dabbled into Fujifilm and now to Sony.
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<br />I enjoy shooting the desert and mountain west, and have been trying to do more trips after retiring from full-time work last year.
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<br />I live outside of Baltimore, MD though I mainly shoot wildlife when I'm on the east coast.
<br />Fun fact: I'm color-blind (I have protonopia, also know as 'red-green colorblindness')
You can see my work on: website and insta
Dawn Gulino
I began my photography journey in late 1980's shooting sports and landscapes. I've shot with both Nikon and Leica film cameras and was a late adaptor to digital cameras. I've slowly switched over to the Nikon Z system using the FTZ adapter as well as Z lenses.
I'm originally from North Shore of Massachusetts and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1998 and have lived here ever since. I met my wife in California and have two fabulous dogs.
I get out and photograph when I can and try to take at least one trip a year to a new location. In between, I will head out to the California coast to shoot, enjoy night time photography, and have dabbled in DSO a few times (looking forward to doing more of that). I also started taking pictures of birds, which is quite a lot different from landscape photography.
Darcy Quimby
I'm 53 and live in Southern California, married to a retired trucker so he drives and I take pictures along the way. I was medically retired from the US Army in 2009. My interest in photography has blossomed since it is an excuse for something to keep me active on our trips to escape the heat in the summer. On our trips I also write a blog about how even if a person has something holding them back they can still travel and enjoy nature. I have been dealing with multiple sclerosis for over 10 years. I use a canon 80D and have mostly focused on nature photography this past year my husband has helped stretch my horizons with framing and composing landscapes. I am looking forward to sharing and learning from the group.
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Mark Bargen
Near the end of 2019, as I approached retirement at age 70, I anticipated travelling to beautiful places. I had in the past been disappointed in the photos I brought home from trips. I wanted to make better photos, so I decided to (cue the knowing laughter) buy a better camera. Fortunately, my husband talked me into taking a course on the Art of Photography.
I quickly realized I needed experience. I found myself (just in time for lockdown) exploring the woodlands reservation near my home. I rediscovered my love and gratitude for the outdoors, for natural scenery, and for hiking and solitude away from the hand of man. I also found a love for the experience of making art by photographing the scenery that I enjoy so much, then post processing those photographs, and ultimately viewing the results printed on paper that I can hold in my own hands.
I pretty much exclusively shoot landscape images, both large and intimate. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I've been restricted much of the time as to where I may shoot, so many of my images have been made in my own figurative "back yard," the Lynn Woods Reservation in Lynn, MA, USA. While by no means an "epic" location, it has offered many opportunities for expressive images. I have also been able to make a few trips to nearby coasts, and up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire.
I grant myself latitude to freely post process my images, within some self-imposed constraints: while I might remove minor distracting elements, I neither add nor move anything in the image; I aim to be unobtrusive in my edits, so as to not be apparent to the viewer as my hand in the image; and the resulting image should be plausible and recognizable.
I continue to try to raise the level of my craft, at all phases of the image making processing; at this point in my development, I'm also focusing on making art: trying to make images with intent, to understand why I make images, how to make the images I find expressive, and how to make them expressive as intended.
I look forward to joining this group, learning from you folks, and hope to be able to make a meaningful contribution of my own.
Paul Smith
Hello, all! I am excited to take part in this "learning" opportunity. I need lots of learning!
My status could best be described as a "photography hobbyist"; one that takes lots of photos, sells too few of them, but finds them useful as Christmas and Housewarming gifts. Please click to PaulSmithPhotographyLLC.com to get a glimpse of my interests.
In a previous life, I was a Banker. Now, in retirement, I need hobbies that get me out of the house where my wife offices as a kitchen designer. If I am "under foot" too often, the house can become…crowded"! My other hobby is Mediation. I volunteer as a mediator in small claims cases in the Larimer County (Colorado) Court System.
I look forward to Group 93 if it allows me to ask, "how did you do that"? I am familiar (not accomplished) with Lightroom, Photoshop, NIK, and Luminar 4 software packages. I have taken photography workshops at the Anderson Arts Ranch in Snowmass, Colorado, and with Summit Workshops in Jackson Wyoming. In May, I will participate in a small group, hosted by professional Tom Bol, in Yellowstone. We live in the high desert of northern Colorado.
I use Canon equipment…EOS 90D.
Paul Smith
paul@paulsmithphotographyllc.com
Group Admin
Ed O'Rourke
My interest in photography started after college when I moved to Seattle and started hiking in the Cascade mountains. But then things of life, like getting married, raising kids, mortgage, etc. kept me from putting significant effort into it. With that behind us, my wife and I retired to the Central Oregon Coast in 2017 and now with extra time I am re-invigorating my photographic interests. Considering where I developed my initial interests and the exceptionally scenic area where I now live I gravitate towards outdoor photography with lots of landscapes and seascapes. However I explore all types of photography that present themselves to me (our WET winters give me time to work on indoor still life and macro photography on days when I want to stay dry).
My introduction to digital photography was when I received a Canon 7D as a gift in 2011. It was my only camera until November 2019 when I purchased a Canon R. For post processing I take a unique direction as my computer is Linux based. However two Linux packages, DigiKam and Darktable, are functionally comparable to Photoshop and Lightroom and Gimp is available for Linux and Windows systems.
Neil Bellenie
I have been taking photographs since I was a teenager and my father passed his Canon AE-1 on to me. I grew up in London, England and moved to California in my late 30's with my family. I am now retired and looking forward to developing my photography skills.
My main areas of interest are creating images that produce a reaction (hopefully positive) in someone viewing the picture. This emotional appeal or connection to the viewer is something I struggle with.
This year so far I have joined my local camera club, joined the PSA, joined Digital Dialogue, signed up for the PSA Digital Photography course and bought a new camera with a more than 900 page manual! I am going to be busy.
I look forward to learning more about creating meaningful photographs from you all.