Member Bios
Margaret West
I have had a camera since I was young but became serious about photography in 2017 when I spent a week at Zapata (the Nature Conservancy ranch) during photography week. That spiked my interest in photography and I have been an avid photographer since! I love landscape photography and macro the best. I live in Omaha, NE and there isn't a lot of landscape opportunity there especially in the winter so have delved more and more into macro. This group is a lot of fun and I am very glad to be a part of it! I really appreciate the helpful comments. I belong to some other sites and everyone seems afraid to actually make suggestions so your suggestions are very welcome!
You can see my work on: Margaret West Photography
Gloria Grandolini
I recently moved to Miami Beach from Washington D.C. I will also spend part of the year in the pacific coast of Mexico. I am originally from Rome but have lived in the US since graduate school. I retired 2 years ago from the World Bank Group after 27 years working on development. Photography has been my passion for many years and finally I now have the time to improve my skills and develop a portfolio.
When I photograph, I feel free to view the world and the people around me beyond set boundaries, with new eyes. After being guided by rules and frameworks for so many years... I am now diving into a new chapter of spontaneity and searching. I am drawn by the explosion of colors of sunsets, by the ocean - from the regularity of tides to the forces of nature, and by the human body immersed in or blending into nature. I am also fascinated by macrophotography - as it allows me to discover the unseen in everyday life. I also love geometric forms. I am just beginning my photographic journey and look forward to learning from PSA colleagues.
I am using a Canon EOS 80D and a variety of lenses.
Group Admin
Stuart Ord
I am a 70-yr-old retired chemical engineer, in which I specialised in technical safety studies of chemical factories. I live in Cheshire in the north west of England. Cheshire is a nice place, but I prefer my native Yorkshire for its variety and scenery.
I have been a photographer of sorts for a long time. I was loaned a camera by my Aunt when I was about 12. It was a little Voigtlander. I was hooked and started reading everything, and saved all my money until I was able to buy a Zenit 3M SLR when I was 14. I got a Saturday job in a camera shop when I was 16, when my wages went on film and darkroom materials, a 2x tele converter, an electronic flash, extension tubes and a Weston Master V. I took mainly colour slides and monochrome.
At Leeds University aged 20, I became the Chairman of the Photographic Society, and equipped our darkroom with a simple colour enlarger. Results were disappointing though due to the simple equipment and need for exact temperature control. My wife bought me a Krokus enlarger and I had a mono and slide darkroom in our loft.
I went through various SLRs and lenses, the best being a Pentax MX with a motor drive and an early Tamron zoom, but by my 40s I got fed up with carting around a heavy case. Most of that time I was only doing record photography. Interest dwindled and I sold up in my mid-40s.
I started to get interested again in my mid-50s as digital cameras became practicable. After a Canon compact I had a couple of bridge cameras, but dissatisfaction with their capability led me to getting my first DSLR, a Lumix G3, micro 4/3 as I was wary of the weight of DSLRs. After a couple of years I had outgrown the G3 and bought an Olympus OM-D E-M5 mk 2, which was light and very capable. I swapped for an E-M1 mk 2 which was a distinct step up from the 5 in terms of shutter speed and focussing ability. I love its macro stack feature too. When equipped with an Olympus 14-150mm lens, it's even a "take it everywhere" camera.
For a couple of years I also had some Canon equipment, starting with a 9D and a 100mm macro lens and an MP-E 1x - 5x macro lens. I didn't lke the 9D and changed to an M50 mk2, which I thought was a brilliant little camera. However I decided to revert to Olympus (or rather OM Systems now) for macro as well as general photography, and have sold all my Canon items.
Recently I have upgraded again to an OM Systems OM-1.
I have a wide selection of Olympus and Panasonic lenses. And a Weston Euro Master! I keep adapting my lenses as Olympus bring out new ones where they seem to fit my aims of light weight, versatility and image quality.
I'm programme secretary in my local camera club in Whitchurch.
I can not specialise in any one branch of photography, they are all so interesting! But macro and monochrome do have a special interest to me. I use Serif Affinity Photo for most photo editing, but I have NIK Silver Efex 2 and Franzis Silver Projects for mono conversions as well. Comparing these on any image is quite interesting.
I am a strong believer in a book I read in my teens which said something like, "If colour is important to your image, use colour; otherwise use monochrome". I think it is also true that mono should enhance a mono image, so strong form and/or texture are needed. Due to my darkroom days, I like monos to have all shades of grey from 0 to 255, but that is easier said than done.
Pat Glenn
I am a member of DE Photographic Society. I live in San Francisco. I am still working as a biologist at UCSF... breast and gynecologic cancers. I love doing microscope work...because I love images!!! Years ago I had a job where I used an electron microscope - images captured on glass plates with emulsion then we developed our own prints. In the past I have developed my own B&W film and prints - I hope to revive my B&W skills in the near future. I have been dabbling in photography a long time, self taught and a few courses but now I would like to explore more tools of the trade and gain more expertise. I have photographed amateur sports then followed my son growing up by photographing school events and sports. I like to tell a story with photography. I use a Nikon D750 - normal, telephoto, wide, macro. I use Adobe/Lightroom/Photoshop... I would like to learn how to use more editing tools. Since I am done following kids around school activities my subjects to photography are transitioning and I am wide open. I like having assigned subjects because it pushes me to go out and explore.
John Doyle
PHOTO BIOGRAPHY
OF
JOHN F. DOYLE
As a self-taught, serious amateur photographer for over thirty-five years, I have come to realize what appeals to me about photography. It permits me to be creative on my own terms, which in turn allows me to capture beauty when I see it. The similarity of photography to my regular profession of perfumer is quite apparent in the sense that you need knowledge of the past, technical grounding and of course, creativity.
My favorite subjects are sunsets, flowers, and photojournalism. I work both in color and black and white and use a 35 mm camera, a medium format camera, and recently a digital camera.
I have entered art shows in the tri-state region, with some degree of success, and look forward to deepening my knowledge of this wonderful artistic medium.
JFD
Keith Au
Keith has been an IT professional for 35 years, recently retired since 2019. I have been a photography enthusiast for years, esp after retirement with more time on hand.I have still learning in various fields of photography. Macro photography is one of the fields that excites me. I have mainly Nikon based camera gears.
With an open mind, I strongly believe that constructive opinions will help one improve immensively in short period of time.
Carol Sheppard
I live and work in Bellingham, and my photography is carried in several local stores between here and Seattle. My work covers everything from nature photography, including Macro and HDR, to long exposure, water drop, portrait and event, and some commercial work. I teach travel and photography classes for a local college and independently. Bellingham has beautiful trails, a plethora of large and small birds, the Sound, and lots of interesting events, so I never lack for something to do or photograph! My dog often accompanies me. I also have a son who is really taking some impressive images on more extreme hikes in the backcountry of California, and sometimes we travel together.
My favorite camera is my Canon 50d with a variety of Canon lenses, and I have also started to expand into Sigma and Tamron lenses. Recently, I began using an Olympus mirrorless camera with Zuiss lenses, and it is an impressive camera, not to mention LIGHTWEIGHT!!