I have been interested in photography since about 1973. It is about that time I purchased my first 35mm camera. It is an Olympus OM-1.  I say is because I still have that camera. It had been neglected for a long time so I recently sent it to be refurbished. Now, it works like new again, although, it doesn't see much use. I entered into the digital age with several point and shoot cameras, most of which were made by Olympus. My first DSLR was a Canon Rebel XS. Many of the photos that will appear on my blog will have been taken using that camera. I now use a Canon SL-1. I think one of the reasons I like the SL-1 is that it is very close in size to the Olympus OM-1.

I in no way consider myself to be a professional photographer. I am an amateur, working at improving my art. It is not my intent to try and sell my photos. If however, a particular photo really strikes a chord with you, and you would like to have it, please feel free to email me and I will be happy to share with you a means to get a copy for yourself.

The primary purpose of my blog will be to share my photos and hopefully a little back story to each photo. In my opinion, a photo should tell a story, and so it is my hope to be able to share just a bit of that story with you. I hope you enjoy the photos  and the stories I share with them.

So this is the first photo I wish to share. Not because I think it is such a great photo, but, because of its back story.This photo was taken July of 2009 while my wife and I were on vacation in the area of Mt Rushmore in South Dakota. What the photo doesn't tell you is that just a few months before, in February, my wife was nearly killed in an auto accident. She lost control of the car on an icy road, ended up sideways and was hit broadside by a 3/4 ton passenger van. She was taken by Flight For Life to a nearby trauma center where the doctors nearly declared he deceased. A surgeon who happened to be in the emergency room at the time asked to try one last procedure before they called it. It worked and she survived. My family and I are convinced this was a miracle and so were many of the attending doctors.

The miracle doesn't end there. After surviving when everyone thought she wouldn't, the staff at the hospital told me to consider putting her in a care facility and start the paperwork for Social Security Disability. One of her injuries was a brain injury, and it was thought she would never live independently again.

That brings us to this photo. As I said, this was taken July of 2009, just a few months after her accident. We were hiking the trails and climbing around the caves found near Mt Rushmore. Today, except for her scars, you would never know all this occurred.

Well, that's it for my first post. I hope you will check back once in awhile to look for new posts. Most likely, I won't post everyday, but, I should be posting something new every few days.