My first camera was given to me by the father of my first-grade crush. The girl soon left me but the camera remained. It was a no-frills 35mm rangefinder limited to about six shutter speeds and a similar number of aperture settings. No light meter. No battery. Not even a prism focus. In other words: totally manual.

So, I taught myself how to calculate the exposure, guess the focus, and imagine the result. The only resources I had were a Photography Merit Badge book, the guide sheets inside the film boxes, lots of trial and error, and hours of lawn mowing to pay for the film and processing.

But learn photography I did!

My profession was advertising, not as a photographer but as a writer and planner. About 5 years into advertising (in the mid-80s) I felt way burned out and took a sabbatical at a commercial photography studio as an assistant. I learned how to use a 4x5 view camera and how to photograph cats, beer, wheat fields, racecars and even a "playmate" (fully clothed, of course).

But I also learned that making a career in photography would be difficult, competitive, more technical than creative, and not likely lucrative. So, I returned to the ad game and relegated photography to avocation.

I am now (blissfully!) retired. In addition to shooting pictures, I love fly fishing and piddling around our 10 rugged acres which feature incredible views of the Swan Mountains.

I live with Jill, my wife of 30+ years (blissfully, as well!) along with Violet and Benny, our high-energy Aussies. Our two wonderful, overachieving sons, Cole and Connor, live in Seattle and Portland, respectively. Cole is a molecular biologist and Connor an engineer in renewable energy... both working to protect and enhance our natural world.

Jill often laments that we have more photos of mountains and streams than we do of Cole and Connor. Regrettably, she's right.