Dan Patchett & Francoise Tremblay at the Hunter Fire

I started taking pictures when I was about ten years old, using (what else?) a Kodak Brownie camera. In his younger days, my dad had done some photo processing, so we got out his old trays, bought a cheap film developing tank, and gave it a try. The poor quality of the equipment, and the difficulty of creating a darkroom in our one bathroom house caused us to abandon the effort after a couple of rolls. In addition, we had no enlarger, so all we could make were tiny prints the size of 127 film, about 2.5 by 1.5 inches. A few of the older family photos were probably taken with this camera or its successors.

I continued to take pictures, however, eventually getting into color slides and a few rolls of color print film. While working at a TV station in Bakersfield, I was able to borrow several different 35 mm cameras, and that became my preferred format. I eventually bought a second-hand Nikorex camera, which I always assumed was a low end product from Nikon, but it could have been an even lower end imitation. I also acquired equipment for developing and printing, including an enlarger, and made many black and white photos this way (this is one of my favorite examples).

The Nikorex reached the end of its useful life, and I finally bought a Nikon, which was stolen in 1987. My insurance covered a replacement, which served me well over the next dozen years. Many of the photos on these pages were scanned from slides taken with the Nikons.

In 1999 I bought my first digital camera, a Kodak DC265, and all photos dated after that time are digital. From 2003 to 2006 I used a Minolta Dimage 7, at which time I acquired my present camera, a Canon EOS10D digital SLR. The following year I acquired a Kodak Easy Share, which I use when I'm in places where I don't want to carry a heavier model.

For the most part, I let the camera choose the aperture and shutter speed, although the Canon does have manual controls. It provides a close-up setting that I use for flowers and other small subjects.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I have received a number of compliments on my photos, and I usually point out that I only share one or two out of fifty shots.