| My earliest memories involve my father and his camera. He introduced me to his love of photography. I purchased my first camera when I was a 21 year old Marine stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. The only cameras available were made by the Russians so I purchased a "Foto Sniper". This was a 35mm camera with a rather large lens, all of which could be mounted on a tubular rifle stock. (Incidentally, I was arrested by the local police the very day that I purchased the rifle looking contraption. They thought that I was an assassin.) I learned several lessons from that incident, one of which is to use good quality equipment that is suited to the job. I photographed many of the wonderful sights that a young man is exposed to on his first of many overseas assignments. I discovered other new adventures when I married and had both a son and daughter. I left active duty after more than 21 years of service but kept my wonderful wife and children. My wife, Susan, is an avid equestrian who enjoys both Hunter Jumper and Dressage. I now use professional quality Nikon digital cameras and lenses. As my interests and skills as a "light writer" have evolved, so has my style of photography. As a photo journalist, I enjoy capturing images of horses and people (preferably with horses) just being themselves as they live and play. I have a hunger to learn and grow as a photographer and I feed this yearning by reading, practicing, and attending seminars. My favorite way of learning is to just pick up my camera gear and go try out different techniques. Although I have many interests, I have found that my favorite pastime is to go to a horse show where my lovely wife gets to ride and I get to take the photographs. Although I still photograph weddings and other special events in life,I particularly enjoy shooting the schooling shows in the Memphis area because of the people, vitality, and friendly atmosphere. My personal philosophy is that my photographs are to be of a positive nature. I will not publish any photograph that I know will embarrass a person. I receive great pleasure when I see the smiles on faces when they see themselves in my work or when someone comes up to me and tells me how much they enjoyed my photographs. My wife and I live outside of Jackson, TN. She has a small schooling/show barn on our property where she shares her dream with young students. This also affords me a never ending supply of models. Lately, I seem to be designing and maintaining several web-sites. I'm often asked why I don't go into photography full time as a profession. I'm already in it full time, but as a free-lance photographer, it's a passion and not a profession. Pat |
