Greetings and thanks for visiting my photo gallery. I started my photography hobby after visiting Glacier National Park in the summer of 2007. I started out with a Sony entry level camera and took some really great pictures. However, I was limited in what I was able to capture and I wanted more. In the fall of 2007 a friend and I signed up for a beginning digital photography class at the local vocational school. We got lucky because our instructor was also a professional photographer who ran a camera department at a local store. He was very knowledgeable about the subject and knew a lot about the various cameras on the market. He personally used Olympus and Pentax Equipment.

After the first class we visited him at his store and we both purchased a Pentax K-10. We completed his first class and immediately signed up for his advanced class. Since then I have expanded my equipment to include the Pentax K-20 and the Pentax K-7. I also purchased the Pentax K-x to carry around in my brief case. I own too many lenses to list them here but I have quickly learned the value of a fast lens also known as a prime. Don’t sell the kit lenses short. I love them for taking pictures of waterfalls because they are so easy to stop down in order to get that cotton candy effect.

I plan on adding to my arsenal the Olympus line because of its four-thirds sensor. This sensor has a 2X factor which basically takes a 200mm f/2.8 lens and converts it to a 400mm f/2.8 lens. I want this for wildlife photography while hiking. I have researched all the pros and cons and I understand what I will gain and lose. I want good reliable equipment and I want to be in a National Park taking pictures. Did you know that the Pentax K-7 is weather proof and cold resistant in below freezing temperatures?

My true passion is landscape photography but I also love the rush of getting a great picture of a bull elk, buffalo, bear, eagle, or hawk. Now all of this brings me to another passion, post processing. I am not talking extremes just being able to bring out of the picture what I originally saw. I use Photoshop CS4, Lightroom II, Bridge, and Photomatrix. To me post processing is reliving the experience.

Now, how do I support these habits or addictions? I retired from the State of Missouri after serving 20 years of which the last 8 were working directly for three different Governors. I currently am the City Administrator for a small city in southeast Missouri. When I retire from my second profession, I want to move out west near a major National Park, work part-time, and spend the rest of my time taking pictures and finding a oneness with nature. Since you are here, please sign my guest book and tell me something about yourself, the equipment you use, and where you are from. Also if you have a photo gallery please give me an address because I would love to see your work. You can also contact me directly at gilbej49@att.net.

PS: My friend and I have become good friends with our instructor and we plan outings together every now and then. He is obsessed with sharing his knowledge and the teaching continues each time we are all together.