Sierra East Side Trip: Who Are We?
Fudz Qazi
Amateur photographer from Perth, Australia. I have been working in mining field the last 7 years, and have been into photography for the past 4 years. For me, I really enjoy the personal creative expression photography offers, and I love capturing and expressing emotions. I don't want to pigeon-hole myself as any type of photographer and am willing to try any sort of photography (fine art, landscape, automotive, dance, portraits, street, journalistic, etc). For me it's about learning and understanding the world through art.
Mark and Rani Hodson: We're a couple of technical professionals turned IT folks, and while we've both now moved into the DSLR/mirrorless realm, have done little more than thoroughly enjoy photography and pick up a few ribbons at the county fair.
Paul Streit I work full time as a marketing professional in Silicon Valley, but originally from the East Coast (NJ & NY state). Back in 2011 I decided to pick up a digital SLR to see how far my interests in photography went. Before that I had taken photos of my family since the kids were born (now teenagers) with a few attempts at something more artistic, but nothing consistent. With a few private lessons and joining a local photo club in the South Bay, my capabilities have progressed. My primary interest in the past couple of years is portraiture, but have enjoyed photography in so many subjects.
A trip to Yosemite in 2013 was a perfect combination of enjoying that amazing landscape and the chance to photograph in the same location Ansel Adams made famous years ago. Looking forward to this trip as another chance to see more of the California landscape, capture a few interesting images and enjoy time with the group.
Samples of my portraits are on my website: http://photography.paulstreit.com
My photos I’ve enjoyed on a broader range of subjects on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/arose1646/
A shout out to Ken for his advice on the Nikon D600, a camera I love despite the bad press.
Gregory De Santis: I'm a retired IT guy, living in Bodega with my partner Joanie, 4 horses, 3 cats, 1 dog and an iguana. I just finished a 30 year stint with PG&E, now on to the fun stuff - music and photography. I play the organ, classical and theatre-style, piano and banjo.
I've been in and out of my photography hobby over the last 45 years and now have time to take it up a notch. I love to shoot all the cameras in my collection big and small, film and digital. I attended a Death Valley trip with Dave 3 or 4 years ago and had a blast. I'm bringing my Swedish 6x6 to backup the wunderplastik this time. Glad to be back with Image Quest!
Hi, I’m Steve Puntolillo aka Steven Maxx Photography. I’m excited to be on this tour with Dave, Ken and Christine and very much looking forward to meeting everyone. My wife, Anitra, has a strong interest in photography and will also be with us.
At one point in my career, I was deeply involved in computer graphics so I love working on my photographs in Photoshop as much as I love the adventure of finding and taking them. If you’re interested, you can browse my work here:
http://steven-maxx.artistwebsites.com
See you all soon!
Steve's wife, Anitra, will join us, too)
Kenny Farar is a "semi-retired" successful e-commerce executive, now full-time student of derivatives (futures) trading. I'm also a California native, divorced, with one fourteen year-old daughter (she thinks KR is really "cute"). As a serious amateur photographer I'm always looking to improve. I am also a cancer survivor (so far) having been diagnosed with prostate cancer last year.
Jim Kuo, Sierra Madre, CA:
My love of photography began after I received my first camera at the age of 16 and began shooting the neighborhoods in New York City where I lived. While attending college I pursued my passion and worked as a photo-journalist and as a stringer for the Associated Press. Moving to Los Angeles upon graduation, I began a 20-year career at American Broadcasting Company working in television production. I recently retired from the LA County Office of Education as a senior technology project manager.
In my photography, I try to capture moments in time that reflect a level of truth for m and hopefully for others who view them. I'm drawn to images that define our humanity, but know that regardless of my effort, so much is left to chance. New to landscape photography, I hope to challenge myself to capture more intentional, meditative images.
Australian-born photographer Christine Krieg has travel running through her veins. Inconveniently and seriously infected with the travel bug while flying over the Amazonian rainforest over two decades ago, she has since photographed in 32 exotic and not-so-exotic countries. She loves to share her passion for the amazing world we live in and her love of photography with everyone she meets.
Her travel work has been published in various newspapers and magazines. She teaches photography and leads travel photography workshops in California and also internationally, most recently in Myanmar, Asia. Next on her list: South Africa, Botswana, Madagascar, Mexico.
Janet Peters: Born and raised in Orange, California. Attended New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, New Mexico and UC Santa Barbara where I studied Studio Art, Art History and History. Lived the majority of my adult life in Southern California of which a number of years were aboard our 50 foot ketch in Newport Beach and Long Beach. We have four kids and they too lived aboard with us for several years. Then we escaped to Washington state for ten years where we lived on Lummi Island for 5 and near Bellingham, WA for the next five. Desiring more sun in our lives, we moved south to Penn Valley, CA and that is where we call home now.
Started taking my photography more serious a couple of years ago. Took classes at Sierra College and after 3 semesters decided I had enough of that. To keep motivated I joined Nevada County Camera Club and Gold Country Welcome Club Camera Group. There I learned about Creative Live and found online learning to be perfect for my next stage. I use Ken Rockwell’s site often for advice on buying equipment and it was there I learned about your trips. Most of my photography is documentary. Taking pictures on the fly while road touring with my husband, trekking with my hiking club, and touring with my Day Tripper Group.
I am currently working on two projects. One a massive organization of family photos dating from around 1880 to present. The second is combining my love of fabric with photography. I thought I wanted to be a quilter and started collecting fabric pieces years ago but I never did learn how to sew. I am hoping now to integrate the fabric somehow with my love of flowers. Not sure where that will go but have been loving getting to know my new lenses.
Camera Equipment : Nikon D750, Nikon D600, iPhone 5
Michael Stone: I am 46 years old and from the Chicago area. I am married, have on daughter and have been a police officer for over 25 years.
This will be my second trip with you and really learned a lot from the first trip. I enjoy landscape/architecture/weather photography and have recently started taking pictures of dogs (action and portrait type) for some of my co-workers. For me, photography is a great way to reduce stress, clear my mind and enjoy nature and outdoors.
