I first got interested in photography when I was 14 years old and worked in a camera shop after school and on weekends.  As part of my "Salary" I got to use any of the camera gear in the store that I wanted to play with.  I shot photographs with just about everything that they had, from early Nikon F SLR's to Rolieflex and Mamiya twin-lens reflex cameras to Leica rangefinder cameras and even large format Graflex boxes.

The owner of the camera shop was my mentor of sorts.  During my time around him I learned a great deal, from exposure rules to depth of field to composition to darkroom procedures.  Over the years I may have forgotten much of what he taught me but his "Golden Rule" has stuck in my mind all this time.  He taught me to shoot every single photograph for myself and nobody else.  He made me realize that if others like what I shoot then that's great and if nobody else likes them then that’s unfortunate.  Most importantly though is that he made me realize that if **I** don’t like them then I'm doing it wrong.  I took that lesson to heart, and I’ve never regretted it.  The photographs I take are the way I like to see them.  They may violate many of the accepted “Rules” of photography, they may not be “Artistic”, they may not be what anyone else in the world likes to look at, and it doesn't matter at all to me.  I’m not trying to impress anyone nor am I trying to sell my photos.  I simply shoot what I like and I like what I shoot.  That’s all that matters to me and I think Mr. Dancey would be proud that I remembered what he taught me so many years ago.

Another lesson I took to heart is that a camera is just a tool.  While good tools are important it is not the tool itself that creates something worthwhile but rather the mind behind the tool.  Today's philosophy seems to be that it is better to throw money away purchasing more expensive tools than it is to take the time to learn to use something properly.  Will a $5,000 camera body take better photographs than a $500 camera body?  In general, no it won't.  The $5,000 camera may have more bells and whistles than the $500 camera but it will not necessarily take better photographs simply because it cost more.  Photography is an art form and to my knowledge the skill and ability and knowledge that is learned through experience has never been included in the box with any tool ever sold.  Anyone who has looked at my photographs can easily see that I am still learning.

Note:
I keep the color calibration of my monitor set pretty close and when I adjust my exposures in my "Digital Darkroom" they look correct on my monitor.  If you are looking at them on a monitor that has not been color corrected or are using a web browser that does not support color spaces they may look washed out and colorless.  This is usually the case when viewing any photographs from the internet.  Most photographers are going to color-correct their photographs and adjust the exposure and white balance.  If photographs typically look washed out or too dark or have a colored tint on your computer you might want to look into adjusting your monitor since it will probably make all the photos you view look better.  These two places are good starting points:

• Norman Koren Photography
• DisplayCalibration.Com

I use a Datacolor Spyder 3 Pro calibration device to calibrate my monitor.  I like this device because 1) It has an ambient light sensor that measures the light in the room (critical for proper calibration) and 2) I don't have to do much except plug it in and let it do the work for a few minutes.

There are literally thousands of photographs on my web site.  Some good, some bad, some very bad.  There are even a few good ones scattered around.  Some were taken on motorcycle trips, some just taken around the local area.  Sunsets, sunrises, wildlife, waterfowl, scenics, waterfalls, flowers, trees, even a few people.  A diverse collection of just about everything.  About the only thing they have in common is that I took them all.  The links below point to most of them.