First, an interesting fact is that Mt. Everest has a large accumulation of poop on it from all the climbers over the years following the same paths and camps.

Secondly, I post on UHH because the folks here have been supportive of my amateurish attempts. As I searched for something to occupy my time and mind when I retired, I did not realize how much my life centered around my work until then. It was deep winter, cold and grey so I picked up the camera and took pictures of our dogs until they walked away when they saw me with the camera. With nothing to do and every day to do it, I started looking at the ordinary things around the house, looking at them in ways that I had not done before.

I found some dead flies that had gotten caught in the storm windows and when I viewed them through a macro lens, they were the most gosh awful things I had ever seen.... yet I found them to be oddly interesting.

That was five years ago and here I am today.... still looking at dead flies...!😁

I post photographs for many reasons. First let me explain, I am a picture taker. I take spur of the moment shots in field situations that most people call snap shots. I am not, and never want to be, considered a photographer.

I post because my ego needs stroking. I post things that I find interesting that others may too. I post because occasionally I can bring someone joy or get a chuckle out of them.

I am also an image creator. I take several images, often from different sources, combine them to produce a picture. Please take note of my terminology, I take images and combine them into a picture, not a photograph.

I post in several Forums. Where I post depends on the subject. Photographs generally go in Photo Gallery or Birds where they get the most looks (remember ego). Occasionally a photograph will go to one of the Specialty Forums where I hope to get honest critiques, my ego be damned, in an attempt to improve my skills.

Composite pictures generally go to one of the Specialty Forms for meaningful critiques of my effort. If I create a composite that I think is really cool I may post it to Picture Gallery (remember ego). Occasionally I will construct a composite that has a "social message". Being careful not to cross the line and get moved to The Attic I will post it in the Photo Gallery

First, an interesting fact is that Mt. Everest has a large accumulation of poop on it from all the climbers over the years following the same paths and camps.

Secondly, I post on UHH because the folks here have been supportive of my amateurish attempts. As I searched for something to occupy my time and mind when I retired, I did not realize how much my life centered around my work until then. It was deep winter, cold and grey so I picked up the camera and took pictures of our dogs until they walked away when they saw me with the camera. With nothing to do and every day to do it, I started looking at the ordinary things around the house, looking at them in ways that I had not done before.

I found some dead flies that had gotten caught in the storm windows and when I viewed them through a macro lens, they were the most gosh awful things I had ever seen.... yet I found them to be oddly interesting.

That was five years ago and here I am today.... still looking at dead flies...!😁

Native-born Mainers, especially if their family roots go deep, tend to be reserved, and not particularly "chatty" with those from away. They (and I) prefer to not reveal much personal and they (and I) aren't particularly curious about other folks' histories until we've engaged several times.

We are not people who share "TMI" while standing in a grocery checkout line, like two acquaintances I know in Washington