Roger A. Dallman Jr. Roger started in photography in 1979, as a secondary job in the Army. He shot "grip and grins" and Army events. He began shooting portraits and weddings on the side for extra camera gear money. He won several photo contests and an Army journalism award. After career assignment changes, he put the cameras aside and sold his darkroom equipment. In 2006, he bought his first digital camera before a trip to Europe and was hooked again.
Today he is a dedicated Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop user-advocate and NAPP member. He is active in photography groups and teaches digital darkroom techniques. He prefers to shoot portaits away from seamless paper and static lighting. He is also a photo retoucher and restores old photos - a handy skill when working on his genealogy hobby.
Mark B. Segal. Mark started shooting when he was 13 and has done it off and on since then. As a Navy brat and then Naval Officer, I got to go to interesting places. I wish I had taken my camera more often. I love the way the camera allows you to dissect the world and shape what people see of it. Photoshop and Lightroom are great tools to help capture what you thought you saw from behind the lens.
I love helping people salvage and restore their photographic memories as links to their past. The patience and dedication needed are usually far beyond what the images are worth, except to the person who owns the picture. Seeing the smile or tears from when you've brought back an image from the cracked, torn and faded pile is a reward in and of itself.
We always try to be positive about photography, but, if you get into this photography thing seriously, every now and then you’re going to hit a wall.
I wrote in my last blog that I was restoring old photographs, so I thought I’d give some tips on the most common problem there – scratches.
Taking pictures at an amusement park can be lots of fun and worthwhile.
We need to “proof-read” our photos before we show them to others. Look for small errors that distract the viewer; detract from the image; and are easily fixed.
Since I like to photograph people in locations outside of the studio, I try to keep my eyes open for locations with multiple backgrounds.
