Greetings fellow shutterbugs!  My name is Chuck Marchetti and I must say I'm quite honored with my induction into the Weekend Gallery at Bestfoto.  I'm 54 years young (just celebrated my birthday on October 30) and have been married to my lovely wife Patti for 29 years.  We have three sons (Jeff, Chuck and Matt) and 3 wonderful grandchildren (Bethany, Amber and Chantz).  I live in Sterling Heights, Michigan (a northern suburb of Detroit) and work for Ameritech as a Data Analyst.  However, my true love is photography.

I guess my interest in photography began about 30 years ago when a coworker convinced me to purchase a 35mm camera.  After I cranked off my first roll of film, I was hooked.  So bad that I built a darkroom in my basement, took some photography classes at a local community college and began developing my own film.  Unfortunately, I got away from it after about ten years.  I guess I could contribute this hiatus to my involvement in my sons' sporting activities.  About 3 years ago, my best friend Rex Steyskal (Weekend Gallery 2) got me hooked on digital photography.  That's when I purchased my first digital camera, an Olympus D500-L and realized the benefits of digital photography.  WOW! No more waiting for results, mixing chemicals and spending countless hours in the dark!  Even though, I sill didn't get involved in the on line photo scene until last year.  Again, with the encouragement of Rex, I began submitting photos to Bestfoto, DPC and any other contest I could find.  Needless to say, when I got my first win (at Bestfoto), I was pleasantly surprised and once again hooked.

Last July, I decided to upgrade my equipment and purchased a Nikon CP950.  I found this to be a remarkable camera, just not for me.  I had a hard time framing and focusing with an LCD.  I needed a camera that more closely resembled a 35mm SLR.  So, 3 months later I sold the Nikon and purchased an Olympus C-2100UZ.  As it turns out, this camera is perfect for me.  The 10x optical and 2.7x digital zoom is awesome not to mention it's incredible low light focusing abilities!

Here are some of my favorite pictures.  The first two (Caged Tiger and Morning Table) are copies of 35mm slides I took over 25 years ago.  The Polar Bear was my first digital photo winner at Bestfoto.  It was taken with an Olympus D-600L.  The rest were taken with a Nikon CP950 and an Olympus C-2100UZ.  You can view more of my photos by visiting my web site at www.photo-freak.com.

In conclusion, I'd like to thank my wife for her encouragement and support and dedicate this gallery to her.  I'd also like to give special thanks to my best friend Rex for all his invaluable help.  Finally, I'd like to thank Darryl for all the work he does to give us photographers an opportunity to share our work.  He truly deserves much recognition.