BestFoto was one of the first digital photography sites I discovered when I began learning about the world of digital images. My first digital camera was the Olympus C-2020Z, which I loved. The images “The Little Devil”, “Surprise”, “Dark Thoughts” and ”Leash Required” were all taken using this camera. I borrowed the Olympus 3000z when my 2020 was being serviced and captured “Breakout” and “Building Twilight”. Both these cameras were excellent, but I was now interested in obtaining more optical reach.

With this quest in mind I began using the Olympus C-2100UZ a 10x optical camera. It had a wonderful reach and the image stabilized lens produced sharp, crisp images.  I shot “Quiet Eyes”, "Blackwater Fall’s Mist", “Around the Tree”, “Sisterly Embrace" and the digitally manipulated “Diversity” with this camera.

The next goal for me was to get a camera that would provide me with more pixels (for printed enlargements) and still have an acceptable optical reach. I discovered that the 5 megapixel Minolta Dimage did the trick and I began using this camera in earnest.  “On the Horizon” was one of my first zoo shots using the D7 and “Auburn Hair” is a recent capture.  With the Minolta, I also discovered IR photography and began using the D7 to capture this type of image. The photos “Greetings from the Stonehouse” and “Stone and Silk” were both taken with the Minolta and an IR filter. The D7 was also very macro capable and could take bulb or extended exposures of 30 seconds or less. I captured “Time Exposure” in macro mode with an Olympus Macro converter, tripod and a wired remote. I recently began photographing a theater group. I shot images from plays with the D7 in manual mode. Although the theater was dark the D7 proved to be a great asset with its fast 28mm-200mm lens capability. The image “The Witches” is an example of these theatre shots.

I also began learning more about software manipulation and began producing even more digitally manipulated images. The images “Two Dive”, “Amore” and "Youthful Reflections”  are just a few examples of  me  having fun in the computer darkroom.

Currently I am part of  a group of 21 photographers that have a traveling Digital Photography Exhibit. The groups name is Digital Photography Internationale and our Website is at:

 http://dpinternationale.com/.

I also maintain a Gallery Web space at:

 http://aocole.photoblink.com/net/mshop.aspx?uid=202

I want to thank Bestfoto for opening my eyes to many of the wonderful photographic images that reside in cyberspace and also an opportunity to learn from a great group of talented photographers! Thanks again for letting me share some of my images, images that would not have been possible without web sites like Bestfoto.