About

I have been pursuing the hobby of digital photography since the summer of 1998, first using a Nikon Coolpix 900. Yes, back then it was one of the first digital cameras to have cracked the one-megapixel barrier and to have featured a 3x Nikkor zoom lens (or at least so it was claimed). It served me well at the time, even considering its limitations. In the spring of 2001 the time arrived for an upgrade. It was, for me, an exciting jump to the then new Olympus E-10 digital SLR camera. It afforded all the controls normally found on that type of 35-mm gear plus a few items unique to the digital world. In spite of the rapid evolution of digital SLR cameras in recent years, my trusty E-10 continues to serve well in meeting the needs of my shooting style. Upgrades in the future? Time will tell.

March 24, 2006.  Well, time has passed.  My E-10 developed a sticky shutter.  The solution which presented itself was an Olympus E-1 DSLR, available as a consignment sale.  I jumped at the chance. Some have called it an E-10 on steroids and that is quite apt.  It came with the excellent Digital Zuiko 14-54, F2.8-3.5 lens. Both camera and lens are very well sealed against the weather if one should chose to shoot in rain, snow or dust.   I have subsequently added  a longer zoom of less professional quality but with the reach I wanted, the DZ 40-150, F3.5-4.5.   These focal lengths require multiplication by a factor of two to compare their fields of view to those of lenses on a 35-mm camera body.  I anticipate that the E-1 system will meet my needs for many years into the future.

Many of the images on this site refllect my times shooting in and around the byways of Winnipeg, Manitoba. They include some favourites from the early days spent with the Nikon CP900 but mostly focus on work done with the Olympus E-10. In the spring of 2005 my wife and I moved to Victoria, BC. The content of the galleries on this site reflects that change of shooting environment as well as my move to the Olympus E-1 DSLR equipped with both wider and longer lenses than were featured on the E-10.

Since 1998 I have been an active participant on the Photocritique.net forum. From 2000, the Manitoba Camera Club has been my other photographic home. Now that the West Coast is once again home, my camera club membership has moved as well, this time to the Victoria Camera Club. Internet addresses for the web sites of each of these organization are provided on the Links page.

I hope you will take the time to browse through some of the Galleries found here. The pages on this site have been developed using a screen resolution of 1024x768. Although they are flexibly sized, you may find that setting (or a higher one) best. I'd also suggest expanding the window using F11 (if you are using IE) for optimal viewing. If you are so inclined, I'd be happy to receive any feedback you wish to offer via the e-mail address provided on the Contact page.

Garry Schaefer

September, 2005, updated on March 24 and August 31, 2006.