April 2017 Photographer of the Month Dwayne Myers

I love taking photographs.  My digital camera, a Panasonic FZ1000, allows me to take photos up close or at a distance without changing a lens and can be set as automatic or as manual as is my whim at any particular moment.  The more photos I take, the more things I notice although many of my best shots have been lucky ones with me being in the right place at the right time with camera in hand. Often these lucky shots are only discovered after I review my shots of the day.  It is only by taking many, many photos and wanting to do better that I have discovered the power of the many settings and buttons on my camera. 
     My favourite place to take photographs is my kitchen window.  My second favourite place is the great outdoors especially at Police Point Park or on long walks in natural areas of Medicine Hat or on neighbourhood walks or field trips with the Grasslands Naturalists.
     I have no particular skills in the technical areas of photography but I take lots of photos so eventually I get one or two that I like.  When I take a photo I want to share it with others.  The first person I want to share my selected photos with is my wife, Carole, who is very artistic and gives me great suggestions as well as lots of encouragement.  I send many pictures in to the Medicine Hat News and usually get one or two published each week mainly as a “weather” photo although the majority of my photos have birds, animals or landscapes as the subject.
     I really appreciate the informal atmosphere of the Southern Exposure Photo Club and the fact that we do a hands-on activity at each meeting as well as a Showcase contest which I eagerly enter and where I get to see other club members’ photos and hear their comments.