The Photographer of the Month For May 2023 is Joe Li Marzi

I started taking pictures at a young age. I dont really remember, but I have a family photo of me at age 10 with a camera slung over my shoulder.  I bought my first SLR when I was in college.  It was a Minolta OM1.  I chose the Minolta because it was the smallest and lightest of the SLR choices at that time.  While I have always been interested in photography, over the years, due to my studies, work, and life in general, my activity as an amateur photographer has waxed and waned.  I have not had any formal training in photography, but over the years I have taken a couple of courses and pursued a lot of self education.

My current main camera is a Nikon D800.  My work horse lens is a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8.  If I'm traveling or just taking one lens with me somewhere this is invariably that lens.  Its only bad point is its weight. Its heavy.  I also use a Nikkor 16-35mm f4, a Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 (this is the lens I have been using lately for bird and insect photography), and a fixed focal length Nikkor 105mm f2.8 macro lens.  I have a Lensbaby lens as well that I occasionally play around with.  A few years ago I bought a Fuji Film X100V. It has a fixed focal length 35mm equivalent lens.  I like it for its small size and light weight.  It can be more of a challenge to use because of the limitations of the fixed focal length.  But I often bring it as my only camera when traveling, as in my recent trip to Germany, some photos of which are in the members gallery. And, of course, there is my iPhone.

For post processing I mainly use an older version of Lightroom.  Recently I purchased DXO PhotoLab, and I am incorporating that into my post processing as well.

I don't know if I have a favorite genre or subject matter.  I like to take pictures of just about anything that I find photogenic.  Having said that I will say that I tend to gravitate toward landscapes and macro. Lately I have been trying to capture more bird images.  You can see some of those in the members gallery.  Another current and ongoing project is native plants, pollinators, and insects.  I probably take most pictures at home or when traveling.

Now that I am retired I am able to spend more time exploring different aspects of photography and expanding my photographic knowledge and experiences.  Joining the PPC is part of this.  I am happy to be a member, and I am honored to have been chosen as a Photographer of the Month.

Thank you