At Dry Falls in Eastern Washington, 1962, with 1st camera:
A Kodak Hawkeye Funflash, purchased with cereal box tops
Greetings!
I am Craig Toms, photographer and 40 year resident of the Coachella Valley. I'm an amateur! I pursue photography for the love of it, developing new skills and modes of expression - it's playtime, nothing is off-limits!
What I enjoy most about photography is experimenting with new ideas and techniques, which keeps it fresh and growing. Here are a few quotes that sum up my current outlook and approach:
"After I have assessed their technical quality, I think about which of my images actually say something, something beyond "Here it is", and "I was there". I look for magic and mystery. I look for an image that makes the ordinary extraordinary, or an extraordinary subject discovered and revealed".
William Neill, Landscape Photographer
"While I like to think there is a sense of reality to my images, realism is not always a guiding principle when I'm taking and developing them. Each picture seems to have a life of its' own and a particular way it needs to be expressed. Rather than focusing on making images that are true representations of the light captured by the camera, I much prefer to let them find their own way as they are composed in the field and later developed. There is no formula for doing this."
Tony Kuyper, Landscape Photographer
"A photograph is not a likeness. The moment a fact or emotion is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a photograph but an opinion. There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph; all photographs are accurate, none of them is the truth."
Richard Avedon, Fashion Photographer
Great credit is due to the Coachella Valley Desert Camera Club, for inspiration via competitions, guest speakers and friendships. I can't overstate the value of this club to my development as a photographer.
Please feel free to contact me here:
Thank you!
