" Images of the world through the window of my lens as seen by my heart"

     My passion for photography started in the 90’s. When traveling I wanted to capture the beauty of the places that I have been visiting. After many disappointing photos from cheap cameras, I decided to buy my first real camera, 35mm SLR Canon Ellan IIe. I never looked back. Though my love for photography started with my mom, who was a photographer in the 70’s, old school, she even developed her own photos at home, it never appeared to me that I would want to make a living in this profession. It was my desire to capture the moment that did it.

    " Creating incredible unique gifts from photographs while preserving memories is one of my favorite things "

    One of the things that people have always said when viewing some of my photographs, is, “I never realized that place could be so beautiful”. Having an eye for beauty is my gift, being able to capture beauty in a photograph is my passion. So being a photographer is not just a responsibility to me but also an art form. Photography is also a fantastic journey. You are constantly learning new techniques and the tools of the trade are always developing new ways to expand your creative ability to capture beauty. So as I ride this awe-inspiring wave through life, I will continue to bring you images of the world and also share with you the experiences that went into each of my photographs, so that you not only know the where and how about my image, but also and hopefully, that I will leave you with a heart felt memory of the splendor and beauty that is abounding in our world.

     Sometimes it's just a glimpse from the corner of my eye, but something grabs me and gets my attention, I take a photo, sometimes more then one at different angles and settings. But its funny how that first picture you take is usually your favorite one. Sometimes I pass something and a moment later I still can't get that image out of my head, so I'm driven to go back and take a photograph. It still amazes me that I can take such great photos that are never planed or envisioned. But I do love the increased odds of a planned photo shot, there are great advantages in knowing the area and picking the time and place, having the ability to maximize your possibilities is exciting.

    One of my favorite things about photos is being able to revisit old moments in time, sometimes with a different perspective because of the amount of time that has passed. Sometimes realizing just how special some moments really where. That’s probably why one of the most sought after things that people grab from a burning home, besides themselves and everyone else, is their photos, all the other material things can be replaced. It seems our memories are really important to us. Sometimes they can show us who we are and where we’ve come from and also remind us of who’s special to our lives, like friends and family.

     If I took a second to take a picture of something, it means I liked what I saw. Even knowing I could never fully replace that moment. The photo is just a reminder that gives a face to a certain time, an image of the world but never the whole story. Reliving that moment is internal and will always be more valuable then the photo. But I will always love taking photos, I will always love seeing them and I will always love the memories and smiles they bring.

     For me there are 2 types of photography, which I both love. There’s photography for what the eye sees and then there is photography for what the mind perceives or envisions. Photography for the eye is to get more exact, to document and get true to life colors and exposure. The more real you get the photograph at the moment it is taken the less adjustments you will have make to the photograph later on with software, but the end result will be as true to life as possible. Then there is photography for the mind. To expand and exaggerate what is real (by way of exaggerated camera adjustments, exaggerated software adjustments or both) as to entice imagination and fantasy through what the photographer has perceived or envisioned so that the photographer can share with the viewer his or hers conceptualization of that moment.

   Some people have asked me "when visiting places do you think that you miss out on a lot of things around you because you spend so much time behind a camera?". The fact is that you can’t be aware of everything around you all the time, but I definitely know, for myself, that because I am a photographer I see twice as much as the person who is not a photographer, mostly because I’m looking at things in more then one way, and in doing so, I am able to share much more with my photographs. So even when I do visit a place without a camera, I still see much more then the average person, but that still does not mean that I will not miss something. There have been times when I’m with others when someone has said, “hey look at that” and I totally would have missed it if they were not there.

   As a photographer I just don’t want to document life, I want to inspire, I want to encourage, I want to remind people to live and travel. And when their done having fun, I want them to help protect and preserve this earth for the billions who will live after them, so that this cycle of life is as rich, or maybe even richer, as when they enjoyed their time. Leaving not just a photograph, but also more of a sound message of appreciation that will hopefully be carried forward forever.  That’s photography, that’s life.......that's Howie

   As I pick up my magic box with its world of discoveries at my fingertips, I wonder what moments in time will I preserve next that will show me more then the human eye can see or more then the human mind could perceive. Like an artists paintbrush my camera is just a tool, but the one thing that I have learned over time is that the real magic begins in the mind and in the abilities of the people who use these tools.

                                                                Howard Polley          Press Release