Michael Alexander

Life Changes

I had bought a Sony 3.3 mega-pixel digital camera for a trip that my wife Jean and I had planned. I’d never owned a digital camera before and when I saw the pictures I’d taken, some were okay, but the rest weren’t so hot. Not a great beginning. Then one day I took our cocker spaniel, Susie, and went down to the Clark Fork River by Kelly Island just to get some peace and quiet. As I strolled along the banks and through the woods, I took pictures of anything and everything that caught my eye. As it turned out, a lot of things caught my eye that day, from delicate lichens and moss, to varied colored gravel and river vistas; it illustrated a turning point in my life. When I downloaded the images onto my home computer, I liked what I saw, and, surprisingly enough, others liked them too! This was encouraging, so I read through the manual and started experimenting with my camera. Then, in order to become more proficient, I decided to enroll in some night courses at Dickinson Lifelong Learning Center. There, I met Kathy Eyster, an exceptional photography instructor who teaches several different classes ranging from beginning how-you-do-that and this-is-how-you-print-them-out, to software applications for the more advanced. I took them all, and even hired Kathy for at-home tutoring sessions. During this time, I began to learn the many different digital imaging methods I could use to capture what I saw and make a great picture. Having Kathy as a mentor was a real asset in my growth from an amateur photographer to-what I now began to see-a budding artist lurking inside my being just waiting for expression. The journey was just beginning, but Kathy provided a lot of keys to unlock the doors of discovery.

With her expertise and guiding hand, Kathy would, from time-to-time, suggest other classes and field trips to broaden my knowledge and experience level. It was because of her wisdom,, encouragement, and ability to stretch an individual’s personal strengths and interests, that almost a year later I bought my present camera, a Canon 10D digital SLR.

Whenever Kathy realized I was ready for more, she would advise me on the challenge. That’s how I was introduced to the Rocky Mountain School of Photography located here in Missoula. At Kathy’s encouragement, I began taking classes like nighttime photography, macro photography, the zone system, and a couple of weeklong classes such as the Intermediate and Advanced Photography workshops. There were a number of wonderful instructors to guide, challenge, and instruct my ever-growing skills in order to enhance the pleasure and satisfaction of different types of photographic approaches. The results were exciting!
Over the last two years of instruction and getting out there and taking countless pictures, I found a joy that was rather all consuming and life has taken on an air of adventure I haven’t experienced in years. It doesn’t matter if I’m on a mountain, in Victoria, B. C., in my living room, or in my backyard; there are wonderful images of beauty to capture at any moment in time. Incidentally, that’s the name of my newfound hobby, and erstwhile vocation, Moments in Time Imagery. This adventure has led to some new and fun experiences. I’ve done things I never thought I would get to do: getting my photographs published, have my own gallery show (wearing a tux!), and entering pictures at the County Fair that took ribbons in each of their class. For me, that’s heady stuff and a lot of deep satisfaction. It’s as if I’ve found a whole new dimension to living I never knew existed. As I look back at the changes that have taken place in my photography, I see the artistic growth and maturity I never realized was inside me. But with people like Kathy Eyster, and instructors Elizabeth Stone and Suzanna Gaunt of R.M.S.P., I have had my eyes opened to a brand new world of color, texture and form. And all right here in Missoula! It really makes me grateful to live here and experience what life has to offer. It just goes to show we have a lot of great resources in the Three Rivers area, and, who knows, photography just might be one of the things that might tickle your fancy, opening a whole new life adventure for you. I know it has for me!

Michael L. Alexander: home.earthlink.net/~miti 543-7334
Kathy Eyster: kathye@onewest.net 626-1817
Dickinson Lifelong Learning Center: dllc.montana.com 542-4015
Rocky Mountain School of Photography: www.rmsp.com 543-0171

Gallery Showing December 2, 2005 in the office of Millennium Property Management in the Central Square Building located 201 W. Main. It is entitled Icecapades, and will be hosted by Mike Alexander and Kathy Eyster. All are welcome and refeshments will be served.