Thanks for visiting my site!  I am a non-professional photographer/hobbyist residing in Omaha, Nebraska.  I'm fairly new to the Midwest, having moved to Omaha in 2012 from the Phoenix, Arizona area where I had lived for the prior 25 years.  

Originally from northern Mississippi, I discovered my love of photography shortly after moving West to Phoenix for a computer system analyst consulting job in 1988. On my first "tourist" trip to San Diego, California with my new (at the time) SLR camera, I happened to take two photos that instantly "hooked" me on photography . . . the first, a stunning close-up photo of a beautiful flamingo at the world-renowned San Diego Zoo, and the other, a simple photo of a San Diego beach sunset taken just minutes before heading back to Phoenix.  Before that trip, I never imagined that I could capture such beauty on film (film? remember film? anyone?!?) until I saw those two photos printed after that trip.  

That experience propelled me to begin exploring the many scenic areas of the southwestern United States that were within a day or two's reach by car from Phoenix.  Of course, I occasionally ventured further away on other extended trips, and always had my camera at the ready to capture views that quickened my pulse or thrilled my heart.  Sadly, as years passed, I got busier with work and life in general, and I didn't pull out my camera as much as I did in those earlier years.  Now that I have relocated to the Midwest, I'm hoping to re-energize my love of nature and landscape photography, and to build upon the portfolio of incredibly beautiful views I have amassed from my days spent in the Southwest.  

I hope you'll join me for this renewed journey, and that you'll enjoy the photos that I post here from time to time.  As renowned journalist and talk show host Barbara Walters might say, if she were closing an interview with me,"Take a little time to enjoy . . .The View[Finder]."

Michael Loven-Crum -- The ViewFinder