I am a lifelong resident of rural central Pennsylvania, a double alumna and retired 30-plus-year employee of Penn State University, and a lover of the great outdoors, movies, books, music (I'm an 80s kinda gal), photography, and cats.

My grandfather was a photographer who owned his own portra Read more...

I am a lifelong resident of rural central Pennsylvania, a double alumna and retired 30-plus-year employee of Penn State University, and a lover of the great outdoors, movies, books, music (I'm an 80s kinda gal), photography, and cats.

My grandfather was a photographer who owned his own portrait studio in Richfield, PA. I may have inherited my love of photography from him. I have been taking pictures with one kind of camera or another for as long as I can remember. I had an instant Polaroid camera, as well as a disc camera, an APS camera, and a Pentax K-1000 (non-digital SLR).

I bought a Canon PowerShot SX 120 IS in February 2010, and instantly fell in love with digital photography. In December 2011, I upgraded to a Canon PowerShot SX 40 HS, with a pretty awesome 35x zoom. In November 2013, I added a Canon PowerShot SX 50 HS to my collection, with 50x zoom. When it croaked in October 2016, I moved on to my current squeeze, a Canon PowerShot SX 60 HS, with 65x zoom; I've owned several of these now.

I love taking pictures and I live for my next photo shoot! I am captivated by the magic and beauty of the world around me, and I confess an almost evangelizing impulse to document and share the beauty of what I see every day.

Many of my favorite haunts are the wild woods and waters of central Pennsylvania, and in my profile picture, you can see me in my native habitat.

My blips feature my beloved central PA, including the Scotia Barrens, where I wander the wild woods with orchids at my feet, and make water abstracts on my favorite vernal pond. Each blip features at least one photo, one story (often about family, music, and/or movies), and one song.

I chose the name of this photo journal from a book my oldest sister gave me when I was seven. The name of the book was There Must Be Magic, and my sister had written this note inside: "May you always find the magic." Photography is a focal point for me: it helps me look for, and find, the magic in everyday life.