Photographer of the Week: Linda Cullivan

By Linda Cullivan
Scarborough, Maine

I bought my first DSLR almost two years ago.

I had no intention of picking up photography as a hobby. My hobby was birdwatching, and I was content to have my husband take photos of the birds while we were on our birdwatching jaunts.

One rainy day, I saw a beautiful indigo bunting in the pear tree outside my house. There was no one else around to take the shot, so I picked up my husband’s Canon D10 and took a few pictures. I was hooked from that moment on.

It wasn’t difficult – everyone else in the family is an avid amateur photographer and Saturday night dinners consisted of lots of photography talk. I was late to the party, but I'm trying to make up for lost time!

My camera is a Canon Digital Rebel XTi (D400) and I have quite a few lenses available to me. My son and his wife are the owners of ZipLens, an online lens rental company. My favorite lenses are the Canon EF 100-400 with Image Stabilizer and the Canon 85mm 1.8. My husband Mike also is an amateur photographer and he had amassed quite a few lenses prior to my camera purchase, so between ZipLens and my husband, I have access to almost every type of lens. My next step is a camera upgrade, although I'm not sure yet when that will happen. This fall I will be taking a beginner photography class and I look forward to learning as much as I can to improve my work.

Inspiration surrounds me. I live on the edge of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Maine. It's a tidal marsh and river, so there is never a lack of wildlife photo opportunities.

The light on the marsh during sunset or sunrise is amazing; nothing gives me greater pleasure than being able to capture the beauty I see. Although many of my photos are taken during that special time before sunset or sunrise when the light has a special magical quality, the absence of light is sometimes just as important to me. I love when a shot has some mystery to it, so there are quite a few mist and fog shots in my photo library.

In addition to the landscapes, I also love to take photos of birds, wildlife, macro shots ... and of course, my three small granddaughters provide lots of photo ops for me. This summer I also got up the courage to take my camera with me when I go out in my kayak. This has provided some wonderful opportunities for shooting wildlife up close on the marsh.

I post some of my photographs on Flickr. There are many talented photographers there and I have learned a lot from viewing their photos.

I just started shooting in RAW and use Adobe Lightroom, although I do minimal editing of my photos.

I look forward to retiring soon and devoting more time to the creative part of my life. After working in the banking industry as a retirement plan administrator for more than 25 years, it’s time to do that. I would like to do more traveling and chronicle my travels with my photography.

About Linda

Linda's love of photography truly is a family affair: She credits her husband Mike, son Lee and his wife Janice, and her daughter Faye Maier and her husband Erik for helping her and freely dispensing advice. "They are all very talented," she says. "When we are all together, there is always lots of camera talk and someone is always taking a shot of something." They often shoot the same subject and compare photos. "I love to see how we all capture things a little differently," she says. See all Photographers of the Week