Member Bios
Group Admin
Dean Ginther
Dean W. Ginther was born in Chicago; graduated from DePauw University and the University of Illinois and spent most of his career in higher education in the Texas A&M University System and at Capella University in Minneapolis. He is a past member of Rotary, a certified glider and single engine aircraft pilot, a certified SCUBA diver, a "retired" motorcycle safety instructor for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, and a certified Master Gardener. His current interests and activities include bicycling, table tennis, pickle ball, science fiction, boat building and woodworking, motorcycle riding and motorcycle safety, computers, vintage cars, gardening, and, of course, photography.
Dean Ginther is a past member of the Georgetown Sun City (TX) Photography Club (500+ members) and a current member of the Traverse City Camera Club and the Photographic Society of America (PSA). He has completed the PSA Image Analysis course, as well as many other courses, workshop, and tutorials. He regularly participates in the PSA Digital Dialogue Nature Sig (#69) and is the administrator and participant of the General Sig (#60). He has served as a paid and mostly unpaid judge for: the 2023 Sun City Photographic Club Annual Contest; repeatedly for the print competition of the PSA chapter of the Sun City Photography Club; for the Competition Special Interest Group and the Nature Special Interest Group of the Sun City Photography Club, and repeatedly for the Williamson County 4-H photography contest. In 2021 and 2023 he was a media photographer for the NCAA Collegiate Table Tennis Championships held in Round Rock, TX. He has participated in a variety of photographic competitions/exhibitions/presentations and won numerous awards at the State, city, and local photo club levels.
Highlights of his photography can be viewed online at: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/dean-ginther.
Tim Kemp
I was raised in Sydney (Australia), completed an apprenticeship as an electrician, then drifted into residential care for people with developmental disabilities, from which I retired about 4 years ago. Dabbled with various cameras over the decades (point & shoots, SLRs, etc), then finally entered the DSLR era in 2011 with a Canon 600D, preparatory to a trip to Africa.
I now reside in the quiet lakeside 'burb of Rathmines, Lake Macquarie (near Newcastle, about 2 hours North of Sydney), with my wife & 2 dogs.
My interests, apart from photography, include spending time with my dogs (along with my wife & two adult sons :-)), camping (in a small caravan), surfing (although I'm getting a bit creaky), travelling, playing the ukulele (quite poorly), & pottering around the lake in our little tinnie (very small boat).
On the photography side, over the years I've delved into landscapes, composites, semi-macro (using extension tubes), self-portraits, water drop/splash, flora, night, etc, but my main subjects nowadays are my two beautiful dogs.
Examples of some of my images can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/145172533@N07/ & https://52frames.com/photographer/5623
Michelle Rios
I live in Ventura County, California. I grew up in the same neighborhood I now live in. I am lucky enough to live in an area with so many different surrounding communities. I am a short drive from the beaches of Ventura, beautiful Spanish architecture of Santa Barbara, and hippie-ish vibe of Ojai to name a few. There's no shortage of things to do. However, I find as I'm getting older I am coming to appreciate the sounds, smells, and peace that trees bring to my soul. These things are becoming scarce as more and more buildings fill empty spaces around us. I am hoping to convince my husband to move to Washington state when he retires in a couple of years. I have two wonderful adult children and a beautiful little granddaughter. We are a close family that enjoy Sunday dinners together and trips to new places. I say we travel like a pack of sardines. I got my first camera when was around 10, it was a Kodak camera (either the star or ektralite- can't remember) but I remember the film being 110. Now, finally having some extra time in my schedule, I am re-pursuing this passion. Although, interestingly enough, I am a bit of a photographer in my career. I am sure I am partially here because of my interest in photography and my amazement with medicine and how the human body works. I am a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer who examines and documents images from inside the tiniest of humans to those with a wealth of life experiences behind them. It's a pleasure to be part of DD60, I am really looking forward to sharing my beginner's photographs with you and learning from your skills and experience. I also hope to provide our group with feedback that will help develop our artistic abilities
Robert Dicks
April 3, 2024
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this group.
My wife and I retired last month to Tucson, Arizona, after decades in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I worked in communications and media. For the last few years, my primary "slow life down" hobby has been photography. Well, mixed with golf, of course.
The process of taking a photograph is very important and peaceful to me. My preference is to go to an interesting location and wander about, just seeing if snapshots present themselves. As many experts say, "watch and wait." (PS: I'm not an expert.) With my relocation, I now have a chance to explore lots of new environments, and that's exciting.
General photography encapsulates everything from landscapes to people to travel and more, and that feels right to me. I like to walk or drive around and be open to any type of photo or moment that presents itself.
Like most of you, I love reading about anything photography, from new equipment to processing and more. The camaraderie in this community is real, and I have great respect for those who focus on genres beyond me, such as birding and wildlife.
My family and friends find it all pretty obnoxious, as I carry a camera or two everywhere I go. They're sick of it. Over time and with age, I'm shooting more and more with premium fixed-lens compacts, though experimenting with ILCs and different lenses is still fun. My #1 go-to camera is the Fuji X100V, with the Ricoh GR III being runner-up. For ILCs, my Fuji XT-2 with 14mm 2.8 is used a lot. While I know some Adobe, I prefer Capture One Pro for editing. My favorite photos are posted on Flickr at flickr.com/robertdicks2.
Many thanks for allowing me to participate, and I look forward to the learnings this group can provide.
Blair Roy
I grew up in Louisiana, raised my kids in Socal, and have retired in Norcal. I am a retired adult education teacher, having taught many subjects, with my love being ESL and technology integration in the classroom. I have had an interest in photography for as long as I can remember. I have taken thousands of photos over the years but fall short when it comes to editing and sharing them. I lack confidence in those areas and am hoping by joining this group, I will learn more and gain confidence to share more. I look forward to this experience. I use a Sony AR7 IV and my iPhone 14 PRO.
Anne Sandler
Closing my part-time writing business and facing retirement at age 70, in 2013, I turned to photography to keep my brain and body exercised and have fun. I have not been disappointed. I have grown in my ability by reading tutorials and asking lots of questions of other photographers. Through this hobby, I've met many wonderful people, formed a senior photography group and learned so much about my home area Sacramento, California. Currently, Lightroom is my main processing program with Topaz and NIK software as trusty plugins. I do use Photoshop for taking out unwanted stuff and sky replacement when needed. Groups I belong to: Sierra Camera Club, Sacramento, and Lens-Artists Challenge, an online group. I'm also in DSG group #25.
I'm a wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.
You can see my work on: Slow Shutter Speed Blog
Rita Johnston
I am Rita Ellison Johnston. I have lived and worked in Texas most of my life, and now live in Georgetown, Texas for 8 months of the year. The summer months we live by Port Townsend, WA and greatly enjoy the Pacific NW from May to September. We moved to Georgetown, Tx and Sun City 5 years ago to join with other retirees who have similar interests.
While working I always did travel photography on vacations, but got more interested in nature and bird photography while traveling in Florida in 2016. When we moved to Sun City, I joined the Sun City Photography Club, and have been active in it for the last 5 years. I have learned so much! I participate in the Annual Competition, PSA Digial, PSA Print, and PSA Nature interest groups through the club. I've served on the Board and volunteer in activities to give back.
My two cameras are the Sony RX10iv (24-600mm) and the iphone 13 Pro Max. Previously used Nikon cameras, but I like the ease and versatility of my current cameras. I like to photograph nature, wildlife, birds, people, landscapes, and anything I find interesting and different. Looking forward to participating in this group!