Thank you for visiting charliehillsphoto.com and welcome!  Hi, I am Charlie Hills and this is the home and display portal for Charlie Hills Photography.

I am primarily an outdoor and natural light photographer who uses flash and other light modifiers as necessary.  I have experience, capability, and interest in landscape, cityscape, travel, nature, action, sports, candid portrait, and event candid subject matter.  I am based in Columbia, Maryland.  When appropriate or when I have free reign, I like to incorporate  stylization,  interpretation, and abstraction into my images.  In order to accomplish this, I am continually educating myself in the use of digital post-processing tools to achieve what I hope my customers and audience will agree is a pleasing, eye-catching, and interesting result.

In addition to selling the images available on this site, I welcome both photographic and image post-processing assignments.  For post-processing work, I will accept images taken by you or others (with appropriate authorization). Go to the Services Menu to learn about the services I provide.  Go to the Prints Menu to learn about the print products I provide.

This is a page about me and where I am coming from, so let's get to it!  I am a techie!  My college education is in Electrical Engineering, which I actually never did.  I am retired now from a career as a technical professional and manager, where the bulk of my time was spent conceptualizing solutions and managing software development efforts.  That career started in 1969.  In the early 1970's, I bought my first camera, a Nikkormat. I was initially influenced by a friend who exuded the joy he had from taking Kodachrome slides at that juncture. Since I was interested in expressing myself visually, photography seemed enticing, particularly because even though I have tried,  I can't sketch, draw, or paint worth a D___,  Mine is the same familiar story to what many other people say when they turned to photography as a means of expression.  Ever since, I have enjoyed taking photographs and making images as an avid hobby and as an avocation, earning some money by selling my images and accepting assignments during the many years since that starting point. Upon retirement from the technical profession, I started my photography business based on my long standing interest in the field. 

Along this journey, I must emphasize the importance that the "digital revolution" in photography has had in keeping me motivated.  The ongoing evolution of digital cameras and the equipment in general makes it now possible to capture more kinds of images with high fidelity and low graininess compared to a few years ago.  Perhaps even more importantly, the ever growing power of image post-processing software has allowed me to express myself in ways that were not even within my consideration just a few years ago.  These advances have inspired me not only with new material I create, but this continuing post-processing software evolution, has led to reworking older images as well. The end result, is that I feel more than ever like an artist now and not just a picture taker.  That is a wonderful feeling for a person who can't draw.  The bottom line is that I hope you enjoy the images I have available and that you would be interested in becoming a customer or a client.

I do have other interests beyond photography and it is probably most important to begin with family.  I have a wife of many years ( 39 and counting) and three children now all in their thirties.  My wife owns and operates a thriving needlepoint finishing business.  Regarding my children and a connection with my photography, during their formative and education years, they all played sports through the college level.  My interest in sports photography certainly stemmed from trying to record them in action.  Needless to say, I wish I had the photography equipment capabilities back then that I have today.  Both of my boys played hockey and the typical hockey rink is not well lit.  My daughter played soccer, which was much easier to photograph.

I have been interested in sports my entire life, both as a participant and a fan.  My current passion is road bicycle riding, having logged over 4000 miles in 2013 and over 5000 miles in 2014.  Running, racquetball, and skiing have also had highest priority in the past.  I don't watch much television, but I enjoy watching bicycling world tour events (e.g. -Tour de France), open wheel racing (F1 and Indy Car), and professional football.  And while we are on the subject of TV, the "Breaking Bad" series is  the pinnacle of great TV, in my opinion.

Thanks again for visiting charliehillsphoto.com!  Please return often to enjoy and to watch as the library of images grows.  If you are interested in contacting me about an assignment,  a purchase from this site, or you simply have questions or comments, please use the Contact Menu or send an email to charlie@charliehillsphoto.com

I use Nikon cameras and professional level lenses.  Currently in my camera bag are:

     □ Nikon D800 Camera

     □ Nikon 14-24 F2.8 

     □ Nikon 24-70 F2.8

     □ Nikon 70-200 F2.8

     □ Nikon 200-400 F4

     □ Nikon SB-900 and  2 SB-800 flash units

     □ Apple iPhone

     □  Nikon D2x Camera (backup)

The post-processing software I use on my Mac Pro and other Apple devices includes:

      □ Adobe Lightroom

      □ Adobe Photoshop

      □ HDR Soft Photomatix Pro

      □ On One Perfect Photo Suite

      □ Topaz Labs Photography Collection