Judy Nagel only wanted one thing for Christmas, a new camera.  (We’ll have to check with her at the next meeting to see how she fared.)  The one she is using now is a 2.1 megapixel, Olympus D490. 

“My camera is coming apart and I have had to use tape and glue on it to keep it together,” she said.  “Unfortunately, they don’t make it any more so there are no new parts available.” 

The lesson we can all learn from this is that it is not necessarily the price or quality of the camera that produces prize-winning pictures, but the expertise of the operator.  Although Judy has belonged to our club for over a year, she has only entered competitions in November and December but earned two ribbons in the intermediate category.

Life began for Judy in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her first camera was her mom’s Brownie box camera. However, a serious interest in photography didn’t begin until she was in her 30’s.  At that time she had a job as a medical secretary, where she had to take pre- and post-operative pictures of children with cleft pallets.

Last year she retired from her position as Administrative Secretary to the president at College of the Desert, hoping for some leisure time, but finds herself busier than ever.  She takes her motorhome on trips with a women’s group on a regular basis in addition to traveling in it to Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Her favorite subjects to photograph are animals and flowers.

In addition to our regular club meeting she also attends DIPSIG, our special interest group on digital photography. 

“I go to the DIPSIG meeting because it is so informative,” she explained.  “Also, the camera club meetings provide a wealth of information.  I like talking to people and love the feedback.