My View of the World

Larch Mountain Road, Multnomah County, OR (2019)

The age at which I recall first taking photographs was when I was about to turn twelve years. My dad, who had always been the family photographer when we were young, bought me my first camera in 1971—a Kodak Instamatic. Following that camera was a Polaroid and then another Instamatic. I took some fairly decent pictures (notice I didn't say "photographs"? 😉) with those starter cameras. My first decent camera was a Canon AE-1, which I bought in 1980. That camera was a beast with its 80-200mm zoom lens (almost 2 pounds!), making it impractical for my day-to-day life working with horses and then years later when I had my daughter. I missed out on way too many once-in-a-lifetime moments because of its unwieldiness and the expense of film and processing. It was 2008 when we acquired our first and only digital camera, an Olympus SP510UZ. I was finally able to take photographs whenever I wanted without limits! My first usage of cell phone cameras began with an LG Rumor in 2008 followed by two different BlackBerry devices. I have used iPhones exclusively since 2013 and know that they'll always be my only "camera." 

To my knowledge, my photographs have been published in one book, one magazine, one calendar, one educational film, and used on countless company websites, national & state park websites, tourism websites, broadcast news websites, e-magazine websites, and both commercial and personal blogs. Most of my photographs are licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License
 
After all of these years it still thrills my shutterbug heart when I see my photographs being used (as licensed & with credit to valeehill, of course) all over the Internet. 🥰 

Please click or tap photos for full effect
 
1st Camera, 1st Roll of Film - Barker Reservoir, CO (1971)

Flamoniatar, Simi Valley, CA (1975)

My Love, Gypsy Mellodee, Lakeside, CA  (1983)

J. Michael Plumb (U.S.) aboard Bluestone (1984 Olympics)

Half Dome, Yosemite NP, CA (1984)

Margaret & MHR Port Typhoon, CA (1986)

Amurath Bandolero, Valley Center, CA (1990)

Tube Time at the Playground, VA (2001)   

My Rivah Girl, VA (2005)

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, VA (2008)

The Rogue Island Tugboat, Rappahannock River, VA (2008)

The Atlantic, Nags Head, NC (2013)

Crown Cove, Imperial Beach, San Diego, CA (2017)

San Elijo State Beach, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA (2017)

Along U.S. Route 395 in Inyo County, CA (2019)

Alabama Hills National Scenic Area, CA (2019)

Eastern Sierra Nevada, Inyo County, CA (2019)

June Lake, Mono County, CA (2019)

Grant Lake, Mono County, CA (2019)

Bridgeport Valley, Mono County, CA (2019)

Lake Tahoe, CA (2019)

Burney Falls, Shasta County, CA (2019)

Sacramento River, Redding, CA (2019)

Summit Lake, Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA (2019)

Mount Shasta, CA (2019)

Crater Lake, OR (2019)

Columbia River Gorge, OR (2019)

Cape Meares, OR (2019)

Heceta Head Lighthouse, OR (2019)

Ohanapecosh River, WA (2019)

San Juan Island, Puget Sound, WA (2019)
East from Deception Pass Bridge, WA (2019)

Downtown Historical Port Townsend, WA (2019)

First Beach, La Push, WA (2019)
The Gingerbread Mansion, Ferndale, CA (2019)

Navarro State Beach, CA (2019)

Through my RV home window, San Diego County, CA (2023)
 
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(rev. 01/01/2024)

Comments

Amy L said…
Wow, your photos are stunning!!!
Virginia Hill said…
Thank you, Amy! I've NEVER considered myself a photographer, but I feel like I'm a pretty darn good shutterbug! 😊