Featured Photographer Don Brown

Don Brown

I retired in 2006 from the Federal Aviation Administration after serving as an air traffic controller for 25 years. I was a founding member of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association and wrote a column for AvWeb (an internet-based aviation magazine) for 5 years. My retirement gift from my wife was a Nikon D80.

I started taking photographs on my first visit to the Rocky Mountains when I was 28 years old. A brief association with a stock photography company convinced me that I didn't want to be a commercial photographer. After drifting away from it for a few years, I was glad to pick up the hobby again when I retired. Learning the digital side of photography is still a challenge.

Photography -- like all my hobbies -- is an excuse to get outside. I photograph the sunrise virtually every morning. Being alone in the darkness, watching the stars fade into daylight is my favorite time of day. Besides the sunrise, my favorite subjects are mountains and rodeos. I'd love to photograph every sunset but there are other demands on my time.

I'm currently the Chairman of the Democratic Party of Pike County. I sing in the choir at St. George's Episcopal Church in Griffin. I live in Williamson with my wife and daughter. After the first of the year, I will start working on a large, long-term project -- creating the world's first photography park.

You can find me most mornings, walking and taking pictures at the neighborhood lake while I try to get comfortable with the word "artist" and taking a compliment.