A Bit About Chuck Nelson

The photo on the left was taken well over 60 years ago. I haven't changed much but I am a little taller.

I started writing on a website called Squidoo in December of 2011 and migrated to Hub Pages in 2014. I like to write articles about things that interest me but perhaps if I share a little about myself and what interests me you might find that interesting and it might draw you into some of my other writings on (called Hubs) on Hub Pages.

I enjoy learning a little about people who write so this will be your opportunity to learn something about me. I'm married and have an adult daughter and grandcritters. I grew up on a cattle ranch in northern California, obtained a college degree and entered into a career in law enforcement. Today I'm retired from my law enforcement career and am able to pursue many interests that were largely on hold during my working career. Quite frankly, I'm so busy in retirement that I don't know how I ever had time to work.

I am interested in photography and art, nature, Biblical apologetics, especially the creation evolution issue, and writing. You will find that many of my Hubs focus on these interests.

As you can see from the self portrait on the right, I haven't changed much in the last 60+ years. I still have the hat but I'm definitely taller.

I've always enjoyed looking at photographs and obtained my first camera in college. All I could afford was an inexpensive Kodak Instamatic. I was amazed to find that I couldn't capture the wonderful photographs I saw in magazines and hanging on gallery walls. I wanted to photograph eagles in flight, beautiful sunsets and breathtaking scenery but my skills and Instamatic weren't up to the task. I decided that great photographs probably had something to do with knowing what you are doing and using quality equipment. My Instamatic could take nice snapshots but I wanted to take "photographs."

I took a photography course in college which was taught using the Speed Graphic which was a common camera used by news photographers and law enforcement at the time. It used a large 4"x5" negative and we learned to develop the film and create prints. This was long before digital cameras were on the scene but the Speed Graphic was a great camera if a bit cumbersome to use. As a result of the class I learned that I had a lot to learn about photography and that a good camera, like a Speed Graphic, can give me a photograph that was far superior to what my Instamatic could produce.

Years passed and my interest in photography continued on a back burner as my life was consumed with work and family. I managed to acquire a quality 35mm Canon SLR camera along the way and my photography was improving. I was able to do some photography work during my law enforcement career and even had some photographs published but my desire was to pursue photograph as an art form. I wanted to create images that stood out, something beyond snapshots.

My opportunity to pursue photography came with my retirement and with the arrival of digital technology. I invested in quality digital camera gear and began to learn the wonders of modern cameras and photo processing software. I was finding ways to take my images to new levels and to scratch an artistic itch that had been ignored for too many years. Nature and wildlife are my favorite photographic subjects but I'll point my Canon at anything that interests me.

Don't forget to check out some of my photography related HUBS on HUB PAGES.

In my retirement I began to write about my life growing up on a cattle ranch. At first I wasn’t intending to write a book, I was chronicling my life and adventures on the ranch for my grandcritters who were growing up in the city. My writings grew rather extensive as I would make notes as memories came to me and later flesh the memories out into stories of ranch life. I didn't originally intend to write a book for public consumption but many who saw my writings encouraged me to write it as a book....so "OOPS I wrote a book without originally intending to. My book is titled; Life at The End of a Dirt Road because I grew up with three brothers literally at the end of a long dirt road. The book is available on Amazon and all the usual places. I have a hub here on HUB PAGES that will tell you much more about the book and how it came to be published.

Writing a book is a lot of work but it’s also a great experience. If you have an itch to write and feel you have some ingrown stories or something interesting to write about I would encourage you to go for it. Check out the Hub on my book for some tips and ideas but don’t stop there. Search other Hubs on writing and do your homework. The key is to start keeping notes on what you want to write about and start writing! You can do it!

If you've carefully read this commentary, underlining and making notes where appropriate, you should know the following facts about me

• I'm not a girl
• I like to take pictures
• I'm older than I was 60 years ago
• I wrote a book
• I'm taller than I was 60 years ago
• I have two websites
• Did I say I like to take pictures?
• Have you read my book yet?
• I was a cop for around 35 years
• I grew up on a cattle ranch (But I've cleaned my boots since then.)
• I'm good looking if you take the mileage into account

This is my largely humorous book about growing up on a cattle ranch in northern California. Much of it is written from the perspective of the kid on the ranch and it describes everyday life from hunting and fishing to milking cows, plucking chickens and everything in between. We didn't get a telephone or television until I was nearly in high school so I enlighten the reader on how country kids can entertain themselves with minimal technology.

I have a fine art photography website (chucknelsonphotography.com) where you can view my diverse photographic interests. I have a gallery dedicated to vintage vehicles and buildings, galleries for landscapes, waterfalls, birds, wildlife, painterly photography and a variety of other specialized subjects. Mount Shasta and various northern California scenes are prominent in many of my galleries. Most of the galleries have background music if you play them as a slideshow. This allows you to kick back and listen to the music as the images flow by.

I have applied many of my photographs and digital art to a wide variety of products such as mugs, mouse pads, T-shirts, cards, etc. If you are looking for a one-stop location for unique gifts, be sure to visit my Zazzle website, you will find a link on my fine art photography website.