FAIRMONT - Photography started out simply as a way to capture his sons' athletic events, and then it evolved.
"It got addicting," said Greg Abel, whose hobby often takes him driving around Martin County, looking for bits of history and interesting details - the "nooks and crannies of nature" - to further explore through the lens of his camera.
Starting out, Abel had a Sony 3 megapixel digital camera, a shoot-and-point with a zoom capability that seemed pretty fancy at the time to the amateur photographer. He later upgraded to a 5 megapixel but still wasn't satisfied.
So he sold his old pickup, a GMC he had plans to restore, and used the money to buy a Canon 40D.
"Now I want more lenses," he said, laughing.
Most of Abel's pictures are nature shots taken in this area. Deer, birds, insects, weeds, old dilapidated buildings - anything outdoors is a potential subject for him.
"Most people think, 'I've got to take a trip where I can take a perfect picture,'" he said. "... There are a lot of pictures that are unique or different in this area, even in your backyard."
Whenever the weather cooperates and time permits, Abel and his wife, Mary, drive around looking for inspiration. People have seen him out crouching by the side of the road and later asked him what he was doing.
"Taking a picture of a bug," he said.
Why would he want to do that? they ask.
"There's art in everything," he said, but people need to stop and take the time to see it.
"It's like a horse wearing blinders. Most people just aren't looking around. They're looking straight ahead."
Abel grew up on a farm, which is where his love for nature likely began.
"You see things growing up on a farm that you don't see in town, and vice versa," he said.
That is how his romantic view of old farm buildings developed, an appreciation for an era that is slipping away.
"An old barn, it has history. It's experienced all the seasons, the wind, the rain, the sun. ... That thing's got some history and beauty to it. It's worn and weathered. It's something like people."
His view of the world around him has changed as he himself has aged. His sons give him a hard time, he said, because he now prefers taking a picture of wildlife instead of hunting it as he did in the past. And he's exploring a bit of poetry, as well, to try to capture in words the magic of a sunset, or a beautiful flower, to accompany a picture.
"It's just a hobby," he said, regarding his photography. "If others find it enjoyable, great."
Abel's work is displayed each month as part of the Fairmont Area Chamber of Commerce newsletter. To view more of his photographs, search for Greg Abel at www.betterphoto.com
