About Me

A New Year... new opportunities, new experiences...

I haven’t done much in the way of exhibits so far this year. My first exhibit will be at the Schenectady Juneteenth Celebration at Schenectady’s Central Park June 14th and 15th. I hope to see you there...

Photography. That quest to answer the age old question: “Did you see that?” in the affirmative: “Yes! And here it is right here!”.

Photography has been a passion of mine for quite some time. I won’t bore you with the makeshift darkroom/bathroom stories. When it became too expensive to develop film my interests moved over to computers and fresh water aquariums. When advances in technology all but erased the cost of photo development my passion for photography was rekindled. So, here I am today to share with you , through my eyes, my sights, my vision, my passion.

As you browse this site, I hope you enjoy the images I have been able to capture. Most of the images are unaltered, but the ones that I’ve ‘played with’ should be obvious (see Something Different). With few exceptions, the images are from the Capital Region of New York State, primarily Albany (Albany Skies, Capital Scenes, Empire State Plaza, Corning Tower) and Schenectady (Landscapes, Schenectady, Stockade).

Born and raised in Brooklyn NY, I migrated to the Capital Region in the late 90’s. The wide open spaces, unobstructed view of the sky, oh.. and family, were the things that drew me here. And for the most part, I love it here. The exception would be the winter season, but that’s a book chapter for another time.

The purpose of my work, my passion, is to get you to see things you’ve always seen in a new way. Let’s take a flower, for example. A flower is a flower is a flower. Until you stop and reach out and feel that you can lift it off the page, feel the texture of its petals, smell its scent. Then, it’s not just a flower, like the hundreds, or thousands of flowers you’ve seen before. It becomes something more than real. Something that is yours alone. Something personal, special, uniquely yours.

If I’ve done my job then you will be back to this site. Some of the things you’ll see here will make you think, make you stop and stare, make you feel. And even after you’ve turned off your computer, or moved on to other activities, the images here will come back your mind. When these things happen, truly, my job is done.

Inquiries: If you are interested in purchasing any of the photos on this site, send me an email with the photo name (which is listed directly under the photo), size and quantity. The photos are available as:

1. 8x10 prints matted and mounted in 11x14 frames

2. 11x14 prints matted and mounted in 16x20 frames

Larger sizes are available on request

Name: Farel M. Collins

Gender: Male

Age: 34

Birthday: July 27th

Status: Married

Hometown: Brooklyn NY

Industry: Government

Occupation: Computer Tech

Location: Albany, NY

Quote: "Simplicity is the most difficult thing to secure in this world, it is the last limit of experience, and the last effort of genius." George Sand

Author: Laurell K. Hamilton

Movies: Anything with: Angelina Jolie, Bruce Willis, ,Harrison Ford, Keanu Reeves, Will Smith

TV Shows: House, CSI, SciFi Channel

Travel Destination: Far East, Hawaii, Alaska