At some point in the mid 1970's, Doug Howard became aware of his penchant for really focusing on a scene with his eye drawn especially to line and shadow. He soon aquired his first serious camera, a Canon F1, and built his own darkroom. Shortly after that he aquired a large format camera and began making black and white landscapes following the zone system of Ansel Adams. This led to many years of enjoyment with this art form.
As a child he lived in Morro Bay during the 1940s. After World War II his family moved to the Southern California area until, in 1993, he moved his large family and business back to the Central Coast. Here he eventually retired to full-time involvment with his passion for photography. He soon founded and still heads what is now called the North County Image Makers photography club. He is also a member of the f11 group, the Atascadero Art Association, and the San Luis Obispo Photo Society. His work is shown in several galleries on the Central Coast.
Although he still holds to the values of traditional photography, he now continues the "darkroom" process with the digital tools of a computer to make his award winning archival prints, finished with museum quality matting and framing.
He resides with his wife, Kathy, a wearable artist, in Atascadero, California.
