Los Alamos photographer Doug Coombs shooting in Monterey, Calif. Courtesy photo
Sandhill Crane landing at Bosque del Apache. Photo by Doug Coombs
By BONNIE J. GORDON
Los Alamos Daily Post
bjgordon@ladailypost.com
Since photographer Doug Coombs retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory where he worked as a software engineer and developer, he divides his time between Los Alamos and Pagosa Springs. He isn’t home much in either place.
Coombs is either on the road or planning his next trip. He’s currently on a 20-day trip to the Tucson area with his wife Miyuki, who “learned photography in self-defense” and for the past three years has been shooting alongside her husband.
The show at the Portal Gallery of Fuller Lodge Art Center features more than 20 recent photographs. Coombs shoots landscape and wildlife photography for the most part.
Perhaps his best known work is the Milky Way Series of photos of the Milky Way from different scenic locations.
“We figure out where we want to shoot and then return at night,” he said. “We use Gaia GPS to get there in the dark…The Milky Way Series is the most technical stuff I do. I use as many as 16 exposures to take out the digital noise.”
Coombs has given a number of presentations on digital processing, including how he did the Milky Way Series.
Coombs said most of the work in the show was shot with a Canon Mark 4. Some of the Bosque del Apache pictures were shot with a Canon R-5.
“There wasn’t much water at the Bosque this year and the birds were congregated at the main pond,” Combs said. “That made photographing them easier.”
Although Coombs has been shooting digitally for nearly 20 years, he first became involved with film-based photography in the 9th grade.
“One of my friends got a darkroom and I became enamored,” he said. “When I got my first SLR I started shooting landscapes. I took an adult photography class. I was the only kid.”
Coombs continued with his passion in college and in the early 80s, photographed sports at the University of Arizona, where he worked as a darkroom tech and photographer.
He also photographed weddings professionally to help pay for college, with the help of his wife.
“University Photo Service was right next to the Hiking Center,” Coombs said. “I started working there and I got to use the darkroom. I took lots of slides of nature while out hiking.”
When the Coombs family came to Los Alamos and had kids, they were busy with family life and careers.
When their children, Erika and Kent, started playing soccer, Coombs’ interest in photography was reignited. He bought his first digital SLR in 2003.
“Since I’m a software developer, being on the computer came easily,” he said. “These days, Adobe Lightroom is my primary tool.”
Coombs co-chaired and chaired the Los Alamos Photography Club and the Los Alamos Adobe Users Group for many years and is currently an active member of the Pagosa Springs Photography Club.
Although many of his photographer buddies have turned pro, Coombs so far as resisted the pull and remains “a professional amateur” by choice.
For now, he’s back on the road. After the Arizona trip, he has plans to visit the Great Sand Dunes in July and Alaska in August, where he plans to photograph bears. In December, it’s off to Florida and in February, it’s back to Africa.
In July, it’s off to Brazil. Coombs is still filling in the gaps. June, he noted is open.
See Coombs’ show at the Portal Gallery through mid-May. Fuller Lodge Art Center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is located at 2132 Central Ave. in Los Alamos.
In addition to the show, Coombs also sells his work at the Art Center and the pictures from this show and many others as well are available at the Center.
Visit his website at dougsview.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/doug.coombs.982/ Visit on Instagram at instagram.com/dougsview/.
Mara River Crossing in Africa. Photo by Doug Coombs
