On the contrary, he was simply stating a fact. On display through Nov. 24, the photographic installation lets viewers discover three of Keenan's favorite sources of imagery—or, as he puts it, the worlds of nature, of people and of universes. The exhibit was also a chance for him to explore the techniques and boundaries of his state-of-the-art 6-megapixel digital camera, with which he snapped all of these photos.

"I prefer to think of it as just photography. If people like what they see, it doesn't matter what the tool is that made it," says Keenan, who still takes plenty of conventional photographs but is getting more interested in digital.

"There are lots of different techniques you can use to change the look of a conventional photo. You can use different lenses, different types of film, different developing processes and papers. But there was no way to hit 'undo' and go back in the old days if you made a mistake. With digital photography, you have more control," he adds.

Keenan has come a long way from his childhood in Rochester, N.Y., where he frequently bicycled to the George Eastman House and "gawked" at the museum's many photographic exhibits. Before he was even a teenager, Keenan recalls, he had built a basement darkroom and was printing his own black-and-white photos.

While he never lost his passion for photography, Keenan put it on the back burner for several decades to work in the financial field, raise a family with his wife, Kathy, and, for a time, join her in running a public relations firm.

In the 1990s, he returned to his first love of photography—at first just for fun, and then for profit, when friends kept complimenting him and asking him for copies of his prints. He has since become an award-winning photographer and has exhibited at several South Bay art shows, galleries and open studios events.

Among the most unusual photos at his Aegis Gallery show are what he calls "magic universes," which consist of enlarged close-ups of the intricate blown-glass paperweights made by one of Keenan's fellow Aegis members, Janett Peace of Sunnyvale. The photos' titles are equally engaging, including Cosmic Explosion, Psychedelic Bubbles and Alien DNA.

More down-to-earth are Keenan's photos of people and places, including his and Kathy's autumn foray to the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, held this year at Casa De Fruta in Hollister. Lady Ertle and The Highlander are two particularly memorable portraits. Nature is another of his favorite inspirations, as can be seen in the textural Point Lobos Rocks and the colorful contrasts in Poppies & Cactus Blossoms.

"My hope is that the viewer will enjoy the journey of exploration through my photographs. And have fun, too!" Keenan says.

Aegis Gallery of Fine Art is located at 14531 Big Basin Way, Unit 2. Gallery hours are Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, call 408.867.0171 or visit www.aegisgallery.com.