"I've always been in love with photography, but I never got into it until digital because I hated spending money on film," he says.

In 2000, Cody bought his first digital camera. By November 2001, the hobby had bloomed into an obsessive-compulsive passion for great photos.

"With so much energy going into it, I made a business out of it," said Cody, a Willow Glen resident who has a studio on The Alameda.

Initially, Cody was simply looking for office space. When he mentioned that to John Gamber, his friend suggested he might have just the space for rent.

"When we walked in, it was a dream come true," Cody says. "The space was a warehouse with a small office in the back. I was only looking for office space and ended up with a great production studio."

Cody is unusual in the field of photography as he eschewed a formal education and classes in favor of self-study.

"The technical side came easy from a background of writing software," he says.

The artistic side came from Cody's own eye and his careful observations over the years of photojournalism in publications, particularly Bay Area newspapers.

"I've always loved press photography," Cody says.

His goal for each photo, he says, is that it be on a level of what appears in the New York Times and the Washington Post and on the Associated Press photo wires.

"That's been my study ground: the images they create, their perspective, their style and how to tell a story visually," he says.

A frequent freelancer for Silicon Valley Business Journal and a sometime contributor to Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, Cody says his specialties are corporate work and social events.

"I like to say my work captures the human experience at an event," he notes. "In 2003, at my weekly business network meetings, I used to introduce myself as, 'the paparazzi that makes you look good.' "

It seems a lot of Silicon Valley corporations agree.

Cody's website includes the logos of local firms he's photographed for, including Cisco Systems, Intel, Seibel, Oracle, Sun Microsystems and Nokia. He's also worked for Montalvo Arts Center, Santana Row, San Jose Repertory Theatre and Silicon Valley Capital Club.

Michael Comerate, general manager of the Capital Club, says he initially hired Cody, who is also a club member, to shoot the staff for the club's newsletter.

"Now we pretty much use Doug for all our events at the club," Comerate says. "He does a very good job. We have a lot of people events, and he captures the moment very well. He's good at catching the right expression and visuals of whatever he's photographing."

Lynda Evjen, CEO of the Buzzbee Group, met Cody at a Capitol Club event shortly after he started shooting professionally.

"He was doing one of the charity events," she recalls.

Evjen invited Cody to work with her on marketing events and share her office space.

A Willow Glen resident for eight years, Cody says he initially was looking for space around his home or in downtown San Jose, when he found the studio on The Alameda.

"This is a dream come true," Cody says. "It's a great home base."

Doug Cody is the owner of Bay Area Event Photography, 1020 B The Alameda, 408.482.5143. His website is www. bayareaeventphotography.com.