Member introductions

[Pekka]

I thought I'd start this thread where everyone can introduce themselves, tell something about what you are in real life, photography history, what interests you, whatever you want to say about yourself! As a reminder of Internet security keep details like street addresses and bank accounts out of it.

(see also http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=64774 which explains meaning of our usernames)

I'm a Finn, born in -60-something, living in Helsinki with a lovely lady on a house with patio and fireplace, near the sea. I am professional musician (been since 1985), and have played classical 5-string double bass with Finnish Radio Symphony orchestra since -89. You can see the instrument I play in http://www.photography-on-the.net/gallery/photo.php?photo=282

My first digital camera was Olympus C2000. Yep, Olympus. It was not a bad camera, but I needed something will less noise and hotshoe so I got Canon G1. It really kicked my creative senses. My G1 gallery (http://www.photography-on-the.net/gallery/list.php?exhibition=2) got quite popular and one day I got this idea of my own Canon forum where we could talk about Canon digital cameras (I was fed up with attitude people had in dpreview). So I started the forum and it has been growing since. I'm really glad it has become the favourite place for many, and I intend to work hard keeping the site up and evolving. I have got wonderful people to help me with moderating and taking care of the forum, and with them and great members we have (I mean it) I think we may enjoy this community a long time.

Today I photograph with 1D Mark II and few nice lenses (85/1.2L, 70-200 f/2.8L IS, 50/1.4, 17-40L...). I have had Canon D30, D60 and 10D before it but one day I decided to jump out of the yearly upgrade routine and get something I could work with longer, continuously. I like to shoot mostly environmental portraits and PR-style documentary - music, people, events. Mostly "ISO 1600 stuff" - I usually avoid flash. I do not shoot daily - I shoot when I have a good reason to shoot and when it is fun - this approach has proven to be very productive. I want to keep photography as a dear hobby (which sometimes pays) and not kill the enthusiasm with too much work and worry. I believe that each halve of the brain and each sense needs to be worked out equally to build a balanced person.

I always shoot RAW (since G1), and use C1 Pro and currently Rawshooter Premium and Color Engine for conversion. I have a big PC with two Eizo LCD's for photo work and about 3000 Gigabytes of storage (I like to back up on several hard disks instead of just DVDs). On the road I back up to Nexto CF and LG LW20 laptop.

I also program with PHP and MySQL and design websites etc. My main interest is Exhibit Engine gallery application which builds my gallery http://www.photography-on-the.net/gallery/ which will get a big update hopefully before Chistmas (both EE and the gallery).

If you have any worries, problems, comments or suggestions about this forum, feel free to PM me!

[wannasmaxx]

My name is Josh Dailey, I am 17, a senior in High School. I shoot with a 350D for anything school-related. I live in Surrey, England and will be going to GSU in Statesborro, GA at the end of this school year. I'm not very musical, but I like to listen to music loudly. My driving is considered by some to be erratic, or scary... Depending of whether or not you keep your eyes shut. I think I drive perfectly fine, but whatever. I'm interrested in sports photography, but can't be arsed to do sports myself. My only "sport" I participate in is snowboarding, and that is merely a hobby that I partake in at Xmas time in various ski resorts. I fream of big, white glass, but my wallet doesn't. Not quite a autobiography, like Pekka wrote, but that's it.

[Falkon]

Hi I am a plumber by trade. I started in photography in the 6th grade, I had a dark room and did black and white for years. Now I use my DSLR and photo shop. I found this site and have had a good time reading.

here is my visa number 85756 and my bank account number is 101099928 my address is 1122 somestreet ....oh wait I forgot about internet security.

[Wazza]

Good topic Pekka!

Well, as many know already, I'm part of the Great Kiwi group of members here at POTN. We seem to have taken over the boards recently... Now if only all of us had as many posts as Tim. :lol:

Anyway, my name is Warren Williams, and I'm a full time worker in a local bank, Westpac, doing Customer Service/Sales etc. I was born in the early 80's ;)

I'm an avid Aviation spotter, (when I actually have time for it, and the weather is ok!), I put a few of my shots on Airliners.net
http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?photographersearch=Warren%20Williams&distinct_entry=true
However, I do have many many more, that I simply don't have the time to share on 56K! I'm one of the poor ones who has lived with this since getting the net back in 1996.

My favourite form of photography is landscapes, however every subject I've photographed, I seem to have enjoyed doing, and the results haven't been too bad. I currently own a Canon 20D, with a few minimal lens, and only one L.

In between photography and working full time, I manage to play some computer racing games, which I've had some success in Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed (the 5th version in a series, which is currently up to # 9 - "Most Wanted"). I administered the main statistics page on a website, and won a few prizes along the way in worldwide racing competitons.

In the future, I plan on developing my photography knowledge, particularly in Portrait/Lighting Studio Work/ and photograph more weddings.
I plan on travelling back to England sometime soon, however that's still just talk, and really need to plan it better. Travelling Europe would be awesome. Also a safari tour through Africa with a 500mm f4 would be a dream.. If anyone wants to lend me their lens.. They're more than welcome to. ;)

That's enough of my history. Thanks Pekka for your story, and keeping this place alive.

BTW, I also have my own personal website, which is only aimed at my friends..
Just sharing some of the recent shots I've done, and challenges.

http://wazza.nfscity.com

[Ronald S. Jr.]

Well, I think you all know my name. I'm 21 years old, and I live..well...you know where. I operate, alongside my failing mother (physically), an "assisted living" type facility here in our house. I love photography, however with the "biz", I find less than enough time for it. Unfortunately, I find myself having to refuse paid jobs now and again because I have such a commitment here. That's how it is, though. I'm more interested in helping my family than my bank account. I also play lots and lots of video games (still a kid, you know!), and I'm a bit of a chef myself (look out, Dante! ;-) ). Most anytime someone would see me, they'd see me with an animal. I have 5 dogs and 4 birds, which is a lot less than I used to. I usually have one of my chihuahua puppies in my arm :-D

I also am a musician. That's my other passion. I play the guitar, trumpet, and piano. Started guitar at 5, piano at 6, and trumpet at 8. My trumpet spends most of its time (when it's warm!) in my car. On my days off, I go off into nowhere and play as much and as loud as I like.

And now I'll shut up. :-D

Oh, and here's a shot of my house. Some people around here gawk (kinda poor area), but it's just enough for what we have. 23 rooms, 10 bedrooms, and 6 1/2 baths.

Adios. (oh yeah, I'm trilingual, too ;-) )

42395

[ayotnoms]

I wish I could go back to the day I signed up for the forum and change my screen name. AYOTNOMS is bass ackwards for my name, S. Montoya. :)

I am a native of New Mexico now living in Northern California for the past 26 yrs.

I have two adult children (a son and a daughter), a wife who was kind enough to pass on her good looks to my kids, and one grandson. They have made the occasional appearance on some of the photos I've posted here.

I work in downtown San Francisco as a network analyst. The day job offers me the chance to post a few comments during the work day, but don't tell my boss :)

I started with photography the day after my daughter was born in 1980. The camera, of course, was a Canon. The venerable AE-1. It still works! My first plunge into the digital world was when Sony began selling their Mavica still camera in 1997. I was sooo impressed with images that were a whopping 640 X 480. Boy, have times changed.

After getting everything I wanted out of the Sony, there was a 4 yr gap before I bought my second Canon SLR, the 20D. The interval was filled by one Nikon CoolPix and a Canon G5. The G5 is now the wifes camera....she doesn't like all the nerd knobs on the DSLRs.

Photography, in addition to being a creative outlet, has truly helped me view the world differently. There are many times I wish I could fly with a jet pack just to get new angles and perspectives that are denied us earthbound photographers. On the other hand, I'm convinced that people are tiring of me and my camera in their faces all the time.

I am glad my interest in photography was rekindled with my 20D and I am equally glad that I found this forum so that I might learn and share experiences with others who share a passion for cameras/lens/photos.

...so thanks Pekka for taking the initiative and starting POTN. It's fun to be part of this fun, creative, and truly global community.

:)
Steve

[IanD]

I'll be the first Canadian to add to this post. Born in 50 something (sorry about the copycat test Pekka:)) and have lived in Montreal for 95% of my life. Spent a couple of years in Toronto but moved back here due to the lack of a good poutine. Been with the same lady for the past 10 years. We live in what is called the West Island of Montreal. I currently work as a Territory Manager for a major bicycle company. I've been involved in sporting goods one way or another most of my life. I got into photography in my early 20's after a major skiing accident put an end to my racing career. Being laid up in bed for 6 months put an damper on many activities so I decided to record my recovery on film. Worked my way through Pentax K's and Olympus OM-1's. Always had a camera handy wherever I went. Decided to go digital about 2 years ago and have been shooting Canon ever since. Started with a Rebel and am currently shooting a 1dMKII. Wildlife is my favorite subject and my travels give me plenty of shooting opportunities.
Past experiences include, member of the Canadian National Smallbore Rifle Team (prone), Diawa Pro Staff member, Canadian IBO Champion, owner/operator of a guiding service (sold in 1989, chase them now with the MKII), DJ (CFOS Owen Sound/CFOX Montreal), unsuccessful downhill ski racer:o.
When not working or logged onto POTN, you can find me out fishing, chasing wildlife with the MKII, puttering in my workshop (I'm a very good putterer), tending to Gitzo or cutting grass/shoveling snow (depends upon the season.)
Pekka, I've said it once before and I'll say it again, thank-you for your unselfishness in developing POTN. It is an honor to be a member.

[tim]

I'm Tim (duh!), i'm 28 going on 12 ;) I live in New Zealand, the only other Kiwi member i've met so far is Wazza but I have plans to make a trip up to Auckland to meet the rest of them before too long. My primary trade is J2EE software development, which i've been doing for about 8 years. It was my Mum who suggested I do more photography, an innocent comment something along the lines of "you seem to like taking photos, maybe you should get into photography".

Well that comment was the start. A year ago I was asking if a DSLR could take video, then found this place and was suitable educated by the likes of Bob, Scott, Bloo Dog (sigh), and numerous others. In the past year i've upgraded to a 20D, gotten a rather large bunch of lenses from 12mm to 200mm, including the lovely 70-200 F2.8 IS, 50mm F1.4, Tamron 28-75 F2.8, Canon 100mm F2.8 macro, and the Tokina 12-24. I have a couple of flashes, a couple of studio lights, and a whole bunch of other stuff too, including a second 20D. A 1 series camera is probably in my future, though i'm holding off to see what Canon comes up with in the next year or so, as the 20D's are doing great for me right now - the limitation is still my skill or lack thereof, not the cameras.

To my suprise, one year after buying an SLR i'm now a "professional" wedding photograper, in that people pay me to do their wedding photos. I love doing wedding photography, as challenging as it is. I also do a little bit of modelling photography for fun, and some experimental stuff when I get time. I'm still amazed how quickly i've gone from n00b to "pro".

Photography for me is a joy, an obsession, and a love. It takes up a huge fraction of my life, and I wouldn't have it any other way. At some point I may consider going full time pro, but it seems hard to make a good living doing that. Until then i'll keep one foot in each field (IT/photography) and enjoy the best of both worlds :)

Many thanks to Pekka and the mods for providing such a great place for us all to learn and hang out with like minded people. POTN and the members here have helped my photographic development more than any other influence :)

[JAZZ D.P.G.]

My name is Jim Stevenson, and JAZZ is a play on my initials, JAS and digital graphics and photography.

Another Canadian, and a relative newbie compared to most so far as a photographer. While it had always interested me, I never got into it (with one useless excuse after another).
In real life, I'm an RF (radio frequency) tech with some wonderful work experiences, which have led to the current position as manager of a tech troubleshooting team for a major 911 and radio equipment manufacturer. When 911 stops working, we get called. I've travelled in most of my work, and it is a requirement for me to work somewhere. I like to travel.
I got into photography when I was working with a company that does the special effects for the NASCAR broadcasts. the real time position on track and arrows effect. I had a little spare time, and money, and spent time with the pros and learned what I wanted and how-to's, and got to do some work as well.
Developed many side interests: travel photography, landscapes, flowers, protraits, etc. Swore never to do weddings, though.:lol:
I'm in my late 40's, and I've been married for 28yrs to my final high-school sweetheart, with two adult children, boys, of whom only one is threatening to make me a granddad. (I'm lucky, the daughter in law is not ready:lol: )
I've based out of Ottawa for most of my life, and have absolutely enjoyed it. The smaller size and the cleanest, greenest space in Canada. And a very good supply of Poutine, that would make even the Montrealer's happy :D .

I found POTN on my own, and have brought it to many that I have run into. I hope to one day share as much as I have learned here, though not to the degree that Pekka (and the mods and pro's) has given to us all.

Thank you all.

[b16pwrdej1]

My name is Brian Trent, 20 years old, and I live in south/central Virginia. I am a full-time student at Lynchburg College; a local liberal arts college with around 1,500-2,000 students. I am majoring in Environmental Science with hopes to work for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in the Pollution Response Department or Norfolk Southern in their Environmental Division. In my summers and spare time between semesters, I work for a local Hazardous Materials Response Company; cleaning up anything from grain spilled from train cars, diesel fuel from wrecked 18-wheelers, to acid and the such...it's a really interesting field that I would have never dreamed of being in when I was a child (or should I say a younger child, since I am still young). My hobbies include fishing, hunting, basically anything outside, music (I play trumpet and piano), working on cars or anything mechanical, and recently found a love for railroads and trains so now I enjoy railfanning any chance I get.

I have always enjoyed photography since my parents purchased me a Kodak P&S a few years ago for Christmas. After attending a practice round of the U.S. Open this summer in Pinehurst, NC, I finally realized the limitations of a P&S and became very frustrated. After researching on the internet and finding this wonderful website, I decided to purchase a digital SLR. During the summer I became the proud owner of a 20D, 70-200mm f4 L, kit lens, and recently purchased a 50mm f1.8.

I enjoy photographing trains and railroad subject matter, landscape, and various other subject material. I am still a novice, but by reading and discussing with the great minds of this forum, I can see my work getting alot better when I compare images taken when I first got my 20D to present.

[tiefelj]

The name is Jake Tiefel. I have been married 35 years and work as an NC machine programmer at the Boeing Wind Tunnel, in Washington state. Yep, I help make all the models for the tunnel. I have worked for Boeing for 33 years.

I just got my master's degree earlier this year--better late than never. I also teach three classes for a local college: machining, Catia V5, and a tooling class. I don't have too much time for any other hobbies than photography.

I was born and raise in Texas and I think my heart is still there.

There are two grand kids and one on the way and probably one next year.

I've had a Pentax with screw mount (does this date me or what). This was bought by another sailor on my ship, but he wanted to go on liberty (read: go to bars), so I bought the body, 50mm 1.4 lens and 135mm lens for $50. Then came an Olympus OM-1 and OM-2 with several accessories but I soon lost interest in photography.

My wife bought me a P&S that was almost like DOS in boot-up and write speed and it had a rather *large* 8 meg card.

Fortunately before I bought anything I discovered this forum.

When I looked at the newest technology along with this groups pictures I was enthralled. I had seen Canons before but never paid much attention. Then I started reading this forum and I was hooked.

This is a very moderate and understanding group and I appreciate that. But, you cost me way too much money. Then again, I buy "right" the first time.

[saravrose]

here goes, my name is Sara. I'm from just outside of Boise Idaho. I work in a hospice like program during the days, and waitress and bartend at nights. I'm a student majoring in social work at boise state university. and during my spare forty-five minutes a day I like to take photos. I bought my first camera (a point and shoot) a year ago to take with me to the East coast and caught the bug at the statue of liberty. Not a lot to say, I think music tends to be a theme on the forum. I occasionally sing and have a bit of training in Opera, but I tend to like the music more than the stage.... my work makes me feel productive and as though I'm contributing to the rest of humanity around me. My camera just makes me happy. Not exactly earth shattering but that's me. interesting thread by the way.... looking forward to more posts. Sari.

[belmondo]

Belmondo here.

Actually, my real name is Tom, and I much prefer being called that. I took the pseudonym Belmondo because I thought......well, I thought we were supposed to.

I am temporarily retired, in my early sixties, and I live in the California desert, about ten miles west of Palm Springs. My wife of almost 44 years and I moved here about 5 years ago when we finally grew tired of the cold, wet winters in the San Francisco Bay Area where we had lived for the preceding 30 years.

We're still trying to decide whether or not to have children, and expect we'll have to make up our minds before too many more years. In the meantime, our cat Dollie, the eating machine, keeps us company.

My education is mechanical engineering, and I actually did work in that field for a few years specializing in explosives and aerospace ordnance. In the early 1970s, I gave up honest work and became a real estate broker, eventually opening an office in Silicon Valley which we operated until we retired.

I have always had cameras, but have gone through extensive periods of inactivity. To be honest, I probably took more Polaroids than anything else in the years before digital. My first digital camera was something by Kodak that produced a whopping 640 X 480 pixel image, My first 'good' digital camera was a Nikon 995, followed shortly by a Canon G2. Questions about the G2 led me to the forum, and that's when I got the 'bug.' Within a couple days of becoming a POTN member, I bought a 10D with the 28-135 IS lens. I've been buying, selling, and swapping ever since, and now find myself at the point where I've simply run out of excuses. I'm going to have to start taking pictures eventually.

I'm very proud to be a member, and most of all, to be entrusted with being a moderator here. This is a great group of people, and it's getting better by the day.

[naps]

Hi my name is Anthony.I was born in 1968 and live in Brisbane Australia. I am a builder by trade and am a supervisor/estimator for my father in laws company,which has me working on my computer about 6- 8 hours a day.
I dabbled in photography when I first got married 15 years ago when I had a eos 630,but I slowly lost interest.
I took it back up again mid this year when I suffered from depression and needed to get a hoby to take my mind off work.I found this site the day I bought my 350 D and have learnt more in 6 months from you guys than I thought I ever would.So thank you to all, you have helped me so much and didn't even know it.

[johnnybfan]

Johnnybfan here. My name is Jim. I am a Johnny Benson (NASCAR) fan, hence my forum name. I am in my early 50's and live in Wyoming, MI, with my wife of 25 years and two children (18 & 20). I worked for 18 years as a boat builder - a combination of carpenter, plumber, electrician, and inspector. About 7 years ago I was diagnosed with Something called "Fibromyalgia" which is a soft-tissue pain disease. I cannot work for more than a few hours without the onset of severe pain. So I now get to say that I'm unwillingly "retired". Thank God that I can still take pictures. Some of the people in my support group can barely take care of themselves.
I have had cameras for most of my life. I can't even remember what my first camera was. But I can remember my first serious camera - a Minolta SRT201 with a 50mm f1.4, a 28 mm f2.8, and a 70-200mm zoom. I've had it for about 35 years and learned a lot with it. My wife didn't have a clue about how to use it (and didn't want to learn how) so we bought several point & shoot film cameras, too. My first digital camera was a 2 MP Olympus p&s with 10x zoom lens. That worked well until my oldest (son) tripped and fell on it in Yosemite a year ago. When he got up the camera looked like it could shoot around a corner - lol - & was dead. I really did appreciate it because it gave me an excuse to buy my dRebel. :) :) :) I have also convinced my wife that it is easy to use and she has taken a few pics with it. I don't take as many pics as I would like but I'm working on that. I really enjoy the forums and read them much more than I post on them. Pekka, thanks to you for the forums and thanks to all of the moderators, too. You all do a great job on the forums. I proudly wear my POTN camera strap and, although I haven't met any members in person, I feel that I know a lot of you and look forward to meeting some of you in person.

[jopfin]

Hi, my name is Joe and I am an alcoholic. Yes its true, I started drinking at 11 kicked into high gear at 18 and had to quit or die when I was 21, I chose quitting it was easier on the family. I have been sober for more than 17 years. I have worked at almost every trade imaginable, so I am quite handy. I was married the first time for 8 yrs and had 3 excellent kids. But I found the love of my life the 2nd time, her name is Tracie and she is more than my best friend she is everything to me. We have no children together(my decision) but she came with a son who is wonderful, the 4 of them keep us very busy. I went to school to become an xray tech about 7yrs ago, and have been doing it ever since. My interest in photography started about 4 yrs ago with an EOS rebel, then last Xmas I got the 20D and really started to find what is I really like. I have found that photography opened up a whole new world, I am a native of Colorado and have seen more of it in the last year than the previous 38. I go nowhere without my wonderful wife, which I think really strengthens our relationship. I hope this next year to expand some horizons and really start to see some things(if the bank account allows it). I hope I haven't bored all of you with this little life story, thanks for reading...............Joe

ps thanks to Pekka and all the people who make this place what it is for everyone!!!

[johnnybfan]

Hi, my name is Joe and I am an alcoholic. Yes its true, I started drinking at 11 kicked into high gear at 18 and had to quit or die when I was 21, I chose quitting it was easier on the family. I have been sober for more than 17 years. I have worked at almost every trade imaginable, so I am quite handy. I was married the first time for 8 yrs and had 3 excellent kids. But I found the love of my life the 2nd time, her name is Tracie and she is more than my best friend she is everything to me. We have no children together(my decision) but she came with a son who is wonderful, the 4 of them keep us very busy. I went to school to become an xray tech about 7yrs ago, and have been doing it ever since. My interest in photography started about 4 yrs ago with an EOS rebel, then last Xmas I got the 20D and really started to find what is I really like. I have found that photography opened up a whole new world, I am a native of Colorado and have seen more of it in the last year than the previous 38. I go nowhere without my wonderful wife, which I think really strengthens our relationship. I hope this next year to expand some horizons and really start to see some things(if the bank account allows it). I hope I haven't bored all of you with this little life story, thanks for reading...............Joe

ps thanks to Pekka and all the people who make this place what it is for everyone!!!

Joe, congratulations on your 17 years of sobriety. It takes a special person to overcome something like that. Keep it up!

[theflyingkiwi]

Hi my name is Mark and I am going to be the 3rd person from NZ posting here. I live in Hamilton, NZ which is a great place to live.

Believe it or not I had found this place during work hours. I had been put in to a team to help out for a few weeks and they weren’t that great of a team so I had plenty of time to waste :) The kind of work that I do is IT as 2nd level support and I have been working in IT for more about 10 years now and been outsourced 3 times. And now I would like a change.

My first digital camera was a Canon G3 which was a good camera, but at the end of the day I wanted a camera with better controls. Now I shoot with a 10D and have a number of lenses.

Despite the large cost of starting this hobby I have only been using a camera for 3 years and despite knowing the basic I still have a lot to learn. So this year had been kind of slow on the camera front.

This forum has been a great learning place. The amount of information that I have come across is equal to none, but what makes this place really standout is the people.

[Lax_lacks]

Hi my name is Jaymz, I live in Hermiston, Oregon. I turned 30 today (dec 4). I have a degree in computer engineering (about 5 credits from my doctorate), which I never really used for a career. I work as an automotive tech and disassemble/write software for people just for fun and a little extra cash. I spend alot of my time putting on the finishing touches to an operating system I have written, which is what is running on this computer right now.

I first started with photography when I was 7 or 8 years, no name cheap P&S 35mm. My first experience with it, lol, I took a pic and opened the back to see the pic, did that after every shot, wasted a 5 rolls of film on that camping trip. :D Have had many P&S 35mm cameras since then, one Rebel, many P&S Digital cams, and finally the 20D.

-- Jaymz

[CMG]

Hi,
My name is CM Griffiths and I just joined the Forum today. My dad and my grandpa were both photographers, so I grew up with a great appreciation for the photographic arts.
I have been taking photographs since the age of 10 when my dad bought me my first 35mm Pentax K1000. However, I didn't start working in a darkroom until I was well into my 20's and enrolled in college. After that experience, I decided that I would keep my photography as my hobby instead of my living. I did not want to have to subsidize with shooting subjects I didn't want to shoot(a.k.a. weddings, portraits).
Off I went into the workforce, spending several years only shooting for my enjoyment, until I went back to school and then I started to revisit the idea of professional photography due to the experience of documenting other artists work and working for the college newspaper as their photographer. As a Fine Arts major, I have had the great fortune to work in conjunction with the University Art Gallery to publish several artists catalogs. I will be graduating this spring and plan to go on to graduate school with a combined emphasis in new media and new genre. I didn't realize it, but I have always thought of my photography as not as important as my other art because it seemed so easy to me. Now with the digital age, it seems anyone can take a photograph--so why are mine any better than yours? And who says they are better? So, the answer must be in our individuality, our perceptions, our skills, our ability to visualize and translate that vision into a 2D image that conveys my intention to the viewer. Right?
My digital Life...
My first digital camera was a gift, an Olympus C-720 Ultra zoom.
While working for the paper I got to use their equipment, a Canon EOS 10D with EF 28-200mm and the Ef 55-300mm lenses. That was it, I purchased the Canon EOS 20D for myself last year and I have not been disappointed. This year I asked for the EF 28-200mm Canon lens. What was purchased was the Sigma equivalent 18-200mm lens, so we will see if it is worth keeping once it gets here.
Reading your posts, I can see I have barely scratched the surface of the photo tech world, I hope to learn more from everyone's experience.

CM Griffiths

"I'm always mentally photographing everything as practice."
Minor White

[MattL]

Hi Yall.

My name is Matthew Lamb, Im the 4th New Zealander in this thread. I work in the entertainment industry as a freelance lighting tech/programmer. I light all the large concerts, corporate events and tv shows that come to town. Fellow kiwis might recognise my work on such events as BDO, Slinky&GlobalUnderground, Gods Kitchen, Together, EdgeFest, Deep Hardn' Funky. International groups I have lit include Yellowcard, Simple Plan, Delta Goodrem, Jesse McCartney, Rooster - the list goes on.

I got into photography a year ago, when i was onstage behind Kiwi band Shihad, taking photos of the band playing to a 25,000 person crowd with my 1mp camera phone. I went out the next day and bought a DSLR, 300d.

And I have never looked back.

[Maureen Souza]

Well I am sure most all of you know who I am (decided not hide behind my avatar ;) ). I was born in Massachusetts smack dab in the middle of the 1950's and spent my childhood there, as well as in Burlington, VT. and Philadelphia, PA. areas. I am married to Skip and we have three grown kids and one impetuous grandson. (I probably should mention that by night I am an RN for nearly 20 years).
When I was ten, my friends were into Barbie dolls but I had my eye on something else... a Kodak Instamatic camera with the new fan-dangled flash cubes. I begged for that camera for Christmas and I got it.... even though I had no money for film or developing. But I found a way to earn it and the rest is history.
I got my first Canon camera from my hubby in 1984 and went through different models looking for more performance. I was reluctant to give up my film body when digital came on the scene but I caved in when the A80 came out. Then the Pro1.......
I got my 20D (also from hubby) last February after lurking around this forum for almost 3 months. (See what you all did to me? :D ) Since then I am convinced I have no idea what I am doing with it but I am having fun anyways.
I learn so much from all of you every day as well as laugh my head off at some of the exchanges that go on here. I feel like I have made at least a thousand new friends and I thank-you for that.
Pekka, thanks so much for your confidence in me... I feel very humbled by it and I am so glad I am able to help out on this very wonderful forum.

[belmondo]

I turned 30 today (dec 4).]

Happy birthday, Jaymz. That's a biggie. Welcome to adulthood.:lol:

[thomascanty]

Hi, I'm Thomas Canty.

Well, actually, as many here know, my real name is Lonnie DeCloedt. I turned 42 just under a month ago, I'm single (with no intention of ever getting married), and share my home with two cats and one very popular and spoiled mutt. I work nights at a large hospital in the San Fernando Valley, running the computers (mainframe, AS/400, a bunch of AIX boxes and a WAN) for it and another nearby hospital.

I was born in California (Long Beach to be precise) and when I was young we moved around California several times to places like Anaheim, Rancho Cucamonga and San Jose. When I was 7, my dad's job transferred him to Omaha, Nebraska, where we moved to for eight years. In 1978, his job (different company) transfered him back to California, and except for one year in Ventura County, I've lived in the San Fernando Valley ever since.

Shortly after we had moved to Omaha, my dad gave me his old Argus rangefinder camera and a hand-held light meter. Shortly after that my mother gave me her old Kodak Brownie. I became obsessed with photography at a pretty early age, and my allowance often was spent on film and processing. When I got to high school, I signed up for the Photography classes they offered. I usually failed the class though because I only signed up as a means to get darkroom privileges. I never did the assignments. :lol:

After high school I kind of lost interest in it. I still took pictures, but with a p&s, and never paying attention to the creative aspect. In the early 80's, I got online with the local BBSes and became very close friends with someone named Todd Pittman. He had AIDS, the unfortunate result of tainted blood during a transfusion (he was a hemophiliac). During the last year or two of his life he discovered photography and his passion for it reignited my own.

My first digital camera was a Casio QV-30 (320x240 images) in 1996. I have since upgraded eight times, my ninth digital camera being my 20D.

Six years ago I decided I was living a very unhealthy lifestyle and had better make some changes before I died. I quit my 20-year, 2-pack a day smoking habit. A year later I quit drinking. I don't think I'd call myself an alcoholic, but I was definitely drinking way more than a person should. I also started exercising in the form of hiking. This helped me lose 75 pounds that I really needed to get rid of (I've since gained a little of it back, but not too much). My work schedule changed about then too, giving me a three day weekend every other week, so I started taking advantage of that by going on short trips, travelling all over California, Nevada and Arizona (I put about 35,000 to 50,000 miles on my car every year). The hiking and travelling have always gone hand-in-hand with photography, and I've amassed an incredible number of pictures over the years, one or two of which are actually a little good, IMHO.

As far as my musical abilities. As a yung'un, I took piano lessons for 11 or 12 years, and got to be quite good. During a move about 20 years ago, my piano fell apart and I haven't touched one since. I'd be hard pressed to remember how to play chopsticks now. :( I've also dabbled a little with the guitar, but never seriously.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

[WepWaWep]

What to say?

My name is David and I began photography when I was a teen, nearly 30 years ago. My first serious camera was a Pentax K-1000. Since that camera, I bounced along with Olympus for the longest time. First digital format was a P&S from them, then I bought a used E-10. When I decided that the fixed lenses were a problem I went with the decision to get a Canon. Lens selection and quality were a big factor in my decision.

I am a rabid hobby enthusiast, main area of interest is wildlife. I love being outdoors and stalking some poor critter that moves faster than I can react, trying to get that one shot which brings a smile to this face.

Personally, I am married, my wife and I have been together nearly 25 years and we have three boys. One is a teenager, the other two are still in the single digits. Puts a little crimp on the shoots having two little ones dragging behind on outings but somehow I manage. We are home schoolers, so I play Mr. Mom at home. My days are full being the school marm but the reward has been awesome. All my kids are doing great academically. The youngest one is two grades ahead, writing full paragraphs at age six. The middle one is the math wiz and the oldest has an incredible voice when writing fiction.

I too spent some time training in music yet I put down the guitar a few years ago. My interests switched a bit, photography seem to loom larger in my needs. So I have my arsenal of my 20D, 100-400, 17-40 and 100 macro that I carry every chance I get. But I'm not addicted, I swear... it's more like a glorious obsession.

[neil_r]

I was not going to do this but then I though “Hey I can use it for the dating agency submission as well ;)”

I will be 50 on the 28th January 2006 and I have been taking photographs for 30 years. The Army taught me both photography and photo processing and paid for me to practice in some very interesting places, from a “work” perspective these included Oman, Berlin, N Ireland and the Falklands and from a “fun” perspective, Canada, Alaska, and Cyprus. I have continued photographing both as a serious hobby and as a way of making money ever since.

I started with Pentax kit and for almost 20 years I used the same pair of Pentax MX 35mm cameras and a Bronica ETRS. Manual everything :rolleyes:!!!

I swapped over to a Canon EOS1n when it was released and held out until the EOS D60 came along before going over to the dark side.

I have two sons from a previous marriage, the eldest completed his law degree before telling me he wanted to be an actor and he is now touring Austria with the English Theatre of Vienna. The youngest is in the final year of a Politics degree at Nottingham where he is currently completing his first semester at the UBC in Vancouver.

I am coming out of a serious midlife crisis complete with motorbike, silly sports car and a wonderful wife. (The wife is not part of the crisis; but she is wonderful)

[MazerRakhm]

Hi my name is Kevin,

*Group* Hi Kevin…

And I’ve been a POTN addict since about three months before my join date. Back in those days I lurked in secret, then I joined, and now I even post sometimes.

Anyway, I just turned 30 years old this past summer, and have been into photography for a while, but was able to finally step it up by convincing “cost control” (aka my lovely wife) how much money we’d save on picture processing last year if she’d let me buy a digital. It’s been steadily downhill for me since then as I bought my 300D, and as of my birthday this summer a 70-200 2.8L.

My wife and I have a 10 year old daughter who loves to have her picture taken, the sillier ( http://ksmith.smugmug.com/photos/31538675-M.jpg) the better.

My day job is in IT working with large IBM machines, (Somewhere in some post or other CDS posted a picture of them… but I can’t remember where.) and read POTN while I’m not busy. I love this community, you people are helpful and kind, and I’ve probably learned more about photography from this site than the rest of the net combined.

Mazerrakhm (Mazer Rakham) is a character from the book Enders Game (If you like Science Fiction I highly recommend it, it’s my favorite book I even got my wife to read it and she loved it.) that I chose as my moniker 10+ years ago because my name or any combination of it is usually taken.

(Here is a hint, I share the same name as the person in the icon, only I’m better looking!)

[tommykjensen]

Hi

My name is Tommy. I am 38 years old and live in Wonderful Copenhagen.

I work as a consultant in the Service Management business. Just started 2 months ago. Before that I have worked 9 years in Mærsk Data (now bought by IBM), first in the helpdesk and later in the Service Management department.

My interest in photgraphy started when I was around 15 years old and the school had photography classes. I had no camera at that time so I had to borrow the schools camera. I can't remember if it was canon or nikon (I hope it was a Nikon) but I can remember that I might have broken the camera by mistake :o I think I put the lens on wrong....

It wasn't until 1996 I was able to afford a SLR which I bought just before I went on my first trip to USA, Florida. At that time I had no idea what an L-lens was and I would probably have bought Nikon if that had been on sale that day but luck was that it was Canon that was the hot item that day so I have stuck with that.

I found POTN reading the forums on dpreview :o I was looking for a new gallery and had tried both Coppermine and Gallery but did not like either. Then a user on dp suggested Exhibit Engine. I got here, downloaded, registered in the forums and have been here since. All my first posts here is all about EE. So great work on that Pekka and hopefully we get the next EE version as a christmas present :D

I am honored that Pekka found me worthy to join as a moderator. Though so far I think I have had the smallest task of all the mods. With my new job I have not had as much time as I wanted to work with the FAQ which is the task Pekka appointed to me. That'l teach me not to bug CDS about getting a good FAQ started :lol: Hopefully I will soon be able to get up to speed in that department (any ideas just send me PM). A good FAQ is definately needed to guide new users well into photography and post processing.

EDIT: Hey my introduction was post number 3500 ... About time :lol:

[fslshooter]

I'm Jerry Hale. I was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, and grew up in the 50s working for my dad in his service station. After graduating from Baylor University, I was in the real estate and insurance business for three years then joined the U. S. Air Force. About half of my 22 year military career was spent in the states and the other half overseas in Vietnam, Germany and England.

I've been married to my second wife for 26 years and we have no children between us. We have two grown children by my first wife - a daughter who teaches high school in Atlanta, Georgia and a son who teaches at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Neither of our children is married and we have no grandchildren.

For more than 30 years of my adult life, I was a keen bicyclist, racing a bit back in the 70s then turning to long distance touring in the late 80s. Two of my most memorable bicycle rides were the 1,000 mile End-to-End run from Lands End, England to John O'Groats, Scotland, and a 500 mile ride along the Northern Ireland coastline. Six years ago an inattentive driver hit me from the rear almost killing me and ending my ability to ride a bicycle.

My interest in photography began when I took my first photo as a child with my parents' Brownie Hawkeye. When I didn't chop off the top of my sister's head nor her feet, I became the family photographer. Although passionate about it, photography was nothing more than an expensive hobby of mine as I pursued a military career. I've been an avid baseball fan most of my life and soon after we retired to central Florida I began attending Daytona Cubs games -- always with camera in hand. The fan club used my pictures on their website and before the season was over the Cubs were using some of my photos on their website too. During the off-season the general manager asked me if I would be their team photographer. Prior to the start of the 2005 baseball season, I became the Florida State League photographer.

I found POTN about this time last year and after lurking for a while I asked for tips on how to get an aerial shot of a ballpark. The information provided by the folks here was almost overwhelming, convincing me that I needed to be a part of this group and I've been a member ever since.

[jwilson]

I'm Jeff Wilson, born in Detroit in 1966 but raised in the better side (West side) of Michigan. Grew up dabbling in photography but nothing serious. Spent most of my time chasing girls on the beaches of Lake Michigan. I've got a bach degree from U of Mich in International politics/Security (grad in 1989). Served as an officer in the Navy for 8 years then came back "home." I now work as a buyer in a mfg company but still "play Navy" on the weekends (I'm still in the Reserves). Married with one child - 18 month old Cameron (yea, I started a little late) and he keeps me pretty busy. I shoot with a DRebel and D60 - primarily weddings/portraits but have recently getting into landscape photography and am actually selling prints in a local gallery. Also do event photography (concerts) and am gaining quite a local reputation for my work there. Hopefully, with alot of luck and hardwork, I'll retire from corporate America earlier than expected and pursue photography fulltime.

[Andy001z]

Hi, I am Andy (33) from Bath, England. I have always had a camera in hand from a young age, but really only in the last couple of years have I bothered to learn how to use a camera. Before that, I would just shoot what I liked and enjoy the sucesses and failures.

I own a D300 with standard kit, I have just got myself some Colkin ND filters to take out to India, which I am very excited about.

My favorite subjects are skys, landscapes and big old buildings.

I work in IT, but dream of becoming a travel photographer, but I just dont have the skill or balls to let go of full time work.

Found the forum and love to see people work

Andyh

[mgreenlee]

Hello all,
I was born in 1960 (not something :)). I've been married for 25 years. I grew up in Wichita and have lived here most of my life with a few years in Tucson AZ. Sure miss Tucson, temperature is going to be ZERO or lower tonight. I run a small but growing aircraft interior company. This keeps me busy, maybe too busy according to my wife. Not many hobbies except now digital photography and sailing.

I grew up taking photos. My father and grandfather both were avid slide photographers. My grandfather loved flowers and my dad loved trains. Myself, I like nature and landscapes. My favorite forum is, let's see, all of them.

I used to be an avid photographer but in the mid 90's someone broke into our house and decided he/she wanted all of my equipment more than I did. I lost my Pentax LX (loved that camera), about 6-8 lens and large selection of filters. Insurance paid to replace all of it so I decided to go Canon. I went with a A2E but I couldn't get into it.:cry: But here I am some years later going at it again. I hope to have a lab scan our slides; I'll post some when I get this done.

Thanks for allowing me to share, Marion
PS. Great thread, it should be a requirement to post here prior to joining.;)

[Blue Deuce]

My name is Mike and I am a photoholic.

I have a absolutely gorgeous sweet wife of 17 years who I dont see too often because of the demands of her being a dedicated school principal. It does has its advantages in that it affords me time to pursue this hobby I discovered in high school. I am a landscape architect catering to the well heeled folks that live in and are moving into Orlando. No kids, just a few animals we love.

[markubig]

Name: Mark

Born: 1974 . . . which would make me 13 :p

Residence: Born and raised in New Joisy :p:p

Degree: Electrical Engineering

Occupation: Pharmaceutical Sales (totally makes sense w/ my degree ;):D:p)

I have been happily married to my wife, Cristina, for almost 3 weeks now.:D No children (hey, it's only been 3 weeks, so stop rushing me!) and we are expecting to close on our first home next week.

My first camera was a Yashica film P&S that was given to me as a college graduation present. My introduction to digital was a friend of mine, who bought one of the first Kodak digital cameras . . . the Kodak DC200, a 0.9MP monster that at $400 came with a 4MB compactflash card that could fit up to 8 photos at the highest resolution. My first digicam purchase was a $400 1.3MP Olympus Camedia D-460 Zoom. It came with an 8MB Smartmedia card, but "NO!" that wasn't enough space for me because I wanted to take tons of pictures before having to transfer them to the computer, so I shelled out the big bucks $$$ and got me a 32MB card, which allowed me to save over 60 shots at the highest resolution. yeah baby!!! I was considered the man for having sooo much memory on my camera.;)

After about 2 years, I wanted more power (at the time, megapixels were everything to me), so I upgraded to a Canon Powershot G3. I owned it for almost 2 years before I realized what it was capable of. Did a search to learn a little more about photography and found this forum. Last year, I got engaged and after seeing the results of our engagement photo shoot (and with a little nudge from this forum), i sold my G3 and bought a 300D Digital Rebel (a black body 300D, which was out for only a week or two when I bought it). I loved that camera and learned a lot with it. Sold the 300D and bought my EOS 20D this past April because I wanted the FEC, more fps, AI Servo, and less high ISO noise. This camera is TOTALLY my baby. I also ended up getting a G6 which I use when I don't want to carry around the hefty dslr. I just came back from my honeymoon and the G6 worked out very well.

So here I am. I haven't been as active a member the past few months w/ the wedding/house hunting/honeymoon. I also got promoted over the summer, which increased my work load, thus decreased my POTN time:(. However, everything is starting to settle down and I hope to be spending more time here learning and sharing with you all again.

See you on the forum! :D:D:D

.

[belmondo]

I have been happily married to my wife, Cristina, for almost 3 weeks now.:D No children (hey, it's only been 3 weeks, so stop rushing me!) and we are expecting to close on our first home next week.

Congratulations on the promotion, the new bride, and the new house. Now, let's start filling that house up with lots of little Shreks.

We look forward to seing more of you again now that the excitement has died down a little.

[markubig]

Congratulations on the promotion, the new bride, and the new house. Now, let's start filling that house up with lots of little Shreks.

We look forward to seing more of you again now that the excitement has died down a little. Thank you very much, Tom . . . I just hope they don't turn out as GREEN as I am though . . . :p :p

[dgcorner]

Hi, the name’s John, and I’m the 5th “Kiwi” to post in this thread. I’m originally from the Philippines, born in ‘64, and was named after the late John F. Kennedy, as well as after his son, Patrick… so I have one of those funny sounding names – American-Irish first names + Filipino surname = 8-). 14, going 15 years happily married to Tina, and the fruits of that union are my two boys – David & Gabriel, hence my login name – dgcorner, which actually is short for: David & Gabby’s Corner… and the name has just stuck.

We moved to Auckland, New Zealand in the middle of winter (July) 2000, after giving up on the sad state of the Philippines brought about by what we call “Trapos.” This word actually has two meanings, one of them is “traditional politicians” whilst the other, in the local language, meaning (wet, stinking) rags – an apt description I would think! The country was/is falling apart and Tina and I felt that we needed to give our two boys the best future that we could give them. To give way to our long-range plans for the future I abandoned my successful career in sales & marketing working with a top Swiss based multinational company in my industry… and we haven’t looked back since. Two years ago, we decided to permanently call New Zealand our home by becoming Kiwis ourselves, hence my being the “5th Kiwi to post in this thread.”

I’ve been shooting pics since I was a little kid. I remember being allowed to use my father’s “sleek” P&S Minolta, the model of which escapes me. It was cool to be taking pictures of people, landscapes, and other stuff… but the excitement was tempered by the expensive film and developing costs during those days. In between, I had (as gifts) several P&S cameras to document our life as it evolved.

The first real camera I purchased and owned was the Canon EOS 500N. I purchased this some 10-15 years ago… but remained a P&S photographer because it was getting expensive to have 5-10 rolls of film developed and printed every so often… and then be lucky just to get 2 great shots out of a roll of 36 exposures.

Things changed when I decided to go digital some 3 years ago and I purchased a Nikon Coolpix 5800 since Canon at that time didn’t have an affordable 5MP camera. At first, I did P&S pics, then realised that I wasn’t getting anywhere, not to mention that Nikon’s full auto settings was crap ;-). So I started learning (and I still am) how to shoot manually when the time allows.

I was made redundant from work some 6 months ago… went through the usual psychological cycle of denial, anger, depression, and (hopefully, full) acceptance. I still am looking for work but am resigned to the fact that nothing is going to happen until next year due to the coming holidays.

However, one of the many good things about the whole experience is I realised that photography was/is my passion... And I felt that in order to take better pictures, I needed to upgrade my kit, as well as my skills. In my quest to learn more, I stumbled upon this forum, hung around the sidelines for a couple of weeks, taking in the comments and suggestions, then actively joining to post my own comments. It certainly has been a colourful few weeks! And in between the posts, I then purchased my 20D & lenses… and things are looking up!

Pekka -- thank you for your vision, and more importantly for acting on it. There are very few people who will take that initiative. The forum has helped me keep my depression at bay, and my sanity intact. It has also allowed me to meet other fantastic members on-line, as well as Kiwis who share my passion and love for photography – for that I am truly grateful.

Cheers!

[Claire]

Hi,
I'm Claire. I haven't been around much lately which is a bummer, but that's due to my new job.

I'm 26 (bloody 'ell, time flies!), born and bread in Gothenburg, Sweden. I'm half Swedish and half Thai, and no, I don't speak any Thai. But I do love Thai food...

I grew up in a suburb to Gothenburg and I'm an only child. Mom used to dress me up in pink dresses with ribbons in my hair and I still have nightmares from it all...:p So, instead of becoming a girly girl I began to read Marvel comics and became a tomboy. Then puberty hit and I slowly eased into accepting the sad truth I was a girl. LOL
In High School I studied natural science, but realised maths wasn't my thing. So, instead I ended up applying to degrees in Communications and Journalism. I ended up in London and that was a huge step for me. Being away from home for the first time, new country, new school, new city, new language and knowing nobody. Scary and exciting!

At Uni I met people from all over the world and that has made a huge impact on me. I've always felt very Swedish, but I guess there were pieces of the puzzle that were missing, and I found them when hanging out with people from other cultures.
My BA years consisted of the usual working hard, ignoring classes because they were too early (9am), partying, being involved in clubs and societies, gaining and losing friends, falling in love and having my heart broken. After those 2.5 years I pursued my MA in International Journalism. That was also a fun year. Made very good friends there.

Since I left London (too darn expensive for someone without a decently paid job) I've moved back in with my parents. I've been substitute teaching for the past two years and recently landed a job at a newly started company. I am thrilled with working within my profession, but scared ****less of all the responsibilty they're putting on me! Want to live up to expectations as well as keep my job...

I have always appreciated photography and wanted to take a B&W course, but never did. My parents gave me a Canon IXUS 300 for my BA graduation. I had no clue how they got the idea, but boy am I thankful they did! At first I just took regular party shots. During my MA I turned into the class photographer. When I got back to Sweden I began to take walks and bring my camera along. That's when I began to experiment with nature shots more and more. Finally I decided to get a DSLR. I read up on them and ended up with my Canon 300D. I don't own lots of fancy equipment, but I'm enjoying my hobby.

If anyone wants to buy me an Xmas gift, I would very much like a good macro lens and a couple of Crumpler bags. :)

[forsaken]

Kiaora

Simon here (another kiwi to add to the invasion), I am 28 and have been taking photos for as long as I can remember, which isn't saying much as my memory is not that good. I started with an old pentax film camera that I got cheap and then got given another 5 lens' for it. I then decided that digital was the way to go and brought a sony cybershot which treated me well for around 4 years taking photos of car shows, car club events and my pets. Then I got turned to the darkside and with helpful information from friends and aquaintances (cheers moppie) :) decided to upgrade to a DSLR in the form of the canon 20D.

I work as a CNC machine operator for a small engineering firm making parts for marine winches and spend 90% of my spare time taking and editing photos trying to improve my skills and hope to 1 day land a job as an automotive photographer (hey I'm allowed to dream, and it keeps me busy)

[belmondo]

---and hope to 1 day land a job as an automotive photographer (hey I'm allowed to dream, and it keeps me busy)

Good luck on your dream. You're still young enough that it could actually happen.

[StevenRaith]

Morning.

I'm Steven R [guess the surname ;) ], I am an IT Engineer and plug computers in by day, and haunt internet forums by night, often a bit drunkenlyt following excessive inebriation in some of the decent pubs in London. I moved to Hertfordshire, England, a few years ago having grown up in the John O Groats area [go to maps.google.co.uk and enter 'Thurso' ...] and havent looked back since.

I currently get paid too much for doing too little, althoguh these are relative terms - I'm not rich by any use of the term ;)

I started photography very recently - back in June - with a Fuji S5100, and found it to be rather bloody good, if a bit lacking on control and accuracy. I was mainly shooting cars and motorsport when I got the chance to go to events.

I recently sold the Fuji and a few nights ago picked up a 300D with 18-50 SigmaF3.5-5.6 and I picked up a Tamron 70-200 F4-5.6 yesterday, and I am very much looking forward to using it - after only a couple of days with the SLR I have started to work out effects changing the ISO and arpeture have, to a much greater degree than I could tell on the Fuji.

Still need to get a tripod mind. Well, christmas is coming and my dad [who is quite chuffed I am taking up snapping as a hobby] is offering to 'help me out' - he used to do a lot of camera related jiggery pokery 'in his youth', sometime back in the early 19th century....

My use to members of this forum is quite limited in terms of camera related stuff as I am quite new to all this mirror lock ups, arpeture adjustment, etc - but I'm really enjoying it so far, and I'm glad to have found a forum that is fairly open and 'self moderating' [insomuch as the place isnt filled with trolling idiots, so moderation seems to be mostly housekeeping as opposed to deleting posts all the time] which is always a good thing, and I look forward to posting lots of utterly crap pictures, and being told where I am going wrong...;)

From looking at some of the stuff on here I can see there is a hell of a lot more to this photography lark than framing a shot, setting the arpeture, ISO and shutter speed, and pressing the button. And I look forward to learning it all.....:)

[flyfisher]

Hi,
My name is Steve, I am 47 years old. My interests are fly fishing (hence my forum name) hunting and photography. I grew up in Massachusetts and still live there with my wife of 26 years, I’m an assistant Forman in a machine shop. We have a daughter 23yrs old and a son 20 yrs old.

I have been taking pictures on and off for about 24 yrs. My firs camera was an AE-1
Have gone thru many cameras since then. Have done some industrial photography, some
Weddings and little league, football, soccer and dance. I am starting to cut back on the photography for pay as I recently had a Kidney transplant (my wife donated one of hers to me BLESS HER) and realized that working 75 plus hrs a week isn’t worth it. I found this forum when I was recovering from surgery, and found all the members very friendly. I really miss Bloo Dogs adventures/miss adventures as they always conveyed the message in a humorous way. I recently started doing landscape photos and really am enjoying it.

Thanks to Pekka and all of the Moderators for making this forum what is for all of the members.

[msad1217]

Manny here. I do more lurking around here than anything else.

I will be turning 37 here in six days. I am originally from the Philippines and have lived exactly half my life in the PI and half here in the US. I am a former US Marine who currently goes to the Seattle Art institute for something. I am an avid musician who lives and breaths metal. In my arsenal of weapons, I currently have a Epi Les Paul Slash signature, ESP M-II Standard, ESP KH-2 relic, ESP EXP and a Tama Rock Star drum kit.

On my last year in the Corps, I started attending at San Diego State University, five years later I received a degree in International Business. After graduation, I worked for HangSeng Bank in the Philippines, got tired of that and started working for a major financial company here in Seattle. In the middle of all that I managed to get married to a beautiful Irish woman from Massachusetts (she's a Master Chef) and have two lovely children. I got tired of working and now I am back in school full time.

I started taking up photography eight years ago, the moment I found out my wife is pregnant with our first baby. My first camera was a Minolta QtSi with Quantaray lens. Since then I've had several different cameras, a polaroid, a Noink P&S, I even had an APS camera, I can't remember the brand. But ever since that day eight years ago, I have pretty much done more photography related stuff than my work that my wife finally said one day if I like it so much I should do something with it. So, here I am, trying to earn my Associates in Applied Arts Degree in Photography and Video Production.:)

I wanted to let everyone here know how much help you all have given me. If not for this site, I would be having a much more difficult time at school.

[jothefish]

Hi, I'm Joann, another Kiwi but living in the Bahamas - yes - life is tough but someone has to do it! :)

I won my first camera at school when I was 11 and proceeded to upset my mother by taking photos of apple cores... at the age of 16 I received a Canon AE1 for my birthday and haven't looked back since. My mother still says the worst decision she ever made was to make me study languages instead of letting me follow my dream of studying photography, (let this be a lesson to all you mummy's and daddy's out there) although I can speak a few languages now - so I suppose it wasn't so bad!

I realised photography was my passion when, living in Italy - working in a poor paying job, I would give up food so I could develop my photos that week...

I jumped into the digital age with a vengence and am a total equipment freak and update often (my lucky brothers and friends who get all my "old" gear).

I am in the fortunate position that I get to travel alot - my son who is 9 has been in 46 countries and on every continent... lucky boy. He just received his first SLR for his birthday. The rule in our house is "If you can carry it yourself - you can take it".

I love taking photographs but hate editing them...

I hope to get up the courage to post some photos one day to hear your comments.

Big hug.

[liza]

Hi, I'm Elizabeth. I live in the U.S. in east central Illinois with my two sons, ages 13 and 10, two cats, and a dog. For many years, I worked long hours in social services with persons who have developmental disabilities and mental illnesses. After tiring of the 60-70 hour work weeks, I returned to school to get my teaching certification. Now I'm employed as a high school special education teacher and also am advisor for the yearbook. I spend many happy hours photographing high school sports and teaching my yearbook staff to do the same.

After 18 years as a serious enthusiast with film photography, I made the switch to digital and have never looked back. Not only do I photograph sports and school events, I also am a regular contributor to the local newspaper and have a senior portrait business on the side. In the spring, I plan to add a second digital body and get some experience as a second shooter for weddings with the eventual goal of adding that to the services offered by my own business. While I photograph people for my business, my passion is sports. I enjoy the challenges presented by sports shooting at the high school level and should soon receive a sideline media pass to photograph college sports at our area university. Perhaps some day my skills will pass muster for Sports Shooter membership!:)

[toddb]

My name is Todd Burke. I'll be 30 here in a couple weeks. I'm a farm kid converted to tech geek. Lived in Washington State all my life, first on the east side (closest town was called Royal City) now over on the west side in Redmond. I went to WSU and received a Computer Science degree in 1999. Got picked up by IBM and I've been there ever since.

I've always kind of been into Photography. Of my 3 other siblings, I was the one that always wanted to use my dad's 35mm camera on outings. I got first place in my class in the 5th grade science fair for making a shoe box camera that I developed the film myself in a make shift dark room. It wasn't until about a year after my first born though that I was really getting interested in photography again. I had a few digital point and shoots and I just couldn't get the pictures I wanted with them. Mostly because I shot indoors mostly and the delay was too much to catch a moving target. So in June of 2003, I got the 10D (still my main camera). I figured I shot enough pictures the first month that if I had film, it would have been more then the cost of the camera itself (that's my justification and I'm sticking to it). Really though, I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to learn photography with film and not having that instant feedback and EXIF info.

My other interest have been my wife and kids and before that motorcycles. I had to give up the bike thing until I grow up a little more, lol. Started dirt bikes when I was 5 and got my first street bike in collage (900RR). My last bike was a Honda 954RR and what a blast it was getting to work every day. Now I drive a mini van. I like it because I get to take my family everywhere I go.

http://www.toddburke.net/forumpost/me.jpg

[farmboy]

Howdy, Brandon Taylor here. I grew up in the Texas Panhandle in a small town of 1700 people. SUNRAY, TX home of the fighting Bobcats! My dad would take me with him to the farm when I was in diapers. Ever since then farming has been a way of life for me. I even have a tattoo of snoopy driving a tractor. Being a farmer requires the skills of an electrician, mechanic, welder, plumber, and a few more. Pops helped me get my own farm back in 97. The first time I pulled into the field it was 640 acres (a section or one square mile) of weeds taller than the tractor. By mid spring it was a my garden of eden, and no there are no apple trees. Three years ago I had to make one the hardest and most painful decision of my life, I had to sell out due to the ridiculus increase in the price of natural gas, which is used to fuel the engines that pumps the water wells.:cry: This was so hard because divorce was one the many prices I paid for doing what I loved.

Anyways I thought I try my hand at dirt work so I bought some tractors and scrapers to pulled behind them. For all the traveling I have to do I got a fifth wheel and sold my house. Beats staying in motels. Last year I teamed up with another dirt mover and went to Buckeye, Arizona to build a dairy. I getting a little ahead of my self let's jump back.

Why Brandon Got a Camera

Three years my cousin, a contractor, took me under his wing and showed me a few of the ropes of this buisness. He told me that a real contractor always carries a camera with him on the jobsite for legal and sentimental reasons. Well I had some extra cash so I go to Best Buy and tell them I want the best digital camera they have, and I walk out with my 300D and a 512m memory card. For the next two years the pictures I never took it out of automatic and all the pictures I took filled about half the card.


How I Become Addicted

Anyway, I arrived in Arizona at the first of the year and start the doing the dirt work on a dairy out here. I snap some photos nothing special. Auto Mode of course. so anyway the job progresses I'm paying my bills Then I meet a lady and a month later marry her. Don't take this the wrong way, But every thing has fallen apart since we got married. The General contractor that my partner and I were subbed to went belly up. I'm owed a ridiculous amount of money and possibly will never see a dime of it because I shook a man's hand instead of signing a contract and no legs to stand on in court. September comes around I my "give a ****ter" breaks and I lock myself in my trailer and through my self one hell a pity party. Then one day I was looking through for some papers in my pick-up and I noticed my camera so I picked it up and realized I paid 1200 dollars for this damn thing and I know nothing about. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. New Hobby!, something to care about. something that with practice I can be good at. And you wanna know something? My "give a ****ter" started working again. I've read a few books learned some new things about photography. I'm still very green. I can't put the damn thing down. I'm addicted.

Well there's a little about me

[Beka29]

I’m Rebekah, will be 16 on Dec. 29, and live in New Brunswick, Canada. I haven’t posted much at all, but I hope that will change when I get a bit less busy. I have always loved art, whether it be writing, music, drawing, etc. I became interested in photography last spring, but I became totally obsessed, for lack of a better word, when I went to Calgary this past summer and saw the beauty of the mountains. My dad graciously let me take his little point & shoot (Sony DSC-P52) to Alberta, even though he was somewhat protective of it… there is a long story about how my mom left our old digital camera on the edge of a table when I was ten and I accidentally knocked it onto the floor… anyway, I took a lot of pictures over the 2½ weeks that I was there, though we only had a 64MB card at that time and that was a bit limiting in the mountains. When we went to Banff National Park, I had the chance to use my grandfather’s Canon (also a point & shoot, the S60 I think, but a WAY better camera than what I was and still am used to) and took two of my best pictures. That convinced me that I would eventually get a Canon, but I wasn’t totally happy with the specs of any of the ones that I looked at, and was getting increasingly frustrated with the limits of my dad’s camera.

One rainy day in September – I think it was September – my family needed to get our picture taken for our grandparents. My dad’s good friend is a pro photographer and often shoots weddings, so he did the family picture for us. Afterwards, he and my dad were talking about my interest in photography, and so he let me hold his camera (a Nikon F100, I believe) and showed me how to hold it, focus, etc. After that, I knew there was no way that I was getting a point & shoot or prosumer!

Now, I have done much research and made up my mind to get a Rebel XT, though it will take me awhile to save up enough money. I will probably work next summer – for now, the parents say, “School is your job” – and I hope I can get my camera before our family vacation. I have learned more about photography in the past few months than I ever imagined that I could learn, have taken almost 8000 pictures, and hope to get much better as the years go by. My most common subjects are my golden retriever Amie and now Christmas tree ornaments :rolleyes: but my favourites would be landscapes (or anything in nature) and the kids that I know. No one in my family will let me practice on them, not even my dog. She’ll close her eyes whenever she sees me with the camera because she dislikes the flash (she’s a pretty smart dog, I must admit). I’ve accepted the limitations of the camera I use… it is more mine now than my parents’… but that has made my decision to buy a DSLR that much easier.

Well, that’s about all I can think of at the moment, except that I have a friend who recently bought the S2 IS and is trying to convert me! She’ll never succeed :wink: .

[::John::]

Maybe my login name should have been YAK (yet another kiwi)!

JT here - born in the mid 50's in the South Island of New Zealand, I was given my first camera when I was about 12 (so dad could get his ones back).

I travelled a lot with work and always had a camera of some sort with me. My first SLR came along when I was in my early 30's and was, strangely enough, a Canon).

I left that behind for a Pentax at one point that a girlfriend managed to take with her - so I bought a Canon EOS 1000F in 1996 which I still have.

My boss sent me to Sydney, Australia, in May, 2000 for a 3 month contract (I work in IT) and then sold the company to an Australian who promptly closed the NZ company - leaving me here in Sydney with no prospect of a job if I returned to NZ - so I stayed here in OZ where I met and married my current wife.

I have 2 sons from previous marriages and my wife has 3 kids from her previous marriage.

I bought and played with some very basic digital cameras until a friend in Oregon sent me his old Sony Mavica (the one that saves pics to diskettes) which really rekindled my interest in photography.

After playing with it for a while I really wanted something a bit more powerful so I bought a Sony Mavica CD500 and, boy, I loved that camera. I took over 4000 pictures in less than 2 years!

The Sony was a toss up - I wanted the then new Canon 300D but decided, as it was $1000 more than the Sony, that I would stick with the Sony to see if I really was interested in photography or just playing around.

I bought the Canon 350D in April this year. I chose Canon because I already had Canon glass with my 1000F and wanted to be able to re-use it.

I am delighted with my choice and am now looking carefully at the 5D.

One day.... I see a 5D and at least one L lens in my future.

Thanks for this site - it has already taught me a lot.

[FlyingPete]

Kiwi number 8 or 9 here, lost count now :rolleyes:

I think I am the second regular kiwi member to join behind Nzl-G3User.

I live in East Auckland, Pakuranga Height to be specific, I am originally from Chirstchurch, but moved up to the Bucklands Beach/Half Moon Bay area in my early teens, as can be expected I was born at a very young age, :p a 1974 model to be specific.

Married to Shona with one daughter, Elizabeth who just turned two last week, she already is showing an interest in photography (we will ignore the fact she shows an interest in what ever dad does or has :rolleyes: )

I am another member of the great and growing GKPE (Great Kiwi POTN Expedition), now participating in the two main events, plus at least three 'mini's'

My day job is a Consulting Engineer for an IT Services Company, my speciality area's are storage (SAN/Backups) and Server Virtualization (I am a VMWare Cetified Professional), my aging Microsoft Cert is the MSCE equivalent for Windows NT3.51 :o.

I love my gadgets and toys, and have been playing with SLR's for 17 years now, my first photo 'job' taking pictures for my school magazine in 1989. Cameras I have owned: Kodak Brownie Reflex, Kodak Instamatic 110, Konica 35mm Autofocus thingy, Olympus OM1, Pentax P30N, Olympus OM10, Canon EOS50, Sony Cybershot DSC-S50, Canon EOS30, Canon Powershot G3 and finally a Canon EOS20D.

Personalty wise, a little wacky, probably compete a little with Warren (Wazza) for wacky acts on GKPE outings :D

[Nidz]

My name is Nidan Baxter (I challenge anyone to find soebody else with my first name). I am from Melbourne, Australia. I work as a technical support person at an Internet company as my full time job. I used to like computers but these days I am getting sick of it all and need a change. I hope to persue my photography more in the comming months. I have been doing shoots for a Automotive website and hope to further expand to other types of photoraphy and framed prints. I have learned a lot from this site which continues to help me with technique and other various things.

I too am a gadget man. Anything expensive I will try to get my hands on. I've been through all your Remote control toys and hotting up my car and stereo and computer and other various electronic tech gadgets. I've always been interested in photography but until September this year haven't been able to afford to get my hands on some serious equipment.

So that's pretty much all for me.

[lostdoggy]

Hi my name is Billy. I was born n the 60's in Hong Kong and raise in The Bronx and currently living in Queens w/ my significant other and our 2 kids.

I love photography since I was very young, but didn't really have the time to work on it. I started out w/ a Pentax SLR (don't know the model) and move to a Nikon FM2. I migrate over to digital w/ a sub 1MP Olympus then to a 3.2MP Sony DSC72. It wasn't until I saw my brotherinlaw's 300D when my interest in photography revived. But for the past 9 month I was side lined with a rupture Petella Tendon and could only limp from place to place.

My profession,Hmmm. As you can see I don't write for a living. I'm a jack of all trade master of none. My main function at work is to maintain the enviroment in the building and the associated equipment. I also service HVAC, electrical, plumbing and nything else that can break down. I also construct and build anything that needs to be. For the first half of my work day. On the other half of my work day I'm a Union delegate. Protecting the membership from cold ruthless idiot management. I'm reponsible for writing grievances against management and denouncing their inability to read. I have a 70% win ratio. Gofigure, from a guy who can't write.

[aradia]

Hey to everyone reading this. My name is Jennifer, I'm 23 years old, living in New Jersey, USA. :) I work as a team leader in the mail room for a large mortgage company here in Jersey. It bores me to tears, so I like to play on the internet alot.

My mother was into photography when she was younger and gave me her Minolta 35 mm SLR when I moved out and for Christmas bought me a Canon S2 IS (I'm dying because I haven't been able to get my hands on it. It's just sitting out, torturing me). After Christmas, I plan to be taking lots and lots of photos and posting them here. For now, I'll just troll around and marvel at everyone else's photos. :)

[markubig]

Hey to everyone reading this. My name is Jennifer, I'm 23 years old, living in New Jersey, USA. :) I work as a team leader in the mail room for a large mortgage company here in Jersey. It bores me to tears, so I like to play on the internet alot.

My mother was into photography when she was younger and gave me her Minolta 35 mm SLR when I moved out and for Christmas bought me a Canon S2 IS (I'm dying because I haven't been able to get my hands on it. It's just sitting out, torturing me). After Christmas, I plan to be taking lots and lots of photos and posting them here. For now, I'll just troll around and marvel at everyone else's photos. :) Fellow New Jersyan . . . Welcome!

[HJMinard]

Greetings fellow POTN'ers! My name is Jay and I'm 40 years old. I was born and raised in Detroit, and I currently live in Marysville, Michigan, U.S.A. I'm employed as a designer (CAD) in the automotive industry - currently designing HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) components for the next generation GM full size SUV's (Tahoe, Suburban, Escalade, Yukon, etc.). That's what I do for a living, anyway ... my real purpose in life is serving the Lord. I'm married and have three children (19 y/o daughter, 15 y/o son, and 12 y/o daughter).

I developed an interest in photography in 7th grade, and joined a photography club that a teacher organized as an after school activity. I saved up my newspaper route income and purchased an Olympus OM-1 with 50mm lens. I eventually added a telephoto lens, a flash, and other necessary equipment. The OM-1 served me loyally and well for about six years - until my parent's home was broken and entered by someone who apparently needed it more than I. That (unfortunately) was the end of my film SLR experience, as I used the insurance money to buy a stereo system for my dorm room at college (Western Michigan Univ.). Seemed like the thing to do at the time. :(

I bought and used relatively high end point and shoot film cameras for many years ... and then came the digital revolution and a purchase of a Canon G1. My passion for photography was completely rekindled. I rapidly upgraded to first the Digital Rebel, and then the 20D. My lens collection experienced a similar rapid escalation from kit to mid-range to "L". I enjoy all sorts of photography, but particularly wildlife.

[otlip]

Greetings to All

If its OK to say it, I'm another one of those folks from NJ (exit 14, Billy Crystal). I'm a captain of a small tanker that operates out of New York Harbor. We run as far East as Portland Maine. I also pilot ships when I home; this help to pay for my son's (20) education at Colgate.
I had an old Konica camera in the 70s and shot many slides. When my son got involved in sports I got a Canon Elan 2E. Developing became expensive so I got a Rebel 300, two years ago this month. I added several new lenses 100-400 IS, and a 85 1.8 and a 1.4 extender. I've found that NOW my son appriciates me taking pictures of he and his buddies surfing, and rowing competitions, etc. Since I work on the water I take may shots from the boat, but have not posted any. Just going through a new hard drive on my laptop (most pictures were stored there) which was not backed up. A lesson to all!
This is a great place to learn from. If any other NJ folks would like to have a photo get together email me and lets try to arrange an shoot.

[markubig]

another New Jerseyian . . . uh-oh, we might soon outnumber the Kiwi's :p;):lol:

[ErikW]

Hello all, my name is Erik Wynstra. I've been lurking for couple weeks and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience! I'm very impressed by the quality of the photos and the constructive criticism provided. As far as experience goes, I was a sports photographer for my high school yearbook and frankly, I wasn't very good at it. After graduation, I got away from shooting but earlier this year I picked up an A520 to document weather phenomena, as meteorology is a hobby of mine. Unfortunately, it was hot and dry over the summer which is fine if you like taking pictures of clear skies and dead grass. :rolleyes: After perusing this site, I've been inspired to take full advantage of my little point-and-shoot! I love outdoor photography and have a special place in my heart for old boats. I'm afraid I'm a bit computer illiterate and my technical knowledge is embarrassing. I hope I can make some sort of contribution and criticism is always welcome! :)

[belmondo]

Welcome, Erik.

[Tin Man]

Who I am… My name is Thinh Nguyen, however, most people around me can’t say my name right and they called me Tin Man. I’m from Vietnam and resident in the U.S since 1980. What a beautiful country, my first job was to wash dishes for Marriott Hotel that is when I spent my whole paycheck for the Pentax K 1000. In the meant time, I went to school for Electrical Engineer but most of my work was computer relate and I’m now working as an IT consultant for the U.S Department of State.

I have so many hobbies included photography, sky diving, flying, boating, biking.. I own a boat, I’m licensed to fly and I’m certified to jump solo, and I still biking with my camera. But photography seems to last most… All others seem to go away as ages and physical requirements.

I’m lucky to be married... my wife said so :) and with two beautiful daughters and I’m pound that one of them has a SLR camera glue to her nose.

[Steve Parr]

Well, the "name" part should be obvious: I'm Bob Jones.

Okay, that's not true.

I was born in 1962, and grew up on New York's Long Island. I left New York at 18, when I joined the US Navy. That spur of the moment decision turned into a successful 20 year career. I retired in January 2001.

I started playing guitar when I was 14, and knew that, when I retired from the military, I would do something related to guitars. After I retired, I was with a start-up company that made travel guitars. We did pretty well, but the owner (how should I say this?) "lacked vision". While doing sales for that company, I'd grown it to have 28 US dealers and three distributors overseas. Within six months of my leaving (I literally would've killed him otherwise), the dealers and distributors had been cut off.

After that, I worked guitar retail at a large retailer here in San Diego, as the resident acoustic guitar expert. I was hired there on 9/11/01 (easy date to remember). Retail was good, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to do. After working there for 2-1/2 years, I was offered the position of Inside Sales Coordinator by Taylor Guitars, which is located only about four miles from the house. I'm now the Regional Sales Manager for Canada. It's pretty cool, as I love to travel. Travelling on someone else's dime only makes it better, and the photo opportunities abound.

I've always played in bands, although my last band "retired" in July of this year. Frankly, I was ready for it. At 43, inloading the van at four in the morning was gettin' old. The money was good, but the hours sucked.

After giving up the band gig, I thought about what else I liked to do, that I might be able to make a few bucks at. Well, photography was it. I started a little thing on the side, called OnStage Photography and, while it's certainly not paying the light bill, it puts a few odd bucks in the pocket, and it still keeps me abreast of what's going on in the local music scene. I've got photos on various websites, and also have a few photos for a local artists' CD cover. My website is www.onstagephotography.com (http://www.onstagephotography.com).

Other than that, I'm married, and have one daughter who'll be 20 in May. We live about 20 miles east of San Diego.

And, if you're wondering, it's supposed to be 82 degrees on Christmas day!

Steve

[Shutter22]

Hi my name is Kevin,

*Group* Hi Kevin…

And I’ve been a POTN addict since about three months before my join date. Back in those days I lurked in secret, then I joined, and now I even post sometimes.

Anyway, I just turned 30 years old this past summer, and have been into photography for a while, but was able to finally step it up by convincing “cost control” (aka my lovely wife) how much money we’d save on picture processing last year if she’d let me buy a digital. It’s been steadily downhill for me since then as I bought my 300D, and as of my birthday this summer a 70-200 2.8L.

My wife and I have a 10 year old daughter who loves to have her picture taken, the sillier (http://ksmith.smugmug.com/photos/31538675-M.jpg) the better.

My day job is in IT working with large IBM machines, (Somewhere in some post or other CDS posted a picture of them… but I can’t remember where.) and read POTN while I’m not busy. I love this community, you people are helpful and kind, and I’ve probably learned more about photography from this site than the rest of the net combined.

Mazerrakhm (Mazer Rakham) is a character from the book Enders Game (If you like Science Fiction I highly recommend it, it’s my favorite book I even got my wife to read it and she loved it.) that I chose as my moniker 10+ years ago because my name or any combination of it is usually taken.

(Here is a hint, I share the same name as the person in the icon, only I’m better looking!)

If the icon isn't you, it reminds me of Kevin Smith.

PS I've read the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series around five or six times. Simply amazing.


Hello! My name is Danielle. I've always had a camera at my side since I was six. When I turned six I got this really cool looking rectangular camera. I'll have to find it. I had countless photo albums filled with pictures of my fingers covering half the picture by the time I was ten. If it wasn't for optical zoom and lenses I'd probably still be doing that. About a year and a half ago I got my first digital camera. I burned through that little thing like nobody's business. It was always in everyone's face and constantly going off. I was obsessed with taking pictures of cool looking things and people performing routine acts. earlier this year I got an S2 IS. I love it. I recently purchased a few tele-converter lenses. Iplanonexpanding moe once I get a part-time job, but it's been great.

I'm currently living in northeastern Pennsylvania, and attending High School in a school of around 400-700 students. I also live in the only town in Pennsylvania. Quite an accomplishment, eh? I'm currently undecided what I want to do when I get out of here, and I better decide soon. I know whatever I want to do has to include photography. Whether I want to go into it professionally and full time, or maybe part time, or just as a hobbie? I have no clue.


I get very agitaded at school when people start to talk about "photography". It sems like every teenager now-a-days has a digital camera. It kind of irritates me because I hate showing my pictures to anyone my own age because they'll either say, "Wow, that's really cool. You took that?" or "Uh, I don't get it."/"It's kind of boring, where are the people?" I've recieved that last comment so many times, it makes me sick. It's also the latest trend to download Adobe Photoshop and change your clocks on your computer so you have it forever. Then overprocess your pictures, make them all black and white, and bump up the contrast so high you can't even tell what the picture is of. It makes me sick. It's like no one takes me seriously because "everyone does it".

Sorry, I kind of ranted on that last part.

Anyways, I really love this place because this place isn't just another trend. I escape here. Eventhough, I don't comment a lot, I love looking at the pictures and recording settings you used, and reading comments. Maybe I should comment more.

Oh, and I play violin, write, and read in my spare time.

[toddb]

Looks like Silent Bob. Enders Game is a good book, my coworker convinced me to read it this year. I too love Douglas Adams books. Good people here for sure. :-)

[SuzyView]

Hi! I'm SuzyView, actually, I spell my name Suzie. I have thoroughly enjoyed the forum because I have loved photography ever since my brother owned his first Canon F-1 when I was 12 years old. He never let me use it then, but shares thoughts about photography with me now that we are in our 40s. I am first a wife and mom. Been married 23 1/2 years to a great man, who lets me buy the equipment I need and want because it's important to me. My 4 sons are the loves of my life and the reason I started buying good equipment.

I am a teacher. That's my passion. I love photography, but not as much as I love teaching. So, I won't give up my day job yet. I taught myself piano, I sing alto, I dance, I cook and I get involved in everything. I REMEMBER EVERY GOOD MEAL I'VE EVER HAD. I wish I knew more about my hobbies because I want to do better. And I have great friends. I feel blessed.

Thanks for all the great comments, Pekka and Moderators. You keep the chats going and make things fun and interesting.

Edited 10/25/06: Got "a title" and celebrated my 1 year anniversary here in the Forum. Still looking for that perfect shot!

[MazerRakhm]

If the icon isn't you, it reminds me of Kevin Smith.

PS I've read the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series around five or six times. Simply amazing.

It should remind you of him, as it is the famous Kevin Smith (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003620/) where I am the less than famous Kevin Smith. On the bright side, I never have to wory about someone I don't want finding me on the internet by searching for my name I suppose. :roll:

[JennB]

Hello,

My name is Jenn and I'm so glad to have found these forums. :) My family and I are currently residing in MD, but will soon be going back to TX. I mostly take photos of my family and friends and also my children's activities. I do love photography and would like to take some courses on it. Just received most of my equipment on Christmas day and am very thankful to Santa! :D

I am looking forward to learning with and from all of you here!

[HJMinard]

Looks like Silent Bob

Kevin Smith = Silent Bob ... but you knew that, right? Just making sure. ;)

[spencer87]

I love reading these threads and learning a bit about the real people behind the avatars :)

My name is Spencer and I live just north of Baltimore, MD. I'm currently a student at UMBC majoring in visual arts (graphic design track) and business. I also work part-time as a make-up artist. I started out in film slr years ago and made the jump to digital slr about a year ago. In the past year or so I have really gotten back into photography, and have been steadily building up a portfolio and taking some freelance projects under my belt. You can check out my portfolio at http://www.spencermhall.com.

I'm also a 'culture vulture' (to quote Queer Eye for the Straight Guy), my boyfriend and I love to travel and we have a long list of places to see and photograph. I love learning new languages too- I speak some Greek, Italian, and French. When I have time I also love to cook.

that's me. these forums are awesome, although it seems like the more time I spend here on the boards, the more money I spend on lenses!
:rolleyes:

[SugarAddict]

Well I'm not gonna type out anything long...but.

My name is Amanda, I'm 21 and a senior at Duquesne University. I'm majoring in elementary education, so this is my last semester and I will be spending it student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom until April 14th. I graduate May something, 2nd or 4th or close to those dates...and after that I have no idea what I'll be doing, maybe substituting?

I just got the PSA520 for Christmas, so I've only owned a digital camera for a week now. I would sometimes use my dads old digital camera because he got a newer one, but I never messed with any of the features or anything, just did point & shoot. So I am excited about learning all about my very own new one. :)

Yeah thats about it I guess.

[wrphhi]

As the signature says, my name is Randy. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and went to college at the University of South Carolina on a swimming scholarship, which got me from one coast to the other. Having grown up in the city, I fell in love with living in city that had clean air, seasons, pine trees, and a river running through it. I’ve lived in South Carolina ever since, except for my time in the Navy. During my Navy time, I was fortunate enough to visit various places in Asia and Australia. While in Australia, I learned my name has a much different meaning down under than it does here, although not entirely inaccurate at the time.

I’ll be 50 in a few months and am an attorney by trade. I’ve been fascinated with photography since I was a young child and have owned many different type cameras over the past 40 years. In my 20s, I had my own darkroom (in the bathroom), where I developed B&W. Never learned color development. For one reason or another, I let photography go for a number of years, although my interest in it did not die. About 10 years ago I started getting into video and became the family videographer for weddings, parties, etc. I also filmed several local rock bands as a hobby. About 4 years ago I got a Sony digital camera (3.2 megapixels) and rediscovered my passion for photography. The instant feedback of digital and ability to manipulate pictures post shooting was a real attraction.

About 5 months ago I got my Digital Rebel XT and have been obsessed with picture taking even more. I lurked for several weeks before joining the forum and learned a lot during that time. I am looking forward to becoming an active member, making new internet friends and becoming a better photographer through this forum.

Thank you to all who run the forum and those who contribute as well.

[Shutter22]

It should remind you of him, as it is the famous Kevin Smith (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003620/) where I am the less than famous Kevin Smith. On the bright side, I never have to wory about someone I don't want finding me on the internet by searching for my name I suppose. :roll:

Ah, excellent man.

[Mark_Cohran]

Okay, I'll take a shot at this. Hello, I'm Mark and I'm an L-aholic. I was born in 1958, and like Steve, I'm a Navy vet, retired in 1996. I got to do a lot of photography courtesy of the Navy (mostly through periscopes though). I've been involved in photography since I was about 10 years old when my parents bought me a camera and a telescope.

In the Navy I was an electronics technician/nuclear operator and my undergraduate degree is also in electronics. My graduate program is in Management of Science and Technology. I've studied photography at the New York Institute of Photography, Florida Tech, and Portland State Univeristy. I bought my first SLR, a Canon AT-1 in 1978, and I still have it. It still works great, and I have fun using it from time to time. I can set up a darkroom, print in B&W and Color, and tone the final print. However, I haven't been in the darkrooom since 1999.

I've been married for 28 years (an accomplishment I'm quite proud to acclaim), and my three children are grown and out of college. I am a pending grandfather, though I don't think I'm old enough for the moniker of "grandpa."

Photograph has been my passion for many years. I started shooting weddings in the 80's, have done quite a bit of glamour photography for aspiring young models over the years, have taught photography for the local high school, and in recent years have concentrated on product photography for websites and catalogs. Photography is a hobby and a side business for me. My current profession is as a Training Manager for a major high tech company with which you are all familiar (especially those of you who use Pentium processors).

I'm a friendly guy, if a bit passionate about civil rights (and the rights of photographers). I don't consider myself a great photographer, but merely an adequate one. I probably could make a living with my photography, but I choose not to do so, because I think it would cease to be fun.

I have White Lightning strobes, portable backdrops, Canon Digital SLRs and EF lense, Canon FD SlRs and Lenses, and a Mamiya MF system with a Metz CL-45 strobe. I've never used a large format system, though I have studied them in school.

I live in Oregon, which is probably one of the most photogenic states in the Union. I have a fascination with all things British (including Australia, New Zealand and Canada), and I enjoy Monty Python.

That's me a in a nutshell.

Mark

[cking2]

I wanted to post a little about myself….I joined this forum a few weeks ago and really enjoy the content and information available here.

I am a semi-retired 46 year old Hello,
….who is renewing his passion for photography. I love to photograph my 11 year old son playing the various sports he plays. (Football, Basketball and Baseball). I have owned several digital SLR’s in the past three years including the first Digital Rebel, then the D10 and now the D5 and currently I have a lust in my heart for a Mark II N. (I think I need this)

Unlike a lot of newbie’s this board I am not making the jump from point and shoot cameras…..I do know ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed from my Minolta SLR days. I first started with my brother’s completely manual Minolta XG-7 and progressed to my own camera the almost automatic X-700. I used to shoot quite a lot of 35mm stuff when I was younger….and now all I need to do is find what knowledge I thought I had and refresh it with the help of this website. As a point of nostalgia…Does anyone else remember being able to get prints developed for seven cents? At least now with digital we have the option to dump our bad shots before we develop themJ During the late 80's and 90's I let photography slide to the back of my priority list……wife, job and children …well the whole cat and a cradle thing.

Because I am semi-retired I now have the time to explore what once was my major hobby…photography. The age of my son is perfect for me to study and practice shooting sports and I hope to become good at that as well as portrait photography. I am going to read a lot, take some classes, attend a few workshops, conventions and give my new camera a workout. At this point in my life I have decided to open a studio to explore my passion for photographs and the art of taking them. Don’t really need or expect to make a lot of money from this new enterprise but I hope to have a good time doing it.

Thanks for your time,

Rick

[Astbury]

Christopher from Cheltenham England now living and working in Zurich Switzerland. First brought a Canon EOS 650 when I was around 16 and as I thought did pretty well. Now living is Switzerland I got myself a nice 20D after reading a billion reviews and I will be wickedly happy with it when I mange to get to the bottom of its focus problem.
I work in IT for an American company and have done for the past 5 years. Usually take my vacations all in one go to travel overland in places like Africa, East Europe, US and later this year planning on a 10,000 km trip through China.
Some of my photography (if that what you can call it) can be found here (http://christopherastbury.blogspot.com)

Cheers

C

[SuzyView]

Christopher, nice shots. Really like the way you see things. Welcome to the FORUM! It's the nicest group of people I've met in a long time.

SuzyView

[Johnson24]

Hi, I'm Jerred, I mostly go by Johnson. I'm 24 and spend my time between school and working in the oil fields. I was born, raised and still live in the great state of Kansas. We have lots of great places to take photographs, and many different wildlife. I've had several cameras and one digital, this year for my birthday I got Digital Rebel XT, several lenses , and Ikelite housing for Christmas.

I plan to use the camera for everything, but the most important feature will be when SCUBA diving. So, if anyone on here is a diver, I'm available to chat anytime.

[futura]

Ah I've only just come across this thread :p I wondered where newbie introduced themselves. I'm Andy and I'm based in Surrey, UK. I've been interested in photography for about 3 years now but only taking it more seriously in the last year and half. I enjoy taking portraiture work, street photography but also like dabbling in landscape and wildlife. Hopefully I will be able to contribute to the forum as well picking up a few pointers from others.

[lakiluno]

Hi,

I'm Leo. I live in Edinburgh, Scotland. I am 15. I currently have an A75 which I got as a christmas present last year (04). Before that I had an atrocious Kodak Mc3, which took pictures worse than my webcam.

I am currently saving up for a 350D. I've been interested in photography from before my A75, but I felt the limitations of my Mc3 almost immediatly, which is why I upgraded. I've been really interested in photography and manual modes etc. for about 6-8 months.

I like to take landscape photos, and pictures of stuff that interests me. I am in 4th year at school and will do my Standard grades soon.

I currently have £220, and I hope to have a 350D by July.

Leo

[ephereal]

Hi everyone :)

I just stumbled on this thread and it's fantastic! It has been great reading about all of you.. so i guess ill share some about me as well - my name is lisa and im 25, living in my dream spot right on the beach in perth western australia which is nothing short of inspirational.

My day job consists of being an Executive Assistant / PA which I enjoy, but it doesn't rock my world.. so I always have something on the side to keep things interesting.

I started off with makeup. I'd always had a passion for it and did a short course which I loved. Started getting some work and decided to pursue the SFX side of things which allowed me to be more creative. So a few years ago I did a fulltime special effects course which I loved, and have been working as a freelance makeup artist on the side since.

I got into photography because ive always wanted to capture what i see. I used to get frustrated at jobs because some of the photographers i worked with just didnt seem to see what i did.. they seemed to get so caught up in creating a standard shot that they lost the beauty of the individual. i remember one girl that had such an amazing smile which lit her entire face but the only shots that were taken that day were moody cold stares.

so after returning from a stint working in london last year i decided to bite the bullet and give photography a shot, and it has been rocking my world ;)

Its been such a steep learning curve & I've got soooo much to learn but im having fun doing it!!!

and thank you to everyone on this forum for providing such a positive place to learn & share - it has been fantastic :)

[Thornfield]

Hi all,
Well I seem to be the only South Islander from New Zealand on this forum. My name is Alfred (Fred to my friends) and have lived in New Zealand since 1981. I was born in The Netherlands and before coming to NZ spent most of my youth moving between The Netherlands, England an Ireland. I started photography with an old Cosina slr and made more mistakes than I care to remember. Took a course in photography in 1994 with Richard (Dick) Poole and have not looked back since. I've only done this as a hobby though people keep pushing me to do this for a living. I think I have too much to learn before i get into that, maybe when I'm 60 and retired from my day job :). I work in the plastics industry doing mainly quality control. I mainly do landscape work though it's my portrait work that people realy love. They see the end result and all I see is the things that could have been improved upon. Well that's enough of me for now. Look forward to seeing all the other posts. There are some great people on here.

[Tsmith]

Well since I've never formally introduced myself let be begin.

I live in South Mississippi, born and raised right here. I'm 44 years and married to my lovely wife of 25 years with one son who's 19 years old (second year in collage $$$) and our Golden Retriver named Garce. I work for a large area Hospital that I've been employed at for the past 14 years, much more stable income compared to the Mechanical Contracting Industry I chased around all over the Southern US for 14 prior.

The wife and I love to travel taking at least one extended trip a year with several ventures to our favorite city New Orleans, LA. Only thats temporally on hold due to hurricane Katrina but we'll be back soon enough.

Got interested in photography partly due to my oldest brother having all the equipment years past. I started with the Canon T70 then progressed to a T90 (loved that camera) and then moved over to Minolta which I was was never really fond of. I was absent in the most from photography for about 3 years cause hassles of shooting film ... then hello little Olympus 520 and the digital world. So here I am now back enjoying what I use to so much.

[philbyuk]

well time to introduce myself.
Im phil from the northwest uk hence the member name.I'm 42 married with 3 girls(is that good or bad?)..
started off some 20 odd yrs ago with a Canon AE1 camera then stopped for a few yrs then got a Canon S50 a cpl yrs back for holiday 'snaps' got me hooked on photography again.tried a D20 last june..liked it so much i bought one , my interest in photography lie in macro and hopefully in landscape(mainly the lake district....awesome place and only a couple of hrs away).well enough rambling on now, just waiting for this miserable grey weather to go,then i can get out and about.great forum, ive learned so much and still learning hope to meet with some other north west uk'rs in the future