Howdy Everyone! (New Member Here)

[VegasGeorge]

I just joined the Forum. I'm a retired guy living in Las Vegas, NV. I used to be active in photography back in the 70's, but let it slide for the last 30 years or so. Boy, a lot has changed! Anyway, I've been doing my snapshots with a S-100 Elph and I'm computer knowledgeable, so digital is not completely new to me. We have a Digital Photo Club here where I live, and I just ordered a 20D with the 17-85mm and 75-300mm IS lenses. I'm SO excited! :D

You'll be seeing me on here regularly, probably asking a lot of pesky questions. (Yes, I do know how to "Search") Your Forum is very impressive, I really like the Forum Sections, and I appreciate the serious nature of the Topic threads.

Vegas

[Andy_T]

George,

welcome to the forum!

A word of advice ... Beware of fellow shooters counseling you on purchases.

If you read too many lens discussions, you'll soon get the urge to upgrade your lenses (that you don't have yet ;) ) to Canon's L line and spend lots more than you are aware of now.

Best regards,
Andy

[mikesd]

Welcome George, retired in Vegas sounds pretty good. Looking forward to seeing your work and by the way, heed Andy's warning, you will get alot of help here spending money.

[gramps]

Here is another Welcome..........Have fun with your new toys, the 20 D is a great body. I'm in the same boat as you. I did a bunch back in the 60's - 80's then put it all on hold. When I saw the 20 D coming I knew it was time to get back into it. I live about 2 hours up the road from you, there are a lot of great places in our part of the world to use your new stuff. Have FUN and Welcome again.


Steve

[Andy_T]

George,

it's also good to see that you like to partake in the discussions on the forum here and not just talk about photography.

Best regards,
Andy

[eosster]

One word, Welcome.....

[Tiger1]

Welcome Vegas ( Heh, Heh, Heh !!! New Blood.)

Just Kidding - Lots of knowledgeable folks on this forum and all willing to help. You definitely will enjoy.

Gene

[KevC]

Very nice! I'm sorta new too. Have lotsa fun!

[Persian-Rice]

Welcome to the forum.

[defordphoto]

Hehehehehehehe. Yet another victim!

Just kidding...Welcome to the forum George.

[EoSD30fReAk]

welcome to the forum and enjoy it here.

[JAZZ D.P.G.]

:lol: Welcome back to the darkside :lol:

Retired, living in Vegas and getting back into photography.................

L could have you betting the line with the cost of the next lens to upgrade:lol:

Welcome, and enjoy. This is a great group of people:D

[Vegas Poboy]

Welcome to the World Wide Love for Canons, George

[psk4363]

Welcome to the best Canon site on the web - got your credit card handy for all those lovely 'L' lenses? It won't be long before you're persuaded, etc!

Cheers,
Barry

[benhasajeep]

Newbie here myself. I in am Vegas all the time. Even bought a camera there a couple years ago.
I think it was Sahara camera or something like that. Bought a Nikon digital for my parents there. Pretty fair pricing. I have been back for a couple smaller things since then.

[VegasGeorge]

Thank you all so much for such a warm welcome! I already feel right at home here.

UPS says my new 20D will be at my door tomorrow, so hopefully I can give a good report by sometime Friday or Saturday. I can't wait to post some pics!

I think I'll try to get myself into the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International trade show, March 19, down at Bally's. Has anyone here been to that show? Is it worth the effort?

[CaseyScofield]

Welcome George!

Got lots of friends in Vegas! What a place to retire!!

Look forward to seeing more of your stuff.

[Bodryn]

Welcome, from a relative newbie myself. Enjoy. I've learned a lot here. I've already learned I'm going to have to spend lots of money on a new DSLR and associated lenses. :confused:

[PhotosGuy]

Welcome! I'm glad to see someone else here with a meaningful Avatar! ;-)

[VegasGeorge]

Hey everybody, I just got my 20D! (Well, actually it came yesterday, but I'm still working my way through the manual.) So far it seems pretty intuitive and everything seems to be working. I'm having a little bit of trouble getting used to that flash popping up, but as soon as I get it outside that will stop. The whole white balance thing is pretty new to me. Do you carry an 18% gray card in your bag? Does it make any sense to worry about the white balance if you're going to be editing in Photoshop anyway?

[Markus]

Hello George, I a newbie too. Looks like a good forum to me.
Hope to learn a lot here.
I am from the Netherlands.
Was in Vegas twice, walking the Strip with my mouth open all day.
Have a good time!

[PhotosGuy]

Do you carry an 18% gray card in your bag? Does it make any sense to worry about the white balance if you're going to be editing in Photoshop anyway? It gives you a more accurate starting point, & you can use a white sheet of paper, too. Just be sure to not overexpose it as the cam needs some tones to calculate the color info. Did you see this?
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=54281

[VegasGeorge]

I'm starting to get my feet wet, so to speak, with my new 20D. I posted a pic in the "People section just to prove I could do it. Right now I'm fighting information overload as I try to remember everything I need to do to set the camera up for each shot. This is the first digital I've had that allows for custom settings other than focal length. I'm intentionally staying away from fully automatic operation until I get the hang of things. I've been shooting on the "P" setting, and the "M" setting. I've still got a lot to learn and get used to. Any suggestions about how to approach the camera familiarity exercise?

[belmondo]

George:
Welcome to the forum. You've made several good choices...The 20D is a great camera, and Las Vegas is a good place to retire, especially if you're a photographer.

My wife and I actually bought a house in Anthem (Henderson), but never moved into it. The deal-killer was the drive in and out of Las Vegas on I-15, something I would have to do frequently. We opted instead for the California Desert near Palm Springs.

Anyway, glad to have another 'old goat' to share the abuse. :lol:

Tom

[PhotosGuy]

Any suggestions about how to approach the camera familiarity exercise? Keep shooting. If something doesn't work out, find out why & then shoot more. RTFM about once a week for a while, too. ;-)

[Bodryn]

Vegas, I may be younger but you and I are a lot alike - my interest in film photography had waned almost down to nothing. The hassle of film and all. But it was born again in a big way with digital and the instant gratification of seeing my digital photos just minutes after I'd taken them. I could make my own computer wallpaper! Now I've taken over 8000 and counting. :) Hope you enjoy your visits here. Don't forget about photo editing software - that's half the fun! Your own digital darkroom!

[Ballen Photo]

Hiya George! Welcome to the forum. :D
-Bruce

[VegasGeorge]

Wow! I'm overwhelmed with the support and great comments. :D

I'm living in Siena, so Belmondo, you may know where I am. Yeah, Photosguy, RTFM is definitely in my past,present and future.

I swear (regularly :D), I think I'm going to make every newbie goof in the book before I get it right. Yesterday I went out to our little waterfall to experiment with shutter speeds. You know, get "motion" in the water. Well, when I got home and looked at the pictures, I discovered I'd been changing the aperture, not the shutter speed! :o I found some good depth of field, though. :lol:

Fortunately, I have a lot of friends here in Siena to share my excitement. We have a Photo SIG as part of our Computer Club (http://www.sienacomputerclub.com). Hey, if anyone wants to request a photo of something here in Las Vegas, just let me know. I'll snap it and post it if I can.