Tell us a little about yourself...

[NILOLIGIST]

All,

There have been some interesting topics of late. Someone started a topic about where everyone is from and the self portrait topic. Well, I am now starting a topic about you..Tell us a little about yourself. I am curious what type of people are memebers of this forum.

I am a 39 year old woman from NYC. My profession is computers, I am a Computer Engineer working for a Swiss Bank. I am Microsoft certified in several applications. It sounds more impressive than what it really is. I really just do software troubleshooting for VIP's. It is a high profile and high pressured position. I cannot say that I will be leaving my profession just yet to become a phtotographer but who knows. LOL I l still love what I do. I now love digital photography too.

This is not my first camera but it is my first semi-professional camera. I was going to purchase a few years ago the Elane 7E with Eye Control. I was too afraid to purchase the camera, the salesman told me there was a huge learning curve and I felt that is was too much camera for me.

Honestly, I am still a little intimidated with the G3 but I feel more comfortable each time I use it, so I am getting better. I work on computers all day and try to take photos all night. LOL

I have all the software there is but really want to focus on taking good pictures before I go into the digital darkroom.

Well, that is my story...Hope it is not too boring. LOL

Big Smile,

[PacAce]

Well, Frederique, 39 views and no replies. They must all be shy, eh? Actually, I am as well but what the heck...

I'm a not-so-young-anymore man living in Allentown (one hour north of Philadelphia, 1.5 hrs west of NYC). My profession is in computers, just like you, except I'm more of a DB2 tech support person. I work for a fortune 500 company based in the Lehigh Valley.

Photography is just one of my many hobbies but a hobby I've been enjoying since grade school. Ive been dabbling in digital imaging for years (scanning images and editing using software) but I just got started into digital photography a month ago when I bought my G3 and EOS 10D cameras. (Fortunately, I was able to sell my 1995 Honda CBR300 sports motorcycle to pay for my new cameras and lenses :)

Although I'd like to try all kinds of photography most of my photography has been of nature and travel photography with the usual snap shots of family, friends and events thrown in.

And, yes, I'm also an avid videographers and enjoy editing videos and burning them to DVDs for myself, family and friends.

[NILOLIGIST]

PacAce,

Well, judging by your name, I knew you HAD to be interesting, but WOW...(LOL). As bios go, you have a interesting one. For someone that just got into digital photography a month ago you sure took a big JUMP. Not one but two cameras at once and high end ones at that.

Well now, I expect some EXCEPTIONAL photos from you. I mean photos that will win awards. (LOL)

I expect that for myself as well, I wouldn't want you to be all alone up there at the top of the digital photography world.


" It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare.

" It is because we do not dare that things are difficult. "

-Seneca

Thanks for the post, it adds a person to the nic name.


BTW...You are very brave, no one else dared to post. :((

Biggest Smile Ever,

[Beth]

A little about myself.............bought my first digital camera about 3 years ago..Olympus C2020. Shot always on Auto Mode, great photos....but oh, no, could I be satisfied??? Of course, not, I wanted the Canon G3!!! So I have owned my G3 for two weeks now, and am studying every night to learn about all the settings such as aperature, ISO, shutter speed. A bit overwhelming at first, but today i finally took what I felt where 3 good photos.

Personal life: hard working fool, self employed in the pre-employment background screening industry, live by the beach, love taking photos, a Creative Memories Album Groupie, and half insane. That about sums it up.

I love this forum, and each day I understand more about what everyone is talking about.

[NILOLIGIST]

Beth,

It is the greatest forum ever!!! You do learn a lot here, more than probably any workshop or class about things that only experience can teach you.

Good luck with your new G3, don't be like me take photos and don't post. I am not ready for the " HONEST FEEDBACK " yet. LOL

At least I am honest,

[Dragon Spirit]

Hey all :)

geez, Frederique - you're pretty brave to start a thread like this. Most of the time people tend to shun their personal lives online, pretending they're someone else. Its pretty rare that a bunch of people that happen to read the same forum would start sharing their real life IDs... at least a bit. :)

Anyway, about myself. Russian, born in Iran, went to school in Singapore and Moscow, went to college in the US (that would be Lehigh Valley, BTW, PacAce! I betcha I know which Fortune 500 co, you work for :)), did MBA in Banking back in Moscow, switched three jobs in three years - from credit insurance to risk analysis now to corporate banking. Back in Singapore yet again. Sorry for the mouthfull :)

My interest in photography was long to develop. I had an old Chinon Genesis camera for a number of years, but have never really developed a passion for photography. When I came to work in Singapore two years ago, the only reason I bought an EOS300 for myself was because my trusty old Chinon finally kicked the can, after serving me faithfully for some 7 years. THe EOS300 is a pretty simple camera, but I liked it. The first several rolls I shot turned out quite a bit better than the Chinon (possible due to a decent lens), and I realized I sort of liked snapping away. Then I bought a scanner so that I could scan my shots and share them with friends and family. That sort of led to the discovering of Photoshop and other image editing software. Then it all rollercoasted from there. I started shooting more, buying magazines, editing like crazy, posting online, learning about composition, exposure, etc. etc. Then I saw what digital photography could do, and being a long-time Canon fan, I just had to get the G3. Soo.. to cut a long story short, I finally took the plunge last December when it arrived in Singapore. And here I am. :)

I have some pics posted at http://www.pbase.com/dragon_spirit , all of these were taken with the G3.

Some of my older shots (done with the EOS 300) can be found at http://club.foto.ru/register/user.php?u_id=946 . This is a Russian photography site, for those of you who can't read Russian, scroll down that page until you see a list of links on the left and a lot of numbers on the right. The links on the left lead to individual pictures, so you can take a look.

Cheers, nice to meet ya all, and happy shooting :)

[RossLee]

Greetings & Salutations all

A little something 'bout myself. I'm born and bred, made and manufactured in a tropical island of Singapore, a little island off the ecuator, between Indonesia and Malaysia. Did my tertiary education till I'm 21. Had to be enlisted into the national service. And after which, I had to start working, really unfortunate as I'm one of the bread-winners of the family. I've been switching jobs, 3 times between 2000 - 2003. I'm working in a japanese shipping firm now. Oh btw, I'm an IBM CLP (Certified Lotus Professional). I've been doing this for about 2 years already. Photography is a passion and a
weekend affair.

I decided to go into photography when a picture of the Afghan Girl struck me. A picture tells a thousand words, rang like a bell tolling in my head. I decided to scout for some digicams. My interests grew since December 2002. Officially bought my G3 after reading reviews from dpreview.com. Unlike other digicams, G3 does not have a steep learning curve and it's considered a prosumer digicam. Just the right thing to give a headstart into
photography. Right now, I've own an decent array of equipment like cokin filters, a tripod, a canon convertor & a wide angle lens. I'm looking forward to widen my circle of friends and my equipment w/out burning a hole in my pocket.

I have posted my pics here : http://www1.photosig.com/viewphoto.php?id=810533

It's been a real pleasure knowing all of you and cheers ! :)

Oh yes, I'm 27 yrs old now :)

[Cheryl3700]

Hello Frederique,

I too am a 39 year old woman. I too work in computers. I am not microsoft certified at all - LOL. I am an old cobol mainframe programmer, microsoft wannabe. I work for a consulting firm and have primarily worked on Insurance applications for the past 5 years.

My G3 is my second digital camera. My first a Toshiba PDR-M5 was almost 3 years old at the time my cats broke it. I wasn't so devastated though because I needed an excuse to finally buy my G3 which I had my eye on for a while. My Toshiba took great photos, but lacked in many areas. I mostly take photos of my 3 kiddos at events and of my 2 cats now and then.

I am still trying to figure out how to use my G3, I might look into a photography course so I can get better at knowing what all these features can do.

PacAce, my hubby is from Philly! Can you send some waterice? He's dying for some! :-)

Nice to read about everyone.

Cheryl/NH

[dtrayers]

Hello all,

I grew up on the coast of New Hampshire and in the mountains of Maine. Cheryl, how's all that snow treating you?

I have an engineering degree and worked in manufacturing for 15 years before landing a job as an IT consultant for Baan ERP software. I now work for a company in Minneapolis as the "in house" consultant for Baan and Crystal Reports. It's the best of both worlds... I can do consulting type work, with no travel and no bench time.

I have two girls and my wife has gone back to school to get her doctorate in pharmacy. I call it my 5 year retirement plan: 4 years to get her through school and one year to pay off the loan. :D

It's been just recently I've entered the world of digital photography. I did a lot of B&W work in school for my yearbook and newspaper (developing and printing too).

I love digital photography. For me, it's the perfect combination of art and technolgy. The only problem is I spend WAY too much time in front of Photoshop.

I also build furniture and cabinetry as a hobby. Since my wife went back to school, I've been Mr. Mom. I haven't had any time to get back to the woodshop, but I do seem to find the time to take pictures.

Anyway, thanks to all for all your input in these forums. I'm always learning something new.

[PacAce]

Dragon Spirit wrote:
Anyway, about myself. Russian, born in Iran, went to school in Singapore and Moscow, went to college in the US (that would be Lehigh Valley, BTW, PacAce! I betcha I know which Fortune 500 co, you work for :)), ...


Dragon Spirit, if the company you had in mind starts with A then you're probably correct.

BTW, nice handle you have there. Being born in the year of the dragon I was contemplating using a handle with the word Dragon in it but I stuck it out with an old CB handle I had from way back when. You should see my dragon collection I just started a year or two ago. Heck, what am I talking about! I should just shoot a digi pic of them with my G3 and post it, huh?


Cheryl3700 wrote:
PacAce, my hubby is from Philly! Can you send some waterice? He's dying for some! :-)
Cheryl/NH

Chery/NH, is that NH as in New Hampshire. If so, you guys should have enough snow there to make lots of waterices, no? Slushies even! LOL :)

Okay, maybe snow isn't a good substiture for crushed ice. BTW, what is it that makes people crave for waterice? The flavoring they put in it? Or is it because it's something they grew up with it? My kids crave for it, too, like they crave for Yokko's hotdog! Beats me why, though! ???

[NILOLIGIST]

Dragon Spirit,

If I am brave then so are you. I saw the thread "Where is everyone from " and I wanted to know more about the people here. Not to be too nosy, I just want to know that we are just ordinary people, not famous photographers..LOL

It is nice to know that we are all from varied positions in life and careers. Now, if I have a database problem, I know to speak with you. LOL...

Thank you for posting and sharing yourself, I really appreicate it and it adds to the site and the information here.

Big Smile,

[NILOLIGIST]

Hi Cheryl3700,

Glad to see that other women are here to keep me company in an army of MEN...LOL

Glad you are here and very glad you posted.

I am new to all of this and have been hunting for classes and or workshops. I haven't found one yet, I have purchased ebooks and anything I can get my hand on. I really love this camera. I have found myself in a rut, reading, learning and not shooting. So now, that is my main focus, did some shooting yesterday, did not like the results, will try again today.

My goal is to shoot everyday. Acutally, I read a very good article. It explained how it really doesn't matter what kind of camera you have, the results are based on the photographer. Also, it says that you should shoot in auto to become familiar with using your camera and that most times you will be better shots, espeically if time is a factor. The most important or impressive thing said was that " only shoot what you are passionate about ".


I thought that was probably the best advice ever. It went on to talk about composition and subject are the most important aspects of photography. It also discussed lighting, shutters speeds and exposure. Use of tripods.

Well, thanks again for posting and all the best to you and I look forward to seeing your posts in the future.

Also, look forward to my future threads I plan on starting photo contests in the future. I hope people will join in.

Big Smile,

[NILOLIGIST]

dtrayers,

WOW!! You have an impressive bio there. Your right though, it is the perfect combination of Technology and Art. I love both.

So glad you decided to share, not only do you have an interesting life and family, love technology, build furniture, you seem like a very nice gentleman...Mr. Mom....


Thanks so much for that powerful post,

[NILOLIGIST]

RossLee,

Very nice post. Thank you for sharing and welcome to the best forum on the Internet.

Look forward to future posts, photos and new topics as well.

Good luck,

[Dragon Spirit]

PacAce wrote:

Dragon Spirit, if the company you had in mind starts with A then you're probably correct.



Heh... :)) Is the name made up of two words, the second beginning with P, and spelled as one word? :)))

PacAce wrote:

BTW, nice handle you have there. Being born in the year of the dragon I was contemplating using a handle with the word Dragon in it but I stuck it out with an old CB handle I had from way back when. You should see my dragon collection I just started a year or two ago. Heck, what am I talking about! I should just shoot a digi pic of them with my G3 and post it, huh?



Yeah well.. over the years I've tried several nicks, but this one appealed to me the most.

Please do share your dragon collection :)) I had a collection of various dragon pictures myself, but the server that my database sat on got fried in a powertrip, so now I've got nothing.... and I can't really be bothered to start again :)

Out of curiosity... did you hatch in 1952 by any chance? :)

-DS

[Dragon Spirit]

niloligist wrote:
Dragon Spirit,

It is nice to know that we are all from varied positions in life and careers. Now, if I have a database problem, I know to speak with you. LOL...




ROFTL! :)))) Sure ;) Not that I know much about databases.... *grin*

Cheers,
-DS

[NILOLIGIST]

Dragon Spirit ,

ROFLMAO too, wrong person. Your in banking, so am I. We just moved some of our people to Singapore too.

That is too funny, sorry. Had good intentions, just had wrong person.

Thanks for the corrections, next time I will be more careful or not. Who knows. I was in a hurry and made my response to you in error.

But thank you for the post. And furthermore, I think you should be into databases, then I could ask you some questions, why can't you do both ? LOL

LMAO

[Dragon Spirit]

LOL! :)))

Hey, no worries :)

Come to think of it, I am not sure WHY I am not into databases.... if I were, I'd be able to help you anytime! Why didn't I think of this in college?? :)))

*grin*

-DS

[RossLee]

NILOLIGIST

I've heard alot of people getting the lensmate 52mm adapter. I'm worried about vignetting. Have you experienced that ? I kept hesitating as to whether I should get the 52mm adapter or should I just settle with the canon original adapter. What are your opinions ? And thanks for welcoming me into this great forum.

[Cheryl3700]

Chery/NH, is that NH as in New Hampshire. If so, you guys should have enough snow there to make lots of waterices, no? Slushies even! LOL :)

Okay, maybe snow isn't a good substiture for crushed ice. BTW, what is it that makes people crave for waterice? The flavoring they put in it? Or is it because it's something they grew up with it? My kids crave for it, too, like they crave for Yokko's hotdog! Beats me why, though! ???


Yea Yea, we still have snow! Arg - it just wont go away, but that waterice is to die for. I think it's the texture and flavors, myself and my kids have only had it once and we all want to go get some more. Hubby grew up in Philly and had it all the time, of course he wants those cheese steaks too!. :-)

[Cheryl3700]

niloligist wrote:
Hi Cheryl3700,

Glad to see that other women are here to keep me company in an army of MEN...LOL

Glad you are here and very glad you posted.

I am new to all of this and have been hunting for classes and or workshops. I haven't found one yet, I have purchased ebooks and anything I can get my hand on. I really love this camera.

Thanks for all the info and tips from what you have learned so far. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I find it amazing that I can take 50 or 60 photos and only like 2 of them. LOL It is so rare to get that certain photo/angle that makes one stand out. I am trying to take my kids portraits right now instead of taking them to a photographer like I usually do. I want to get that portrait setting where the background is fuzzy. Still working on it. It is fun to be able to experiment with photos and not have to spend money on film and developing!

[NILOLIGIST]

Cheryl3700 ,

I know exactly what you mean, I am trying to get macro shots like of flowers and insects, I think that is so cool. I love all the colors and hues in flowers.

Well, wish you the best of luck, of course you will be WONDERFUL.

Thanks again for posting, it means a lot to all of us.

Big Smile,