What's your story?

fish · January 15, 2004

This is one of those "Tell us about yourself" threads.

Some starter questions:

How old are you?
Where do you live?
Family?
How long have you been shooting? Film? Digital?
What's your favorite subject?
What do you do for money?
What other hobbies do you have?

.~.~.~.~.~.~. okay...me first .~.~.~.~.~.~.

I'm 43, married to a Georgia peach for 13 years. Two kids...boy 10, girl 5. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and have been playing with cameras since I was about 14. I currently own several Nikon film cameras (FM, FE, FG, N6006) and three digital cameras (Nikon CP990, Canon S400, and Canon 10D). I learned photography on my dad's old twin-lens reflex camera and continued shooting black and white with my SLRs. One of my neighbors had a darkroom and we spent many MANY hours in there...developing film, making prints, and sniffing chemicals. Funnily, he went on to become a pro photographer, and I went to college to become an engineer. Now he hates cameras and I love them. Funny how that worked out, huh? I work as a program manager in the services division of a relatively large computer company based here in Silicon Valley.

I've been riding motorcycles almost as long as I've been taking photos. I put the camera hobby on the back burner for many years, due to various other hobbies and work. For a couple of years before I set my N6006 on the shelf, I really enjoyed macrophotography and landscapes. It wasn't until I joined Adventure Rider in the Summer of 2001, when I bought my first serious digicam and married the two hobbies together. Now I love to go out riding and shooting. Oh, yeah...I'm also into guns...so shooting, riding, and shooting, I guess. I've really enjoyed shooting candids (is there a better candid camera than an S400?) at the various rallies and get-togethers.

I'm not exactly sure what or who triggered it, but I recently bought the Canon 10D and a couple of lenses and I'm back in the saddle, trying to relearn everything I've forgotten. I'm also trying to learn Photoshop Elements...the digital darkroom is a lot less stinky and messy than the physical darkroom. I've got a wide angle zoom and a normal tele zoom, and I've been chomping at the bit for a 70-210/2.8 IS. Now that I've seen what the 100-400 IS can do, it's on my list too.

Now that I've got the BIG digicam, I'm shooting everything in sight. One of these days I'll actually come up with a good shot.
:lol3

So what's YOUR story? :ear

Tuesday · January 16, 2004

Nice Story:D

My name is Tuesday McCranie.
I'm 29 yrs old. I live in Florida.

I was a cosmetologist for 8+ years and worked for a photographer doing hair and makeup, or just carrying her equipment and learning her tricks.
She was a photojournalist, so I had to learn all of my studio techniques through trial and error (and boy were there a lot of errors).

Other than photography, I come from a long line of artists. Each person in my family has their own artistic interests.
My father was a sketch artist and my grandmother was a painter.
I'm the digital artist (Photoshop Queen)
I also sketch and paint when I have the time.

I'm into cars. I have a 1996 Impala SS named "Baby"

Here she is!!! All clean and purdy!

Well that's about all for me.
I'm not that exciting.

wxwax · January 16, 2004

Not interesting? You kidding me? I love the Impala SS. It was on my short list of cars to buy when I got my current ride. Very cool looking. Dunno how it handles corners, tho.

You've certainly taught yourself a lot.... those studio shots look good, and the outdoors kids shots (that little girl is a cutie) are excellent. I think you'll bump into a few other professional photgs around here.

wxwax · January 16, 2004

fish wrote:

Funnily, he went on to become a pro photographer, and I went to college to become an engineer. Now he hates cameras and I love them. Funny how that worked out, huh?

I guess that's the risk of making your hobby your profession, eh? Better to leave it as a hobby?

wxwax · January 16, 2004

Man, I hate this stuff, but here goes.

I'm *^ years old, live in Atlanta, work as a television producer and am learning a lot about the weather.

I first picked up a camera in earnest when I was in my late 20s. I got a manual Nikon (can't remember the model) and borrowed darkroom gear from a friend. I shot a lot of B&W, trying to learn exposure. I got a few good pics, lots of bad ones. Did the developing on a tiny, cramped bathroom floor. Then stopped. Cost was one reason why - at the time I was making beans. I got a digital about 4 years ago, an Olympus 1.5mp I think. Not a bad camera. Last year I got the G3 and it was a revelation. I really enjoy taking the camera and wandering, trying to find good shots. I get frustrated by a good shot that doesn't have good light. (I take it anyway.

) Working in TV has helped me develop an appreciation for some of the elements of a good shot - can't say I was born with talent. It can be work, but it's fun work. More than anything, I really enjoy the creative moment when I've made something - a show or a photo or a meal. That's the "Aha" moment for me.

My other hobbies include riding motorcycles (same site as Fish) which I've been doing, off and on, more on than off lately, for about 12 years. I really enjoy movies (go see "Lost in Translation" if you haven't already) and cooking.

Mike Werner · January 16, 2004

Well, let's see... I'm 49 years young. Born in Holland and at the ripe age of 3 months, started moving around the world, dragging my parents with me. First port of call was Iran, then Iraq then around the Gulf area, Africa, South America, Europe, Asia. 22 countries in 49 years... you do the math. Ended up speaking a lot fo languages.

Since my father's job required him (and his family) to go to countries that were in turmoil (wars, revolutions, all that fun stuff), at an early age my brither and I started carrying a camera. So we eventually became stringers for Reuters (in fact Latin Reuters since we were living in Chile). I remained a freelance for years after, my brother turned pro and eventually became the chief photographer of Reuters for the East Block.

I went on to become an airline pilot, flying 737's for Kuwait Airways. But than disaster struck, and my eyesight went south and lost my commercial ticket (the limit is -3 and I became -4.25). So did a career change and went into aviation IT.

Since last year, I'm on my own, working as a freelance consultant, and designing/running several websites. (http://blogs.motorbiker.org http://motorbiker.org http://visitnormandy.org and http://mike-werner.org)

I've been involved in motorcycles since 1973, having learned how to ride in Chile. It has been one of my main passions (next to my wife). I was planning to ride from Paris to Jo'burg last December, but that got postponed, and now I hope to leave for this 6 months journey next December.

Baldy · January 16, 2004

fish wrote:

I'm not exactly sure what or who triggered it, but I recently bought the Canon 10D

That would be me.

fishDaugher is adorable and fishBike is the 10D of two wheels:

Tuesday · January 16, 2004

wxwax wrote:

Not interesting? You kidding me? I love the Impala SS. It was on my short list of cars to buy when I got my current ride. Very cool looking. Dunno how it handles corners, tho.

Cool Sid. Nice to see another Impala fan. There's not many of us left. We have 2 in our household. Mine is the daily driver. The other stays in the garage and only comes out to play for car shows. One thing about these cars... They'll get up and haul @ss!

Oh. and corners like it's on rails.

wxwax wrote:

You've certainly taught yourself a lot.... those studio shots look good, and the outdoors kids shots (that little girl is a cutie) are excellent. I think you'll bump into a few other professional photgs around here.

I love outdoor photography. I would much rather work with natural light (as I'm sure many would) I have a really cheesy studio lighting setup. I bought a beginner's kit about 5 years ago, and I'm still making due with it. I need to learn more about the diff. types of studio lighting before I go spending money on something I don't know how to use.

Anyway. Thanks for the encouragement.

Tuesday

Tuesday · January 16, 2004

Mike Werner wrote:

Well, let's see...

Wow Mike. You should write a book. What a full life you have lead.

Tuesday

Mike Werner · January 16, 2004

Tuesday wrote:

Wow Mike. You should write a book. What a full life you have lead.

Tuesday

Naw, you shoud see my brothers' life. War photographer for Reuters covering several wars. Kidnapped in Algeria, tortured for 2 weeks, and after intenational pressure released and expulsed for Algeria. Did not stop him, he went rigt back....

Tuesday · January 16, 2004

Mike Werner wrote:

Naw, you shoud see my brothers' life. War photographer for Reuters covering several wars. Kidnapped in Algeria, tortured for 2 weeks, and after intenational pressure released and expulsed for Algeria. Did not stop him, he went rigt back....

You both have led amazing lives.
I just can't imagine.
:tuesday

KC Action · January 16, 2004

My name is Kevin Camp and I am 38 years old. I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I am single with no children. Got interested in photography in 98. Purchased my Olympus C2100UZ in 2001 after owning a Canon Rebel. My passion is action photography, particularly motorsports. I also love doing nature and landscapes as well. I've spent the last two summers as a crew chief for a friend's drag boat team. We race in the Southern Drag Boat Association and International Hot Boat Association events in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas. Last summer I started taking my camera and laptop with the express purpose of shooting the boats in action. I have also shot the USAC Tulsa 100 Silver Crown sprint car race and some local drag race and road course events. I also shot and made up sports cards for a friend's son and his soccer team. I also race RC cars when time permits and do some phtography at the races. If you ar elooking for a way to practice your action photography panning technique, try shooting RC cars. You'll either quit in disgust or get better!

I have a simple gallery of someof my work at http://www.geocities.com/kcactionphoto

Mike Werner · January 16, 2004

KC Action wrote:

My name is Kevin Camp and I am 38 years old. I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I am single with no children. Got interested in photography in 98. Purchased my Olympus C2100UZ in 2001 after owning a Canon Rebel. My passion is action photography, particularly motorsports. I also love doing nature and landscapes as well. I've spent the last two summers as a crew chief for a friend's drag boat team. We race in the Southern Drag Boat Association and International Hot Boat Association events in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas. Last summer I started taking my camera and laptop with the express purpose of shooting the boats in action. I have also shot the USAC Tulsa 100 Silver Crown sprint car race and some local drag race and road course events. I also shot and made up sports cards for a friend's son and his soccer team. I also race RC cars when time permits and do some phtography at the races. If you ar elooking for a way to practice your action photography panning technique, try shooting RC cars. You'll either quit in disgust or get better!

I have a simple gallery of someof my work at http://www.geocities.com/kcactionphoto

Nice action pics !!

motojedi · January 16, 2004

I'm a 35 year old from Indiana. Love motorcycling, bicycling, God, and digital photography. I work as the manager of a detail/reconditioning center for a BMW, Mini, Infiniti, and VW dealer and also service the local Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Audi, Jag and Land Rover dealers. So I spend my days working on stuff like this.

wxwax · January 16, 2004

KC Action wrote:

We race in the Southern Drag Boat Association and International Hot Boat Association events in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas.

Cool shot, KC!

wxwax · January 16, 2004

motojedi wrote:

I'm a 35 year old from Indiana. Love motorcycling, bicycling, God, and digital photography. I work as the manager of a detail/reconditioning center for a BMW, Mini, Infiniti, and VW dealer and also service the local Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Audi, Jag and Land Rover dealers. So I spend my days working on stuff like this.

You ever take them out to "warm them up"?

wxwax · January 16, 2004

Hey KC, what kind of boat is this?

ian408 · January 17, 2004

I've been into photography for a few years. Even some darkroom stuff but
not much. My film experience started with a Nikkormat and a couple of bodies,
FM and an FE (which I still have). A few years ago, I bought my first digital.
Been hooked ever since. I somehow managed to get published in a national
magazine, National Pest Control, and a couple of local papers many years
ago. Otherwise, I just do it for the fun of it. Shooting with a 10d now and
a S50 for point and shoot. As far as photography goes, I still have a lot to
learn.

I work in the IT field and as a hobby (and stress relief), I am a referee for
youth and adult ice hockey. Beside work, I enjoy motorcycling (hmmm....so
many familiar faces here). Especially trips to nowhere. Single and 44.

Look forward to meeting some of you in the future.

Ian

motojedi · January 17, 2004

wxwax wrote:

You ever take them out to "warm them up"?

Well, you know it wouldn't be a thorough detail job if you didn't blow out the exhaust system.

cmr164 · January 17, 2004

Born in England, my father was an advanced amatuer with pictures in magazines and shows. First camera was a Brownie and when I was 10 my Dad gave me a Retina 35mm and a handheld meter. We moved to Turkey at that time and I used the camera as much as I could. Dad taught me about focus and light and f-stops and hyperfocal distance. When we moved back to the US in '64 my parents got divorced and life became 'interesting' Probably Mom sold the Retina, I don't remember but we were very very poor. We will skip the knife fights in ghetto schools and the picking tobacco at 12 with migrant workers times and jump forward to my getting a scholarship to Tabor Academy at 15. My Dad gave me a Miranda Sensorex SLR. What an innovative camera that was, with its built in spotmeter. I loved that camera. About that time, Dad started to teach me B&W darkroom work. In later years I would do a little in the darkroom but only once did I really have a place to set one up. I did process my own E4 (and later E6) slide film including 6x6 for a YashicamatG that I picked up. During this time I played with unusual films like Kodak Recording film push processed to ASA 6400. The Sensorex was purchased by the friend who dropped it off Mt Katahdin and my next camera was a Canon Ftb, I added lenses and stuff over time and found my prejudice against flash growing. I was/am always pushing the limit on hanholding and probably have more blurred, grainy, or noisy pictures than anyone you will meet. :puke1

The Ftb got an A1 added to it and I gave the Yashicamat to a very sexy ex-GF who now has a gallery in Carmel. I miss the Yashicamat

: The entire Ftb/A1 outfit was given to a Brazilian ex-fiancee (its not a pattern honest) when I bought my EOS-10. The cycle started to turn when I gave my son an EOS-650 while we were living in Ireland in 1991 and he was 12. Somewhere along the way I got into imaging and grahics. First at Lexidata and then with the Air Force Geophysics Lab and Aerodyne Research. Later I was part of the design team for a 5.5k x 5.5k x 48 bit "camera" (really scanner) at Eikonics. I did the display S/W, the SCSI driver and minor change to the H/W (with a 4x speed improvement) Then I got involved in a robotic vision startup as the Vp of Eng (Total Systems - purchased by Infodata) and drifted from imaging s/w to systems and o/s internals. Picked up my first digital SLR in Japan in 1998 an Olympus (D600L in the US) This was a very cool camera and the price I got in Akihabara was so good that I broke even when I sold it for $300 2.5 years later. I came into a bunch of $$ in 1999 and picked up the DCS520 SLR (based on the EOS 1N) for the astounding price of $7k (list was $14k body only) and after adding 2 batteries, 2 340M microdrives and the 100-400 IS lens was out a huge amount but was shooting like mad. Years have gone by and I have added the 17-35 f2.8L, the 85 f1.2L and the 28-70 f2.8L as well as the 550EX flash. Two days ago I sold the 550EX and today the 28-70 is being sold so I will be pulling the old 50mm f1.8 out of retirement and looking to convert to a more fixed lens outfit. (Anyone want a 100-400L ?)

My photo work is ok... could use a lot of improvement. I have sold some shots for use in a magazine article on miniture carving and some for advertisements as well as a video of a fire to Boston's channel 7 but it all adds up to less that 1/2 th $$ of one 'L' lens.

gopher78 · January 17, 2004

So what's YOUR story?

I'm 48, married with 2 children, one a soph in HS and one a freshman in college. I really started photography BK (before kids). Of course when the kids were born we took lots of photo's but the "other" photography got lost in the whirlwind. It's just been in the last year that I've actively started shooting again. Prompted by the kids activities, I wanted to put together a DVD of their accomplishment in school/sports/activities. I bought a Olympus point and shoot. As much as I loved that, I saw I would need something a little different so I got a cannon 10D. I've never looked back. All in the family have become interested in "getting our shots". I'm still a complete rookie but learning fast. Fortunately, there are forums like this that I can help ramp up the learning curve. My wife likes the hobby so much she now went out an bought her own camera. More importantly, she even sat down to learn all the finer points of the camera! We are just having fun capturing what will be the past for all of us someday.

samwise · January 19, 2004

I'm 32 physically (mentally, :ha

), single currently living on the Isle of Man, - a big rock in the middle of the Irish Sea about halfway between north-west England and Northern Ireland. Born and bred in Somerset in south-west England, so yes, I do have a yokels accent, hence the nice avatar I've chosen (if you want to know what I sound like, cider is prnounced zoiderrr

)
Just bought a digital camera last year to muck about with, and going to try and get a good friend to give me some basic photography tips (he's got to use his Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society qualification for something

) - maybe even drag my old Praktica film SLR out of retirement to play around with.

BMWRider · January 19, 2004

Howdy. Dan here from Hilliard, Ohio, just northwest of Columbus. I passed the magic 50 mark last May and work in a small in-plant print shop affiliated with Ohio State. Because of my printing expertise (well, 28 years experience anyway) I've been exposed to darkrooms, chemicals, cameras, etc., for years. And I considered taking up photography as a hobby many times but never quite got around to it. I owned a number of 35mm pocket cams, most of which took acceptable but hardly terrific pictures of trips, etc.
With the advent of digital technology, however, I began to look at photography differently. Now I could afford to shoot as many pics as I wanted, experiment, learn and hopefully occasionally turn out something okay. Being connected with the Adventure Rider motorcycle site, I saw so many spectacular motorcycle and travel photos being posted, I could no longer sit idly by and not get a camera for myself. I bought a Sony DSC-S85 4MP digicam a year ago and absolutely love it, although I confess I still know next to nothing about the "art" of photography. Watching some of the "pros" around here is a most humbling experience. But at least I've picked up a few tips and will undoubtedly learn a lot more. And I now have some decent pictures of the places I've been in the past year.

cletus · January 20, 2004

I'm Eric from Raytown Missouri. I'm 30 years old, single, and I work for my father as a computer engineer. I took an interest in photography while I was in college. After playing around with photograpy for a month or two I started working for the student newspaper. Working for that paper was one the best times of my life. Got to shoot everything from BMWRider's hero Bill Clinton to Faith Hill (who opened for Billy Ray Cyrus

). Now days I just shoot for fun. I currently own two cameras: a Nikon F5 and a CoolPix 950.

Although I picked up the technical aspects of photography pretty quick, I've never been happy with the quality of my work from an artistic point of view. I guess that's something I'll always be working on.

DarkRubiTJ · January 22, 2004

I'm Bruce from Virginia Beach. Happily married to the most wonderful woman on Earth. My interests are Photography (duh) and Jeeps. I'm in the 50 something age group.

I got my first camera in 1969, a Nikon F Photomic TN, since then I used just about every 35 MM system out there. Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Minolta. In 1973 I went to work in the retail Photo industry for a mainly pro supplier and set up my own darkroom and did custom B/W processing on the side. I did a short stint as a pro doing mostly events, action (motorsports), and portfolio stuff. I started shooting digital in 97 with a Casio. It lasted about a month before I traded it back for an HP. I went to Olympus with a D360L about a year later. I traded it for a 20MM lens for my Canon flim stuff 2 years ago and bought a C3000 Olympus that I still own. Santa came early last Christmas and brought me a Digital Rebel.

I use the Rebel and the Olympus mostly for landscapes and closeups of the world we encounter in our off road adventures in one of our Jeeps. We purchased a new Wrangler Rubicon in the summer of 03 and our adventures are taking us farther and farther off the beaten path.

gus · January 27, 2004

My name is Gus & im an alc....shit wrong group.

Born & raised in the middle of nowhere on a huge dirt farm in australia. We got electricity the year i left... not a lot out there but had plenty of time to dream about travelling & actually earning money. Just watched crop failure after crop failure & told myself i will have a different life to my parents.

Joined the military at 17. Travelled a lot & eventually left to settle down....still cant stay put. Kicked about doing any job that came my way from jackaroo/debt collector/truck driver/security guard through to importer as i moved about.

Converted & lived on my old trawler for a few years....I like my own company...bit of a recluse actually.

Mr Rush · February 1, 2004

This is strange when you have to think about who you are !!!
My name is Les Ward Age 52 Live in North Wales UK Father of 2 girls 22/32 and 2 boys 21/34
Left home at 16 to make my fortune, lived on the streets for 2 years and nearly starved to death (so much for the fortune)
Several jobs including fairground, brickyards, mechanic and linesman on overhead powerlines (strange as I had a phobia of heights and electricity). Overcoming fear of heights opened up whole new world of rock climbing, hang-gliding and microlight flying, which in turn led to aerial photography in a very cheap way. Retired (redundant) two years ago, now amuse myself (steady) on my GS1150 trundling around North Wales - I know, lifes a beach, and playing on my laptop. My wife rides a GPZ 500 (little legs). Just joined the UKGSERS where I found this site. I also teach Yoga a couple of times a week. I have a little Olympus thats fits nicely in my pocket and gives me a 5mp return, which I tend to use more on my country walks than on my bike rides. I always take the camera with me on my bike but keep forgetting to stop, I think its an age thing. I use PS7 at the moment. I think I am am better with Photoshop than with the camera although I am trying hard to learn both - thats why sites like this are brilliant.

fish wrote:

This is one of those "Tell us about yourself" threads.

Some starter questions:

How old are you?
Where do you live?
Family?
How long have you been shooting? Film? Digital?
What's your favorite subject?
What do you do for money?
What other hobbies do you have?

.~.~.~.~.~.~. okay...me first .~.~.~.~.~.~.

I'm 43, married to a Georgia peach for 13 years. Two kids...boy 10, girl 5. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and have been playing with cameras since I was about 14. I currently own several Nikon film cameras (FM, FE, FG, N6006) and three digital cameras (Nikon CP990, Canon S400, and Canon 10D). I learned photography on my dad's old twin-lens reflex camera and continued shooting black and white with my SLRs. One of my neighbors had a darkroom and we spent many MANY hours in there...developing film, making prints, and sniffing chemicals. Funnily, he went on to become a pro photographer, and I went to college to become an engineer. Now he hates cameras and I love them. Funny how that worked out, huh? I work as a program manager in the services division of a relatively large computer company based here in Silicon Valley.

I've been riding motorcycles almost as long as I've been taking photos. I put the camera hobby on the back burner for many years, due to various other hobbies and work. For a couple of years before I set my N6006 on the shelf, I really enjoyed macrophotography and landscapes. It wasn't until I joined Adventure Rider in the Summer of 2001, when I bought my first serious digicam and married the two hobbies together. Now I love to go out riding and shooting. Oh, yeah...I'm also into guns...so shooting, riding, and shooting, I guess. I've really enjoyed shooting candids (is there a better candid camera than an S400?) at the various rallies and get-togethers.

I'm not exactly sure what or who triggered it, but I recently bought the Canon 10D and a couple of lenses and I'm back in the saddle, trying to relearn everything I've forgotten. I'm also trying to learn Photoshop Elements...the digital darkroom is a lot less stinky and messy than the physical darkroom. I've got a wide angle zoom and a normal tele zoom, and I've been chomping at the bit for a 70-210/2.8 IS. Now that I've seen what the 100-400 IS can do, it's on my list too.

Now that I've got the BIG digicam, I'm shooting everything in sight. One of these days I'll actually come up with a good shot.

So what's YOUR story?

wxwax · February 2, 2004

Welcome Mr. Rush. Do try to remember to stop and shoot so we can see what your part of the world looks like.

Parts of Wales are beautiful (and others not!)

Mr Rush · February 2, 2004

Welsh view

wxwax wrote:

Welcome Mr. Rush. Do try to remember to stop and shoot so we can see what your part of the world looks like. Parts of Wales are beautiful (and others not!)

Thanks Sid
We do have a lot of these things dotted about the place, and remember, everything is beautiful, it just depends whose eyes you are looking through at the time.

wxwax · February 2, 2004

Very sweet shot! That's one thing we don't have enough of over here.

lynnma · February 4, 2004

second childhood
Hi All,
I'm Lynn - I'm fifty something years old but I keep forgetting and making a comlete arse of myself. I originated from England from a Farm in the fens. My mother was a war bride and my dad was an American serviceman so I have family both side of the Atlantic. Met my husband Clive when I was 10 (he was 11) and we've been together eversince. We lived in Australia for five years and then here for 27. In Aussie we ran motels all over, the bush, the city anywhere we were sent.. fun fun. Here in Massachusetts we've owned and operated a home for elders FOR 27 YEARS...oh god. I do web design to keep sane and am the worst photographer in the universe. I bought myself a Canon Rebel with my web money and am obsessed with it... I intend to take a good photo one day... once I get the camera working... My husband and I are both now entering into our second childhood now our son who is 33 is financially and emotionally independent.. my husband is out snowmobiling as we speak, an old man screaming around the mountain tops on a bright red skidoo. Seeing all my old folks get really old? I've decided not to go there. cheers all. Lynn

What's your story?

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