Who are you people??
kdotaylor
Registered Users Posts: 1,280 Major grins
I was loitering over in the People forum; and noticed that anonymouscuban started a thread in which people could post a little something about themselves in an attempt for everyone to get to know one another. There are a lot of new people taking part in the challenges, too, and I think it would be a good idea to also do this here. So, I’m stealing his idea, and suggest that we each share seven personal facts about ourselves.
I’ll go ahead and start:
1. I’ve been married for 27 years to a carpenter. I’m excited about completing the first remodeling done on our OWN house—we’re finally ditching the Harvest Gold linoleum kitchen!
2. Our three children, all in their 20’s, have each left the nest and subsequently moved back in and out and into our home. They’re all home for the next month or so, so our house is a little chaotic than I’ve become accustomed to.
3. My full-time job is in Therapeutic Recreation. I assist those who’ve had injuries or disabilities to learn to once again enjoy their free time—so I get to explore lots of hobbies/activities.
4. I enjoyed taking pictures when I was a child, but bought my first serious film camera in 1975 because I wanted to be a painter. My plan was to paint the scenes that I photographed; but that never happened….I just kept taking pictures. I purchased my first digital SLR just prior to our trip to New Zealand in 2007 and learned to use it by taking 300 pictures a day during the three weeks we were there. They turned out really good, because you can’t take a bad photo in such an incredibly beautiful place. I hope I can go back someday now that I know how my camera works.
5. Besides photography, my other main passion is reading. I love all books of all types, primarily non-fiction & history. I’m always in the middle of a book, and, as an introvert who works with people all day, I need this to stay sane.
6. I love the outdoors. I love the four seasons. I love hiking. I love canoeing. I love snowshoeing. I don’t camp as much anymore, though, as I like the comfort of a bed more and more the older I get.
7. In my opinion, the iPod was the best gadget to ever be invented. Gotta have music.
I’ll go ahead and start:
1. I’ve been married for 27 years to a carpenter. I’m excited about completing the first remodeling done on our OWN house—we’re finally ditching the Harvest Gold linoleum kitchen!
2. Our three children, all in their 20’s, have each left the nest and subsequently moved back in and out and into our home. They’re all home for the next month or so, so our house is a little chaotic than I’ve become accustomed to.
3. My full-time job is in Therapeutic Recreation. I assist those who’ve had injuries or disabilities to learn to once again enjoy their free time—so I get to explore lots of hobbies/activities.
4. I enjoyed taking pictures when I was a child, but bought my first serious film camera in 1975 because I wanted to be a painter. My plan was to paint the scenes that I photographed; but that never happened….I just kept taking pictures. I purchased my first digital SLR just prior to our trip to New Zealand in 2007 and learned to use it by taking 300 pictures a day during the three weeks we were there. They turned out really good, because you can’t take a bad photo in such an incredibly beautiful place. I hope I can go back someday now that I know how my camera works.
5. Besides photography, my other main passion is reading. I love all books of all types, primarily non-fiction & history. I’m always in the middle of a book, and, as an introvert who works with people all day, I need this to stay sane.
6. I love the outdoors. I love the four seasons. I love hiking. I love canoeing. I love snowshoeing. I don’t camp as much anymore, though, as I like the comfort of a bed more and more the older I get.
7. In my opinion, the iPod was the best gadget to ever be invented. Gotta have music.
Kate
www.katetaylor.smugmug.com
"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." Mark Twain
www.katetaylor.smugmug.com
"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." Mark Twain
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1. I have a 23 year old daughter (who I raised on my own) who has flown the coop and is engaged to be married. Can't wait to take her engagement photos for her. Anyway, now it's just me and the cat at home and I feel like it's now my time to play.
2. For my "day job" I work in order/sales administration for a database software developer, I've been there for 18 years.
3. I used to do century rides... until my bike was stolen... and then I was told that the cartilage in my knee is gone so I've been told to get off the bike. So, now you know where the PedalGirl comes from.
I did this ride in honor of my mom the year after she passed...as fate would have it my rider number is the month and year of my mother's birth. Ya... that bib is framed.
4. I love, love, love road trips... I've been known to just take off and go somewhere without notice. Yosemite, Sequoia, Joshua Tree (my new favorite) or up the California coast. I love being on the road and then out in nature along the way and when I get to my destination.
5. One of my other hobbies is genealogy... My 10th great grandpa on my father's side was the sheriff of Dublin... who knew???
6. I got my 1st and only tattoo a little over a year ago at the ripe old age of 42.
7. I've always loved to take pictures... but honestly never thought of it as a serious hobby or even a career until a couple of years ago. I feel like I've found my passion very late in life... hoping some day I might be able to make (real) money at it. Maybe a retirement career??
www.lisaspeakmanphotography.com
Started lurking about the Dgrin forums in 2007 after moving up from my D50 to the Nikon D300 finding myself with a lot of questions. Found this venue very informational and pleasant to deal with. Some other camera forums were not to pleasant. Have always enjoyed photography but never got real serious about it. My son was the serious photog but unfortunately he passed away in 2005 at the age of 21.
I then started a side business to keep myself busy so I would not lose my mind in grief. That business developed a need for photography so I took it up when others failed to provide satisfactory results.
Photography also provided a connection to my lost son, developing into a passion especially for nature photography.
The Challenges made me get out of my comfort zone and try other forms and disciplines of photography. it was so helpful competing and giving and getting feedback.
My day job is Bank Equipment Technician, which has been keeping me very busy for the last year and keeping me from playing here as much as I used too. Plus 5 grandchildren seem to be taking more time lately also but that is pleasant diversion.
Although my job does allows me many opportunities for photography because of the traveling I do all over northern California , I just figured it out today that my new work van that I will have a year in April
will have 50000 miles on it, 4100 miles a month average.
Other hobbies include Blacksmithing and metalwork and about anything to do with the outdoors.
My latest accomplishment which I found out this week I won a category in the Ducks Unlimited Magazine National Photo contest and will be pulished in May/June issue. Which i give a lot of credit to this forum and the people here in developing my skills
Thank you all that participate.
http://kadvantage.smugmug.com/
2- My first "serious" camera was a Yashica FX-3 (http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Yashica_FX-3) with a 50mm prime that I received as a gift from one of my older brothers when I was in the 5th grade in the early 80's. At the time, my brother was seriously into photography. He had converted one of our bathrooms into a fully equipped darkroom, and one of my childhood joys was to go with him into the darkroom, and watch him process the films and see the B&W pictures come into life on paper.
3- I almost put aside photography, only occasionally taking family and travel pictures, from late 80's all the way till 2005 when we bought Nikon D70 as our first DSLR. That is when my passion for photography was reinvigorated and I started doing a lot reading and taking a lot of pictures again.
4- Couple of years ago, we got an S95 as our carry-around P&S, and also upgraded our DSLR to Nikon D7000, and added few lenses (wide, macro, primes) to our collection. Eagerly looking forward to upgrading to a full frame body at some point.
5- I traveled to the US in 1996 to continue my graduate studies in Electrical Engineering at UCLA, and have since lived here in Southern California.
6- A couple of years after I moved to the US, I married Memol (Maryam), and the good part is that she also very much enjoys photography. That makes spending money for camera and equipment a bit easier
7- As for my day job, I work for a semiconductor company and help design systems and integrated circuits for mobile and wireless communication; you know, Bluetooth, WiFi, you name it.
Retired 73 year old truck driver. First camera was a Kodak box camera. First 35mm was a Kodak #2. No electronic gizmos, two sided card with exposure for shade, sun, bright sun. Think may have indicated type film. Used it on Scout trip to N. Mexico around 1956, worked great!
Worked in studio for ten years along with "stringer" work at various newspapers. Camera club, volunteer at civic organizations. Trip to Philippines in 2009, Alaska in 2010-11. Enjoy bike riding, nature walks, DIY projects and macro photography.
Like the variety of members. Informative and friendly bunch. (Hey Fred, there not bananas!)
1. I got my first camera in 1975 for $30 from my neighbor. I do not remember the name of it, but it was a 35mm. Had to sell my 10 speed bicycle to pay for it. Sometime in late '70's, I worked my buns off to buy a Canon AE1 when they first came on the market. They were the hotest thing out at the time. Shot 11 weddings and several paid birthday gigs before getting married (29 pretty wonderful years for the most part
2.Life was pretty busy when the first 3 kids came around. Not only was I a wife and mom, but I was known as a professional volunteer. I was sub committee chair for Head Start in Garden Grove CA., I coached soccer teams for 16 years, I taught drama and art at high school level for a small Christian school, I was cub/boy/girl scout leader, I was director of childrens church for a big church that had 200+ infants through 2 year olds just in the evening services only. I was an umpire for baseball, a coach for basketball and baseball and I homeschooled my first 3 kids for a spell. Ended up my body was starting to break down. We then moved to Alaska in 1996.
3. Other than snapping pics of my babies as they grew, photography was on the back burner till 2005, when we purchased the first digital camera we owned, a Kodak easy share. I got the bug again to start taking pictures. I quickly outgrew the Kodak and hubby bought me a Nikon D50 for my first DSLR with a kit lens and a 55-200mm nikor lens. It was like I never put the camera down! I soon after that, upgraded to a Nikon D300 and added oodles of other needed equipment such as lights, macro extensions and a tameron 200-500mm.
4. Taking pics of my last born who made her entrance after we moved to Alaska. She was the main object of many of photos. I started taking portrait and event photography again as well as Alaska political personalities and doing all the graphic art and photography for a local theater for the past 6 or 7 seasons. Do to a growing disability, I could no longer keep up with shooting weddings, and unfortunately, I am on my last season for the theater due to the disability also.
5. I have administered/moderated several other photography groups and art groups back in the msn days of groups, and joined dgrin after opening my smugmug account back in 2008. Loved doing contests and challenges! That is where I learned the most because I pushed myself to try new things.
6. I started a home based travel agency in 2011 since I travel a lot anyway and love the 'hunt' for the best deal and values. Also this was all I could do since I could not go to work due to disability. I need to stay busy!
7. I still homeschool my last born (4th child) who will be entering into highschool next year. I plan on continuing to travel till I can no longer travel. My philosophy is: Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning how do dance in the rain.
If I post it, please tell me how to make it better. My fragile ego can take it.
2. I live in a El Dorado, Arkansas
3. I have always loved taking photo, but did not really get into it until the last 4 years
5. I love to travel and to take photos of all the places I have travled. My dream trip is to go to Hawaii
6. I love the freedom that photography gives and to joy I get from doing it
7. I am always easy going and I love a challenge
Check out billseye photos on SmugMug
1. My name is Sherry.
2. I live in Central Texas near a really big Army base (not affiliated with military though).
3. I have been married over 31 years to the same wonderful guy and I have one 17-yr old daughter who will be graduating from high school in a couple of months.
4. I have worked in the Finance/Comptroller/Business Office area at the local community college for almost 29 years.
5. I got my first camera (a Kodak Instamatic) when I was 14 & was hooked. I got a dSLR about 6 or 7 years ago and started getting more serious with it a couple of years after that. Not that I'm really serious about it now, but I enjoy it anyway.
6. I really prefer taking pictures of flowers, scenery, or one of my 5 cats, but in the last 4 years I have sort of been the unofficial 'official' photographer of my daughter's high school band. Great fun, but they ask me to do a lot of stuff (like individual band portraits or a picture of the jazz band in a really dark stairwell) that I just don't have the lighting equipment to do properly. I also don't enjoy editing out teenage acne.
7. I don't want to be a full-time photographer (too much like work--no fun!), but I do get excited when I sell a print (usually to a fellow band mom).
Nice to 'meet' everyone.
Sherry
1. My name is Claire and I am 31, not married, no kids
2. In ‘normal life’ I am a quality manager for the development and manufacturing of medical devices
3. I am French and expat all the way. I have lived 3 years and a half in Australia in Sydney and I am now in Germany in a small town in the heart of the Black Forest (quite a drastic change
4. I joined Dgrin quite recently and have participated in a few challenges. I really enjoy discovering what people come up with and learning from it. Although I often feel out of my league.
5. What I enjoy the most is landscape photography. However, what is important to me is that a photo reflects the ‘reality’ of a moment (the reality from the photographer's perspective). I do not like when there is too much postprocessing with combinations of photos etc
7. I do not know much about the technics of photography but planning to learn progressively. I just know I enjoy taking pictures, and that is the most important
6. In my head, I am always dreaming about my next travel. At the moment it is Jordania, planned for beginning of May
Nice to meet you
Travel Blog English: http://www.zigzagonearth.com
Travel Blog French: http://zigzagvoyages.fr
Infoproduct Creation Blog : https://structurinfo.com
1. My name is Gretchen. I grew up in the Chicago area but have lived near Philadelphia for the past 20 years.
2. My husband and I will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary in June. We have 4 sons and a daughter. We also have a 10 year old grandson and a 10 week old grand-daughter.
3. Photography is my favorite recreation. I lose all track of time when shooting or processing photos. I am especially drawn to landscape photography.
4. I enjoy traveling and feel very fortunate to have visited many countries in Africa and Europe as well as Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, India and much of North America.
5. Spending a lot of time remodeling our home just now. (Finally have a kitchen again!) And I need a knee replacement in the near future. But I miss dgrin and look forward to participating more regularly as soon as possible.
6. I taught for several years (grade 5, then history in a high school) before raising a family. These days, I work part-time writing educational materials and developing (2) websites supporting education.
7. The list of places I hope to visit (or revisit) keeps growing: Masai Mara, New Zealand, Denali National Park, the island of Kauai, Misty Fjords National Park, Yosemite, Provence and the Lake District. But I am also contented to photograph beauty wherever I find it.
My SmugMug Galleries
He obtained a post graduate degree in Journalism from Bombay School of Journalism.
Then joined Mid-Day Publications where he got exposed to the nuances of documentary photography that later became his forte.
Passionate about nurturing new talent, he divides his time teaching documentary photography
1. My real name is John, I'm 29 , married for just over a year, no kids.
2. I Failed out of photography class twice in high school.
3. I work a 9-5 job as a desk jockey for a Bicycle co. as the sales Manager/ Warranty & Tech Support.
4. When I'm not shooting pictures, I'm riding a bike or playing online games (Pc gamer.. no WoW) lol.
5. I dream of making a name for myself in photography, but just cant seem to get there yet.
6. I'm my own worst critic, I constantly think my shots could be better.
7. I feel like i'm in a rut at the moment with my skills, shots and equipment( crappy tripod, Canon 5d mk2( I love) and just a 50mm f1.4 ( I feel limited with this)
8. Im a hookah fiend,coffee lover, and music junkie.
2. I currently live in Manassas VA. I have lived in the Washington DC area since 1976 but it still does not feel like "home". I was born in Laredo, TX but started relocating every few years due to Dad's military service.
3. By day I am a senior graphic designer for an engineering firm. Wanted to be an architect at one time but hit college calculus and had to re-evaluate my career path.
4. I have tried many different mediums to find an outlet for my art and eventually gravitated to photography. I'll probably never make a living from it but am not sure that I'd want to. Once something becomes the means to paying the bills it starts to feel too much like work in my opinion. This is probably the main reason that I don't hire out for photo shoots. Don't like someone trying to tell me how to do my job when I have a camera in my hand. However, if someone decides that they want to invest in my hobby/passion by buying one of my prints, far be it from me to stop them.
5. I was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2005. I have been cancer free since finishing treatment in May of 2006, but have been fighting the damage done from radiation off and on ever since.
6. After making it through treatments I decided to stop putting things off for another day and learned to ride a motorcycle. I look forward to getting out riding every chance I get and just recently bought a Harley-Davidson Heritage Softtail Classic.
7. At the top of my photography bucket list is an African safari and a trip through the swamps of the American south.
That pretty much sums it up. My hardest decision on the weekend is do I ride or do I shoot. BOTH! Hopefully.
~Kevin
My Site, My Book
My primary passion in life: Helping others achieve clarity in the confusing digital world through teaching them to learn how to use electronics to improve their life.
(That's a smart-person-sounding way of saying I'm a certified IT Technician that used to work at Help Desk for a large computer company).
I love electronics, and technology of all kinds. I build computers. I repair computers. I take old computers and tear them apart and cobble together other computers out of their parts.
My secondary passions are:
1.) Animals of all kinds, shapes, sizes, and colors.
2.) Cars. Fast cars.
3.) Photography.
4.) Having fun!
Minolta AF Zoom 70-210 F/4.5-5.6
Minolta AF Zoom 35-70 F/3.5-4.5
Places I post my work DeviantArt & FLICKR
My real name is Rex
47 years old living in Colorado, no kids, divorced
Day job is a police officer, more specifically work in the K9 unit in my department
Recently certified as a scuba instructor and doing some of that for a small shop in town
In what little free time I have I race dirtbikes, fish, and take pictures
I have always had an interest in photography. My first camera was a Canon AE-1 back in the early 80's. Was on yearbook in high school and got to click a lot of their film. Got back into it a few years ago with the digital stuff and love it even more. No cost for film or developing and being able to edit pictures instead of sending them out makes it so much more fun. While I only participate in challenges every now and then I look at and enjoy every contest.
1. Karen. I can't believe I am 60. How did that happen?
2. My father took most of the photos on our family vacations, but I had a Brownie and took a few.
3. My husband bought me a Canon AE-1 Program after our first child was born. I enjoyed taking family photos until it broke after a beach trip. I think sand got in and damaged something.
4. My boys bought me my first digital camera for Christmas in 2006 - a Kodak P&S. I was very proud of my first bee in flight with it. The shutter lag was challenging.
5. I bought my next digital camera for a trip to Costa Rica in 2009. I am still using it - a Panasonic FZ-28 superzoom. I knew the Kodak would be too limited. I considered getting a SLR, but the money wasn't there. The FZ-28 captures raw, which was one of my requirements. I would have liked an articulated LCD screen, but the superzooms available at the time in my price range either had the articulated screen or raw, but not both. This was a family trip and looks like it will be the last foreign trip my mother will make. It was a stretch financially, and well worth it.
6. I started entering the challenges shortly after returning from Costa Rica. I was getting bored. The challenges have provided plenty of stimulation - producing to a theme every 2 weeks. And the feedback really improved my composition and attention to detail. Many thanks, everyone! Last year was extremely disruptive with company coming and trips out of town and medical issues and loads of work, so I have not participated as much in the last year.
7. I have lived all over America. The only states I have not yet visited are Alaska and Hawaii. I currently live outside of Seattle. I consider the climate to be heavenly - not too cold, not too hot, beautiful skies most of the year. Winter, if I want it, is available in an hour's drive. The variety of photographic opportunities is amazing - mountains, ocean, desert, bald eagles, mountain goats, tulip festivals, wildflowers, ferries.
FB:https://www.facebook.com/TanveersPhotography
Site :http://www.tanveer.in
Blog :http://tsk1979.livejournal.com
*I'm Leah, living in North-central Indiana.
*I left a part-time job about a year ago to turn taking care of my family (hubby, kids, two dogs, etc.) into a full-time job; what a relief to finally give my growing kids the attention they need! Two girls, almost 11 and almost 9.....felt like I had to catch them quick before they turn into teenagers.
*I'm an avid gardener with a horticulture degree from Purdue and a keen interest in urban gardening and raising my family as caretakers, not users. It's our first year in 4-H and we're leasing a llama, of all things.
*I have a part-time business from a home studio working on family archiving and digital restoration of everything from old albums to tintypes to glass plate negatives (special fondness for the glass negatives.) Thought I'd give it a go with portrait work, and do some on the side, but old photos are just soooooo very interesting and heck, this leaves photography as my primo creative outlet. First camera was a used Olympus 35mm that I got when I was 10 in the mid-80's. Haven't stopped taking pictures since.
*I've been participating in the DGrin challenges for quite some time now, only recently missing a few contests. I love the way the challenges stretch my skill and perception of what else is possible within the same medium and challenge parameters.
My Smugmug Photos