20 years and this is post 4,000!
(Disclaimer: much of this is recycled from my 10-year thread.)
I joined APUG on February 16, 2004! I do not remember how I found this website. I suppose while surfing the net.
APUG/PHOTRIO was a different place back then. I came from rec.photo.darkroom. APUG was new, fresh, different. It was a different group of people then, but that is always the case. Look up any old thread from past years, and it will be a mostly different group of participants. The same will be true one year in either direction from that thread, too.
Because of APUG, I met:
Lee Carmichael. It was early 2005. After mostly lurking on the forum for a year, I posted a suggestion to have a local meet-up. There were 6 of us that showed up. Lee and I were the first to get there. He showed me some very impressive work that he had done, and very graciously looked at the few sad prints I had brought along. We were friends and colleagues until his death in 2012. I learned a good bit from him. Some of it was even about photography. Also along on that meet-up were Jeremy Moore, Kevin Mullet and Mike Castles.
In May of 2005, Lee produced a printing workshop with Les McLean as the clinician. There were 12 of us in attendance. I can’t remember all 12, but among them were apuggers Ann, BWgirl, Gay Larsen, scootermm, Bruce Osgood, et al. Jeremy and Mike were there, too.
Also met Valerie Yaklin-Brown, Clay Harmon, Kerik Kouklas and Bill Schwab through APUG. I became friends with Les McLean and spent Christmas with him in England in 2006! Went to Iceland with Bill Schwab and a small group in 2013 and the Faroe Islands in 2018. From 2006 - 2009, I collaborated on a project with Lee, Jeremy, Mike and scooter (Matthew Magruder) called the Texas Church Project. We had exhibitions and were on TV! And we made a lot of work! (And I became a better photographer)
And the chatroom! Years ago, I could go in almost any night and chat with Hans (Holland), Luis (Spain), Nicole (Australia), or any number of other delightful people from all over the world.
And now we are Photrio. At my 10-year anniversary, I had over 3000 posts. This is #4000, so it is apparent that my participation has slowed. In fact, I didn’t come on here for a pretty good period. But, I’m back!
I converted to mostly digital starting (seriously) in about 2015. Late adopter. I haven’t exposed any film in a while. I may or may not ever shoot film again. May, or may not. But I have not given up my darkroom, and I intend to get back in there (after a big clean) and start printing again. I could probably print for a long time with the negatives I already have.
I was teaching darkroom at the Dallas Center for Photography until Covid shut us down. At that point I was about to turn 70, so I elected not to go back when classes resumed. “Retired”. Alas, a good thing, since circumstances (mostly that I am not privy to) caused the DCP to shut down last year. I assume it just never recovered from Covid. The good news is that most of the darkroom gear went to an area college that has started a darkroom program.
So, cheers to all. Let’s remain civil on the ‘net, and not feed the trolls!
(Disclaimer: much of this is recycled from my 10-year thread.)
I joined APUG on February 16, 2004! I do not remember how I found this website. I suppose while surfing the net.
APUG/PHOTRIO was a different place back then. I came from rec.photo.darkroom. APUG was new, fresh, different. It was a different group of people then, but that is always the case. Look up any old thread from past years, and it will be a mostly different group of participants. The same will be true one year in either direction from that thread, too.
Because of APUG, I met:
Lee Carmichael. It was early 2005. After mostly lurking on the forum for a year, I posted a suggestion to have a local meet-up. There were 6 of us that showed up. Lee and I were the first to get there. He showed me some very impressive work that he had done, and very graciously looked at the few sad prints I had brought along. We were friends and colleagues until his death in 2012. I learned a good bit from him. Some of it was even about photography. Also along on that meet-up were Jeremy Moore, Kevin Mullet and Mike Castles.
In May of 2005, Lee produced a printing workshop with Les McLean as the clinician. There were 12 of us in attendance. I can’t remember all 12, but among them were apuggers Ann, BWgirl, Gay Larsen, scootermm, Bruce Osgood, et al. Jeremy and Mike were there, too.
Also met Valerie Yaklin-Brown, Clay Harmon, Kerik Kouklas and Bill Schwab through APUG. I became friends with Les McLean and spent Christmas with him in England in 2006! Went to Iceland with Bill Schwab and a small group in 2013 and the Faroe Islands in 2018. From 2006 - 2009, I collaborated on a project with Lee, Jeremy, Mike and scooter (Matthew Magruder) called the Texas Church Project. We had exhibitions and were on TV! And we made a lot of work! (And I became a better photographer)
And the chatroom! Years ago, I could go in almost any night and chat with Hans (Holland), Luis (Spain), Nicole (Australia), or any number of other delightful people from all over the world.
And now we are Photrio. At my 10-year anniversary, I had over 3000 posts. This is #4000, so it is apparent that my participation has slowed. In fact, I didn’t come on here for a pretty good period. But, I’m back!
I converted to mostly digital starting (seriously) in about 2015. Late adopter. I haven’t exposed any film in a while. I may or may not ever shoot film again. May, or may not. But I have not given up my darkroom, and I intend to get back in there (after a big clean) and start printing again. I could probably print for a long time with the negatives I already have.
I was teaching darkroom at the Dallas Center for Photography until Covid shut us down. At that point I was about to turn 70, so I elected not to go back when classes resumed. “Retired”. Alas, a good thing, since circumstances (mostly that I am not privy to) caused the DCP to shut down last year. I assume it just never recovered from Covid. The good news is that most of the darkroom gear went to an area college that has started a darkroom program.
So, cheers to all. Let’s remain civil on the ‘net, and not feed the trolls!
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So glad to see you back (how I wish the chatroom was more active--some fine conversations happened there!)
