Doug Grosjean - NW OH / SE MI - USA

[DougGrosjean]

Greetings,

Just signed on here, seems like a decent place to lurk and learn and maybe sometimes even contribute.

I'm located in Northwest Ohio / Southeast Michigan - I live and work in small-town rural Ohio but spend weekends at my girlfriend's home in Dearborn MI. So I'm exposed to a wide variety of cultures, attitudes, and even scenery.

I'm a motorcyclcist, a writer, a photographer; and for a living I'm a mechanical designer. Some samples of my work are below.

1999 Alaska Trip - shot with an Olympus XA:
http://www.ibmwr.org/pastevnt/grosjeanalaska/alaska.html

2006 Blue Ridge Parkway Trip with my 11 y/o son, shot mostly with a Widelux FV and a Rolleiflex MX-EVS:
http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h33/DougGrosjean/Spring Break 2006/?start=all

Googling on my name will produce a bunch more - some minor tech articles for motorcyclists, a couple local whitewater guides for kayakers (a neglected hobby).

Been shooting since about 1982, first 35mm and recently 120 now that the price of the MF gear has dropped to affordable levels for me. I shoot mostly B/W, soup my own negs, and sometimes color when neccesary.

Hoping to build a Lookaround panoramic camera this summer.

Not much more to tell. Well, there is but then I'd be rambling.

Best,
Doug Grosjean
NW OH / SE MI

 

[roteague]

Hi Doug, welcome from Hawaii. Good to have you aboard. We need a few more people shooting panoramics around here - I just got a 6x12 back for my camera and love using it.

 

[bill schwab]

..spend weekends at my girlfriend's home in Dearborn MI.

Welcome Doug from.... Dearborn, Michigan. Good to have you. Check out the Great Lakes Regional Group under the "community" tab.

Bill

 

[Jerry Basierbe]

Welcome Bill. I'm pretty new here myself but have found it beneficial already.
I work in Dearborn and live in Livonia.

Jerry

 

[DougGrosjean]

Thanks for the welcome.

I'll probably have to pass this year on a get-together up north. I've got prior plans, plus plans to visit Drummond Island come September anyway.

I also have to juggle a son, girlfriend, and my own hobbies / activities.

But here's hoping your event is a success, so that I can put it on my calendar next year.

Thanks again,
Doug

PS - probably silly, but I enjoy shooting at the Greenfield Village / Ford Museum. We've got a membership there, and can bicycle from SO's home in the summer.

 

[bill schwab]

I enjoy shooting at the Greenfield Village / Ford Museum. We've got a membership there, and can bicycle from SO's home in the summer.

Me too Doug. It is walking distance and I take my boy there at least once a week to run off his seemingly boundless energy. Lots to photograph there.

Bill

 

[BWGirl]

Welcome to APUG, Doug!
This is a great place with a tremendous amount of knowledge and people who share it willingly!

 

[DougGrosjean]

Me too Doug. It is walking distance and I take my boy there at least once a week to run off his seemingly boundless energy. Lots to photograph there. Bill

Grinning - my Dad (lives in Toledo) is still driving a pair of restored Model T Fords, so I've ridden probably several thousand miles in those on the rural roads here in Ohio. No, haven't learned to drive one yet.

Related to Ford again: last summer, SO and I and my then 10 y/o son flew in a Tri-Motor that visited Port Clinton OH airport. Just like when my Dad took me there as a kid, to fly out to the islands.

I'd like to send my son to one of the Ford Museum summer camps this summer, but don't know. They're not cheap, and I am, somewhat.

Small world, and funny how lives go 'round in circles sometimes.

Best,
Doug

 

[DougGrosjean]

Hi Doug, welcome from Hawaii. Good to have you aboard. We need a few more people shooting panoramics around here - I just got a 6x12 back for my camera and love using it.

Robert,

Thanks!

Beautiful photos you have on your website, BTW. You're quite a bit more well-travelled than I am; I haven't made it out of North America yet - but I have seen a large chunk of this continent.

Best,
Doug

 

[DougGrosjean]

Welcome to APUG, Doug!
This is a great place with a tremendous amount of knowledge and people who share it willingly!

Thanks!

Isn't it amazing compared to before the Net, when each of us had to figure out so much technique all by ourselves?

Best,
Doug

 

[bob01721]

"... Isn't it amazing compared to before the Net, when each of us had to figure out so much technique all by ourselves...?"

Yeah... how did we manage to accomplish anything! Ha!

Welcome!

 

[mark]

Hello from the SW USA.

 

[b1bmsgt]

Hi Doug,

We conversed a couple of times over at the Ciro-flex forum. Nice to see that you discovered APUG. Things are just a tad more active here...

I have branched out and am now shooting with a Yashica Mat 124 that I bought on eBay as a parts camera and repaired. I love the Ciro's, but I get tired of double exposures and skipped frames using the red window. I am really enjoying the convenience of the 124, although I still use the Ciro on occasion.

When I save up a bit more dough, I'm going for a Rollei!

Anyway, welcome aboard!!

Russ

 

[DougGrosjean]

Thanks again for all the nice welcomes.

I remember you, Russ. You were so enthsused to have gotten ahold of the Ciro-Flex. I was the same way when I got one, the CF is what introduced me to MF and processing my own B/W.

FWIW, I've handled the Yashicamats but never shot with one. They feel about 90-95% as nice in the hands as a Rollei does, so you're not missing a lot. I can't really comment on the lens quality, but I don't think I could tell if a photo was taken with a Rollei or Yashica TLR.

The Ciro-Flex TLR's are a good start, but after you use something with just a few interlocks (like self-cocking or double-exposure prevention), the CF cameras seem really crude.

But know what? Good to keep one around for when you want a MF shot in a situation where you don't want to risk your good gear. Like waiting at the bottom of the slide or swing for your kid to come down...

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Welcome amongst us PUG's, Doug. But i gotta ask, formerly being of Ohio. Is it NW Ohio or SE Michigan? Some things just have to be clear in my mind. GO BUCKS!

 

[DougGrosjean]

Hi,

Thanks for the welcome.

It actually is both Ohio and Michigan.

My girlfriend lives in Dearborn MI, so I'm up there on weekends and holidays and some other overnights. But I live and work in Clyde OH during the week, having been unable to find a design position in Detroit for years and years. Given the downsizing in Detroit and my automotive design background, I may never end up working in Michigan, sigh.

Most of my possesions are in MI, but I pay taxes in Ohio, my license and insurance are in Ohio.

So at best, it's a 57% / 43% split between Ohio and Michigan. And most weeks, that's the way it is. But some weeks, like this past Holiday weekend, I'm in Michigan more.

OTOH, this coming w/e I'm speaking outside Washington DC at a BMW motorcycle rally. But no, I can't / won't say I live there....

Best,
Doug Grosjean
NW OH / SE MI