Well well, how to begin? Here we go. My name is Kathy, I live in Montreal Quebec and I'm very happy to have found you all.
I've been hanging about here for a few weeks (waiting for payday) reading and learning (sometimes laughing) about all the great info in the forums. I've been doing this thing called photography for about 7 years now and it seems there's no end in sight. I just love this stuff too much.
About 2 years ago I began taking some workshops at a small local arts school to learn how to print my own black and white photographs. I never really liked the stuff I got back from the labs...thought it was just me. Ha! So then I heard a rumor last year that my school was going to close so I built my own darkroom last spring/summer in my apartment. Funny thing was, the school didn't close last year but actually shut it's doors almost 2 weeks ago instead. I'm alittle sad that my first school darkroom has closed (do you remember where it was that your very first print appeared to you magically in the developer tray?) because of my memories there but I thank gawd now for building my own!
I have to inject a little note here about all the darkrooms I've seen and read about on APUG....fantastic! So many great set-ups, especially the space challenged ones! One darkroom I saw was painted mauve I think. Brilliant, I loved that.
I'll try to keep this short....just a little background for the truly interested. I grew up in a little town north of Winnipeg Manitoba. Winterpeg we like to call it. I lived on a wheat farm in the country with about 100 acres of trees mud, trails and a river at my disposal. I think this explains alot. My childhood home was a visual paradise. I was truly lucky to have all that. Skip ahead 20 years (give or take)...while I was working in Winterpeg as a hairstylist, I had an opportunity to work with a fashion photographer on a little photoshoot for a hair magazine. One thing led to another....
and I decided that I wanted to be the one holding the camera and not the blowdryer!
I mostly shoot 35mm (Nikon FM2) but have been dabbling in the medium format (Holga, Mamiya C330) and enjoying it greatly. A secret: I really find large format photography totally fascinating and a little scary but I'm determined to try it when I have the chance. I'll be needing the help of you LF people when the time comes....Don't worry, I'm a good student.
Let's see....hobbies? That's a hard one. I guess I like to make soap (?) when I'm not sloshing developer on my floor. Hmmm..I like to play softball in the summer with my friends (I do not bring the camera to those outings...sand and beer do not mix well with the Nikon) I don't own a car so
I ride my bike all over the place. I love to cook and drink wine with my friends but I think you have to do that when you live in Montreal. C'est la joie de vivre, non?
Finally I'd just like to say thanks to Sean (?) who started this forum and to all the other members who contribute their experiences, knowledge and humor. To everyone here with that sense of "stickwithit-ness", thank you!
Kathy Whitmore
I've been hanging about here for a few weeks (waiting for payday) reading and learning (sometimes laughing) about all the great info in the forums. I've been doing this thing called photography for about 7 years now and it seems there's no end in sight. I just love this stuff too much.
About 2 years ago I began taking some workshops at a small local arts school to learn how to print my own black and white photographs. I never really liked the stuff I got back from the labs...thought it was just me. Ha! So then I heard a rumor last year that my school was going to close so I built my own darkroom last spring/summer in my apartment. Funny thing was, the school didn't close last year but actually shut it's doors almost 2 weeks ago instead. I'm alittle sad that my first school darkroom has closed (do you remember where it was that your very first print appeared to you magically in the developer tray?) because of my memories there but I thank gawd now for building my own!
I have to inject a little note here about all the darkrooms I've seen and read about on APUG....fantastic! So many great set-ups, especially the space challenged ones! One darkroom I saw was painted mauve I think. Brilliant, I loved that.
I'll try to keep this short....just a little background for the truly interested. I grew up in a little town north of Winnipeg Manitoba. Winterpeg we like to call it. I lived on a wheat farm in the country with about 100 acres of trees mud, trails and a river at my disposal. I think this explains alot. My childhood home was a visual paradise. I was truly lucky to have all that. Skip ahead 20 years (give or take)...while I was working in Winterpeg as a hairstylist, I had an opportunity to work with a fashion photographer on a little photoshoot for a hair magazine. One thing led to another....
and I decided that I wanted to be the one holding the camera and not the blowdryer! I mostly shoot 35mm (Nikon FM2) but have been dabbling in the medium format (Holga, Mamiya C330) and enjoying it greatly. A secret: I really find large format photography totally fascinating and a little scary but I'm determined to try it when I have the chance. I'll be needing the help of you LF people when the time comes....Don't worry, I'm a good student.
Let's see....hobbies? That's a hard one. I guess I like to make soap (?) when I'm not sloshing developer on my floor. Hmmm..I like to play softball in the summer with my friends (I do not bring the camera to those outings...sand and beer do not mix well with the Nikon) I don't own a car so
I ride my bike all over the place. I love to cook and drink wine with my friends but I think you have to do that when you live in Montreal. C'est la joie de vivre, non?
Finally I'd just like to say thanks to Sean (?) who started this forum and to all the other members who contribute their experiences, knowledge and humor. To everyone here with that sense of "stickwithit-ness", thank you!
Kathy Whitmore
