Hello from SLC

Hello to all,

Probably like a lot of people I've been lurking on these forums for a while now. Figured it was time to sign up. I'm located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Not counting the series of crappy 110, 126 and 35mm point- and-shoots, I started with black and white film back in the 1990s with a Spotmatic and unlimited access to the school darkroom. Migrated to digital (and then nothing at all) in the mid 2000's, but have been back into film for the past few years. Mostly using a handful of Spotmatics with Takumars, and another handful of Nikons/Nikkormats with Pre-Ai lenses acquired on the cheap. Some of my favorite pictures were taken with a Zeiss TLR I've had since about 1995.

Enough about the gear, it's the images that count. My only real goal is to have fun and document the things I see along the way - family, vacations, and the strange world around. Yes, it's the photo equivalent of that band you were in that was sort of a rock/blues/reggae/hip-hop thing... aimless but fun to be a part of.

Anyhow, looking forward to asking some questions, and offering what little I know.

AZD

Welcome!

Welcome. Bet you are seeing a lot more tourists these days.

Yes, more tourists and locals alike. 2020 forced a lot of people into the outdoors. Even in the vaccinated days of 2021 many have decided to keep going back upon discovering they enjoy mountains and forests at least as much as Netflix, possibly more. I suppose we all think of ourselves as locals and everyone else as the tourists. Well, I'm both, having made it to all 5 of Utah's national parks in the past 2 years, plus several others in neighboring states. Fortunately there are two simple tricks that'll keep the crowds away: go early, and take the steep trails. Pretty much guaranteed to work in all but the most popular spots.

Lovely place. My wife's cousin and his family are in the area. Last time I in SLC was probably 13 years back. Lots of things to see and do. Welcome

Welcome, neighbor!

Also from Salt Lake here... actually in my case Salt Lake Valley, but not the City. Your photographic goals sound good to me. Just remember, although you didn't mention artistic photos I will comment on that topic. Unless you are Ansel Adams or some other famous photographer, in 50 or 100 years no one will be interested in your artistic photos, but they will likely be very interested in the photos you took of Aunt Jane and Uncle Joe. At least that's the way I see it. So, while I will fun trying to make artistic photos, I also take plenty of photos of family members and friends as well.

welcome to Photrio!

Hey, glad there are a few more locals on this board! Technically I'm not in SLC either... the border is my back fence. Close enough I suppose, as the lines between cities tend to make little sense, weaving around shopping complexes, utilities, established neighborhoods, etc.

I do make some "artistic" efforts as well. Sometimes they even turn out. I think years ago that's what I would have aspired to, but plenty of people have come before and done it better. For instance, when I go to Yosemite later this summer it'll be impossible to look at the valley and think "yeah, I could do it better than Adams". But old Ansel missed out on the definitive picture of Great Uncle Wally. Now, to be fair, he didn't know Wally, and was also dead by then, but you make the most of the opportunities you have I guess. Speaking of - that massive fire in Millcreek a couple days ago. Hopefully my pic turns out with that sort of Robert Adams "this is our bizarre human civilization" look. The best I could try for from a distance with a Nikkor 24mm on black and white film, the only things I had at the time. TBD on that.