Introduce Yourself To The APUG Community Here.

I am happy that there is forum now for analog photography, so I wanted to introduce my self and invited you too visit my B&W album.

http://www.fotowillem.nl

http://www.fotowillem.nl/weblog

Photography is my passion, since 1986 I am intensively busy photographing people. As a matter of fact, always in a social-documentary way. Like this I made a series with the title: "visions of life" A series of pistures of people being photographed in their own, so familair environment. I have also taken al large number of portraits of people with a, for me, very characteristic charisma. just straightforwardly photographed in their own backyard with available light in a studio-like surrounding, consisting of a black cloth hanging from the washing line.
The last couple of years I am beginning to explore street photography and with a lot of ups and downs I have acquired the skills of this form of photography also. In that way I have been cruising through Paris for a day or ten with my camera and have I traveled for 5 weeks through China together with my sister-in law, who is a interpreter / translator of the Chinese language. As a photographer I am a member of two photo groups: Delta F and Fotogroep Soest. These are groups of photographers with a limited number of members. For about once a month we come together to discuss our photographic works. Both groups are related to the Fotobond (Photographic union of the Netherlands) which is an umbrella institution for Photography groups. All my photographic works I finish myself in the darkroom en the last couple of years I am exclusively working with the mid-size format Mamya 6 MF with the 50 /75 mm lens.

Photography: "WILLEM WERNSEN"

Member of the national discussiongroup “Portret” and of the national group “Black & White” ;.

B.M.K. ( Master Class)

E.FIAP Photographer.Excellente - Federation Internationale de l' Art Photografique.

Greetings,

Willem.

I'll add myself to this existing thread so we don't have to click in and out of multiple threads...

Hi, I started photographing stuff many years ago as a kid. I have no idea why but I started processing and printing B&W pretty well straight away and have continued on and off for 20 odd years. In last 3 or so I've been a lot more active and recently moved into a new house which managed to get a dedicated darkroom included I recently counted the number of 100 sheet boxes of paper I've used and it was 7 or 8 so I have been spending some time in there even though organising the new house and newish son (#2) are higher priorities acording to my wife!

What do I do with those prints... stick them back in the empty boxes mostly Some get given to friends & relatives, some go to camera club and then back into the cupboard.

My picture gallery can be found at http://unite.com.au/~u3819a/gallery/gallery.html although it's "work in progress" as I decided to change the layout a few months ago and used resized jpg's for the pics... but it will give you an idea of my interests if you want to have a look. Must fix it one day

Cheers, Nige

My name is Ivan Shukster and currently living in Medicine Hat in the extreme southeast corner of Alberta. I first got into photography in 1973 as part of a college program I was in. Got hooked. For many years my wife and I went out on weekends with cameras and explored the world (at least that part that can easily reached by poor students). Wife got a job at a camera store and got a Pentax Spotmatic F system (could use the college's lenses). Later traded a broken motorcycle for a couple of bicycles one of which I then traded for a Rolleichord. We often had a make shift darkroom as we moved around a lot. Also for some years had a darkroom at work.
Somehow drifted away from black and white photography and professions and then most of my photographs were slides to document work or landscapes ( I am now a geographer). And into wildlife photography so took colour shots and had them printed. From there started scanning and printing onto water colour papers even before I ever heard of Girclee or Iris. My wife is a printmaker and we had lots of ends from prints. Had picked up a 5 X 7 field camera on a trip to the States but it never worked well. This spring I picked up a Crown Graphic which is much easier to take with me as on trips there is the 35 mm system, perhaps the new videocamera and two Brittany Spaniels. The short of it the Crown Graphic has now got me re smitten to black and white photography. We are now planning on setting up a darkroom in our house but it will not have running water (1912 house and the room is on the opposite side of the house and one floor up from any water pipes. We still have the B22 XL enlarger for 35mm and medium format and when I have enough negatives will look for a large format enlarger.
As I said before my wife is a printmaker and both of us like the looks of Bromoil prints so will be exploring Bromoil and Bromoil transfers (have a large etching press in the house already). Experimented a bit with pinhole cameras. Also planning on attempting Polaroid transfers
Have had a few shows at a local public gallery and one in Red Deer and have been published in local papers and in a book about the near by military base and will have five of my birds of prey photos in three publications by the Canadian Wildlife Service.
For now going to learn more about the large format and hopefully obtain a wide angle lens for it. I will be going digital output for colour and look forward to the wet (stinky ) darkroom again,

Ivan Shukster

(From Admin: To Post Your Introduction, Just Click "Reply" -Thanks!)

Resident on the Isle of Wight, an island on the Southern coast, near Portsmouth and Southampton in the United Kingdom. I consider myself to be an experienced amateur but always willing to learn from the experience of others. I took my first picture on the 25th. of December 1958 so therefore have been indulging myself for 44 years. I prefer monochrome because I am colourblind but try hard to appreciate the work of others even if the colours look a little strange to my eyes! Some of my pictures are in colour simply because they struck me at the time, of warranting the medium and they are less boring to those who do not appreciate monochrome. ALL the B&W processing has been completed in my home in my own darkroom/studio as has some of the E6 processing. My photographic equipment although beginning to suffer from the effects of time, still returns results that please me, if not others! Over the years I have used a Kodak Brownie 127 that I fitted with a lens hood and a close-up lens, then I could focus down to 1.1/2 feet! Then I bought a Kodak Flashmite 620 which used 6 x 6 cm roll film it had an inbuilt flash (used PF1 bulbs) which to me was the bees knees! Then I was given a Vivitar 110 which although it took absolutely brilliant pictures it was tiny and so were the negatives. The next camera was my first SLR an Olympus OM10 with manual over-ride. I bought it as a kit complete with 50mm standard lens and a 70-210 Zoom and flashgun for the hotshoe. The OM10 was sold to buy an Olympus OM40 Programme that was a technical wonder machine that ate batteries as if they were going out of fashion. This in turn was sold in part-exchange for a Nikon AF 601 with all the gear that I still use and am very happy with the results. I take life as it comes and refuse to be overly serious because life is too short to be unduly concerned about too many things. I do not have a website with a collection of images yet!

I live in South wales in the UK. Photography is my passion - ask my wife and daughter! I'm a traditional, hardcore, black and white landscapist!! I tried colour MANY years ago and couldn't get on with it to save my life - then I found black and white and it all made sense - eventually! Although the makority of photographers I admire work solely in colour - weird I know!
I use large format (5x4) and have converted the cloakroom into a darkroom - probably one of the smallest in the world!! But I manage to print 5x4 negs and use a wall mounted LPL that is STABLE. I print up to 20x16 in a Nova Quad Processor. This piece of equipment convinced me to convert this small space into a darkroom and I'm now producing better quality prints than I did when I shared a purpose-built communal darkroom, that subsequently closed down.
Although completely obsessed with photography I try to not take it too seriously! But I am a perfectionist!!
I am a competition judge and lecturer with the Welsh Photographic Federation and am passionate about being "anti-digital"!! Truth is I'm quite concerned about the future of traditional methods so see this as a crusade of sorts!!
I'm a real wide angle freak and love wide open expanses of wilderness. These are quite hard to find in the UK so I try and visit the Scottish Highlands or the mountains of Snowdonia (North Wales) to escape.
My prints are considered "purchaseable" and although I'm not going to make a fortune - I enjoy the fact that other people appreciate my work.
I don't belong to a camera club (never felt the need) but I'm toying with the idea of trying to start up a Large Format or Monochrome Photography club/forum/society ("club" in the loosest form - as I don't go in for committees and politics) here in the UK. Any offers, ideas etc more than welcome!
No web site at the moment - too busy, but one day hopefully!

Well, I am not from the U.K., but the girl I'm gonna marry is. Apparently some sort of UK connection is required to post here.

Anyway, I live in Tucson, Arizona and have been shooting on and off for 10 years or so, but only really got serious in the last two. I shoot everything. From an old FT to LF. While I work in the computer industry, I am loate to go digital. I guess I love irony.

Sorry, but I'm another UK member! Specifically I live in Dorset on the south-west coast of England. I've been taking pictures for about 28 years - always as a hobby but now I'm looking into making a living from it. My main interest is in landscape, with street photography, portraiture, architecture, and still life all in there as well.

I moved from 35mm into medium format back in the late 80s, and in the last couple of years I have taken up large format - mostly 8"x10". Having used colour for most of my life, I have also now gone exclusively monochrome, and do all my own darkroom work. Strangely, since 8x10 contact prints are now my favourite medium, I find myself doing more 35mm work than ever. That really started because I find it such a good reconnaissance tool, but it means I can be sure of getting some sort of picture, even if I never make it back to a location with the 8x10.

I do also possess a digital camera, and I find it an immensely useful tool - but for what I think of as my serious work, well, for me it just has no 'soul'. Nothing can beat the hand-made uniqueness of a silver halide print for my tastes, and certainly watching something come putt, putt, putting out of the inkjet cannot compare with the feeling I get seeing an image appear in the developer under the safelight.

Hello, Mates!

I'm a Floridian, but I have friends from the UK who visit me once or twice a year. Does that count?

I've been into photography since I was 15 (that's about 40 years ago!) and still have the b&w portraits I took of my grandparents. I used a Ricohflex camera, developed and printed the photos, and my mom has one framed on her wall that looks as good as the day I made it 40 years ago! But many photos have followed since then, and I now use Canon, Voigtlander (Cosina) and Mamiya equipment. I do landscape, scenic and street for fun, and weddings, events, advertising, people and pets for money. I may have to go digital to stay competitive, but it won't be fun anymore. The trend in weddings seems to be shoot a thousand "photos" and give the bride a cd by the end of the reception. The soccer moms want little crappy pics of their kids handed to them before practice is over. Nobody seems to care about quality, neither can they wait a day or two to get decent prints. Guess I'm just an old fart.

Cheers!

its the state of the nation ....i agree...not good!!!....i have lost more than half my work that has been on going for years!!! to the fast digital world!!!
i have beeen a professional photographer for over 25 years ...and glad to be at the end and not coming in!!!..........will not go digital now...
i really don't think people think about archival or quality...don't seem to care even!...must have tomorrow....etc.
i will continue with my art phtography and work for those who care and want the real thing!!! ....they will be sorry in years to come .....i believe...i
already know peole .....so called photographers , who have lost images to the void , had corrupt cd's etc....and and.....poof its gone !!!mmmmmmmmmm! not a good look!
cheers

I started taking photos when I was about 9 years old with a Brownie that I was give for Christmas. Later, I got a Kodak Starmite for another present and it's main feature was a built-in flash.

I saved my money from various jobs and talked my father into taking me to K-Mart when I was 14 and bought a Minolta AL-7 35mm range finder camera (which I still have!). I continued saving my money and when I was 18 bought a Nikon F Photomic Tn with two lenses (50mm and a 135mm).

I went to school at Rochester Institute of Technology in the Professional Photography program and got a degree in photography. Then went to the University of Michigan School of Art and Design and got a degree in graphic design. I worked as a professional photographer and graphics designer for 4 years after graduation and then moved to New Mexico where I taught photography in a state college for 3 years.

I then went back to school at the University of New Mexico to explore color and lithographic printing and printed for one year at the Tamarind Institute of Lithography. During this college stint, I worked managing a photo store and started a non-profit photo gallery that lasted for over 10 years - until we couldn't get anymore volunteer curators because it was nearly a full time non-paying job. The last person to do it is now the director of the Jonson Museum at the University of New Mexico.

After Tamarind I became intersted in video, and worked in an industrial / broadcast video business doing systems design mostly for government test sites and laboratories. Through that association I became interested in high-speed photography and invented a shutter mechanism for tube sensor video cameras and received 5 US patents for the invention. I attended a summer program at MIT with Dr. Harold Edgerton and furthered my studies of high-speed imaging.

I started my own company based on the technology I had invented and sold cameras to various government agencies, laboratories and test sites. I was approached by the CBS network about modifying broadcast cameras and produced one for their testing and use. I then modified five other broadcast cameras and rented them to all of the major networks and sports production companies over the next two years. In 1985 I was nominated for an Emmy Award for technical contributions in the area of slow motion replay.

After 4 years of traveling nearly full-time, I closed the business and started a consulting business; and was later employed full-time by two companies doing video systems design. In 1996 I started working on a US Army project for a remotely controlled land mine detection system. I worked on the visible and infrared imaging and image processing system and in 1999 published a paper for the Society of Photo Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) describing the system and results. I am now a systems analyst for the largest engineering firm in the world with not enough time to work on photography.

Throughout all of the above, I have never lost my interest in making photos and still do commercial photo work for special projects (mostly architectural and documentary). I have a complete black and white and color darkroom and a range of equipment from 110 through 4x5 format cameras.

I love imaging of all kinds, but and photography is my "jones." I don't do nearly enough of it and hope some day to get back doing it full time - and not for money - and truly become an amateur photographer where the results matter only to me.

<a href=http://www.photo.net/shared/community-member.tcl?user_id=332942> Someone</a> on the photo.net said that Dead Link Removed. He was right. I am an embedded software designer, also interested in photography and web-design. Unlike other members I am a new to photography, taking pictures since the spring of 2001. Of course I was taking pictures before that, but I wouldn't call that photography.

cheers
balint

Hi from LightImages in Nova Scotia, Canada. This looks like a great site. Haven't had much time to browse a lot of posts yet but the site is a great idea and many thanks to those responsible for it. Have a look a my site. It hasn't been updated in a long while but at least there's some work there.


http://www.lightimages.org

Grew up in Arkansas, where a friend gave me an old 620 rollfilm camera to play with and its been downhill from there!
I learned to do black & white on my own and later got a job at the local paper doing darkroom work in the evenings, eventually getting on the production staff first on the process camera then onto the press....not good for a career photographer but it paid better then. Now my job lies in doing finish work at a printshop bindery but I still burn quite a bit of film in my play time.
I finally have a dream darkroom down in the basement with an autopsy table salvaged from a hospital converted to a darkroom sink, a Beseler enlarger, drymount press, a very nice mat cutter and room to store everything.
I've still never had any formal training in photography, but since I'm a voracious reader of anything to do with my interests theres not much I haven't looked into to see what it's about.
I share my interest in photography with my girlfriend Dale, who I live with and we like to take forays into the mountains, beaches and where ever to burn film and play. Our favorite cameras are our Bronica SQA and SQAis. I also have a 4x5 monorail to play with and a handful of Canon EOS equipment for traveling light.
We used to go to camera clubs for the competition for a while and I have a drawer full of ribbons, no idea what each was for, and lately won 2nd place (they called it First Prize) in the Georgia Outdoors Nature Photography Contest. http://www.gpb.org/gptv/georgiaoutdoors/ph...est02/page3.php
That's so you can have a look.

I've been involved in photography since I was 8 or 9. My parents had a darkroom, so it was natural to spend time there. Developed roll film with the old 'apron' tanks. (My first role successfully put the 620 backing paper in the apron and left the film on the floor!) As someone said earlier, it was downhill from there.

At various times I did photo jobs for compensation, worked for awhile as an in-house photo technician for a cosmetics company, did some weddings and portraits as a side line. I finally stabilized on a non-photo job for 30 years. Recently retired and plan to spend more time shooting and in the dark. Took two workshop classes, the rest was self taught. Most recent class was a workshop with Cole Weston - a fabulous experience to meet him, hear him talk about his father, and see many original Weston prints up close ouside of a museum.

I use a range of equipment, 35mm (old Nikons), 6x6 - an old Hasselblad 500c set up with 4 lenses, a 4x5 Calumet (cc402) with 4 lenses, and built a Bender Kit 8x10 which has a venerable 12/19/25 Turner Reich (restored by S.K. Grimes). My B&W darkroom can handle up to 4x5 for enlarging. The 8x10 is for contact prints only. I do color snaps in 35, but medium and large format is for black and white prints (fiber base paper, archival processed and often lightly selenium toned).

I currently live in California...and though I plan a move soon, I'm planning to move to the coast where I can photograph all the rocks, surf, twisted trees and all to my hearts content.

PhotoPhred, where in California do you live? I'm in the SF bay area, but have been spending a ton of time working on an ongoing project on the coast.

Brian

My brother is an audiophil. I was always laughing behind a polite smile whenever he was playing with his latest laudspeakers connected to his huge and heavy tube amplifiers. Than I discovered photography.



This happened around the Millenium and since than I took few thousand photos trying to improve my technique. I would not call myself a serious amateur, but I would like to be one.

I am writing software for a living, and as such I tried to contribute to the Free Software Foundation by designing photography related software: Dead Link Removed

My latest work targets photo accounting and it is based upon the very same technology as this website.



Well, that's all folks.

See ldh for latest...

I'm an amateur and started way back in the 50's with a brand new (back then) Brownie. Since then I owned, sold, and re-bought several 35mm cameras starting with a Yashica Minister D rangefinder, ending up with a Canon AE-1 and FTb which I still use. In the 70s when I was in the Army, I used their hobby area's darkroom to learn more about black and white, and branched out into medium format with a Yashica 124G TLR (should have never sold it). Comparing my own prints to what I was getting back from a lab really opened my eyes (mine were better even as a beginner). While there, I picked up extra mad money shooting portraits for the folks to send to their families. Now I generally use a Yashica 12 TLR for medium format, or one of 3 folders when I need a change of pace. It was not until I moved to Van Nuys California that I finally moved up to large format and now I have 3 view cameras. A Calumet C400 for 4x5, an Eastman 2D for 5x7, and a Seneca Improved for 8x10. All my large format stuff is black and white contact printing, which I enjoy doing myself, with the occasional cyanotype just for fun. All my color pictures right now are done in either 35mm or medium format and go out to a lab for processing. Every few years, I round up the best photos and enter them in the San Fernando Valley Fair just for yucks.

..

Hello, all!

A Norwegian here - living in Bergen, Norway. If you work out the time zones, you will find out that I wrote this in the middle of the night. That's because I'm working at financing my hobby doing night shift in the oil industry.

I've been using film now with varying degrees of success for 30 years or so, and don't intend to stop anytime soon. At present I use mostly 4x5, occasionally 645 or 5x7 (for great contact prints), and very rarely 35mm. about 80% is B & W, even if my darkroom has been out of commission for the past 2 years! As soon as I get home from this job (next week), I will continue with building my new darkroom.

In the meantime I shoot and develop; then do a quick scan to see what the results are like.

I really miss my darkroom

Hello Aggie,

About those photo tours....don't forget that one analogue photographer equals 40 pensioners!

I must admit that the resumes here are a bit intimidating. It is nice to come into a forum where I definitely have the opportunity to learn.

I am a hobbiest. I work as an Aerospace Engineer for the US Navy and have been taking pictures since I was a kid. I got my first SLR when I was 12 and have slowly upgraded the equipment. I currently own 4 camera bodies and a variety of lenses.

When I was young and had access to the equipment, I shot a lot of B&W but graduated to color as I grew older. I am only now returning to the B&W world to a degree (I am keeping one of the bodies loaded with B&W). Because of my profession, I have a great interest in macro photography and how to capture specific details. I have been fortunate enough to take some classes in Technical Photography and how to document aircraft crash scenes.

I'm looking forward to reading and learning in this forum.

I am pretty new at all of this. in 2001 my wife and I decided we need something we could do together. So we built a dark room and starts taking classes. Now we have 2 enlargers, 4 MF cameras and 6 35mm bodies. I will admit that i am more interested in the technical acpect of creating a good image than in lots of artsy things, but I love it. We also started an online photo album that I keep maintained. it is http://www.snowshadows.com We have roughly 5k pictures from the last 2 years there. Most are junk, but you can't help but have a gem or 2 in that many.

Hello all, another obsessed amateur here. My interest in photography started a few years ago. I bought a digital camera and I've been sold on film ever since. Not too much else to tell, I'm still learning but having a lot of fun right now learning how to print. If anyone is interested, you can see some of mine at Dead Link Removed

Hi all, great forum and Thanks Ed Buffaloe for the link! I live in Berkeley Ca and have shot 35mm since taking up this hobby when I was 15. I've had 4 dourse of B&W at Lansing Mich Comm College in the 70's, and have done B&W work in my self made darkrooms off and on between going to medical school to become a psychiatrist. I have a Canon A2E and some non L lenses, but recently got a Contax T3...and never realized till now how much difference a good lens makes! Wow, is this sharp! Anyway, moved from Houston 2yrs ago from a 3k sq/ft house to 950 sq./ft! Just this last week did I start trying to get my darkroom setup in an outdoor 8x10 shed w. now water or elec (running ext. cord and a bucket for drain!). But I'll get it! lol

I just bought also last week a dichroic D5xl (a big move from my B22!) as I want to move upto a 4x5 Field camera and make some 16x20 or 20x24 prints and that's a bit much for 35mm. So, as money becomes available, I will get a camera, prob. a 150-200mm lens and go from there. I also just ordered a RH Designs Analyser Pro to begin using fsstop printing.

I'm spending my 10th yr anniversary in Amsterdam and Paris in April. I'd like to have my lf equipment by then, but we'll have to see how the money goes lol But I'm real excited about this trip and would love to have some lf negs to print up; if not, I'll be using my Contax most of the time I'd imagine.