CGross
First, I must applaud this website. For me, it is a wonderful thing to see how much support film is still getting.
Twenty years ago I had a ton of gear stolen, and most of my original work destroyed by vandels while enroute to my first Air Force base assignment. A life shattering event that took my breath away, as photography was my passion.
Then, as with so many people, my day to day seemed to consume all of my time, and with the tiny payckecks one gets in the military, I ultimately gave in to the fact that it would be a long time before I was able to get back to where I was. Back then I wasn't planning to take 20 years!!!!
In February this past winter, on a cold Sunday evening, I was poking around Ebay, and for some reason I thought, what the heck, I wonder if I could find an old Minolta X-700. I looked and, wow, to my amazement, there were several. And the prices were amazing. I bid on the one ending soonest!!!!! Ended up that wasn't the best idea, but I couldn't resist.
Since then, I have been slowly, well, quickly
replenishing all my old Minolta gear. Brushing up on techniques, etc, and bracing my wallet when I am ready to jump back into Medium and Large Format. I must say, the photography bug that sat idle for 20 years is now trying to do some catch up. I forgot what it was like to look through the eyeballs of someone who loves photography!!
I received lots of criticism for not buying one of those fancy digital SLR's from many of my friends, but I told them that was not what I felt photography was all about. I was starting to really think film was dying, but occasionally I would come across some blogs or other forums that would keep me grounded on film. As soon as I saw APUG, I thought, finally, I found it, a place where I would fit in.
Anyways, I look forward to spending some time on this site sorting through all of the great information, sharing some work, and having some great discussions. Cheers.
Best Regards
Cody Gross
btw...the name snowymtphotos was derived from the place I grew up in. The Snowy Mountain Range in Montana. It's a beautiful name for a beautiful place.
Twenty years ago I had a ton of gear stolen, and most of my original work destroyed by vandels while enroute to my first Air Force base assignment. A life shattering event that took my breath away, as photography was my passion.
Then, as with so many people, my day to day seemed to consume all of my time, and with the tiny payckecks one gets in the military, I ultimately gave in to the fact that it would be a long time before I was able to get back to where I was. Back then I wasn't planning to take 20 years!!!!
In February this past winter, on a cold Sunday evening, I was poking around Ebay, and for some reason I thought, what the heck, I wonder if I could find an old Minolta X-700. I looked and, wow, to my amazement, there were several. And the prices were amazing. I bid on the one ending soonest!!!!! Ended up that wasn't the best idea, but I couldn't resist.
Since then, I have been slowly, well, quickly
replenishing all my old Minolta gear. Brushing up on techniques, etc, and bracing my wallet when I am ready to jump back into Medium and Large Format. I must say, the photography bug that sat idle for 20 years is now trying to do some catch up. I forgot what it was like to look through the eyeballs of someone who loves photography!!I received lots of criticism for not buying one of those fancy digital SLR's from many of my friends, but I told them that was not what I felt photography was all about. I was starting to really think film was dying, but occasionally I would come across some blogs or other forums that would keep me grounded on film. As soon as I saw APUG, I thought, finally, I found it, a place where I would fit in.
Anyways, I look forward to spending some time on this site sorting through all of the great information, sharing some work, and having some great discussions. Cheers.
Best Regards
Cody Gross
btw...the name snowymtphotos was derived from the place I grew up in. The Snowy Mountain Range in Montana. It's a beautiful name for a beautiful place.
