Joel Slack
New member
First let me say how excited I am to have been pointed in the direction of this forum. Unlike others I have visited, the administration seem to have gone out of their way to create a congenial, courteous atmosphere for the sharing of ideas on this lifestyle we love so much. Such a shame to waste so much passion on back-biting and pettiness! I have read much in here in the last couple of days, and the members of this board amaze me with their demeanor and attitudes. And knowledge! And ability! Some of the photos I've seen! Wow.
Okay, my name is...self-explanatory, thanks to the "real names only" policy. (Brilliant!) I currently live in Waco, TX, and I am not now nor have I ever been affiliated with the Branch Davidians. My wife (Laura) and I moved here 3 years ago to help care for aging relatives (hers) which have since passed on. I have been "involved" in photography since researching and purchasing my first SLR (Canon AE-1 Program!) in 1984, while I was stationed in Okinawa (Navy days). I upgraded to an A-1 after that, and MAN was that a great camera. Not to besmirch the venerable AE-1.
My desire to create meaningful photos has always remained consistent, but my level of participation in photographic endeavors admittedly waxed and waned over the intervening years, as the rigors of real-life can be somewhat distracting. My first auto-focus was an inherited Minolta Maxxum, followed by a Nikon N80, and I can say without reservation that, though my heart was in the right place, I was a snapshot taker with aspirations of moving to the next level.
Our first digital was a Sony 3.2 point-and-shoot, and what a new world of opportunity it presented. We upgraded to what was, at the time, the ridiculously-expensive Sony DSC F717, at a mind-boggling 5 mp's. I never touched the N80 again, and have no regrets whatsoever about going digital.
I have not taken any classes (I will), but trying to get "the shot" drives me ever onward. As a full-fledge amateur, I have put untold thousands of miles on my Jeep traveling to various state parks here in Texas in the last year, from Big Bend to Amarillo to the coast and most points in between, staying gone for days at a time and covering hundreds of miles a day to get to the next shoot. It has been SO. MUCH. WORK. I never dreamed how long the days would be and how little of anything else I would do when out on a shoot! Drive, shoot, download images, sleep, and eat in between. And every moment has been an absolute blast. Except for that time I nearly drowned the Jeep in the surf 20 miles down the beach from Padre Island National Park. And that time the crazed animal stood behind my tent and snarled madly in the wee hours of the night at Guadalupe River State Park, on an off night when nobody else was anywhere near and I was alone in the dark with my imagination...
I've been learning as I go, and digital has allowed me to take thousands of photos and say, "Okay, that definitely doesn't work," or, "Hmm, that's not too bad," and the occasional, "Okay, WOW." I have loved every minute of it. My camera is my own mobile photography class.
In July we are moving to Great Falls, Montana, and I can barely stand the excitement of all that photographic opportunity!! Glacier, Yellowstone, all the mountain ranges, Wyoming, Utah---I will be in heaven. Nature photography is what has shaken out as my specialization, landscapes and birds and mammals and the occasional flower and macro, and some night skies thrown in for nothing but my own personal enjoyment.
I know so little!! But (not to get overly corny), I'm "following my bliss." I will open a website and post my photos and who knows, maybe sell some. I shoot with a Canon MarkIIN, with 17-40, 24-105, 50 1.4, 180 macro, and 100-400. I can fill up an 8 gig CF and a 2 gig SD on any given day (haven't updated my firmware yet...), as all of my shoots are out in nature, I'm by myself, and no distractions but what to shoot first! I shoot mostly from a tripod in Av, but that's not always practical. In Palo Duro Canyon, I hiked 6 miles with all my gear, including a Bogen 3021BPro with a 3039 head, and that's about my limit for now, but I'm GAME to shoot! And I am very happy to be a member on this wonderful board.
Now if I can only learn to produce images half as good as Nicolas can...
Okay, my name is...self-explanatory, thanks to the "real names only" policy. (Brilliant!) I currently live in Waco, TX, and I am not now nor have I ever been affiliated with the Branch Davidians. My wife (Laura) and I moved here 3 years ago to help care for aging relatives (hers) which have since passed on. I have been "involved" in photography since researching and purchasing my first SLR (Canon AE-1 Program!) in 1984, while I was stationed in Okinawa (Navy days). I upgraded to an A-1 after that, and MAN was that a great camera. Not to besmirch the venerable AE-1.
My desire to create meaningful photos has always remained consistent, but my level of participation in photographic endeavors admittedly waxed and waned over the intervening years, as the rigors of real-life can be somewhat distracting. My first auto-focus was an inherited Minolta Maxxum, followed by a Nikon N80, and I can say without reservation that, though my heart was in the right place, I was a snapshot taker with aspirations of moving to the next level.
Our first digital was a Sony 3.2 point-and-shoot, and what a new world of opportunity it presented. We upgraded to what was, at the time, the ridiculously-expensive Sony DSC F717, at a mind-boggling 5 mp's. I never touched the N80 again, and have no regrets whatsoever about going digital.
I have not taken any classes (I will), but trying to get "the shot" drives me ever onward. As a full-fledge amateur, I have put untold thousands of miles on my Jeep traveling to various state parks here in Texas in the last year, from Big Bend to Amarillo to the coast and most points in between, staying gone for days at a time and covering hundreds of miles a day to get to the next shoot. It has been SO. MUCH. WORK. I never dreamed how long the days would be and how little of anything else I would do when out on a shoot! Drive, shoot, download images, sleep, and eat in between. And every moment has been an absolute blast. Except for that time I nearly drowned the Jeep in the surf 20 miles down the beach from Padre Island National Park. And that time the crazed animal stood behind my tent and snarled madly in the wee hours of the night at Guadalupe River State Park, on an off night when nobody else was anywhere near and I was alone in the dark with my imagination...
I've been learning as I go, and digital has allowed me to take thousands of photos and say, "Okay, that definitely doesn't work," or, "Hmm, that's not too bad," and the occasional, "Okay, WOW." I have loved every minute of it. My camera is my own mobile photography class.
In July we are moving to Great Falls, Montana, and I can barely stand the excitement of all that photographic opportunity!! Glacier, Yellowstone, all the mountain ranges, Wyoming, Utah---I will be in heaven. Nature photography is what has shaken out as my specialization, landscapes and birds and mammals and the occasional flower and macro, and some night skies thrown in for nothing but my own personal enjoyment.
I know so little!! But (not to get overly corny), I'm "following my bliss." I will open a website and post my photos and who knows, maybe sell some. I shoot with a Canon MarkIIN, with 17-40, 24-105, 50 1.4, 180 macro, and 100-400. I can fill up an 8 gig CF and a 2 gig SD on any given day (haven't updated my firmware yet...), as all of my shoots are out in nature, I'm by myself, and no distractions but what to shoot first! I shoot mostly from a tripod in Av, but that's not always practical. In Palo Duro Canyon, I hiked 6 miles with all my gear, including a Bogen 3021BPro with a 3039 head, and that's about my limit for now, but I'm GAME to shoot! And I am very happy to be a member on this wonderful board.
Now if I can only learn to produce images half as good as Nicolas can...
