photography hobby, who else is into it?

[mathjak107]

my wife and i got into photography over the last 3 months and have been learning and cramming as much as we can learn into our heads. we love sharing photos and learning to get better. sooooooo who else are the hobbiests here?

[bssc]

I like taking pictures too. I used to do darkroom stuff as a kid but digital photography doesn't smell as bad.

[jdmorton]

Five years ago, I commented to my wife that I liked my brother's digital camera. She then went out and got me a pretty good one for my birthday . Anyway, I got a couple of accessories for the camera and this year bought a telephoto and wide angle lens to attach to it. I've taken thousands of photos, and am considered the "family photographer" - I take a bunch of photos at various events (graduations, birthdays, anniversaries) and put them on CDs to give to the celebrant(s).

I've always liked photography, and the digital age makes it easy to take pictures and hone your skills, without the cost of developing film. Even though I bought a photo-quality printer, I rarely print my pictures. Mostly, they are e-mailed or viewed on a computer.

So, yeah, I guess I'm into the photography hobby

[lazygood4nothinbum]

some of my only memories of dad interacting with me involve the darkroom he built in the unfinished section of our basement, next to the laundry room. i remember the trays filled with chemical & wash. the enlarger, the timer. once i stole away with a really cool thermometer i found in there while rummaging by myself. later i'd set a magnifying glass to it under the sun's rays, blew it up and scared myself. i might still be suffering from mercury poisoning; that would explain a few things.

dad was also into 8mm and so i have lots of photographs and film of mom & dad's early years. apparently dad was into film & photography from very early in his life because i even have film of mom graduating high school with everyone in it but the photographer, dad. i also always loved photography though i never took it up as a hobby. later i would learn that dad's family was not only into music but also into film, including a successful film processing company still in biz today (no, not kodak--though every so often i see the company name rolling down credits at the end of a film).

the only camera i currently own came with is the cell phone. i used to have a really nice canon 35mm but we had one of those "gypsy thieves" shopping locally who got in my house. like a watch and ring once stolen from me when i was much younger (not unlike my partner), i never replaced what was taken.

it's been a while, maybe it's time to reconsider love & photography. porn covers both those bases right?

[UncleHoney]

I've been playing with photography for about 50 years, on and off. It all started when my grandmother gave me my grandfather's 35 mm camera in the 50's. Nothing on that old camera was automatic and you needed a light meter reading for every shot. Back then I took mostly slides of family vacations.

In junior high school I had access to a nice darkroom and played around making my own prints. In the late 60's I was stationed in Germany and had access to a really nicely equipped darkroom and spent many hours shooting pictures and printing. In the early 70's I setup my own darkroom at home and did a lot of black and white work. A darkroom planned after I got a house never materalized but the cameras were kept busy just the same.

Now my interests in photography are starting to take root again with all the digital goodies available. One direction I'm heading is using the combination of film and digital processing. Take the picture using a film camera, process it and then scan the image into the computer and print it out on a digital printer. As an old photographer I find it hard to get away from some of the fun of playing with the chemicals and seeing images come to life in a tray of developer.

So far I have the computer and a new Epson high rez scanner, the next addition will be a wide format digital printer.

[Goonie]

My Dad was into photography many years ago, and had the darkroom and all that jazz, and he belonged to the local camera club way back when. My older brother picked up on it, and is a 'hobby' photographer....he used to do the darkroom routine, but has switched over to digital in the last few years.

I got my first camera (a Kodak InstaMatic) when I was in junior high, and used it for many years and several hundred rolls of film. It took a couple hundred pics when I went to Haiti in '87, and they all came out pretty good considering it's age and initial cost. I then got a Canon 'point-and-shoot' 35mm that I used for a few years. Then up to a Canon SLR 35mm with all of the various lenses, that I used for my "train watching" hobby, and model railroading. I also used it for a couple of weddings.

I switched to digital in the late 90's with a Sony Mavica with the 3.5" floppy....it was fun...but I wanted better quality and smaller size (and lighter weight). I got a Kodak EasyShare about 5 years ago (+ or -). I've taken many thousands of pics with it!!! I really love it! It's simple (like me), small, and fairly light weight.....and best of all it takes really good pics! I got some very awesome shots of the Grand Canyon last year, as well as several other Nat'l Parks.

I like to take a lot of pictures of our gardens, vacations, and various other odds and ends. I burn them all on to CD's for security in case our 'puters crap out, and I also burn CD's for folks that we meet on our trips! One couple in particular benefited from that....they had taken a couple hundred pics on our Yellowstone, Glacier, and Canadian Rockies trip. They took their film in for developing and the the place they took it 'accidentally' destroyed all of their film. Since I'd shot pictures every where we went...of everything in sight just about...including folks on the trip....I gave them a CD, and the tour company we traveled with paid to have ALL of the pictures printed for them! They were ecstatic over that. And I was happy that I could help out!

I'll continue to use my Kodak Easyshare for a lot of stuff, but I want to pick up a Canon Rebel XTi sometime soon to 'play' with. Unfortunately my old lenses won't fit the Rebel, so I'll have to spring for all new lenses. Oh well, I guess that's what those pension checks are for, right!?

[Peaceful_Warrior]

I know Socrates is.

[mathjak107]

we bought a nikon d80 with a whole slew of lenses over the last few months. lets see we got

the nikon 17-55mm which is our primary lens

90 mm tamron macro

10-20mm sigma ultrawide

70-300mm nikon with vibration resistance

50mm 1.8 nikon for low light

nikon sb-800 flash


it was sooooooooo much fun spending all that money ha ha ha

for software we use nikin capture nx and elements 5.0

[donheff]

I was a "spaghetti man" for the Chicago Board of Education photographer in the summers of 1966 and 1967. That's the dumb assistant who holds the remote flashes which were attached by long wires - the spaghetti. He taught me the basics of using a Graflex 4x5 and then taught me the basics of black and white darkroom work. I later had a darkroom of my own which I resurrected about 5 years ago when my daughter became interested in photography. But for me film is a thing of the past. I do strictly digital now. I am strictly a low talent amateur. I don't have the eye to be a pro or an artist.

[mathjak107]

heres some off our pics from last weekend. feel free to browse our other albums up there too

http://picasaweb.google.com/matt.marilyn/PlantingFields

[Billy]

We just interviewed a successful Ex-Pat who now lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He began his photography hobby decades ago when he was taking photos of his girlfriend He now lives a "Bob Clyatt" Work Less Live More type of lifestyle - semi - retired using his photography as supplemental income.

He's a very talented multi-talented guy. This is a great read. He's funny too!

http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/steve_kramer.htm

Enjoy!
Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement

[kcowan]

When I retired in Aug 2002 I decided to get serious about photography. Bought my 3rd digicam after learning about them on StevesForums and still happy with it. Have albums on Webshots and Sony ImageStation. Use Picasa and PhotoSuite III. Mainly to document travels and scenery.

Still have my OM1 and Canon Elph for film use.

[farmerEd]

I am into it, probably my favorite "hobby."

Currently shoot with a Nikon D200 and a Nikon D2H and a slew of expensive lenses (worth more than the cameras but they last and can move from camera to camera with you). Have my eyes on a D2XS to replace the D2H later this year.

I hope to someday to display my photos at an exhibt or show, but don't have any plans on trying to sell anything.

I've been into it since I was 15 and bought a Canon AT-1, later a Canon AE-1 program, then moved to Nikon film cameras after college, bought some of the original digital point-and-shoot cameras and then finally moved up to the professional digital SLR's for my 40th birthday.

[bssc]

I am currently scanning various pictures from my Photos. I am doing the Blue Mountains in Australia as I type this.

[mathjak107]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldMcDonald I am into it, probably my favorite "hobby." Currently shoot with a Nikon D200 and a Nikon D2H and a slew of expensive lenses (worth more than the cameras but they last and can move from camera to camera with you). Have my eyes on a D2XS to replace the D2H later this year. I hope to someday to display my photos at an exhibt or show, but don't have any plans on trying to sell anything. I've been into it since I was 15 and bought a Canon AT-1, later a Canon AE-1 program, then moved to Nikon film cameras after college, bought some of the original digital point-and-shoot cameras and then finally moved up to the professional digital SLR's for my 40th birthday.

you aint kidding with the price of lenses being more than the body. i paid almost 1200.00 bucks for the nikon 17-55mm.

with 2 exceptions i found 3rd party lenses that were as good or better than the nikon. my tamron 90mm macro and my sigma 10-20mm superwide

[TromboneAl]

Shouldn't there be some photos in this thread?

[wabmester]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl Shouldn't there be some photos in this thread?

[saluki9]

Yeah, ive been sucked in by yet another black hole of a hobby :P

So far I've bought a Canon 30D, a couple lenses, bags, cards, etc