Papa Joe Loc: Midwest U.S.

Hello. I’m fairly new to UHH and am enjoying browsing the site and learning from you all. We never reach the stage where we can’t learn something new. I’ve been around over three-quarters of a century and am still learning new ‘tricks’ in photography.
I came up through the process, like so many other ‘olsters’…from a home darkroom, (my first was in my bathroom)… then a very active, (and expensive), hobby and ultimately a business. Now my once, very well equipped darkroom serves as a very handy storage room for all the ‘nowhere else to put it’ items in our home.
Enter Digital: I spend much of my retired time at the computer, and am heavily involved in our local computer club, (Metro Area Personal Computer Club), which began in 1982 and is still going strong. My computer interests and photographic interests formed a fantastic junction and are so complimentary to each other. It still amazes me as I sit at my computer ‘darkroom’, doing all and even more, than I used to do in the actual darkroom. Guess I’m old enough to have experienced the thrill of both technologies… the dark, wet, chemical scented darkroom and now this great digital world.
Most of my work has been done for others in the portrait world, plus ten years with our local newspaper so I don’t have any ‘winners’ to post. These days I enjoy absolute freedom from all the heavy, expensive equipment, as all I use now is my simple little Canon point and shoot SD-890 IS” ten meg camera.
I enjoy viewing some really great work by so many of you on this site – keep at it. It’s great to be able to enjoy the ‘new age’ in the photographic field, as it blossoms and continues getting better and better. Meantime, I’ll hang around, just ‘pointing and shooting’. I may even come up with something worth posting on rare occasions.

briace Loc: liverpool uk

welcome mate :thumbup:

Papa Joe Loc: Midwest U.S.

Thanks briace. Nice bunch of folks here.

maggie65 Loc: Bucks UK

Hi Papa joe, looking forward to seeing some of your pics,

Granddad Loc: UK

Welcome and enjoy.

Daryl New Loc: Wellington,New Zealand

Welcome,am in here every morning,always something of interest.

Rich2236 Loc: E. Hampstead, New Hampshire

Hey Papa Joe, welcome to the hog. Im Rich.....in name only. Gotcha beat by one year. LOL. Experience for me was along the same lines as yourself. Darkroom in one bathroom of a 2 bath home. (3 bedrooms.) I built a platform from 2x4's (no nails) inside the shower. I took apart a Bessler MCRX auto enlarger and pieced it back together inside the shower. Even in an earthquake, the 2x4's didnt budge an inch. I used that darkroom for 5 years that way, until we bought a new home and i was able to make a darkroom in the garage. My first digital camera was a Canon20D. Now i use a Canon 60D. We here, are still learning, so dont feel left out. You are one of us nuts now. So post some shots........
Rich :-P

Dixiegirl Loc: Alabama gulf coast

Welcome, Papa Joe.

A10 Loc: Southern Indiana

How did you come by being Papa Joe? We called my dad that after a St. Louis beer baron.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Welcome to UHH!

Papa Joe Loc: Midwest U.S.

How did I become Papa Joe? It's a long story but suffice to say I was newly married, and had to leave home for a two week stint in the U.S. Army Reserves 'Summer Camp', after being in the 'active' service. I was on a three day 'in the field' trek and when I returned, dirty, unshaven, worn out and dragging my heavy duffle bag, as I entered the mess hall where I would eventually become a cook... our huge (300lb.) mess Sgt. yelled out, "Hey guys! Papa Joe has returned!" My wife was expecting our first child - thus the 'papa' moniker' That was 1957 and I've been Papa Joe ever since.