I think that was one of the big questions I had was not just resolution, but things like the shadow and highlight details, and that "glow" a great B&W print has that is elusive on a digital print. But I have a friend who did large format prints from negatives and they were beautiful.

I got an offer for a 4x5 view camera and enlarger from a friend who offered to give them to me. I spent many hours in a darkroom in my youth, and while setting one up is appealing at a certain level, just developing the negs, and then scanning and printing would be far easier. I'm fairly accomplished with Lightroom and PS, so that is the way I'm leaning. Also, setting up a darkroom would be difficult in my house.

Anyone have any experience with scanning large format negs with a high-resolution scanner, and then printing? If so, what equipment do you recommend? thx

I can't agree more. I've seen too many novice questions that get blasted with snarky replies.

Everyone is recommending hardware solutions, which are great, but unless you move your drive off-site to another location, you are still vulnerable to losing everything through fire or theft, or even malware which can reach all of your attached storage.

A cloud storage solution will protect you from anything that might happen and are very inexpensive. If you just want to transfer the files, you can easily do that through a DropBox or other cloud storage system. DropBox basic is free and has 2 GB of storage.

Long-term, a cloud backup solution is the way to go. We use BackBlaze which is $5 a month for a personal account. But iDrive has a free personal account with 5 GB of storage. These days, there is no reason not to have some kind of cloud backup account.

Just great!

Very nice!

Also, if you shot raw that will help some, but it is harder to recover from blown-out image like this than underexposed.

As a teen in the 1970s, I used a Nikon F, no meter, and a Luna Pro handheld meter. With only 2 exposure settings - shutter speed and aperture - you learn quickly about how to handle difficult lighting, controlling depth of field, selecting the right film for the task, etc.

I now have a Nikon D7000 and wouldn't ever go back to the old days. The control and flexibility I get now is amazing, and I can "go manual" anytime I wish. And of course, Photoshop and Lightroom give me more options than hours in a darkroom ever could.

That said, the experiences I had with a manual camera serves me well to this day, and I think we have lost something with all of the automation. Like every advancement, something is gained, and something is lost. I sometimes look at my photographs taken using my automatic settings, and realize that I wasn't thinking, just shooting, which is a great luxury to let the camera just do the work. So I work to make sure I'm in charge, and not the camera, and that means spending a lot of time experimenting and RTFM!

When I retire sometime down the road, I plan on getting a 5x7 view camera and go back to my roots, at least for part of my shooting. But I'll never give up my D7000 (or whatever advanced camera I have).

Blue -I'm kind of new here, and was surprised at the tone of the responses. Doesn't matter if you are experienced or just got your first camera, people should be able to ask questions here and not get torched. I agree with you - I would be reluctant to ask questions here too.

I like this forum and the way that so many offer great advice. Very collaborative. I do find it difficult when someone is ridiculed for not knowing something that everyone assumes should be basic information. Maybe the OP has only shot snapshots, and this is his first foray into something more serious. I just hope this isn't a place where novices can't participate, and are afraid to ask what others might call a dumb question.

There is so much more to being a professional photographer than just the equipment. An amateur with a great camera will take snapshots. Professionals understand not just the technical aspects of photography, but also an understanding of the business of photography - what shots are needed, how to manage your subjects, finding the right locations, delivering the product, etc.

But making a living as a photographer has always been difficult. The wedding photography business is indeed saturated with people who are mediocre at best, that put up website and kill the market low-ball pricing. There are tons of portrait photographers, and fine-art photography is tough unless you have a built a following and produce work that is popular. Just go to any craft fair and look at the great work being sold out of booths.

So here are a few ideas for you:
Food shots for ads, restaurant menus and websites,
Architectural for real estate
Event photography for corporate events
Advertising agencies
Corporate portraits and headshots

I also saw recently that extreme high school senior photography has become a huge thing. This guy has people coming in from all over the country for his work:
http://shirkphotography.com/

And a Today Show spot that features him and some others:
http://www.today.com/video/these-photographers-are-raising-the-bar-with-stunning-senior-year-photos-975647299592

But you will have to be good at not only your craft, but also how to market yourself. But like any profession, it will take hard work and time.

Beautiful tonal range. Well done!

Exactly! I have artist friends who paint, play music, sculpt, and write creatively, and I love their work, and they enjoy mine. I think finding people you can connect with on that creative level is fun and stimulating, and I can't imagine not being a part of that. I don't share particularly often or obsessively, but when I create an image I find compelling, I like to share it.

Awesome!

I'm 61 and my first "real" camera was a Nikon F, no meter so I used a Luna Pro for exposure. Everything manual, and it was all great. I am still a Nikon guy, and shoot with a D7000, which is a fantastic machine. The amount of processing and features is kind of mind boggling. But to answer your question, I do shoot video from time to time. I do use the bracketing feature sometimes when the light is dodgy. I love the higher ISO settings with low light, even with a bit of noise because I generally hate flashes. I use autofocus and I do use the metering. I will often shoot with shutter speed or aperture priority, but don't use all of the preset exposure settings. I have used the interval and timer very seldom. I shoot raw at the highest res and never change it.

What I don't use is the custom white balance (I fix in Lightroom) or all of those things like D-Lighting, all of those focusing settings, distortion control, picture control, color space, etc.

I have been meaning to test the Active D-Lighting though. That does look useful for tricky lighting.