Hi all! I organize the NY Photo Safari Meetup group here in the NYC metro area: <http://www.meetup.com/NYPhotoSafari/ > and I suggest you just go to www.meetup.com and do a local search there: <http://www.meetup.com/find/photography/?allMeetups=false&radius=50&userFreeform=Cincinnati%2C+Ohio%2C+USA&mcId=c45201&change=yes&sort=recommended&eventFilter=mysugg > I found 13 groups with many different interests. No law against joining more than one! There's also the Photographic Society of America with their list of member clubs: <https://www.psa-photo.org/index.php?n-america-members#ohiovalley > Some camera clubs, not listed, choose not joining PSA because it is not in their budget or they wish to go their own way.

Another hogger is ronichas, a friend who runs her own group in central Long Island, NY <http://www.meetup.com/LI-Photographers/ > Check out her group for top notch shoots and great people.

A hogger mentioned a club in SC that consisted of mostly pros and they seemed to be tight-lipped and existed for only a year. I too would walk away from such an unwelcoming group.

There are a number of "Pro" groups such as the Dutchess Regional Professional Photographers, a group I belong in the Hudson River Valley area that meets monthly in Fishkill: <http://drpp-ny.org/ > They are professionally oriented but they do welcome non-pros or pros-to-be. The topics discussed are similar to those of other clubs but slanted toward the pro. The group also hold day long seminars usually with 3 topics, lunch with socializing and a competition.

There's a wealth of photo activities especially if you're in or near a metropolitan area. Inquire with your interests at colleges, museums, fraternal societies, Sierra Club, zoos, online forums such as this one, Yahoo groups, DP Review forums, Craigslist photo forum or a free ad under "Activities" such as the one Park West Camera Club does weekly: <http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/act/5405826326.html >

Yes, as many hoggers have suggested, see if there are any photography Meetup groups or camera clubs in your area. If not, or the focus and/or the personality of the group is not your cup of tea, start your own! I currently run 3 groups, one photographic and two collectibles. I would do more with my other interests but the limit is only 3 groups. Here in the metro NYC area there are probably close to 100 different photography meetup groups and independent clubs for one's pleasure. Do a Google search. Join one, join many!

I joined the NY Photo Safari Meetup group in 2004 and 3 years ago assumed the Organizer position. Now, I could plan photo shoots and events that I desired which would also appeal to others and revitalize the group. We now have close to 2900 members and 30 to 50 photogs RSVP at each event.

I'm also the current President of Park West Camera Club. Since 1936, we have been one of the most active clubs in the area. We plan 30 to 40 weekly meetings every year featuring leading guest photographers and speakers (Tim Grey, Photoshop and Lightroom guru is presenting, Jan 25), monthly competitions, workshops, portfolio reviews and critiques, manufacturers' demos, an award winning newsletter, website with member galleries, social events and parties and field trips!

There's a plethora of photography groups out there including the Sierra club, Professional Women Photographers, the Bronx Zoo, museums, colleges, etc. Inquire locally, search online, Craigslist, etc. Can't find one? Start one!

If anyone needs help starting a group, feel free to PM me. Best wishes and Happy New Year!

"Safe For Work" if you are viewing on a device at work.

My suggestion is to buy a mat cutter and cut your own. You'll save $$$ especially when cutting expensive acid free boards. Plus you'll have the central portion of the board for cutting smaller mats! As previously suggested, there are kits around $100 or less for cutting rectangles, even ovals or multi-openings. I've used a Dexter hand cutter for over 30 years and have cut hundreds of mats for myself and others. I just noticed one in its original box for $7.99 and $5 postage (original cost $20!) on eBay. A few years ago I also purchased a Logan hand cutter as well.

I have the Tokina 12-24MM F4 lens which I purchased years ago for my Nikon D300. Excellent build and optical quality. Very reasonable, pricewise as there are plenty of copies around on eBay but look for the second version which allows AF with Nikon's junior DSLRs, D3XXX and D5XXX. As a dividend the lens is very usable with FX cameras at approximately 16.5MM and longer! However, the 12-28MM has a broader range, is a newer lens and from reviews, also excellent but has a bit of CA as does the older lens. Best wishes all and Happy New Year!

Juicesqueezer!

Just sent you a PM.

Ed

Back in the day, we used a Nikon F camera with the motor drive. It was a bit bulky but usable. For a special dance project we rented the 250 exposure back which took a 33' roll of bulk film Tri-X. For processing, we decided to use regular 36 exposure stain steel reels and cut the film at the end of each reel. We had many bracketed and extra frames so nothing lost, After a test developing of a short piece of film, we processed the balance of the bulk rolls.

To this day, I still have the Nikon F body which has a history of over 100K exposures (chrome not black as in the illustrations).

After we retired and closed our Manhattan, NYC custom lab of 38 years in 2008, we started using CRC, now part of Vista Imaging Group, for our own personal E-6 slide processing. (I still have tons of b&w and color film in the freezer!

Now a days, only a few labs actually run E-6 while others subcontract to them. As an aside, in film's heydays, there were over 100 labs, many in the "Photo District" that ran E-6 every 3 hours during the business day and some for 24 hours, 7 days a week. Slide and transparency processing was a real money maker!

They have done fine work for friends that have asked for a recommendation, both conventional b/w and color film and digital services. Located on W. 22nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, walk ins are welcomed as well as online ordering: http://vistaimaginggroup.com/lab-services/

I have no connection to this lab just a satisfied customer! Regardless of lab, one should always run test rolls first.

Besides the convention you're attending, they sponsor and have had a large booth at the annual New England Camera Club Conference and have done so for many years. They have a store in Holyoke, MA as well, south of UMass Amherst, which is on the main drag US91. They have good prices and at the conference would match or slightly beat any published price. I get their periodic sales emails and have ordered some deals online. Great service.

How about 100 Trillion dollars? In one bill? Prior to 2009, the African country Zimbabwe, due to extreme inflation, issued currency denominated to 100 Trillion dollars. Cheaper than toilet tissue!

Other hoggers have answered your question but here's a link about Beseler enlargers with links to general darkroom procedures and resources: http://www.jollinger.com/photo/enlargers/index.html

Going through this website brings back memories, not all of them fond!
My custom lab business of 40 years used all the major brand enlargers, from 8x10 Saltzman to Omega and Beseler. I did have great moments and spent decades watching the "magic" appearance of images emerging from the developer tray. Those were the good old days before the good new days of digital!

Best wishes and hope you derive much pleasure in your darkroom!

Look into the Canon Rebel SL1. I bought a body from another hogger a while back and it so impressed me that I bought another body and kit lens refurbished from Canon! See review: http://www.dpreview.com/articles/4966601607/dpreview-gear-of-the-year-canon-rebel-sl1-eos-100d

A little bit older (2013) but will hold its own with its smaller body size, great image quality, file size, AF, Live View, 3" touch screen, etc and the best bang for the buck; a current refurbished camera and 18-55MM IS STM lens is $299 direct from Canon: http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/eos-sl1-18-55-is-stm-lens-kit-refurbished#BVRRWidgetID

I also have a Canon 5D Mark II and 1Ds Mark III but the SL1 is so handy!

Check it out!

[quote=jerryc41]As we've generally agreed, giving your work away for free shows the recipient exactly how much you think your art is worth.

Everytime the topic "working for free" comes up, I'm reminded of this Youtube of Harlan Ellison, sci-fi author and screenwriter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE

Our (a)vocation is not the only one where people ask for free stuff!

Once in awhile, I ran across other companies or entities with names similar to our company name which we still have to this day after a career of close to 40 years. My wife and I retired in 2008. We incorporated in the 70's in NY State although we could also register in Delaware. Since business incorporations are state functions, in theory, there could be a multitude of similar corporate names. When we incorporated we were asked by our lawyer to provide three names in case one was taken. Luckily our first and favorite name was fine. Through the years other business entities with the same or similar names came to our attention. We disregarded them because they were in other parts of the country or were not corporations, just dba's as individuals or partnerships.

Remember and this has ramifications to this day, many names are filed but not in use, the same as Internet domain names. When you consider that there are, I believe, over a billion domains registered but not all have websites. Recently the organization that has maintained domain records, ICANN has increased the number of top level names to include for example: .xxx, state abbreviations such as .ny, .blackfriday, .live, .me. Yes these are some of the new domains currently being released, all 617 of them. See: https://www.fasthosts.co.uk/domain-names/new-top-level-domains/release-dates

This situation is similar to email addresses. You can have many email addresses with the same prefix but @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, @hotmail.com, @aol.com, etc. I do!

I feel your best and easiest solution is to use this phrase: I (We, Company) am (are, is) not affliated with any other (business) entity on your email signature block, cards, stationary and whenever you use this name or send anything out or put online. Flemington Coat Factory is a large clothing chain here in the NY metro area and elsewhere. I've seen companies using the name Flemington and a disclaimer nearby: We are not affliated with Flemington Coat Factory!

I think you should do the same. Best wishes. Ed

This "new" metallic print paper surface harkens back to the days of analog wet processing when "single weight" paper was very often "ferrotyped" to produce a glossy surface for reproduction in magazines, newspapers, catalogues or used for actor and model "headshots," etc while heavier "double and triple weight" papers were printed and dried to a smooth semi-matte surface for fine art purposes. Bill Burkholder speaks of the metallic surface that exists today as C-print paper, the material used to print color negatives.

The granddaddy of this metallic surface was Ilford Photo's Ilfochrome, originally known as Cibachrome. See its history here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilfochrome

Cibachromes were prints made from transparencies and had this extremely hard metallic surface and when the image was right looked fantastic; it has the longest life of all print materials. A few disadvantages were its highly corrosive process, high contrast and very susceptible to fingerprints; very few labs ran this process because quite often "unsharp" masks were needed to tame the contrast and its resultant costs. Kodak also had their Type R reversal process to compete. My former custom lab business did both processes and we also modified the developer solution to control the contrast. Very often C-prints were laminated to Lexan or Plexiglas to reproduce this metallic look for exhibitions.

Fast forward to our digital days, and now we again have this great surface. As others have mentioned above, for the right image, a print looks fantastic with its greater depth of color and tonality.