Time to introduce myself
Jun 9, 2017 00:39:11 #
I have been following this forum regularly for about six months now. I am semi-retired and live about 30 miles east of San Francisco. I was an aerospace engineer and manager for 35 years. I am currently an adjunct professor at a local university where I have been teaching part time for the last 9 years.
I have been taking photos for as long as I can remember. My first recollection was using a Kodak box camera in the 1950s as a child. I got my first 35mm camera around 1966, a Minolta Hi-Matic 7 rangefinder. I took a lot of photos, mostly color slides. I took two quarters of photography for my fine arts requirement in college, took mostly black and white and did all of the processing, both the film and prints. Next was a compact Nikon 35mm film camera, then my first digital camera, a Canon A40 in 2002, followed by a Canon S3 IS bridge camera in 2006, which was followed by another Canon bridge camera, an SX40 HS, in 2012. I resisted a DSLR because of bulk, weight and cost. However, I was not happy with the low light performance, especially now that we have 8 grandchildren (so far). Also, my photos just did not match the results of similar ones taken with DSLRs. I finally decided that it was time for a DSLR, so I bought a Canon 80D in December with an EF-S 18-135 lens; an EF 70-300 IS II USM was added recently. An EF-S 10-18 will be added soon. I have taken 15,000 photos so far (11,500 of those at Sonoma Raceway and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in a total of 4 days) and I am really happy with this camera and am only scratching the surface of what it can do. I have already learned a lot from this forum. I have not done any post-processing, other than removing red-eye and cropping a few times, but now will give it a try.
My wife and I like to travel, spend time with our large family, love the ocean and I usually make it to the sports car races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca twice a year, sometimes to other tracks also. My other primary hobbies are designing, building and flying radio control model airplanes and woodworking. I normally take photos to capture memories or if I see something interesting.
I have included two photos taken with my SX40 and the final one with my 80D. The first is Tuolumne Meadows (Yosemite), taken from about 2/3 the way up the Lembert Dome in June 2014. The second photo was taken in Yosemite Valley near the chapel last November. The third photo was taken in January of the sun setting over Catalina Island from Laguna Beach CA. More photos to follow.
I have been taking photos for as long as I can remember. My first recollection was using a Kodak box camera in the 1950s as a child. I got my first 35mm camera around 1966, a Minolta Hi-Matic 7 rangefinder. I took a lot of photos, mostly color slides. I took two quarters of photography for my fine arts requirement in college, took mostly black and white and did all of the processing, both the film and prints. Next was a compact Nikon 35mm film camera, then my first digital camera, a Canon A40 in 2002, followed by a Canon S3 IS bridge camera in 2006, which was followed by another Canon bridge camera, an SX40 HS, in 2012. I resisted a DSLR because of bulk, weight and cost. However, I was not happy with the low light performance, especially now that we have 8 grandchildren (so far). Also, my photos just did not match the results of similar ones taken with DSLRs. I finally decided that it was time for a DSLR, so I bought a Canon 80D in December with an EF-S 18-135 lens; an EF 70-300 IS II USM was added recently. An EF-S 10-18 will be added soon. I have taken 15,000 photos so far (11,500 of those at Sonoma Raceway and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in a total of 4 days) and I am really happy with this camera and am only scratching the surface of what it can do. I have already learned a lot from this forum. I have not done any post-processing, other than removing red-eye and cropping a few times, but now will give it a try.
My wife and I like to travel, spend time with our large family, love the ocean and I usually make it to the sports car races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca twice a year, sometimes to other tracks also. My other primary hobbies are designing, building and flying radio control model airplanes and woodworking. I normally take photos to capture memories or if I see something interesting.
I have included two photos taken with my SX40 and the final one with my 80D. The first is Tuolumne Meadows (Yosemite), taken from about 2/3 the way up the Lembert Dome in June 2014. The second photo was taken in Yosemite Valley near the chapel last November. The third photo was taken in January of the sun setting over Catalina Island from Laguna Beach CA. More photos to follow.
Jun 9, 2017 03:08:19 #
Jun 9, 2017 03:19:34 #
DJphoto...Welcome to the forum. Your photos are beautiful, I especially like the second one. You'll meet many friendly people here who share your love of photography. Enjoy and from reading your post I'm positive you'll be contributing just as much as asking questions.
Laura
Laura
Jun 9, 2017 06:45:05 #
Welcome. I'm also a retired Aerospace Engineer / Manager. Your photos are great. Keep 'em comming.
Jun 9, 2017 07:04:39 #
Jun 9, 2017 07:42:08 #
Jun 9, 2017 14:32:57 #
Jun 9, 2017 18:13:44 #
Jun 10, 2017 07:22:33 #
Jun 10, 2017 08:05:55 #
Jun 10, 2017 09:30:38 #
Welcome to the HOG. You can go back after you post and add captions to each photo for discussions. I didn't see your computer stuff. I use PhotoShop Elements for pp. I also love HDR which fills in the shadows and keeps the over bright areas in line. Even though you have a technical background, ask for advise and you will get great tips here. David
Jun 10, 2017 10:23:54 #
Jun 10, 2017 11:08:22 #
Jun 10, 2017 13:09:37 #
Jun 10, 2017 13:26:00 #
Welcome to The Hog. We share career backgrounds. I, too, started with a Kodak camera in the 50's. I like your images posted. As a lifelong Californian, I am familiar with the places you have imaged and posted. I'll be looking for more posts as time goes by.
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