Paul,

As a writer - thought you might appreciate this poem (written by KARL SHAPIRO):

It is winter in California, and outside
Is like the interior of a florist shop:
A chilled and moisture-laden crop
Of pink camellias lines the path; and what
Rare roses for a banquet or a bride,
So multitudinous that they seem a glut!

A line of snails crosses the golf-green lawn
From the rosebushes to the ivy bed;
An arsenic compound is distributed
For them. The gardener will rake up the shells
And leave in a corner of the patio
The little mound of empty shells, like skulls.

By noon the fog is burnt off by the sun
And the world's immensest sky opens a page
For the exercise of a future age;
Now jet planes draw straight lines, parabolas,
And x's, which the wind, before they're done,
Erases leisurely or pulls to fuzz.

It is winter in the valley of the vine.
The vineyards crucified on stakes suggest
War cemeteries, but the fruit is pressed,
The redwood vats are brimming in the shed,
And on the sidings stand tank cars of wine,
For which bright juice a billion grapes have bled.

And skiers from the snow line driving home
Descend through almond orchards, olive farms.
Fig tree and palm tree - everything that warms
The imagination of the wintertime.
If the walls were older one would think of Rome:
If the land were stonier one would think of Spain.

But this land grows the oldest living things,
Trees that were young when Pharoahs ruled the world,
Trees whose new leaves are only just unfurled.
Beautiful they are not; they oppress the heart
With gigantism and with immortal wings;
And yet one feels the sumptuousness of this dirt.

It is raining in California, a straight rain
Cleaning the heavy oranges on the bough,
Filling the gardens till the gardens flow,
Shining the olives, tiling the gleaming tile,
Waxing the dark camellia leaves more green,
Flooding the daylong valleys like the Nile.

Dave

Jack,

Thank you

Dave

Hi,

Thank you for the welcome.

I always thought my life (photographic) would have been 'better' had I attended a school like yours. The U of M was a big 'education factory' (my HS graduating class was 39).

In 1965 I applied to RISD (where Harry Callahan was teaching) I got turned down (failed the life drawing test)...so off to Ann Arbor.

Prof Davis introduced me to a young aspiring shooter: NICOLAS NIXON - he would later go on to 8X10 fame (The Brown Sisters, etc).

I learned how to master shooting and printing 8X10 contact prints and went west to Ansel's wilderness seminars.

A bad accident in 1972 set me back (in a cast for 13 months) --- and I had to reinvent myself (had a job lined up before in NYC to be the staff photographer at the NYC Botanical Garden). Went on to ge a engineering degree - and worked at Chrysler.

Now I find myself in a conundrum, after 20 years with digital ('...honey I relly tried, but were were not meant to be')... thinking of going back to 8X10.

I hope we can meetup sometime...

In the meantime tell me a bit about what you are shooting these days.

Regards,

Dave

Hi Lami,

Thank you for the welcome.

"I am about ready to 'give up on digital' --- 20 years of less than fullfilling shooting"

I am thinking of going back to 8X10 and contact printing - my old (first) love...

Dave

Correction: 'years' (I was not here in 199!)

Joe,

Thank you!

Dave

Paul,

Thank you for the welcome - I look forward to being an active member

Regards

Dave

Stan,

Thank you for the welcome, look forward to being an active member

Dave

Pixie,
Thanks for the good tip - found one in Ca and its on the way
Dave

Hi Folks,

Nice to join.

I have been an active shooter for 59 years... everything fro 1/2 frame 35mm to 8x10.

From 199 > 1972 I studied photography at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: my professor was Phil Davis (Beyond the Lightzone) and earned a BFA (Art major with a minor in Art History).

Now I my final adventure to learn digital.

Currently actively buying and selling used film and digital equipment (my wife says: you are crazy --- too many cameras)

I live in Ashland, Oregon and ride a bike.

I am looking to connect with like minded people.

Regards,

Dave Lamb

lambertdave92@gmail.com

I am in the market for a good used 'P7100' (not d7100)

OR

A P7700

Have cash

Dave

lambertdave92@gmail.com