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Old 14th February 2011, 05:30 AM
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Roger Cole Roger Cole is offline
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Default Hello from the Atlanta, Georgia USA area

Hi all. I've been meaning to post an introduction here but better late than never I suppose.

I became involved in photography in high school back in the late 70s and early 80s and shot 35mm and did darkroom work through college and somewhat after. Some years later in the mid to late 90s I got back into photography and got a Linhof Technika III with three lenses, some film holders and other accessories, an Omega DIIV enlarger, and went at the LF side of things really intensely for a while.

Career changes and digital came along and I haven't shot any LF (and hardly any 35mm film) since about 2003 or so, but I kept all my gear.

This past summer I started dating a remarkable lady that, amongst her other charms, is absolutely passionate about art, pretty much any art. I showed her some of my old prints, the few I have hanging on the wall, and my photo gear and, well, let's say I've been inspired! It really served to get me interested again. She's eager to attend the Cartier-Bresson exhibit coming to the High Museum here in Atlanta next month, too.

I lived in Tennessee in the 90s and had built a darkroom in my parents basement. I've since moved to the Atlanta metro area. I have a large basement with plenty of room but it isn't built out yet or stubbed for plumbing, but I can work with a holding bath for a while. I do have plans to build it out. I retrieved most of my darkroom gear (the stuff I think I need, which is most of it) from Tennessee over the Christmas holidays and am excited to be gearing up to get back into photography in general and large format in particular.

I've just not been that inspired by digital. I'm a network engineer by profession and work with computers (well, routers and switches) all the time. My darkroom will be my retreat from that into another time. Still, I'm not anti-tech exactly. I did some color printing in the old days, passably well but never really enjoyed it that much. I figure color is probably best handled digitally or at least with a hybrid approach, so I plan to shoot primarily black and white. Since this is a film and darkroom board I'll spare you my thoughts on that, but film and darkroom is precisely where I mean my emphasis to be. Right now that means 4x5 and 35mm but I plan to get a roll film back really soon (already picked up a used 100mm enlarging lens and 6x7 carrier) and quite possibly a MF camera of some type too.

I did pick up a Pentax LX for 35mm (I had K mount lenses, and always wanted one of these back in the day) and went a bit berserk "commemorating" the end of Kodachrome, shooting a total of 17. I have only a tiny number uploaded as yet, but you can see some of my Kodachromes here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogerco...7625927349242/

My Technika III has seen better days, with a stripped focusing rail that is still workable by positioning the lens standard wherever you need and some other broken bits that don't impair function, and a bellows that needs some more electrical tape, so I suspect I will replace it before too long. I'm looking over the available choices but don't want to jump into anything until I've used the old camera a bit to get a better idea of how my shooting style may change after this long lay off.

I have been on the Large Format forum quite a bit lately, and signed up for APUG though it's so busy it can be overwhelming. I actually discovered this forum by searching for compatible forums with Tapatalk on my iPhone, and it seems a very friendly and supportive place. I missed out on the yearly print exchange they do over on the LF forum, so hopefully once I get back up to speed I can get in on the monthly ones here. That seems to me a positively great idea! The fact this is a UK based forum with many members there as well as around the world makes this kind of exciting in a different way too.

Among my other hobbies is flying. (While not cheap, it's not nearly as expensive here as in the UK and Europe - I know UK and European pilots who post on some pilot boards and... ] I earned my private pilot license in 2008, after a lifelong dream and an aborted attempt that ran out of money back in college. At any rate, that explains the avatar. I'll try to replace it with a photography related one when I can get one created.

I look forward to participating more here.
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Old 14th February 2011, 07:39 AM
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Bill Bill is offline
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Welcome to the forum Roger and thanks for the very comprehensive introduction.

Best of luck with setting up your darkroom and I look forward to seeing your work in the future.

Bill
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Old 14th February 2011, 08:06 AM
Dave miller Dave miller is offline
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Welcome Roger, glad to read that you are finding your way back.
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Old 14th February 2011, 08:32 AM
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B&W Neil B&W Neil is offline
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Hello Roger and welcome to FADU. You have have had an interesting life and it is good to hear that you have returned to silver printing. I look forward to your contributions and to seeing some of your images on FADU in due course.

Neil.
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Old 14th February 2011, 10:31 AM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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Hi Roger and welcome to fadu, look forward to your input and to seeing some of you work,Richard
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Old 14th February 2011, 11:35 AM
Neil Smith Neil Smith is offline
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Hi Roger and welcome to FADU I'm glad you found time to introduce yourself.

Neil
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Old 14th February 2011, 02:05 PM
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Barry Barry is offline
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Welcome to fadu Roger.
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  #8  
Old 14th February 2011, 02:30 PM
PavelDerka PavelDerka is offline
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Welcome! The darkroom is what brought passion back to my photography, and I hope this hobby blossoms for you as well.
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Old 14th February 2011, 03:15 PM
borek borek is offline
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Hi Roger and welcom to FADU
Borek
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Old 14th February 2011, 07:57 PM
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StanW StanW is offline
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A welcome from Down Under also.
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A sad case of GAS - 8x10 pinhole down to 35mm slr and rf
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