A Senior Newbie

I am a Nikon user and have been for almost 45 years. I have a full film based darkroom and finishing facilities where I can print up to 20x30 prints. I do some 6x6cm with Rollei equipment and 4x5 with a Toyo rail and a late model Pacemaker Speed Graphic cameras. Although I was trained as a photojournalist at the University of Missouri in Columbia, I was a military and commercial pilot From college graduation until retirement.

I am in the middle of transitioning from film to digital, but I will hold on to my 35mm bodies and lenses for work that would be better shot on film. Although I have a fairly extensive film set up, I only have one Nikon digital SLR body, a couple wireless remote strobes and a single new technology, autofocus, zoom lens.

I really enjoy working in black and white and am partial to well composed images of people in their normal surroundings in picture story or documentry style as well as striking photographs of landscapes in either color or black and white. My favorite photographers include W. Eugene Smith, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alfred Eisenstadt, Ansel Adams, A Aubrey Bodine, David Douglas Duncan, Steve McCurry, Jodi Cobb, Margaret Bourke-White, George Silk, Larry Burrows, Gordon Parks, Robert Capa, Yousf Karsh, Gordon Miji, Ralph Crane, Werner Bishof, Irving Penn, Elliot Erwitt, Sam Abell, Eugene Atget, Louis Hine, Cecil Beaton, and Jacob Riis.

Hi Ben!

Where have you been hiding?

If your post started and finished on any one line and even only went half way across the page, we'd still be glad to welcome you, LOL!

Nikon: always valued!

Film: Yes again!

Rollei, Toyo, Pacemaker, : Yes sir!

Photojournalist: OMG!

B&W photography? Do you think in B&W or not? Nicolas wants to know immediately.

Fav photographers: any one would be great to bring to us and we'll lay out the red carpet or that transformed to any tonal value you wish!

So, in all, a huge hello, come on in we're happy you're here!

Asher

Welcome Bob (not Ben…)

Asher and I are "fighting" since a long time about B&W.

But once more, Asher (my Friend Asher, should I say!) does too many things at a time and therefore read in diagonal only and reminds what he wishes…

B&W photography? Do you think in B&W or not? Nicolas wants to know immediately.

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Though Asher seems in an humoristic moment (like to share that!) I never wrote that some may or may not "think" in B&W but "see".

This is completely different!

I understand and agree that a photog that want's to express/create an image in B&W may THINK in B&W. My statement was that none "SEE" in B&W...

Have a great day and don't worry, OPF is a place were you can be alone to think something against the majority, you'll not be banned!

We do appreciate discussion with STRONG beliefs…

Nicolas Claris said:

Asher and I are "fighting" since a long time about B&W. [ . . . ] I understand and agree that a photog that want's to express/create an image in B&W may THINK in B&W. My statement was that none "SEE" in B&W... We do appreciate discussion with STRONG beliefs…

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Well I don't "think" in B&W or even in shades of gray, but I must admit that I stayed away from color because I had problems "thinking" in color. Let me explain.

The latitude of B&W film and print materials allows me to have more control of both the initial image and the final print than the color materials do. Also an unavoidable red, orange, or yellow object that would be a distracting spoiler in color is just another shade of gray in B&W. Interestingly enough, it has been my recent foray into the digital world that brought home to me that I should not worry about the colors and just strive to take well composed and correctly exposed photos, and the color will take care of itself. I guess I'm just real slow to learn some of the obvious things.

Hi Bob

Thanks for the quick reply
Your point seems to be in accordance with my "thinking"…

You bring interesting and most valuable arguments. And, BTW we're not far from my statement that a good color photography is more difficult to achieve than B&W…

Would you mind to join that interesting discussion and re post here?

BTW, would you have any website or galerie where we could have a look on your work? I would love to…

Nicolas Claris said:

Would you mind to join that interesting discussion and re post here?

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Done.

BTW, would you have any website or galerie where we could have a look on your work? I would love to…

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Here is my website, but please be aware that it is incomplete, a work in progress at best. I never have finished the captions in English much less in French. It contains three sets of images:

• pictures of Naval Aviation on a carrier at sea,

• a discovery trip to tinsel town, and

• learning to speak French in Tours.

Some of the images I like some I don't. The ones that I don't like are there simply to round out the story for people who were in those stories to see. Take 'em for what they are worth because it ain't much.

(BTW the tinsel town trip was set up by the folks who run the best home theater forum on the Internet, and the trip was a corker.

Thanks for both input Bob ! (should I put an "s" for the plural of input? it would look strange to me…)