Introducing myself

Hi all .. as regulars here probably know by now, Frog and myself have been appointed co-moderators of this particular little corner of PR. So I thought I would introduce myself properly, as all polite people do :cool:

But first, a word of appreciation to Alison who has kept the project forum afloat and who will be a hard act to follow. Thanks Alison!

As for me ....


I am something of a mongrel! Due to my dad’s profession, I spent most of my early life moving from country to country, including extended periods in Canada, California, England and Northern Ireland. While I was at university in Ireland I bought my first “proper” camera – a Mamiya MSX500 SLR – in 1974. When I graduated in ’76 I bought a Canon FTbn of happy memory. I also owned a wonderful Pentax SP1000 (an economy version of the famous Spotmatic) – I have had a soft spot for Pentax cameras ever since and currently use a Pentax K10D with an assortment of lenses.

Marriage in 1979 and four kids following put photography very much on hold, although I did continue to take snaps of family occasions, Christmas, holidays, and so on.

About five years ago, when the kids had pretty well grown up, I decided to take it all much more seriously. So I joined a local camera club filled with the most encouraging people you could imagine. That is my photographic home, and I owe it a great deal, not least the competition side of club life. In a 24/7 kind of job like mine (church minister) it is vital to have something which is completely unconnected with what I do for a living, and which gets me away from the phone. Photography provides this escape for me.

Last year, in 2008, I was awarded an Associateship of the Royal Photographic Society for a project on the London Underground (which is why you may see ARPS after my name). Also, as of this year, I will be registered as a photographic judge by the county photographic association.

Now I have a grandson, young Henry, who takes up more than his fair share of memory card space! So, life has moved full circle – I now find myself once again taking pictures of family occasions, Christmas, holidays …. :D

In the meantime, me and Frog will be getting our heads together to see if we can generate some ideas for the forum. If any of you have any thoughts, please let us know.

Cheers
Mike

Welcome aboard Mike. It's had to believe that anyone here at PR would not be familiar with you and your wonderful Photo work, but thanks for that great intro just the same. I'm very confident that you and Frog will make a great combination here on the Project Forum.

Congrats to the both of you on the promotion!

Thank you Mike.

Congrats on your mod status. I am sure you and John will do a great job with the project forum. :thumbsup:

I am looking forward to just purely participating again :)

Congrats on the new task at hand. I am sure that both Frog and yourself are going to do just fine.

As stated, Alison did a wonderful job and I still look forward to seeing her pictures and contributions.

James