Photographyreview: The People

[walterick]

Hello Viewfinderites!

It's been a long time since we've had a "getting to know you" thread up here. In the interest of exploring the diversity of our members and putting a face to a name here's a current "who's who" thread for your looking and reading enjoyment!

An example:

Name:
Walter "Rick" Long

Meaning of handle (if it's not obvious):
a chick friend in college took to calling me "Walterick" I kinda liked it so I brought it back later

Dorky PR club I belong to (if any):
Nikon Samurai #4 baby!

Location:
Oakton, VA about 20 miles west of Washington, DC - moving to Phoenix this summer!

Born:
Fairfax, VA, about a mile down the road from here

Other places I've lived:
San Francisco, California and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia

Like to Retire:
San Diego, South America, or anywhere the weather's warm and the pictures are pretty

Ethnicity:
white as white can be! Roots in Germany/Poland and Britain

Marriage/Family:
nope and nope

Languages I speak:
English and a little Spanish

Education:
BS, Psychology; MA Culture and Spirituality; HMT (Holistic Massage Therapist), currently working on MA in Counseling

Occupation:
Carpenter/Remodeler

Religious affiliation (if any): not really affiliated with any one religion. But I like Spiritualism, Hinduism, and Buddhism

Political affiliation (if any): to borrow a phrase from a poster on Craigslist I'm a "little left of a bed-wetting liberal"

Other hobbies: Woodworking, hiking, camping, astronomy, guitar, school (learning), ballroom dance, and... getting into the stock market recently

How long I have been a photographer:
5 years

First "real" camera:
Minolta X-700

How I found Photographyreview.com:
I was searching for reviews of the Nikon 8008s ans this site popped up. Once I found the Viewfinder I was hooked!

Date I joined PR (sometimes people's listed join date is innacurate):
January of 2001

Favorite forum:
Viewfinder

Photogatherings I have attended:
San Francisco, Colorado, New York x2

Favorite subjects:
Landscape/People/Wildlife/Macro/Astrophotography

Current Gear:
35mm
Nikon baby!
Nikon 8008s (af)
Nikon FM2N (mf)

35mm 2.0
50mm 1.8
105mm 2.5
180mm 2.8
Sigma 24mm 2.8
Sigma 28-105
2x teleconverter

Medium Format:
Mamiya 645 Pro TL (new to me and I'm still learning it!)
45mm 2.8 (28mm equiv)
55mm 2.8 (35mm equiv)
80mm 2.8 (50mm equiv)
105mm 2.8 (90mm equiv)

Digital:
Nikon Coolpix point and shoot
Lexar 256

Camera I use the most:
Coolpix

Why I prefer film or digital:
I prefer the look of film to digital but I prefer the convenience of digital to film

What I like about Photographyreview.com:
The people! We are the coolest bunch on the web! I like the tone and the atmosphere of the place. We are helpful and fun, without being pandering or overly critical. I have met Photo-John and several of the PR members and I like who they are as people. I look forward to meeting many more!

What I am trying to accomplish with my photography:
What I am ultimately trying to do is bring out of the incredibleness of nature and show people "Look! This is what you can go find!" I want people to return to nature and find the real beauty there. But I also take snapshots because I am bored of course and like everyone else here I am also the "dedicated photographer" at family gatherings.

A few of my favorite pictures:
School bus taken with Sigma 24mm 2.8 on Velvia 50

Stars at Arches taken with Sigma 24mm on Reala

United States flag taken on Sept 11, 2002 with 35-135 zoom on Velvia 50

And last, a picture of me.

Thanks for joining!