Hello from Central Illinois!

[RHITMrB]

Hi! I'm Isaac, and I'm new to LF. I'm an electrical engineer in Peoria, Illinois, but I'm originally from the San Francisco Bay Area.

I shot 35mm film in high school in a Nikomat my mom bought in Singapore in 1968, moved to Canon DSLRs during college, and now that I'm working and have some disposable income I've returned to film. First came an EOS 3 so I could use my Canon lenses and decide whether shooting film made sense for me. Then I got a smoking deal on an RZ67 and have been using that for a year. Now I've just picked up a Chamonix 4x5. At this rate I'll be shooting 16x20 before I'm 30!

I'm having a lot of fun so far. You can check out my work on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhitmrb/

Incidentally, can anyone tell me why I can't look at member profiles, including my own? Is this because I've been on here less than a month, which I understand is why I can't see the buy/sell forum?

[John Jarosz]

Hello and welcome! Lotsa good info and people here.

In addition:
If you are looking for local group activities, check out the MidWest Large Format Asylum.

http://www.deepthought.com/smf/index.php

There are no dues, meetings or any infrastructure. We get together once a month or so to photograph as a group activity. There are members from all over and our group outings range from Monticello IL, to Grand Rapids MI, Milwaukee WI, or even the UP of Michigan. We also do Iowa and Indiana. We have a print review once a year to look at each other's work. No contests or any of that stuff either. Just photography. Silver, alt process and (yes) digital printing.

John

[Ken Lee]

You might like shooting at Starved Rock Lodge and State Park in Utica IL. Not really close, but doable, and rather different than much of the state.

[RHITMrB]

Hello and welcome! Lotsa good info and people here.

In addition:
If you are looking for local group activities, check out the MidWest Large Format Asylum.

http://www.deepthought.com/smf/index.php

There are no dues, meetings or any infrastructure. We get together once a month or so to photograph as a group activity. There are members from all over and our group outings range from Monticello IL, to Grand Rapids MI, Milwaukee WI, or even the UP of Michigan. We also do Iowa and Indiana. We have a print review once a year to look at each other's work. No contests or any of that stuff either. Just photography. Silver, alt process and (yes) digital printing.

John

I'm signed up already, but thanks for the tip! I hope to meet up with you guys sometime soon.

You might like shooting at Starved Rock Lodge and State Park in Utica IL. Not really close, but doable, and rather different than much of the state.

I've been there a few times! http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhitmrb...7613461892215/ I'm looking forward to going back this weekend, actually.