See you in Springfield?

[Kirk Gittings]

Who might I run into at the View Camera Conference in Springfield?

[Bruce Barlow]

Richard Ritter and I will be there, in a booth for Richard Ritter Large Format Repair and Restoration, Fine Focus Workshops, Western New England Large Format Photographers (I am nominal "king" of WNELFP, whatever that means...), and Circle of the Sun Productions.

Come sign up for WNELFP and be on our email list, even if you live in Hawaii. I do that with others just to keep abreast of what's happening in the world.

Richard has been building a prototype of a super light weight BIG camera. I have the pictures to prove it. He's thinking of taking orders to build them. If I remember correctly, it has user-interchangeable backs for different formats (which he may not have at the show, but he says they work, and since it's Richard I believe him.

And with any luck, we'll have copies of our first DVD video: "Camera Repair in the Field" starring Richard, where he pushes a Zone VI Field Camera over and smashes it on the ground in the first two minutes. Gotta have something broken before you can fix it! Then, he does! It's 57 minutes long, and chock full. How would you make an emergency ground glass in the field? Richard will show you. Richard is a star. He'll probably sign autographs if you ask him nicely...

Ted Harris has been doing a great job rounding up institutional sponsors for the WNELFP reception at the Valley Photographic Center Saturday evening from 5 to 8 (the more we get, the better the chow). The WNELFP show will be there (I'm helping Gene Laford hang it this weekend). The gallery is through the mall from the Marriott, conveniently located. It's a great, huge space. We hope to see everyone there.

Richard will also do a session, I think with Kerry Thalmann. I'm doing a "Special Session" that will consist of letting you go through my prints and choose your own favorite paper and developer combination (from the article series last year). This was a popular session in Monterey (I did it twice), and we'll repeat it this year for east-coasters. I have a few more papers to look at, including the new favorite. I'll probably bring the dry-down tests, too, to convince unbelievers.

Come see us!

[Paul Butler]

I am THRILLED that the conference is so close to home! I will be there, eagerly attending the full schedule of interesting sessions. It is a good chance to learn about things that I am not already familiar with, or that fall outside my usual areas of expertise. See you in a week!

[Scott Davis]

I'll be attending, simply as an attendee, not a presenter. This will be my first time at the LF conference (sorry I missed it in Monterey last time!). I'm a LF enthusiast in the Washington DC area. Just got my first 8x10 and am having fun playing with it. Shortly after this conference, I'll be taking my Shen-Hao 4x5 out to the San Francisco area on vacation.

[Kirk Gittings]

Bruce,

That paper test was very enlightening the last time. I look forward to more surprises this time around!

[steve simmons]

The conference is being held at the Marriott Hotel n Springfiel, MA. The dates are May 20-22. The conference activities, the trade show and seminars are up on the 6th foor. Check in for the conference is on the 6th floor anytime after 11am on Fiday the 20th.

There is at least one field trip leaing the hotel lobby at 9am on Fridy the 20th. Just show up with your gear and be eady to go.

For an updated program please go to

www.viewcamera.com

thanks

steve simmons

[Jim Rhoades]

I will be there all three days. I'll be the guy trying to sell my premo Zone VI. Maybe Richard would like to buy it to do a live demo smash. It would be for "Art" you know.

[George Losse]

I'll be there. I'm looking forward to the conference. Glad to see it on this coast for a change.

[jantman]

I'll be there!

I know I haven't been too active on the board lately, with school and everything it's hard enough to find the time to work on my photography, let alone talk about it.

[Linas Kudzma]

I plan to attend and am looking forward to meeting people I know online but have never met in person. It's great to have it within several hours drive.

Linas

[Oren Grad]

I'm going to try to stop by - it will probably be for a few hours on Saturday. I'll look forward to meeting anyone from hereabouts...

[Kirk Gittings]

If you have never been to one of these, I think you will find it very rewarding being amongst a flock of very like minded people. It is the photographic event that I feel the most at home at every year.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

I'll be there. I'm giving three presentations on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it. Last year in Monterey was a blast. Last year I had to fly home for a family commitment right after my last presentation on Saturday. So, I didn't get a chance to socialize as much as I'd have liked. This year I won't be flying home until Sunday afternoon. So, that will give me a little more time to hang out, swap tall tales and maybe see some of the local sights.

Kerry

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Richard will also do a session, I think with Kerry Thalmann.

Yes, Richard, Paula Chamlee and I will be leading a session titled: "Photographing in the Field: Tips and Techniques" and Saturday morning. I'm looking forward to it. I have never had the pleasure of meeting Richard or Paula in person. So, in addition to getting to talk about something I enjoy doing, I will also get to meet two very distinguished and accomplished members of our large format community.

I also get to do a presentation on "Landscape Photography" with Kirk Gittings and David Muench. How lucky can a guy get? Get there early for this one folks. The landscape photography session at Monterey was standing room only last year.

Kerry

[Kirk Gittings]

"I also get to do a presentation on "Landscape Photography" with Kirk Gittings and David Muench. How lucky can a guy get?"

Muench, Thalmann? Sweet!

[steve simmons]

In Monterey there were concerns about the size (seating capacity ) of the seminar rooms and the fact that the speakers were sometimes hard to hear. This year each room will seat 100 people and each room will have a microphone for the speakers.

We have tried to schedule the more popular panels twice so people will not have conflicts (this will always happen anyway).

There is still time for minor tweaks (no this does not include moving the conference to another location) in the programming if people have suggestions.

steve simmons

[Dan Fromm]

Steve, I'd like to go up to spend a little time with Adam Dau discussing some work I want him to do for me. Don't really want to attend the seminars even though I need to learn more. Will it be possible to get into the vendors' area without registering for the conference?

[steve simmons]

The trade show is free and does not require any pre-registration.

steve simmons

[Dan Fromm]

Steve, thanks very much for replying. Y'r news is most welcome.

Dan