how old are we?

[D-tach]

Old enough for senior discounts and a life time pass to the National Parks in about another month.
Sort of like giving a squirrel nuts after he's lost all his teeth!

:) :)

[Sirius Glass]

101.837798801

[Jac@stafford.net]

I'm 68 and turning 70 next month.
I'd rather be 70 twice than 69 once.
.

[Tin Can]

I'm 68 and turning 70 next month.
I'd rather be 70 twice than 69 once.
.

As class of '69 we always took pride in our upside down epoch, which was a very pivotal year.

[walbergb]

Psychologically I am forever on the edge of 17.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn8-4tjPxD8

How old are you? Irrelevant question. I'm on the right side of the grass and that is all that matters😜. On the other hand, I'm old enough to enjoy and appreciate a good ol' rock 'n roll song😍. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane😅. I'm but 2 boxes of TriX 320 into LF. Lots to learn, but loving every minute. Recently bought a Fujinon 300T. Shot & developed my first landscape with it this week. Can't wait to turn out a print from it.

[Colorado CJ]

I'm 37 and have been shooting LF for about a year, film in general for a couple of years.

I've shot with a DSLR for roughly 7 years and moved into film because it has become so cheap. Since getting into Large Format, my D600 has been gathering dust.

[plaubel]

I am 52 and bought my first LF, a heavy Mentor 13x18 field, 25 years ago.

No internet in this times, absolutely no knowledge about LF, nobody using LF aside, so I only shot a few pics.
Restarting again 5 years ago, and since then, no interests in using other cameras except LF, and recently ULF.
I've lost some decades, that is sadly true.
But today it feels, that I will use LF until I can't change filmholders anymore.

Cheers,
Ritchie

[dodphotography]

Just turned 30... Went from digital to medium format to 8x10 back down to 4x5

[blindpig]

Been shooting large format off and on since 1959 (makes me a geezer) and not planning to quit soon.Finished my 11X14 camera and waiting for a break in weather to take it out.Guess I should answer the original question:I'm 78 and some days I feel it,LOL.

[Jim Noel]

As of tomorrow I will have traveled 50,229,079,762 miles around the sun. It has taken a lot of years.
I was given my first 4x5 camera in 1938.

[Sal Santamaura]

As of tomorrow I will have traveled 50,229,079,762 miles...With a pack containing large format gear on your back the whole time? :D

[StoneNYC]

As of tomorrow I will have traveled 50,229,079,762 miles around the sun. It has taken a lot of years.
I was given my first 4x5 camera in 1938.

Jim! So what year was the first picture OF YOU taken? hmm?? Congrats Sir! You've certainly earned the right to tell me what-for ;)

[Fr. Mark]

I will be 47 in April. At least it's a prime number. I would've said I started in LF just mid 2013 with the gift of a Busch Pressman D from an older friend who thinks I'm nuts for doing chemical photography, but I rediscovered some 4x5 negs and contact prints from a class for kids from 1977 when I was 9. Turns out that the reason I didn't like them was I missed instruction to print them emulsion to emulsion and printed through the paper base! 38 years later I finally printed them right, they look much better. I used film from my early teens with an Olympus OM-1 35mm and 50mm f1.8 that I still have. I even did some of my own darkroom work. In the last couple of years I've used some 8x10 film and printing paper older than I am (expired in the 50's). It sort of works. Despite having built or almost built a v2 of an 8x10 and camera, I think I'm heading primarily into 5x7 and contact prints/scans. LONG LIVE CHEMICAL PHOTOGRAPHY!

[John Layton]

I was 47 when this thread started....moving onwards to 61 next Oct. - still walking, talking, wrenching my 30 yr. old 944 to take my mind off stuff. My lovely wife and I still have 18 of the 48 NH 4000+ footers to go...can do this...can do this (the trick is to start out really slow). Reconstructed website almost live! Future of L-45A...who knows? New L-57A modification - works great! Live in Vt./25 acres, most good mix of hardwoods, w/3acres open - would love to just be a hermit here sometimes! Built a new facility last year - my 11th (and hopefully final) darkroom, plus studio/gallery/workroom. Doing 20x30's, moving towards 30x40's (with diy horiz. enlarger) this spring - very exciting! Kids doing great...but live too far away (Pittsburgh, Santa Clara, Shenzen, China) - we miss them! Finally stopped teaching after so many years...last gig ended when college closed its doors. Mixed blessing? (might teach out of my facility though). Trying to get back into galleries after almost 20 years of not doing this - feels weird and awkward to do this, but I really don't have a choice...because this is what I do, and my path is very clear to me now - finally!

[Old_Dick]

Hit 67 two weeks ago. Personally, I would suggest you don't go over 50, just say "no".

[John Jarosz]

The alternative to not hitting 67 is quite grim. My recommendation is to not try to avoid it. :D

[Tin Can]

Only the good die young.

I plan to live forever...

[Jac@stafford.net]

I have decided to skip from 68 years-old to 70 this month
because I would rather be 70 twice than 69 once.

[StoneNYC]

I have decided to skip from 68 years-old to 70 this month
because I would rather be 70 twice than 69 once.

69 is the best number?!!

[ImSoNegative]

actually 77 is the best number because you get eight more,

[Ken Sinclair]

Old enough (and maybe a little bit more) to remember making my very first photographic exposure on 8x10 Ilford glass plate under the guidance of a neighbour ... who was then a few years older than I am now.

Ken

[JerryP]

67 years old, got my first 4x5 in 1963 (I was 14). At least now I have the time to shoot. Back in the day, I worked for a couple of photographers, and learned lots from some Art Center (College of Design) grads.
As for the alternative, Old age is a gift not offered to all.

[giorgiospugnesi]

I'm 43 and my Super Graphic was made the same year that I was.

[wasiraj032]

i m 29 years old and shot for 4 years but i m not a professional, i m in learning period now

[MAubrey]

Old enough to be offended if I'm categorized as a "millennial."

Young enough that it might be true, depending on the cut off date you use.

[John Kasaian]

Old enough to have a referral to a cardio-vascular specialist.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Old enough to have a referral to a cardio-vascular specialist.

Indeed! Stages of old - three stents, and then what?
Depends upon our lousy health plan.

"Sorry, Jac, but your insurance does not cover what you require."

Death sentence.

[sepiareverb]

54. Been shooting 4x5 since 1984, 8x10 since 1995 and 11x14 since 1999. At the other end, 120 since 1969 and 35 since 1973. Spent a good number of days last fall lugging the 810 around in our Town Forest, lots of uphill climbing and downhill creeping there. I've since got a Pentax 67...

[jjames100]

67 and growing younger every day He lets me. Age is a mind set and lifestyle. Two stents and still ok at 14,000 ft. Just a lot slower. Hell just slower at sea level. Shoot mostly 4x5 and still print when the teacher doesn't banish me from the school darkroom. Still in love with her. Always will be.

[Tin Can]

My OM stent 2.5 years ago drastically improved my Heath. Cured 20 years of horrible vertigo. Got me back on bikes. Lost 50 lbs. changed my thinking. Renewed me.

5 years ago I quit all white sugar, most alcohol, white bread and try to eat Cave Man diet per my smart very old Doctor. We also weaned me off the BS miracle statins and other crap. He called it all poison.

My blood Chems have changed to something I have never seen. All good numbers. My old Doc retirer. My new young Doc insists I take the damn statins. I said OK, 3 months and let's check my blood.

2 weeks...

3 heart attacks. I'm used to them now.

BTW. Everything now works again!

65 and a living miracle!

[Stephen Thomason]

70. Didn't start large format until about 68. Began developing color film and printing color in my 20's. Started black and white in my 60's. No more color developing and printing - prefer the artsy black and white. 4x5, 5x7, 8x10.

Age really is just a number, unfortunately, it is a number that is going to quit going up after some period of time! I did sell my last motocross bike (CR250R) a year or so ago, so I have slowed down just a tiny bit. Still have my VMax street bike and some 650 dual purpose bikes, still play musical instruments and still shoot firearms competively.

A close friend of mine (77) says he believes he has anywhere from 10 seconds to 10 years left - I keep trying to get him to think about stretching the 10 years to 20!

And hey, if you wake up with dibilitating depression every morning, just don't let it get you down!

[bloodhoundbob]

72. I almost started in LF in 1958 as the yearbook photographer using a 3x4 SG. My first 4x5 was a monorail when I opened a studio in 1981. Each day since Nov 10, 2002 is a bonus, since I almost checked out on that day due to gangrene of the gall bladder. I'm trying to make sure my son knows to ask for fair prices on my equipment when I do check out!

[Roger Thoms]

56 and counting. Man you guys are making me feel young.

Roger

[Tin Can]

You are!


56 and counting. Man you guys are making me feel young.

Roger

[Fr. Mark]

I'm 48. Got back into chemical photography and new to LF a couple years ago. I applaud the good attitude of my elders on some of the recent posts. I'm Orthodox Christian clergy (priest) and sometimes the parish goes a few months w/o funerals but we seem to be on quite a run of them lately, perhaps we will have a break after tomorrow's (5th in less than 3 weeks I think). Count your blessings.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Maybe we should total all our ages so we can leap into the hype
that we represent 'n' total years of experience.

154393

[Bill_1856]

81, you whippersnappers.

[Tin Can]

81, you whippersnappers.

Bah! Me mum just lived to 95.

I'll never make that...

[Oren Grad]

older and older and older and older and...

Just remember, 30 is the new 20, 40 is the new 30, 50 is the new 40, etc. I am led to understand that this works at least as far as 90 is the new 80, if not beyond.

< silly :) >

[John Kasaian]

James Thurber: "I'm 65 and I guess that puts me in with the geriatrics. But if there were 15 months in every year I'd only be 48. That's the trouble with us. We number everything.

[gleaf]

Crossed into the 70 zone last month. Mom turned 100 last month.. I may finish a lot of projects... if I can remember where I put all the parts I bought while I was working.

[Naej]

I only checked the last two pages of this thread and I'm kind of glad that I'm young, real young. 29 years old.

Well it's in US rate. With today's exchange rate, my REAL age is... 38. http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/tears/t2309.gif

If, for many people, it's seems young, for me, I'm old... too old (maybe because I have many past regrets).

Doing analog photography since 2002, but in large format since 2 years ago.

[John Kasaian]

I just got a helluva lot older today.

[Drew Wiley]

I enjoy being 33 so much that I've decided to be this age twice!

[David_Senesac]

In a few day I'll turn 68, a rather scary sobering number. Am likely to retire from my hi tech work as the year ends. The below is an image of this person earlier this spring about a wash below Jubilee Pass in Death Valley National Park.

http://www.davidsenesac.com/2016_Trip_Chronicles/dave-wash.jpg

For some reason I am aging slowly looking a decade plus younger than peers maybe because I have long telomeres gene end caps? Thus hair is still mostly brown with some gray but age is definitely showing. For instance some of my finger knuckles have a bit of arthritis and like much of we older folk have reading glasses strewn all over my world. With a use it or lose it attitude towards genetic deterioration, am hoping lots of science and hi tech mental challenges and staying really active with hiking, backpacking, skiing, and photography will help stave off usual aging. In any case, none of us get out of here alive as it all seems to be accelerating towards eternity.

[bm150]

26, but interested in LF at 24, love it and enjoy the process!

[dpn]

39. Film photography since 2001, and LF seriously for 12 months.

[Pamelageewhizz]

Oh my!

[Jerry Bodine]

Just completed my 82nd trip around the sun, and the Sinar Norma 8x10 is getting heavier. Eyes are holding up after cataract surgery though.

[bloodhoundbob]

Just completed my 82nd trip around the sun, and the Sinar Norma 8x10 is getting heavier. Eyes are holding up after cataract surgery though.

Congrats, Jerry! Isn't cataract surgery great? After being 20/100 O.U. for 60 years, five minute surgery on each of my eyes means 20/25 currently.

[Leszek Vogt]

I'm with Drew on this....feeling half my age. Sure, have arthur knocking on the door, but I hike my hill almost religiously and there is a good chance I'll pull into 90's ? Last time I almost forgot my birthday...it's a number anyway....and it has no psychological meaning (not for me). Like anyone, I sometimes wake up feeling 120+, but retiring at 57 was the BEST thing that ever happened; travel, take images, explore...staying and eating healthy....a loop of sorts.

[faberryman]

I began shooting 4x5 at 19, but lost my way. I have returned to it. It's like riding a bicycle, once you learn it, it will never leave you.

[Armin Seeholzer]

Meanwhile I'm 60 but almost no one believes it, so I like it;--)))

[ben_hutcherson]

29.

I'm new to LF, but got seriously into photography in '05(when I was 17) first with 35mm and then graduated to MF. I dumped a lot on 35mm gear when stuff was cheap(I have a lot of good manual focus Canon glass). I did give in and pick up a cheap DSLR which has served me well, but my heart is still and always have been in film. My first Velvia transparency on the light table changed that, and my first 6x6 of the same gave me even more of a "wow."

As I've become a bit more financially stable, I have bought some better MF gear(although I'm using Bronicas since the "H" word is still out of reach for me) to supplement the Rolleiflexes I've had for years. I've wanted to get into LF for years, but finally bought a Speed Graphic a few months ago.

Right now, I'm focusing on just learning my way around handling and the basic movements I can get with it. A local shop has offered me my choice of monorail(they have 8 or 10) plus my choice of 210mm lens for $300 total, something I plan on taking up, but I'm still really lusting after a good wooden field camera. I can't help but probably pick that up, but I'd still like a better "normal" lens in the 150mm range. I'm also trying to avoid getting to G.A.S that comes with a new platform, but I can't get around the fact that there's a lot of "stuff" that goes with LF.

BTW, I'm a chemist by training and in my "full time job" along with a part time lecturer at the university where I work. I love teaching the chemistry of photography, something that actually amazes a lot of students even though some have shot film since it's apparently now a "hip" thing to do. I've just been there all along chasing(and often failing at :) ) good compositions along with good technical quality. I've never bought into the Lomography craze. I was walking around the other day with some Plus-X in a Canon Pellix with a crummy meter, and then shot some more with the same lens on an FTb. When I was showing the results, I was amazed at how many students went nuts over the underexposed images with mirror induced defects from the Pellix vs. the technically much better photos from the FTb.

[Fr. Mark]

Ben,

Welcome aboard. I got back to film a few years ago and rapidly went to LF. I like the contact print approach to things. I also find the chemistry of film and alt printing interesting. As a chemist too, I'm pretty sure you will appreciate the work that Dr. Michael Ware has been doing with Iron based alt process work particularly the new cyanotype process he developed in the 1990's but some of his work extends to other metals (Pt, Pd, etc). If you put his name and "cyanomicon" into search engine, I think you'll find him quickly. My background was in Organic Synthesis aimed at new drug discovery and later sales of scientific equipment before eventually moving into doing clergy work. I still love chemistry and get excited by things like finding a triple beam balance for $25 the local antique mall. I had an art teacher in elementary school who had some H glass as you say. She made some nice photos with it, 8x10 is not as demanding from such a large negative as it is from 35mm. But, H is not the only exceptional brand of LF gear, most all of it has good optics, I think. It was all for pros and serious hobbyists, at least stuff since the advent of 35mm's popularity starting in the ?1960's? That 210 mm lens is a more/less normal lens for 5x7...just saying. It's possible it covers 8x10, too, where it'd be a (I think) moderate wide angle. Sometimes I think I want a Rolleiflex, to use on family trips or for other times when the LF rig feels to big to tote along. There's a certain freedom in not having to choose what lens you are going to use. Someday I may get a Rollei but I either need to figure out scanning or enlarged negatives or be happy with quite small contact prints! I got to handle one about a year ago and was impressed with how the controls are laid out so that everything is in the right place for my hands. I also like the waist level view finder, too. Another thought, monorails can be used in the field. I've been known to drag around a Sinar P, which is about as big and heavy as it gets (I've got it set up for 5x7 currently). Once it is on site, it is an extraordinary tool. That said, I've also got a limited movements wood 8x10 and three non-standard holders that I bought minus lens and bellows in various pieces for $20 that I want to finish fixing up and make/buy a lighter tripod and use as my walking around camera.

[ben_hutcherson]

Mark,

Thanks for your nice message.

My background is actually a bit diverse. I started out as a synthetic organic chemist, but ended up as an analytical chemist working with organic-functionalized palladium nanoparticles. I now work as a scientific instrument specialist.

In any case, his alternative processes sound interesting, and the mention of Pd has me interested given my background in nanoscale uses of it.

As the Rolleiflex goes, I actually have both a Rolleicord Va(second to last model) and a Rolleiflex Automat III. Both have the same 75mm 3.5 Schneider Xenar(their Tessar equivalent) which is a fantastic lens especially at less than full aperture.

I can't begin to say how much I love using a Rolleflex-they're honestly one of the most well thought out and naturally handling cameras I've used, plus they are quite small and light(I find that mine can almost disappear in my hands). Unlike even the "H" word, there's no messing around with feeding a film leader through a labyrinth and making sure everything is feeding correctly then lining up arrows. When you want to swap rolls, you just move the spool, put the new one in, feed the leader between the two rollers at the bottom, hook it on the take-up at the top, and then give a half crank or so to make sure everything is feeding right. Then, you just keep cranking until it stops. When I'm holding it at waist level, I find that my thumbs fall right on the shutter speed and aperture dials, and the read out is easy to see by just barely moving your eyes forward of the finder. The shutter release is virtually silent, and with a quick flick forward and backward on the crank you're ready to go again. Compare that to a medium format SLR, where the mirror makes a tremendous "clunk" and advancing the film does the same when it resets the mirror.

I love waist level finders and find them very natural to use, although they require a bit of "recalibration" if you're trying to track action since they're upright but reversed left to right. All the WLFs I've used have a pop-up loupe for fine focusing. Rolleis also have a few other interesting finder features-my Rolleiflex has a mirror that can be flipped down and viewed through an aperture in the back of the shroud to give an upside down but correct left to right eye-level image. The front panel can be dropped out of the finder to give a wire-frame finder(like on a Speed/Crown graphic).

I do get a lot of enjoyment out of my Bronica, but it's a different experience. The SQ is small and nimble compared to cameras like the Pentax 6x7s, but there's still a lot more going on than in a TLR. A standard 80mm 2.8 lens for an SLR(whether Hasselblad or otherwise) is a LOT larger than the same lens on a TLR, not the least of which because on the TLR the entire front lens board is moved for focusing. The SQ of course is a Hasselbad clone and it has a lot of "idiot proof" features to keep a fast moving event photographer from messing things up(the camera won't fire with the dark slide in place, the film back can't be removed if the dark slide is out, the lens won't come off unless the film has been advanced, etc) but it can also be frustrating. Also, unlike Hasselblads, the Seiko shutters are electronically timed and don't really go out of time with wear/use(of course they're also dead at all but 1/500 without a battery).

At the moment, the only LF lens I have is the 137mm 4.7 on my Speed Graphic. I know this isn't the best around, but from what I've seen in my use of it, it's good enough. Although part of me wants to get a nice 150mm lens, I also like the idea of having something a bit wide and something a bit long rather than compromising with a single.

As for scanning-I have a Coolscan V for 35mm, and an Epson V700 that can do anything up to 8x10. I've been really pleased with it. Earlier this evening, I was playing with the wet mount attachment to scan some MF Provia I shot about 10 years ago. This film has been coiled since it was processed, and it has been very difficult to get a good "normal" scan of it. Wet scanning is an absolute pain in the rear, but I was really pleased with the results I was able to get on one particular frame that I liked on the light table but looked pretty underwhelming on the screen. Unfortunately, bubbles are an unending enemy in wet scanning. Being the cheapskate I am, I am actually using some salvaged TLC plates that I washed the silica gel. My scanning/mounting fluid is spectroscopic grade heptane. In any case, I was able to finally get a nice wet scan, although I did have to spot out two bubbles in Photoshop.

[John Kasaian]

I age faster during tax season :(

[GlobalMic]

I am 30, have a kid and thinkthat my life only started:))

[Ken Sinclair]

Well... after some 60-odd years under the dark-cloth (of which 30+ were spent in a Scientific Research Center), I'll be hitting the double sevens later this year... but... I am still looking forward to humphing either my 4x5 Linhof or my 8x10 B&J 'woodie' (but most often both) out to the car and take them for a 'spin'... just to see if I can find and collect some photons that might otherwise 'go to waste'.

Ken

[Dignum]

I am 28, Shooting 8x10 for 7 years now :)

My big film addiction gets stronger every year!

www.shanedignum.com

[Milton Tierney]

68 now......going by family history, I have 20 yrs left before my warranty runs out. Need to burn more film.

[David Luttmann]

Quite the time capsule. I noticed I replied here when I was 36, then again at 45....and now I'm 48.

[Milton Tierney]

Years pass so fast it all seems like a dream.

[Gudmundur Ingolfsson]

This thread is the time machine; When I first commented I was 56 the I quickly was 63 and now I am 71 and not a bit wiser.

[carbo73]

45 almost a month ago...

[Tin Can]

68...

[pepeguitarra]

Can anyone do an age poll for 2019? That way, we can see how many died, how many younger are joining, etc. I personally am using Medicare (65 year young), but have only one year trying to do Large Format, and 50 trying to learn 35mm, MF, film, digital, etc. Once I started getting my Medicare, I have tried to sell all my 37 non-LF-cameras, but I have not gotten to do it, it is so hard!! My biggest fear is that after I die, my wife will sell the cameras and lenses at the price I told her I paid for them. ;(

Rodney Dangerfield of the LFF

[Leigh]

I originally replied to this thread in January 2011, about 8 years ago.

I've gotten older, but sadly no wiser. In fact quite the contrary, since I
did take up 8x10 in the intervening years, though I did not expect to.

- Leigh

[Jac@stafford.net]

Seventy-two and better than you. :cool:

[Dan Fromm]

Seventy-two and better than you. :cool:

Sigh. Just another juvenile delinquent with an attitude.

[Bob Salomon]

Sigh. Just another juvenile delinquent with an attitude.

Bunch of youngsters here!

[andrewch59]

60 this year, and judging by recent family history about 9 years out of warranty! Finding it harder to get spare parts!

[John Kasaian]

Thirty eight months since getting the National Parks Geezer Pass.
Ten months since getting Medicare.
Two months from collecting Social Security.
But I'm lousy at math :o

[Jac@stafford.net]

Sigh. Just another juvenile delinquent with an attitude.

I yield. After you: Age before beauty.

[morecfm]

Born anno Domini 1960 which makes me 59 later this year

[Roger Thoms]

59 is coming up quick, 20th, you guys are making feel down right young.

Roger

[pepeguitarra]

So, we are a bunch of old folks!!

[John Layton]

Let’s see...Birthday on Oct 29th, 47 years old when this thread started...you
do the math!

[Jim Noel]

I have traveled 52,560,000,000+ miles in my trips around the sun.

[linhofbiker]

Will hit 75 in July. Have suspended most photography endevors in favor of completing a build of an off-road vehicle. A Tomcat based on a 1991 Range Rover.

[Bob Salomon]

I have traveled 52,560,000,000+ miles in my trips around the sun.

Must have a lot of points! Are you always upgraded?

[Pat Kearns]

Revisiting this thread again, retired on November 30 last year at 68. Now I have time to clean up my darkroom and start printing again.

[Badbroccoli]

48 years, but who is counting anyway.

[Paul Ron]

this thread would have made a great poll. i tried starting a new how old are we as a poll but cant seem to get it to work.

anyone know how to create polls?

[pepeguitarra]

this thread would have made a great poll. i tried starting a new how old are we as a poll but cant seem to get it to work.

anyone know how to create polls? Excellent idea, new profile of members can be obtained. I am sure younger people are increasingly getting into LF thanks to The Intrepid Company.

[gleaf]

Updating myself... age now 72, retired in 2014.. building darkroom, one step at a time.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Updating myself... age now 72, retired in 2014.. building darkroom, one step at a time.

Ah, you are really 18 with 54 years experience.

[fotopfw]

64 now, but still thinking it's still a lot of fun to haul a 8x10" Sinar P2 studio camera through rough terrain.

[MAubrey]

I feel like a complete baby...

[Fr. Mark]

Haul a Sinar P2 8x10, wow! It’s hard to deny it’s a dream camera once you get it where you want it, I have a P in 4x5 and 5x7, but a light weight it is not! I’m working on restoring a 100 year old field camera to have a lighter 8x10! I do intend to get the 8x10 Sinar gear eventually and maybe see if I can rig up a 14x17 some day. For the “studio.”

[archphotofisher]

67- speed graphic 4x5- 1970 college

Galvin 2.5x3.2.5 1976
B&J 5x7 with 4x5 back 1978
Sinar F 4x5 1979
Wista 8x10 1984
Sinar c 5x7
Sinar p 8x10

[Havoc]

"Age doesn't really matters, unless you're a cheese"

Wish I'd believe it after half a century.

[Willie]

Another year older and deeper in debt. The song is right.

[Jac@stafford.net]

"Age doesn't really matters, unless you're a cheese" -

Unless your last name is Limburger.

[bloodhoundbob]

I feel my age at 75 and really admire my elders on here. Jim Jones, et al, are truly an inspiration to me. Thank you all.

[angusparker]

"Age doesn't really matters, unless you're a cheese"

Wish I'd believe it after half a century.

In the Swiss alpine pastures and only made in the summer months there is a dryer and saltier version of the famous Gruyère cheese that if properly stored will keep for 100 years. I'm aiming to be that cheese - dry and salty - sounds about right. Halfway there this year!

[fotopfw]

...... I do intend to get the 8x10 Sinar gear eventually and maybe see if I can rig up a 14x17 some day. For the “studio.”
Haha... the ULF is on the bucket list for me too.

[orgraph]

"I'm 300 years old, I crawled out of the darkness" :-)
57

[Tin Can]

old enough to be in the way

again

[dodphotography]

35


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Eric Woodbury]

Old enough to meet the SSA.

[John Kasaian]

Gettin' my kicks in year 66
https://youtu.be/WsnQKSIshNQ

[Steve Williams_812]

Someone here suggested I read "Travels with Epicurus" by Daniel Klein. I'm almost finished reading it. Excellent. Explores how to live a fulfilled life in old age and rejects the notion of the West's "forever young" culture. That's simplifying the book but well worth reading for young and old.

I'll be 66 this summer. Will be retired for three years by then and can pursue life on my terms. But those terms grow more narrow. Was out shooting in the snow today with my 4x5 Zone VI camera and realized that navigation of the slippery stuff is different now. I have to be more careful.

My friend Paul made a picture of me. I think he's going to title it, "Grizzled Codger."199931

[Roger Thoms]

Turned 60 last week!!!

Roger

[Eric Woodbury]

Roger, be careful. 60 was my toughest year.

[Roger Thoms]

Roger, be careful. 60 was my toughest year.

Well I do have to have surgery on my right hip. Seems that my 23 year old hip replacement is worn out. Not bad considering that I’m a carpenter and have used the hip pretty hard over the years. Hopefully other than the surgery things will be smooth sailing.

Roger

[carbo73]

46 this last december

[jeffsweet]

37 here.

[Merg Ross]

Well I do have to have surgery on my right hip. Seems that my 23 year old hip replacement is worn out. Not bad considering that I’m a carpenter and have used the hip pretty hard over the years. Hopefully other than the surgery things will be smooth sailing.

Roger

Roger, wishing you smooth sailing after the surgery. Oh, to be only sixty again!

All the best,

Merg

[Roger Thoms]

Roger, wishing you smooth sailing after the surgery. Oh, to be only sixty again!

All the best,

Merg

Thanks Merg. Recovery has been a little rocky but is coming along. Just have to be patient as I don’t seem to heal as quickly as I use to. I am looking forward to being able to spend some time in the garage as I still need to build frames for your two prints.

Roget

[roscoetuff-Skip Mersereau]

Me? I'll be 63 this year... and retirement's still a long haul from here. And yeah.... I share the "Beware the Ides of Sixty" caution. I had back surgery at 60, but was able to dance at my daughter's wedding three weeks later. Met with SSA ...but only because of this REAL ID thing forced me to get a SS card. Never had one before. Who knew it was necessary? Dad... never bothered with that I guess. Bad news is they limit the number of these you can get. So now it lives in a safety deposit box.

[Old_Dick]

72 tomorrow:(

[Bob Salomon]

Gee, it doesn’t seem that long ago that I was the youngest studio photographer in Ct, but that was the mid 60s! Today I am close to the oldest! 79 on 03/14!

Time does fly when you’re having fun!

[C. D. Keth]

I’ve been in here a couple times before:


Wow, this old thread just keep being dug up. I'm 23 now and have been shooting large formats for about 5 years now. I started when I was in film school (for cinematography) and saw all the photo major lugging those 4x5 monorails around. I got an old 5x7 from Jim Galli and made some terrible pictures with it. Then I sold that to get a 4x5 shen hao and made some so-so pictures with that - at least they were less awful than before. Then I sold the 4x5 thinking that large format was too expensive and wasn't keeping my interest well enough. What would you know, last fall I got the bug again and bought an 8x10. I just finished refurbishing that camera last week and will be shooting the big stuff shortly.



And here I am 3 years later downsizing back to 4x5.

I had another period of inactivity the last few years due to an intense shift in profession. I’m still working in photography but rather than film and TV I’m working in ophthalmic imaging at the Moran Eye Center, one of the more prestigious eye research hospitals in the country. With all that technical imaging going on, my brain wanted some creativity so I started gathering an 8x10 system around the beginning of the year. I’m 34 now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Roger Thoms]

Gee, it doesn’t seem that long ago that I was the youngest studio photographer in Ct, but that was the mid 60s! Today I am close to the oldest! 79 on 03/14!

Time does fly when you’re having fun!

Bob, Happy Birthday!!!!! Hope you did something nice that day.

Roger

[Merg Ross]

Gee, it doesn’t seem that long ago that I was the youngest studio photographer in Ct, but that was the mid 60s! Today I am close to the oldest! 79 on 03/14!

Time does fly when you’re having fun!

Funny, I was the youngest darkroom worker at UC Berkeley during that period. Bob, congratulations on your milestone, and tell me how you are enjoying being 79! I'll be joining you in June. I recall that we may have been in the military about the same time. For me, 1963-1965.

[Bob Salomon]

Funny, I was the youngest darkroom worker at UC Berkeley during that period. Bob, congratulations on your milestone, and tell me how you are enjoying being 79! I'll be joining you in June. I recall that we may have been in the military about the same time. For me, 1963-1965.

Still trying to get use to 79. I’m now telling people I’m 18x4+7. Takes them a little bit to figure it out.

I was active for 2years, 11 months and 25 days. Getting discharged in June of 65.

[Tin Can]

70

going blind, now scared of eye doctors too, do they clean their gear well enough? I have worried about the eye pressure thingy for several years

just put a pouch on my porch with 10 loaded film holders for a friend I will never see again face to face, he's moving away

the good old days were last year...

[Armin Seeholzer]

In July I get 64 so a bit more then 1 year till retirement! Hopefully I can live this last part for a while!

[Tin Can]

Just completed a 'Dead Drop' with loaded film holders, safety first!

Good to know you in person Bloodhoundbob

see you never...

[Bob Salomon]

70

going blind, now scared of eye doctors too, do they clean their gear well enough? I have worried about the eye pressure thingy for several years

just put a pouch on my porch with 10 loaded film holders for a friend I will never see again face to face, he's moving away

the good old days were last year...

I get my eye exams at the VA and they clean the equipment after each exam. They have been quite through but the exams are done by interns in Opthomology and then a VA Opthomologist checks their result and verifies it. He is usually a local doctor who devotes time to the VA.

My daughter’s sister in law is an Opthomologist with her own large practice and she, and her husband, a private practice Podiatrist always derides the VA specialists but I have had no problems over the past few decades. Except getting continuous trifocals lenses and MC takes some negotiating!

[Tin Can]

Impossible to gauge sanitation while sitting in the chair, chin on rest, without glasses as they grab a thing I cannot see and touch my eyes with it, repeatedly to measure inner eye pressure.

The Field of Vision test is worse, when I get done with that torture I cannot focus for an hour.

Doctors! Can't live with them, can't live without them...

[C. D. Keth]

Impossible to gauge sanitation while sitting in the chair, chin on rest, without glasses as they grab a thing I cannot see and touch my eyes with it, repeatedly to measure inner eye pressure.

The Field of Vision test is worse, when I get done with that torture I cannot focus for an hour.

Doctors! Can't live with them, can't live without them...


Well, I can’t vouch for everybody but where I work (Moran Eye Center, SLC, UT) we are currently sanitizing all of our cameras, tables, computers, door handles, light switches, chair armrests, and anything else that is often touched first thing in the morning and before we go home. I don’t know what the cleaning staff does after we leave.


Additionally, we are each sanitizing the cameras we will use for a specific patient immediately before we retrieve that patient. We and the techs are in gloves and masks and I think Friday I washed something like 50 times.


Usually the devices for checking pressure (sounds like a “tono-pen” from your description) have little sterile, single-use condom-like covers.


We’re usually very clean anyway, and hopefully these “overkill” measures will keep spread down.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tin Can]

Last visit, 3 months ago, no gloves on anybody, I keep trying to see the condom, it's not there...

This large factory system of eye maintenance and repair is the only game for 100 miles

The family that runs the show, did my cataracts 2 years ago, since that time, less talented people are now my caretakers

I'm on Medicare with Plan F, with no income beyond SS

When working I had great care in City #3 USA, using the high priced Doctors with my always topped off FSA, as I was healthy

2008 changed my fortunes, 2 divorces were also very expensive

Moot point now

[radu-123]

To answer the OP, I am 43. I shoot everything from digital (Olympus omd EM1 Mark II) to film 35 mm (Oly OM 4ti) to medium Pentax 645 n und large (Intrepid 4*5 mark 4).

[roscoetuff-Skip Mersereau]

Hey Bob... think about next year the way one my clients described it when she was turning 80. She'd say, "I'm having my 5th Sweet Sixteen party!" I loved it then, and clearly still do. Congrats on 79!!!

[BKP]

65 in June. Went to Germaine School of Photography in 1980 to learn Color Printing and Color Studio Techniques. I was intrigued by large format photography. I was bitten by the bug in the 1960's after seeing a slide show of a family friend who had visited the eastern seaboard states during autumn. That's on my bucket list. I got stuck in NYC working in the photo field. Some of the best years of my life. USA what a beautiful experience, met so many nice people and great mentors. bk

[Jim Noel]

I don't know why I keep answering this thread. I am now a year older than last time so I must be 91. I'm lucky to have good genes and good doctors who brought me back from death's bed when I was attacked b a rare bacteria last year. Still using 2 of my favorite cameras several times each week. AN 8x10 and a 5x12.Age Related Loss of strength caused me to sell the 7x17 so I Have to get by with these smaller ones. Stay Healthy and active. Don't sit down and die.

[PatrickMarq]

For me it’s going to be 60 this year, getting weird.

[David Schaller]

I don't know why I keep answering this thread. I am now a year older than last time so I must be 91. I'm lucky to have good genes and good doctors who brought me back from death's bed when I was attacked b a rare bacteria last year. Still using 2 of my favorite cameras several times each week. AN 8x10 and a 5x12.Age Related Loss of strength caused me to sell the 7x17 so I Have to get by with these smaller ones. Stay Healthy and active. Don't sit down and die.
You’re a huge inspiration Jim! Thanks for all your contributions to this forum.

[NCAmother]

47 years old

[Monty Craig]

I am 60 this year, and I have been using 4x5 cameras since 1987 when I went to Ivy Tech for Commercial Photography. I got bitten by the b&w bug, and realized that the only way I could have complete control over my negatives, was to shoot sheet film. So, I fell in love with the whole process, and never looked back!

[antonio.serralheiro]

Almost 64 years old with 3 LF 4x5 cameras (Cambo, MPP, VDS) used regularly, 3 MF: Mamyia RB67 and S23, Yashica Mat (both 2 or 3 times/year), 3 Nikon F100 (quite often), Nikon D750 (often) and Fuji X100T (often). Which give more pleasure to use? Guess: VDS, F100... and D750. LF exclusively in B&W (Fomapan to lower the cost).


Enviado do meu iPad usando o Tapatalk

[grcouch501]

I don't know why I keep answering this thread. I am now a year older than last time so I must be 91. I'm lucky to have good genes and good doctors who brought me back from death's bed when I was attacked b a rare bacteria last year. Still using 2 of my favorite cameras several times each week. AN 8x10 and a 5x12.Age Related Loss of strength caused me to sell the 7x17 so I Have to get by with these smaller ones.

I hope I'm still in good enough shape to haul my 4x5 around when I hit my 90s (and I hope Kodak or Ilford will still be making film!). I'm 24 and I've been shooting film since 2017, but only started shooting 4x5 last summer.


Stay Healthy and active. Don't sit down and die.

Sounds like solid advice to me! Between COVID and the cold weather here on the East Coast it's been hard to get out and shoot, but I'm hoping things warm up soon.

[GRAYnomad]

... It occurred to me that I don't think I've seen very many young people using this format, actually I don't see too many people shooting large format at all.

66 for me.

I see that this thread was started many years ago and I think things may have changed.

Having recently decided to blow the dust of my old Tachihara I went in search of Youtube videos about LF film photography, and just about ALL of them are by young people. I also just finished watching a video about the current LF camera manufactures, the list was a long as my arm and I'd never heard of most of them because they are new.

So I'm thinking (and hoping) that there is a resurgence in LF photography, partly because I hate thinking that all the knowledge I gained over the years is useless in this modern world. Maybe not.

[Tin Can]

I replied to a 24 year old member this morning

and forgot his name already

[Bill Rolph]

18 here. I've been shooting large format for about three years, film five, and in general ten. I hope to continue for as long as I can, but who knows what the state of film will be in the coming decades. I'm not all that optimistic.

[Fr. Mark]

18 here. I've been shooting large format for about three years, film five, and in general ten. I hope to continue for as long as I can, but who knows what the state of film will be in the coming decades. I'm not all that optimistic.

see Denise Ross's website, the light farm or similar, it has a lot of good information about making films incl. ortho and pan chromatic films iirc. Supplies can be purchased from Photographer's Formulary, among other sources. LONG LIVE CHEMICAL PHOTOGRAPHY!

[HMG]

I'm a lot older now than I was when this thread was started.

[Havoc]

see Denise Ross's website, the light farm or similar, it has a lot of good information about making films incl. ortho and pan chromatic films iirc. Supplies can be purchased from Photographer's Formulary, among other sources. LONG LIVE CHEMICAL PHOTOGRAPHY!

LOL. SImilar toughts got me years ago. After I went back to film from a brief spell of digital only I was scared that I wouldn't be able to use film anymore. So I got "Primitive Photography" and from there started the journey into 4x5. I wanted to go A4 as the book centers on making paper sensitive and that is the most common format here. But honestly, now I'm convinced that film will outlive me.

Long live Kodachrome! I really miss this film.... Wish I could shoot it in 4x5.

[martiansea]

I'm old enough that my first camera was a Kodak Disc, when I was in kindergarten.

[HMG]

I'm old enough that my first camera was a Kodak Disc, when I was in kindergarten.

Child. 🙂

[John Layton]

Yup...old and cold! (should combine these two threads!). Turned 66 last Oct. - almost nineteen years older than when this thread started!

[rfesk]

77 Hey, am I old enough to retire? My wife doesn't think so.

[John Kasaian]

68 yesterday.

[Tin Can]

70 and retired since 2008

[Bob Salomon]

80 in three days.

[Jim Noel]

Aren't there any other old people on the site?
I'm only 92 and try to do something photographic everyday, which is the advice I gave my students.

[Tin Can]

Good one!


Aren't there any other old people on the site?
I'm only 92 and try to do something photographic everyday, which is the advice I gave my students.

[Serge S]

61
Sounds odd to write that number
Time is so fleeting

[Tin Can]

Read an article yesterday

Human time changes

Can't find what I read, but there are many theories, including slowing time way down

Why Time Goes By Faster As We Age (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-well/202011/why-time-goes-faster-we-age)

[Per Madsen]

I got my first quality camera in 1968 (East german Werramatic). I was nine years old, so i will be 63 in october.

Cast a cold Eye
On Life, on Death.
Horseman, pass by!

Wiliam Butler Yeats

Writen on his gravestone north of Sligo Ireland in the shadow of Ben Bullben, which i actualy have photographed.

[Sal Santamaura]

...Horseman, pass by!...Komamura built some very fine products. I'd advise against letting any Horseman cameras pass by. :D

[Tin Can]

Agree


[QUOTE=Sal Santamaura;1591569]Komamura built some very fine products. I'd advise against letting any Horseman cameras pass by. :D[/QUOTE

[Robert Opheim]

I am 65 soon to change.

[Serge S]

Interesting article.


Read an article yesterday

Human time changes

Can't find what I read, but there are many theories, including slowing time way down

Why Time Goes By Faster As We Age (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-well/202011/why-time-goes-faster-we-age)

[jnantz]

1,744,848,000

[Fr. Mark]

You are only 63,115,200 older than I am! I did not correct for leap years. Did you?

[Deyoung]

49, hoping to keep that going. :-)

[Tin Can]

I have told several people your age

Do it NOW as age 50 to 60 is now or never

meaning we lose steam

I really pissed off several close friends still waffling

their waffle iron remains unplugged


49, hoping to keep that going. :-)

[Deyoung]

I have told several people your age

Do it NOW as age 50 to 60 is now or never

meaning we lose steam

I really pissed off several close friends still waffling

their waffle iron remains unplugged

Agreed, I don't feel or think I'm old at all, but can't shake the time is running out feeling. And knowing the check engine light is going to come on sooner rather than later. Learning to use a 4x5 and medium format film cameras has been part of this "do it NOW" for me.

[Serge S]

Take heed - Wise words.


I have told several people your age

Do it NOW as age 50 to 60 is now or never

meaning we lose steam

I really pissed off several close friends still waffling

their waffle iron remains unplugged

[Old_Dick]

73 years today.

[John Kasaian]

I'm older than I was the last time I posted:rolleyes:

[jnantz]

You are only 63,115,200 older than I am! I did not correct for leap years. Did you?

yup, but I haven't compensated for the decades of stress ... at the moment im up to 1,788,176,680. might have to add on 725,824,800 more for the BS/Stress factor ...

[Tin Can]

I think I am in the "Groundhog Day" movie

and those Mega winning # are a pattern

[rfesk]

77 Hey, am I old enough to retire? My wife doesn't think so.

Edit: Aug. 2022 Now 79 and my wife thinks I should--- Maybe this fall. Work is interfering with all my projects.

[Jim Noel]

One year closer to 100 than the last time I answered this request.

[Edison]

40.

[Mitchellsig]

65 and new to LF. Still think I'm 25! lol But I know my check engine light is on.

[jon.oman]

I just turned 71!

[Gudmundur Ingolfsson]

This is a cracy old thread. Last time I wrote a comment I was 56. Now I am 76.

[nolindan]

Hello to all, After reading the last post it occurred to me that most of the respondents we're approximately my age (I too and staring down the 50 year mark!)

With this thread started with the above post of May of 2002 I would guess it should be updated to "(I too and staring down the 70 year mark!)."

[Vaughn]

Dang...I was a kid of 48 when this thread started.

[fotopfw]

is thread shows it clearly: times flies! I was 47 when reacted before, now I'm 67. My life has vastly changed. But I still shoot LF and medium format film.

[Vaughn]

When I hit 84, I am going to find a one year old and tell him, "I'm 84 years old, and Uranus has only traveled around the sun once."

Should confuse the heck out of his parents...

[Nima M]

I'm 41. Never shot large format before but I do have a 4x5 on the way.

[John Layton]

Vaughn I'm sort of confused also. Then again...with a bit of hindsight....:rolleyes:

Oh...and later today and all of tomorrow - I will go to my 50th (yikes!) high school reunion. Hanover (NH) High class of '72. We were a small bunch (104 of us), but very tight class. 60 of us are showing up not counting spouses and significant others.

Festivities begin with a tour of HHS...conducted by a beloved history teacher who'd begun his career at the high school in 1961 - and is still teaching there! :eek: Should be fun!

[Tin Can]

LOL

Since I went to 5 HS, I had no reason to take it seriously

So for the last HS I 'attended' the 30th was 23 years ago

I took 3 very beautiful lady friends, all in their early 20's. We dressed very well

We ignored the IN Crowd, ate well, drank a bit and once in a while somebody would stop to interrogate us

I told them their names are #1, #2, #3, my partners liked the joke

We whooped it up

I will never go near those 'classmates' again

I also skipped 'graduation' as did my parents for different reasons


Vaughn I'm sort of confused also. Then again...with a bit of hindsight....:rolleyes:

Oh...and later today and all of tomorrow - I will go to my 50th (yikes!) high school reunion. Hanover (NH) High class of '72. We were a small bunch (104 of us), but very tight class. 60 of us are showing up not counting spouses and significant others.

Festivities begin with a tour of HHS...conducted by a beloved history teacher who'd begun his career at the high school in 1961 - and is still teaching there! :eek: Should be fun!

[Kirk Gittings]

I went to my 35TH and fully a 1/3 of my class were dead already. So anyone vertical should be smilin. It wasn't my trip socially. It seemed to be dominated by posers-the same posers from back in the day. I shudder to think about the 50th.
So now at 72 I have a few maladies and one whopper of an extremely rare autoimmune disease but I'm still working and have a very good quality of life (IVIG infusions every three weeks keep me going). I took up dog agility because a breeder gave me an amazing Aussie and we even managed to qualify for the national championship finals this year. Training that Aussie and myself (dropped 50 lbs and cured me of persistent vertigo) was a stealth blessing.
I look forward to the time I have left.
It's so great that so many old friends are still here and working.

[Merg Ross]

It's so great that so many old friends are still here and working.

And always great to hear from you, Kirk.

I turned 81 in June. Was in the darkroom a couple of days ago, still all silver.

Best,
Merg

[Vaughn]

I just spent 5 days in the redwood backcountry with my 4x5. I managed to climb the 1.5 miles up the trail back to the trailhead and car. I packed fairly light, but add 20 pounds of camera gear, the pack is no longer light for a 68 year old with a heart that has no sense of rhythm.

But 10 or 11 different images made, I'm still alive, feel good, and the 8 mile bicycle ride into town today was great.

[Tin Can]

Kirk

I fondly recall our lunch meeting

Keep on keepin on


I went to my 35TH and fully a 1/3 of my class were dead already. So anyone vertical should be smilin. It wasn't my trip socially. It seemed to be dominated by posers-the same posers from back in the day. I shudder to think about the 50th.
So now at 72 I have a few maladies and one whopper of an extremely rare autoimmune disease but I'm still working and have a very good quality of life (IVIG infusions every three weeks keep me going). I took up dog agility because a breeder gave me an amazing Aussie and we even managed to qualify for the national championship finals this year. Training that Aussie and myself (dropped 50 lbs and cured me of persistent vertigo) was a stealth blessing.
I look forward to the time I have left.
It's so great that so many old friends are still here and working.

[John Layton]

Kirk, its so nice to have you chime in here again! I have good memories of meeting you at the 2002 View Camera conference in Albuquerque.

...and about that dog - such a boon for us also...definitely helps to keep us moving, and keeping moving is pretty much what its all about these days!

All the best!

[Kirk Gittings]

Kirk

I fondly recall our lunch meeting

Keep on keepin on

I was thinking of you as I was back in Chicago teaching at SAIC a few weeks ago, but my wife back in ABQ had a heart event and I had to cut it short, fly back, and finish the class on Zoom (a terrible way to teach). So a lot of my hoped for sociallizing in Chicago didn't happen.

[Kirk Gittings]

I just spent 5 days in the redwood backcountry with my 4x5. I managed to climb the 1.5 miles up the trail back to the trailhead and car. I packed fairly light, but add 20 pounds of camera gear, the back will not be light for a 68 year old with a heart that has no sense of rhythm.

But 10 or 11 different images made, I'm still alive, feel good, and the 8 mile bicycle ride into town today was great.
Merg, you are an inspiration in so many ways, even the beard :)

[Kirk Gittings]

229828
The Vito, an agility champion as of June.


Kirk, its so nice to have you chime in here again! I have good memories of meeting you at the 2002 View Camera conference in Albuquerque.

...and about that dog - such a boon for us also...definitely helps to keep us moving, and keeping moving is pretty much what its all about these days!

All the best!


Thanks,

[Merg Ross]

Merg, you are an inspiration in so many ways, even the beard :)

Kirk, I may be an inspiration, but I think the beard belongs to Vaughn. He is an inspiration for sure!

Really glad you checked in, I often think of those days way back when we corresponded.

All the best,
Merg

[Andrew O'Neill]

Turning 59 at the end of the month... I think I was 39 or 40 when I joined here. You lot were my first ever contact to the outside world, after doing LF on my own for a decade, over in Japan. My horizons have been broadened. I'm not so narrowminded as far as photography goes anymore. Cheers everyone!

[willwilson]

I'm 41. 28 when I joined this fine group. It was inspiring back then and continues to be a bright spot for me.

Kirk, your Aussie post teared me up. The best dogs. No comparison. They love like no other being I know. Congrats on your agility win.

[Vaughn]

Merg, you are an inspiration in so many ways, even the beard :)

The beard is trimmed short for the summer months. Also a smart thing to do when hiking back up in the wilds of the redwoods. Both the she bears and the lady bigfoots (it can be very difficult to tell the difference) can get awfully frisky this time of year, so I try not to look too hairy.

Hopped on the ebike this evening and rode my favorite loop from the house...it's been a few months. Beautiful evening and sunset, although some smoke up high curving in from the northeast where there is a 7000 acre fire.

My ride starts up Hwy 299 from town. I was passed by fire truck after fire truck -- all heading just a bit further east (about 20 miles) to some lightning fires that started when I was out backpacking last week. Also at 7000 acres right now. But after about 12 miles, I turn off the main highway at the summit (2100'), ride another 3 miles up to 3000' on a gravel/dirt road, and kick back with hot tea (w/Scotch) and watch the sunset over the Pacific. Then it is a 9 mile ride down the mountain on various types of roads at very fun speeds in the dark. I left the house at 5:30, got up in plenty of time to drink most of my tea and watch the sun set a little early (about 8:15, behind a fogbank way out near the horizon), and home by 9:30. Life is pretty good.

Not tonight's sunset (I dropped my digital too many times), but this is my view at 3000' above home. This image was taken on a ride at this time last year. And about the same amount of smoke as tonight coming from the same direction.

[Tin Can]

I feel very temporary

Danger Will Robinson

So it goes

[John Layton]

...you are not alone Mr. Can

[David Luttmann]

Quite the time capsule. I noticed I replied here when I was 36, then again at 45....and now I'm 48.

And now again at 53 😳

[DwarvenChef375]

232643

59… Almost

Inherited a Linhof Technika 4 and LOVE IT!! I’m a life long student of “The History of Photography” and drool at the thought of using older and older photographic equipment. I just got a small plate camera to try my hand at Dry Plate photography :)

Ya I’m hooked bad…..

[Jim Jones]

I turned 90 last month, and am slowly slowing down. Recently moving from the 130-year family farm into town meant giving up the darkroom and film. However, the 3550 prints (mostly trivial) the Epson Surecolor P800 produced would have been too much in a wet darkroom.

[John Layton]

Hats off to you Jim...I turned 68 last month and I am slowing down - and not exactly slowly!

[Tin Can]

Good for you!

[photog_ed]

I turned 90 last month, and am slowly slowing down. Recently moving from the 130-year family farm into town meant giving up the darkroom and film. However, the 3550 prints (mostly trivial) the Epson Surecolor P800 produced would have been too much in a wet darkroom.

Ditto. I turned 69 in September and am definitely slowing down. I just moved from Massachusetts to Arizona, and hoping this is my last move.

[Tin Can]

There is a Jefferson Airplane song, Pretty as you feel inside (https://www.google.com/search?q=Pretty+as+you+feel+inside&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS850US850&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#wptab=si:AC1wQDCnZtfNUI2fl7K6t9yeOkKftycXbaAPkjjFcOiXQzcxEpVqSoS5a3NClkEeImCVa-4It4nCONASP-wi4vFzWSTkSu52OyKbzdKMXh-8nYkB9uLXtur8iiXoX3nS-Dqr8XWt3WoxTeqaQ3xs524t2qSsi_k6AREWgDiWFmgcCwgMTnbwq_o%3D)

[linhofbiker]

I turned 78 last July and I think I am speeding up, not slowing down. Just bought a 95 Land Rover Defender 90 300tdi (my first diesel motored vehicle) that will tow my Airstream Basecamp 16X next year when Airstream finally builds it. Looked under the Defender and it looks just like my 1991 RRC (Range Rover Classic) so I can fix most things other than the diesel motor, just like I have done building the Tomcat from the 1991 RRC the last few years. The Defender has plenty of room for most all of my photographic tools and even a few clothes etc. Collecting a few travel essentials like alpaca socks and bamboo/cotton towels to wipe my face when the lack of A/C proves too much. Maybe I should plan my world tour for hot countries in the winter and cold countries in the summer and let Fall and Spring take care of themselves - who needs A/C anyway.

[Tin Can]

We expect Postcards

Real Postcards sent by actual mail

Whenever I travel I always send them

Bon Voyage!

[linhofbiker]

We expect Postcards

Real Postcards sent by actual mail

Whenever I travel I always send them

Bon Voyage!

How do you send postcards to the forum?
I think I will take a letter of credit if they still issue them, rather than a credit/debit card or travelers checks.
I will be off the grid some of the time and may never come back.
Thinking I need a small diesel generator to supplement a solar power one during long winter nights.
Also need a spare 20 gal tank of diesel to extend my range.
My old Swedish camp stove ran off petrol but I never tried it with diesel.
No experience with diesel motors so hoping a tractor mechanic can fix any problems.
Looking at a map of North America and will plan a "get aquainted" trip from Jax FL to Montreal/Toronto, then to New Orleans and back to Jax. Maybe 3/4 weeks away.

[John Layton]

...still more or less "graceful" getting in - and absolutely youthful while driving...but getting out of my 944 these days - can make me feel ancient!

[John Kasaian]

69. 70 this March (pours another glass of Brandy.)

[wooserco]

That sure dates you.

I'll be 66 this coming New Year's Day. I didn't start in film photography of any kind until I was 60.

My first purchased camera was a digital. But I always lusted after film. I had a cousin that was really big into photography. I loved to watch her in the darkroom.

I was gifted a MF camera by a traveling portrait photographer when I was about 4 years old. I showed an intense interest in his 8x10 portrait set up. He would come around about every six months or so and set up in the lobby of the Hotel across from the train station. He would return prints the next time that he came through town.

After shooting a roll as instructed: "Shoot whatever interests you." After shooting a roll, sending off for development and receiving the prints back in the mail my father told me that "you can take pictures of anything that you want, but we can't afford the film and processing."

As a result: I have no pictures of my children growing up, the magnificent places that I've been, nor any of the shoebox type memories that my wife has from her parents.

[popdoc]

I was less than a month old when my mom carried me into the darkroom to be with my dad and brothers working in our darkroom. Been in and out of one ever since. Was using an anniversary model Speed Graphic when I was six. I’m 66 now. Guess I haven’t grown up yet…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[carbo73]

still... 48, but 49 in a week and a bit more. Approaching half a century.... and just entered ultra large format with a Vageeswari 10x12 this summer! But I have more cameras than time to use them...