Hello all,
I just ran across this site and am very pleased to be here. And exited to see so many people who share my passion ... I love large format photography just about as much as I love my family and my dogs. I Went to a technical school, Brooks Institute in California to learn the photography trade and have been shooting ever since. Mostly large format. 8X10, 4X5, and 2 1/4.

I have been in the photography business for 30 years and have had commercial studios for most of that time. I had a commercial "break down" in 1995 when digital arrived on the scene and the only way I could compete in my market was to invest 100K for a pre-leaf camera system. So I shut my studio down and did odd jobs for about one year. I painted pipes for the government, laid bricks and actually drove a UPS truck until I hit an employees car. Then I got an in-house gig for a large corporation and did their commercial photography for 1 year. I had a hard time being told what to, (only because I had been independent for so long) so I quit, switched gears and ramped up the fine art side of my business. I started to show the 8X10 polaroid transfers I had been shooting and different publishers wanted to license them. So I managed to get a name in the gift market and actually made a descent living off of my artwork for a number of years. I have been slacking off a little lately and have not even put up a web site because I am not sure what I want to sell ...

But anyway it is refreshing to see a forum that is not totally dedicated to equipment and digital bs, glad to join you here and I will try to contribute when I can!