Hi from Glenn in Sydney

[Glenn Mathison]

What a pleasant surprise it was to stumble across a site that is devoted to the wonders of film photography. And I must say that the sense of community evident in the various posts will ensure that I stay a long time.

A little history perhaps...

I started out taking pictures in high school with, if my memory serves, a Practica FX that my father owned. We were fortunate enough to have a b&w darkroom in the school and when I saw that first roll of Kodak Plus-X come out of the tank, I knew I was witnessing some magic. Likewise, the first print appearing out of the reddish gloom of the dev tray was quite mesmerising.

For the remaining three years at high school I spent a LOT of time taking pictures of all manner of things, then processing the films and prints.

I always had a camera with me in the intervening years, and although I did not have a darkroom, I still greatly enjoyed my colour work.

Over the last 3 years, I have rediscovered my joy in photography after realising that my shiny auto everything 35mm Nikon SLR had seduced me into in a false sense of comfort. Since that realisation I have gone back to manual control for almost all of my shots, and the results, not surprisingly, have improved consistently. I have also built a darkroom and again process all my own B&W and have over the last 2 years moved into the dangerous slippery slopes of medium format...

And I am loving it all....

So I look forward to continuing to learn amongst fellow enthusisasts for whom the instant gratification of digital is far outweighed by the enjoyment of the journey itself.

Some basics:
Kit - (35 mm) nikon SLRs, minotla Hi-matic 7 RF, Agfa solinette folder, Ziess Contaflex, Underwater P&S Nikon,
(MF) Mamaiya 645, Ziess Ikon Ercona 6x9 folder, Ross Ensign folder, Yashica LM TLR

Main interest recently is people in B&W. Endless variation and surprises.... ;-)

See you in the threads.
Glenn
Sydney, Australia.

[roy]

Welcome Glenn. Practica cameras started many people off in photography.

[BWGirl]

Welcome!
Or maybe I should be saying 'welcome back' as so many are returning to photography! I look forward to your input & posts...and maybe an occasional weather update from 'down under'.

[Nige]

G'day!

[Nicole]

Hi Glen, great to see another Aussie in the midst. Get hooked at APUG!
Cheers from West Australia
Nicole

[Grace Cox]

Glenn,

Welcome to APUG. Glad you're here.

[sparx]

G'Day and welcome to the 'PUG.

[roteague]

Glenn,

Welcome from your neighbor to the North, Hawaii. I hope that you really enjoy being on here, there is lot of people who still love using film. You may also be surprised to see how many new friends you can make here. For example, I recently spent a few hours with two fellow APUG members from Melbourne at a pub in Ballarat. I am looking forward to seeing some of your images in the gallery.

[SuzanneR]

Welcome from New England. I've had a similar history with photography, and recently ended a twenty year hiatus from the darkroom. It feels great to get my hands wet again! Looking forward to seeing your posts in the galleries.

[Graeme Hird]

Welcome aboard, from Graeme in Kalgoorlie, WA.