Scenes of Vermont Forums

As 2012 sets in, it has been nice to see more participation on this forum, especially in the guise of the Image Critiques. I have been heartened by the amount of participation, but would certainly like to see more diverse participants this year. But as I read, even some of the "regulars" who participate, it strikes me how little I know about some of you, your background, how you came at photography, your "day job" (if it isn't professional photography), etc.

So, I am posting this "sticky" topic in hope of each of you giving us a little information about yourself -- if you are so inclined. I'll start.

For those who don't know me, I am an Estate Planning and Business Transactional Attorney in a medium-sized "mid-western" city (Saginaw, Michigan). I have practiced in this area for nearly 30 years (including Estate Planning, Business setup and succession planning for small closely-held businesses, non-profit organizations and some limited real estate and tax work). In addition to my Law Degree, I hold a Masters of Taxation. For the past 6 years, I have served as an Adjunct professor at our local university, teaching Business Law. I am also a board member of that University's Foundation, and also serve on a local Hospital Foundation Board.

Undergraduate, I attended Vermont Technical College and the University of Vermont before transferring and graduating from a small, "conservative" Liberal Arts school (how's that for a contradiction?), with degrees in Business and Economics and U.S. History.

During my "youth" I spent summers on a Vermont Dairy Farm from 1969 - 1976, and moved to Vermont and lived there from 1976-1980. It was during those later '70's that I began photography in earnest, shooting mainly (Kodachrome 25) slide film.

I am married, have the requisite "two children," two dogs and a two-car garage.

Today I shoot with a Nikon D700 DSLR, Nikon 24-70 and 70-200 lenses, and occasionally my 60mm macro lens.

UPDATE: In 2014, I sold all of my Nikon gear in favor of a couple of Sony's mirrorless system cameras. Today, I shoot with a Sony a7 and a couple Carl Zeiss lenses. It makes for a much smaller, lighter shooting experience and that is fun

OK, my name is Dean (although apparently it will now be "Even Dean" hereabouts). I found the forum while look for general information about foliage season in Vermont as I have been coming to the Green Mountain State since about 1996. I originally came up due to a relationship that turned out to be both short-lived and was, as it turns out, a path to the long-term love affair I now have with the state.

My relationship with Vermont became more serious a few years later when I was recruited by an investment firm in Manchester, Vermont. In the course of deciding if I was interested in the position, I researched the town, found the Orvis flagship store and its fly fishing school and rediscovered a love of fly fishing havinfg attended the Orvis fly fishing school three times and have enjoyed countless hours on the Battenkill since.

I have been taking photos for a long time (used to "borrow" my father's AE-1) but have only recently started to try to improve my technique (which is to say start to have any technique). I shoot using Sony gear (when they bought Konica Minolta, my investment in lenses meant that they got me too). Photography has recently surpassed fly fishing in my list of passions (and as the largest destination for my money) but the gorgeous nature of most fly fishing venues should allow me to enjoy both for the rest of my days.

I am dad to a wonderful little girl, Isabel, and get to be husband to a wonderful wife, Kelly. I am soon to be the father to a little boy (Charles George - named after my idol and Arsenal [the soccer team I have supported for over 30 years] legend Charlie George). We live near Columbus, Ohio where I head up the back office for the investments arm of a very large insurance company.

Enough? Too much?

I think I'm the elder statesman of this forum. Like Andy I'm the father of two and I have six grandchildren. I've been married to my college sweetheart for 41 years.

I first became involved in photography around 1980 when I was doing some freelance writing. I had an editor tell me that photos would help me sell my articles so I bought a Canon AE1. In 1982 I moved to Oregon which is so breathtakingly beautiful that I could point my camera in just about any direction and make a beautiful photograph. It was Oregon's beauty that hooked me on photography. I moved to Minnesota in 1986. Unfortunately, Minnesota was not blessed with the kind of beauty I found in Oregon and I gave up photography for a while. I decided to take a photo workshop with the Rocky Mountain School of Photography. We spent a week in Southwest Colorado and I was hooked again.

My jobs in Oregon and Minnesota offered me a lot of travel opportunities. I worked for a large national insurance company in Portland and I was responsible for operations in Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Utah. Before I retired at the end of 2010, I was ran a division of an insurance services company with operations in 20 states including Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. I would meet with state regulators annually and I would try to schedule my visits in the autumn. I would often complete my business, meet my wife at an airport somewhere in New England and vacation there for a week. I love that part of the country.

I graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1971 with a BA degree and a major in history and a minor in English. I taught senior high school for two years before getting into the insurance game. Along the way, I started a computer company which provided services to the insurance industry. In the late 80's I was working on an MBA at the University of Minnesota, working my regular job and running a small business. With two kids in high school, something had to give so I quit the MBA program.

I have continued my interest in photography and travel when I can for the explicit purpose of making photographs of the most beautiful places in the United States.

Hello everyone, I have just signed up.

Cin: It would be nice to have a little narrative. What you do,what brings you to photography, and to the forum, etc?

My real name is Tim
I'm probably one of the younger people on this board .
I grew up in the Lyndonville area of Vermont. I went away to college in Iowa for 4 years. Then I returned to Vermont where I realized how much I had taken the colors of Fall in Vermont for granted.
Upon my return In 2001, I bought my first digital camera (a Sony 2.1MP point and shoot) and started having fun with it. I slowly realized the image quality was far behind what I wanted so I upgraded to a newer Sony that I soon wore out taking pictures of skiing (moisture damage). Then in 2007 I upgraded again to a Sony super zoom with 14MP.
However, after trying in vain to get the picture quality I was really after, my great wife bought me a Canon T3i starter kit for Christmas in 2013. So after 1.5 years, I've upgraded my lens set and I feel like I'm finally in the zone. I'll probably keep using the current body for a few more years and then move up to a fancier body. I still consider myself a hobbiest when it comes to photography and I'm always trying to improve.
I live in Lyndonville and work in St Johnsbury so during foliage season I get to watch the colors change by the hour here in the heart of the NEK.
I love living here and sharing my experiences and advice with members of this message board.

I have not been here for a while. Terry: Welcome. Tim, we have been enjoying your input here for years. Thanks for the bio info!

From_the_NEK it sounds like we're roughly the same age, so you ain't the youngin' no more.

I'm Alex from Virginia Beach. In 2010 I was recruited to move to Burlington to work for a technology company here. Met my fiancé on the job and we're about to add a second kid to the mix this summer.

Photography-wise, I was introduced to it by my grandmother around the age of 7. She had a darkroom at her house and we'd go shoot on her Canon AE-1s or a pinhole camera and immediately develop the film. It was the closest thing to immediate gratification one could get in photography without a digital camera. But the art of light capture hooked me at an early age.

I bought a Honda S2000 in the early 2000s and got heavily involved with a few race groups and car shows. That led me into shooting a whole lot more! It led me into purchasing my first dSLR and getting serious about glass. After the cars got boring to shoot I found my two favorite subjects: land and animals....AKA nature.

Unfortunately, I allowed the first 4 of my Vermont years to go mostly toward work and partying. I had a triangle with one point being Cherry/Battery Street another point at Howard/Pine and the far point being the top of Mt Mansfield that I never left. Over the last 2 years I've been working hard to get to know everything outside that triangle.

As for gear... it is here: http://www.axspot.com/gearing-up/ ....yeah, kind of obnoxious.