For Crying Out Loud..

[P3D Erlys <Erlys@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have been doing a bit of catch-up reading (I had major surgery on the
14th), and I appreciate the digest format. It is easy to scan the topic
list to see what the threads were.

I wish to comment on what Dr-T's said about his being an amateur simply
enjoying a hobby, not somebody who gets paid for doing it. He doesn't
want to ruin his fun by worrying about airport x-rays, photo releases
from strangers, using calibration of each individual combination of
shutter speeds and aperture stops, the "ad infinitum" bracketing. Nor
does he wish to leave his camera home on vacations, since taking
pictures is a major part of the fun. I agree with all this (except for
the airport x-rays; I DO hand my film across in plastic bags).

And yet Dr-T is very much a non-amateur about repairing cameras and
viewers, improving the light in viewers, adding equipment to his
collection, taking winning slides (i.e., pleasing the judges), using
different formats, etc. So he is a man enjoying his hobby with certain
expectations of himself. Perhaps once in a while he even annoys his
family on vacations by making them wait while he takes one or two extra
shots. He sounds very normal to me. 

I think everyone on this forum is striving to learn and improve, but
each has a different set of criteria. I love hearing from the guy who
likes his $3 viewer and wants to simplify things down to the minimum. I
love hearing the excitement when someone crafts a new piece of equipment
and it works. I know the fun Bob H and others have calculating intricate
formulas. I don't necessarily want to do all those things, but I
appreciate the diversity of this group. 

George, not to worry: "There have been a few threads in recent months
that could scare the living sh-t out of me, if I did not know better."  
Don't be scared. None of this applies to you. 

Erlys, on the mend


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