Hello John, Welcome to the list. Glad to have another NorCal person aboard. We do get together once in a while for a photo outing. Keep your eyes open to the next event (seems like I've become the organizer) and join us. It is great fun to shoot, see other equipment, swap stories and learn from each other.
-- Best regards, Bruce Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 12:25:14 AM, you wrote: JC> Hey all, I discovered this mailing list last night and am already impressed JC> at the traffic volume. I haven't been on a list like this in years. JC> Anyway, glad to be here. My name is John Celio, and if you were to walk JC> into the camera shop I work at with a Pentax camera, you'd inevitably find JC> me drawn to you like a magnet. I'm a Pentax nut, so much so that the guys I JC> work with usually refer to me as our shop's Pentax "expert," which I am the JC> first to admit is an exaggeration. I've been known to correct our Pentax JC> rep from time to time, but I certainly am no expert. JC> Dunno if anyone cares, but here's a (kinda long) introduction of my JC> photographic experiences: JC> I've been into photography for about five or six years now (I should note: JC> I'm 26). Oddly enough, I got into digital first: the first good camera I JC> owned myself was an Olympus C-3030, from when 3 megapixels was cutting-edge. JC> I used it in my first photography class at University of California, Davis, JC> and learned next to nothing. The following quarter, I went out and bought a JC> ZX-30 with a Promaster 28-80mm and started learning how to work with film. JC> I eventually "upgraded" my lens to a Sigma set (28-80 w/macro, a JC> surprisingly good lens, and 70-300, a surprisingly crappy lens), but still JC> used the lowly ZX-30. I switched majors from Geology to Art Studio and put JC> most of my energies into photography. JC> In 2002 I graduated and found my current job, selling cameras and related JC> stuff at Reed's Cameras & Imaging in Walnut Creek, CA (across the bay from JC> San Francisco), and discovered how little I really knew about photography. JC> A few months into the new job, I bought a chrome MX with a 50mm f1.4, JC> wanting to get into completely manual photography, and fell in love with JC> that little camera. When I wasn't selling digital point-n-shoot cameras, I JC> was spending my time in the SLR section, playing with the old bodies and JC> lenses as well as the new stuff, and listening to the more experienced guys JC> discuss the finer points of photography. I learned more in my first year at JC> Reed's than I ever would have learned at Davis. JC> In '03 I bought the *istD, which I still think is the dumbest model name in JC> photography. I absolutely love the camera, though dust buildup is driving JC> me closer to getting into Olympus' E-system (with the self-cleaning sensor). JC> Oddly enough, I now have more manual lenses than autofocus, and am building JC> a small collection of screw-mount lenses, since Reed's used section is full JC> of them. My current favorite is my 300mm f/4 Takumar, which has enabled me JC> to do some really cool animal photography lately. On my list of lenses to JC> get in the near future: the new 100mm 2.8 macro, DA 40mm 2.8 pancake (anyone JC> have an old M 40mm they want to sell? I've been dying to get one), and some JC> sort of decent telephoto zoom to replace the p.o.s. Sigma I have now. JC> Lately I've been wanting to get into medium format, and would die for a 67 JC> body and basic lens, but they're so few and far between that I doubt that'll JC> happen anytime soon. Reed's hasn't carried anything other than Hasselblad JC> for years now, and the only 67s I've seen are owned by wedding photographers JC> who are bringing them in to be cleaned. I'll just have to dream for now. JC> At the other end of the spectrum, I have a relatively large Pentax Auto110 JC> system, which I use a few times a year. It's rare I get anything JC> particularly good, but the camera is a lot of fun to use. JC> So that's me, as far as my experience as a photographer goes. I could go on JC> for pages and pages (I love talking about camera stuff), but I suppose I JC> should end this at some point. If you want to see my photography, my main JC> website (www.neovenator.com) features galleries full of stuff I've shot with JC> my Pentaxes (Penti? Pentaxi?), though I had to take down my 110 stuff last JC> month for the new Day at the Zoo gallery. JC> Thanks for reading this far, all three of you. (; JC> John Celio JC> P.S.: Just because it's fun, a list of equipment I actually use on a regular JC> basis: JC> Bodies: MX, *istD. JC> Lenses: screw-mount 18mm fisheye Takumar (one of the coolest lenses I've JC> come across, though I wish I could find some technical information on it), JC> FAJ 18-35mm, A 28mm 2.8, M 50mm 1.4, screw-mount Takumar 105mm 2.8, JC> screw-mount 300mm f4 Takumar, Sigma 28-80mm. JC> Stuff I'm currently dreaming of owning: LX, 67, Auto110 Super, MZ-S, more JC> lenses than I care to list. JC> -- JC> http://www.neovenator.com JC> http://www.newpixel.net JC> AIM: Neopifex JC> "Hey, I'm an artist. I can do whatever I want and pretend I'm making a JC> statement."
