Thought I'd give my words and thoughts on the exhibit and Chicago trip. I was actually just finishing typing this up last night when Bill's summary came through, and I sent it several times but nothing I originated last night would get to the list.
It was wonderful to meet, in person, those I'd been acquainted with for some time on line, +12 years in some cases. We met Christine and Doug at the entrance on the sidewalk. Instant smiles and hugs. Bill was Canadian. The printing job Mark did was astounding! My gallery image had a quality and feeling that did not come through on a digital display. The same can be said for the other images. Cory's was magical in print. The gallery was a work of art... far more inspiring than the Eggleston gallery at the Art Institute. :-) Seriously, but my own photographs taken with a Brownie Hawkeye at the age of 8 would have rivaled Eggleston's. No don't take that as a brag, I was a terrible photographer at 8, always wanting to see the film in the camera, which did not help matters. Christine and Sue Barton did an excellent job of organizing and implementing the event. For those unable to attend, you'll be happy to know that we were treated and respected as photographers and artists, not as a bunch of wannabes. As in any group, some clicked and bonded more readily than others with various members, but things were so fast-paced that it was a matter of not having the time to make the rounds in detail. The cooperation and goodwill among the PDML members, curators, and vistors was impressive. It was noisy, high energy, and for being only three hours, pretty exhausting. This was an event the PDML can be singularly proud of, participant or not. The event and sales also benefit children who are victims of cancer and their families. So, if hesitant to purchase additional books, or possibly sponsor riders in an upcoming event that may be announced, please consider doing so to the extent possible, according to your desire and means. In particular, I got to spend a fair amount of time with Christine, Ann, Bob Sullivan and his wife, Stan Halpin, Doug Brewer, Mark Roberts and his wife, Boris, Lary Colen, Chris Mitchell and his wife, Tim Bray, Jay Taylor, Cory Waters and his wife. Sorry if I left anyone out. I think I at least met all the PDML members present. Bill Robb (who is Canadian) and I, stayed up till 4 AM one morning and 2 AM the next, talking about everything and trying to comprehend the meaning of life and Space-Time. I'm happy to report that we just about have it figured out and we'll give an update when we've completed our analysis and have reached a definitive conclusion. Bill, I told you we needed just one more bottle. I never knew Bill slept in the RAW. He told me he gets better pictures that way. I'd have expected footed long johns, with him being from Canada and that. Of course it might have felt like a heatwave to him down south in Chicago - or maybe it's something related to digital? Hard to tell what it was all aboot. The GPS had a hard time getting a consistent signal in the valley of skyscrapers they call downtown. Twice it went into a mode where it was recalculating every 15 seconds even when we had not changed direction. So sometimes it took us 20 minutes to get somewhere when ot should have taken just 5. Chicago was a great photo venue and I'm sure many photos of members and the areas we visited will start appearing. A good time was had by all. To sum it up, You were great. You were fantastic. You were great. You were ALL great! Tom C. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
