I'm a retired Physicist, but never worked as one...I was always an Engineer of some sort. Q: What kind of Engineer are you? A: What kind do you need me to be? Thus, I'm frustrated...I always wanted to be a Scientist...but NO! I still have a great need for facts and data. I was interested in photography from a young age. My father's primary hobby was photography. I guess he infected me? We always had a darkroom in every house. I learned B&W photography before I was 10. After college (and having some money) I bought film cameras of various types. I still have my Nikon F bodies and several lenses...and a wet darkroom (which I don't use anymore). I switched to digital in 1998 with a little Kodak P&S. I got a Nikon Coolpix 5700 in 2002, a Sony R1 in 2004, and a Nikon D300 in 2006. In 2010, I bought a used Nikon D50 as a backup to the D300. I still use these 4 cameras...each has it's place. The 5700 is superb at macrophotography, especially of tiny flowers. The R1 is the ultimate candid (street) camera and does really well on portraits and landscapes...I also use it for making panoramic shots. The D300 is used for sports and low-light candids. The D50 was a "black sheep" in the family, but is quite capable. Interestingly, each of them has a top-mounted LCD info display, which generally are only found on "serious" cameras. I am NOT a brand-centric person and tend to dislike people who have made religions out of a possession. However, I do tend to like Porsche automobiles, so you'll see some in my pix. But Porsche is NOT a religion! In addition to my two old Porsches, I drive a Toyota Prius and have a Honda CRX Si for fun. I like to educate people about photography...everything from basic stuff like the half-press method to arcane methods of panoramic photo-stitching. My wife is a Technical Writer...she taught me how to communicate (most Engineers can't). I'm a DIYer to a great extent. I've always liked to figure out how to make things. I have a well equipped shop and make many of my photography accessories. In spite of my "handle", don't call me "Chuck"...I go by "Charlie". I reserve "Chuck" for when I seriously screw-up... I call those "Chuck-Ups". ;-) Q: What is that a picture of on your home page? A: The Sun...spots and flares...fiddled-with to make it colorful? |