From the Depths of SoCal

[Icandide]

Hi,

I'm not good at self introductions. Am I overstating it?

My name is Earl Roach. That's Earl as in the duke of... (Don't call me sir. I'm only an Earl!), and Roach like the bug (or a fish, or the burnt end of a joint).

All kidding aside...

Since 18 years of my Air Force career was overseas, I found that many, many languages do not have the phonetics to pronounce my first name, so at times I'm known as Tony. (A name me given by the lead monk (abbot ?) of the Wat Okahd at Nakorn Phanom, Thailand)

I use a Nikon only for film. I currently have an F3HP and an FM2n. All my lenses are AI-s. 35-70 f3.5, 35-105 f3.5-4.5, 50 f1.4, 55 f2.8, and 75-150 f3.5 E-Series. I also shoot 135 with a Canon FTb, Petri 7S and a Zorki 4K.

I also shoot medium format with a Mamiya RB 67 S (and am in the market for a Mamiya Press Universal when funds become available); and large format with an Omega (Toyo) 45D View, a Toyo 45A Field and a Super Speed Graphic 4x5.

I live in a suburb of Los Angeles (but not in LA County) in Sunny California, am retired Air Force Non-Comm and Civilian Security Manager, and a widower.

My first camera was bought in 1970. A Petri 7S. Then about 6 months later I bought a Canon SLR. Canon was my major use camera ( Pellex, F1, FTb) until in 1997 (or was it 1998 - 9?), when a friend decided to sell his Nikon system for a very reasonable price (He decided to go AF Nikon). I bought it. The F3HP. (Some of my best photos were shot with it. Love it.)

Digital shooting is strictly with Canon. An A630 point and shoot and a 5D III and 6D II. (I love Canon Digital)

I taught Monochrome darkroom processing and printing (in the 1970's) and shot weddings and quinceañeras (a latino traditional 'coming out' for 15 year old señoritas) in the early 2000's).

I Digitize my film, and all processing is in Lightroom and Photoshop.

After all this I consider myself a novice. I am constantly discovering there is so very much I yet need to learn.

That is why I'm joining this forum. I have enjoyed browsing it in the past.

I hope to learn and maybe pass on what little knowledge I have.

Earl (Tony) Roach

[Hugh_3170]

Welcome Earl.  I am sure that you will enjoy this forum.

The pronunciation difficulties that your friends have experienced with your name amuse me;  many of my Italian friends just call me "U" or Ugo.  It certainly fools my postman. 

[Birna Rørslett]

I might be able to pronounce your name .... After all, the etymology is from old Norse ('Jarl') which by the way still is a quite common given name for males in my country.

Welcome to NG, of course. We look forward to seeing your contributions.

[ianwatson]

Welcome Earl. It sounds like you have an interesting treasure trove of knowledge to share. Do join in!

[Dogman]

Welcome, Earl/Tony!

I often consider pulling out one of my old film cameras--Nikon F2, Canon EOS1n and other assorted artifacts from my younger life--and maybe run a few rolls of Tri-X or HP5+.  But then I reconsider processing the film and scanning the negatives and I return to reality.  But I would love to see your photos.  Post some.  Frequently.

[Icandide]

Thank you, Hugh

I feel for you. Attempts at pronouncing my name by others include awwl and ahrr. The R-L combination for languages spoken with a hard R have the most difficulties. My last name in the orient is Loak (in Thai, it means taxi). Very few oriental languages have words ending in a soft ch.

Thank you, Birna

Earl rhymes with the English word girl without the G. You should have no problem.

As far as contributions, I am hesitant. I've been SEVERELY slammed for my sometimes conservative views on learning the craft and sometimes unorthodox practices. Among other things, rules (or guidelines which were given us by the Photo 'gods') should not only (at times) be broken or ignored, but smashed and erased.

Oh, well...

Thank you, Ian

I do have a treasure trove of experiences to share. But my 'knowledge' (I may have used the wrong word in my intro) of photographic practices are often limited to ''Go ahead. If it is not harmful or expensive, try it. It may not work, but it should be fun and educational."

Thank you, Dogman,

Until recently, dollars were scarce and I spent almost all my time taking care of Eileen (my wife). She was in a bad way. Now I have nothing else to do. Except with food, photography, computers and music, I'm a minimalist

I love the Weston quote.

Earl

[ianwatson]

As far as contributions, I am hesitant. I've been SEVERELY slammed for my sometimes conservative views on learning the craft and sometimes unorthodox practices. Among other things, rules (or guidelines which were given us by the Photo 'gods') should not only (at times) be broken or ignored, but smashed and erased.

NikonGear is a peaceful oasis in cyberspace. Civility is the rule, the expectation and the reality. So please do dip a toe in the water.

Unorthodox practices? You will fit right in 

[mxbianco]

...
Attempts at pronouncing my name by others include awwl and ahrr.

...

I love the Weston quote.

Earl

Hi,

Don't attempt to explain how to pronounce your name to an Italian with "it sounds just like the address of a Webpage, i.e. URL", because they would pronounce it "OORL"... The "girl" similarity is better! Although some would pronounce girl as ghaerl, and would get it wrong! And they would pronounce the french word for "heart":  "COEUR"  as "CARE"
But then every language has its peculiarities, for example the only Italian word with a Z that is pronounced correctly by english-speaking people is PIZZA.

I don't like the Weston quote: it severely limits the field of photogenic subjects, and nowadays it's better to get accustomed to not using a car...

Welcome to NG, Url !

Ciao from Massimo

[Wannabebetter]

I would never do something so dreadful, as addressing a non-com (especially USAF-ret.) "sir". That's reserved for those who don't actually work for a living. Would "Duke" or "Tones", suffice?

[Erik Lund]

Welcome to NikonGear! Enjoy