New Members Introductions, Biographical Ramblings Etc

[cdaught]

My name is Christine. This is my first time visiting this site and I thought I would introduce myself! I'm 26 and I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I started out as an artist (when I was about 4) and have been creating art ever since then. I've been interested in photography since I was in high school when I started taking photos for the school yearbook and learning how to develop my own photos in the darkroom. I have also been interested in computers since around the same time. My interest in photo retouching started in 1995 when I first tried Photoshop. Over the years I've taught myself the program.

I was introduced to photo retouching as a profession when I was hired to retouch digital photos using Photoshop for a company that produced Virtual Tours for the internet using a technology called IPIX. The work basically consisted of taking two 180-degree fisheye photos and matching the colours and tones so that they would fit together seamlessly. After that I was hired on at a different company as a retoucher, or as they called it "image technician". It was another company that produced Virtual Tours photography for the net, but instead of IPIX we used a program called MGI Photovista to build panoramic photos by taking 12-14 individual photos and then merging or stitching them into one long panoramic image. This is where I really learned a lot as a result of 10-12 hour work days doing nothing but retouching photos, 5-6 days a week for 6 months. The images we were producing were travel photos and the look the company wanted for every image was that of a glossy travel brochure, so even if the original images were not technically very good, taken on cloudy days, or even if the real location didn't look very appealing our job was to make it look bright, sunny, so that when people would see the images they would say "I'd love to go there". Sometimes it took a lot of manipulation to make a place look nice when it really wasn't at all. And everything had to have absolutely no trace of ever being tampered with or it would not be up to the company's standard, so it had to always look realistic. So I learned how to get the best possible results in the quickest possible amount of time. It was a valuable learning experience. If you're interested I have some samples of the kind of images I'm describing check out http://www.daughtry.ca/portfolio/6/retouch.htm

For the last year I've worked independantly as a freelance graphic artist, doing retouching, photography, web design, illustration, and basically whatever else looks interesting to me! I'm looking forward to joining in on the forum and trying out some of the challenges. Happy Holidays!

[Dolby]

Hello, my name is Phil. This is also my first time here.
I'm 35 and live in the mountains (little ones) near Melbourne, Australia.
I've been into photography for a long time......was doing a commercial and fine art degree in photography but stopped as being partially colorblind, color processing was just doing my head in. I was being too much of a perfectionist and became really frustrated at my inability to produce the colors that everyone else did. Looking back I'd now call it artistic licence..
Be prepared for some interesting interpretations......hehe.
Anyway, learnt hand touching with inks back then.
Been into computer graphics for a few years now as well as .html and flash. Most graphic work has been either for the web, logo's or bits and pieces of graphic design. I love to just open up PS6 when I've got time and just let go.........usually produces a wallpaper or something. I've digitally retouched only a few photo's for family and friends and find it quite a challenge.
Photo manipulation has been a bit of a habit for a while.
Thought I was doing OK until I got onto Katrin Eismanns' site.
WOW.
So I consider myself a newbie to digital retoughing and am waiting for Amazon to send me Katrin's book.
Ummmm what else.........oh yeah, I spend far too much time in other design forums as an admin/moderator/spammer......hehe.

Nice to meet you all *shakes hands all 'round*

Dolby

[Jim Conway]

Am I the oldest one here? I started in photography in '47 in the ad department of a firm in downtown Chicago ...continued my education courtesy of the USAF at the photography school at Lowery Field in Denver ...and opened the my first studio in Fairfield Ca. in 1952. I bought Bruno's in Portland Oregon in the mid 70's and finally "retired in business" in the mid 90's.

My interest in photography has never dulled and, from the moment I saw that first print coming up in the developer to my most recent attempts at retouching on my newest tool, a Wacom Cintiq, every day in my half century plus career has introduced new wonders.

I have truly enjoyed being able to become a part of forums like this where I can share some of my experiences with others with similar interests at all levels ...and although I can often shed some light on handling the older processes and alternatives, I'm also learning a lot about digital here from the younger generations!

If I have any strong points to offer others in this field, it would probably be in business promotion. I've so often heard that it's difficult to make money in the arts but that certainly doesn't need to be the case! For anyone interested, additional information on my current Photo Conservation business is available in the "About Us" section of the Timemark Netscape Business Card at. http://card.netscape.com/timemark

Jim Conway

[Kristen Lindsey]

Hello Everyone,
I my name is Kristen Lindsey. I am 27 years old and I live in Sandusky, Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie. I am artist, but I have only recently discovered the joys of digital artwork, thanks to Photoshop 6. I am currently working on becoming a certified web designer. I have been using Photoshop since October of last year, and I have taken classes to improve my skills. What can I say? I am hooked! I am very interested in photo retouching, and I came accross this site by the way of a Yahoo search for tutorials. I think that I will really enjoy the challenges. I have submitted my first one today, the one titled "back to work". Please tell me what you think. I am not sure if it has been posted yet.
-Kristen

[d_kendal]

Hi everybody,
My name is David Kendal, I'm 15, Home schooled (grade 10, favorite subjects: art, computers) and I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
I've been messing around on computers since my Dad got his first one in '92 (when the only thing I knew how to do was play solitaire) and I've always been very interested in the arts. I started getting more seriously into computers when I was about 11 or 12, when I started using email and learning HTML etc. to create websites.
Last year I got a job at Mcdonalds ( yeah I know its a lame job but hey.. at least its money) and in december I finally had enough pay from my job to get my own computer. Since I was kind of broke after buying it, I've been looking for as much freeware as I can find. One of the programs I found, called "the GIMP" (Its a lot like photoshop but its free), I was really happy to find because I was annoyed by the limitations of most regular photo programs. I've been learning the program mostly by tutorials, and one day my Dad brought me some tutorial files which included some pics and text files from RetouchPro. It looked interesting so I checked out the site. I thought the challenges were a cool Idea so I tried a few, and now I'm totally addicted to these things!
anyway, thats who I am and how I ended up here.

- David

[tje]

Hi all,

First post here, so thought it was appropriate I introduced myself. I am 35, single and a total 'geek' (I think that is the right word )

I started in photography when I was 6 and my parents bought me a Kodak 126 camera to take on a school trip. (They put a black and white film in it cos it was cheaper than colour at the time!) Since then I have progressed slightly, but I still prefer B&W.

I started in Computers when my Gran bought me a VIC20 - little did she know what she was starting! Now the PC's are taking over the house and I am considering getting a MAC just to find out if they are as good as my friends say they are. My fav toy at present is my IPAQ - since I read constantly the ebook reader on there is the best bit of software yet! I started Photoshop'ing with a copy of version 3 a friend (with way too much money) bought then couldn't be bothered to use. Of course a scanner etc followed very shortly.

So that is the history.... I live with my dogs,( some of which I know are more intelligent than I am,) and my parents ( who I am not sure about intelligence wise ) I am based in Poole Dorset in the UK.

Nice to meet you all!

[Stephen M]

Hello, my name is Stephen Marsh. I am based in Sydney, Australia and have been working in prepress since 1988. I originlly apprenticed as a compositor/typesetter and then moved into desktop systems full time around 1993.

Although I have been involved in general prepress and production art duties for print, I am currently employed as a full time 'imaging specialsist' for a magazine publisher - which entails the colour correction and retouching for around ten monthly publications which cover a wide range of subjects - all of which are image intensive.

I have just found the site and the community spirit is the best that I have seen on any Photoshop or graphics list - this is quite an achievement.

I am looking forward to learning and sharing my experience with all of you.

Regards,

Stephen Marsh.

[Brandee]

Hiya... found this site linked on another forum that I am a part of.

I've been lurking for a day or so and decided I should register... looks like this is as good of a place as any to make my first post. (: I'm from Michigan, and I'm 23. I attended college at the Art Institute of Pittsbugh where I majored in photography, but due to some personal circumstances I never finished and got my degree. Since then, I've shot a few weddings, worked for child photography studios most professionals would laugh at and flashed my 3-year-old with a camera so many times he'll probably have eye problems. Heh. I've also been working at getting comfortable with Photoshop for a few years now, and I'm shooting digital these days because most of my images end up on the computer anyway... not to mention that the budget is a little tight and digital is so much cheaper for me than film. You can see some of my stuff at my personal site. Unfortunately I've been too lazy to scan in some of the better stuff I did while I was at college, and some of the stuff I have posted is pretty scary. But I'm still learning...

I've never seen a site or forum that discusses retouching and image enhancement in such detail! I have only done a few in the past as my family was always good about storing and taking care of older prints, but I love the challenges section and have already worked on a couple of the images there and hopefully they'll be added soon.

[Jakaleena]

Hey All!

I'm Jackie Wilson (yeah, it's my REAL name... ) and I'm, ummmm.....

<mumbles to self and counts on fingers>

43 years old, yeah that's it....

I've been into photography since I was a little girl. I got a Brownie Hawkeye camera in about the 4th grade and annoyed my family and everyone at 4H camp with it. Then, when I was old enough, Mom gave me the old Ansco 35mm that was my dad's (he died when I was 2). My current "significant other" is a wonderful guy named Cannon Elan 7e...

As an extension of my love for photography, I learned to use a darkroom, and in about 1980 or so I was hired by a local minilab chain as a printer. I was eventually promoted, and was a district manager for them for a while, but being in the lab or behind a camera was what I really loved. From there, I graduated to bigger pro labs and have been a lab technician/manager pretty much all of my life now. As a lab technician I was introduced early to traditional retouching and restoration and ultimately to digital as well. It was a fine fit for me, since my childhood school days were spent listening to teachers say, "Jackie! Quit drawing and PAY ATTENTION!" Black and white art is what I really love to shoot, and I've done a lot of traditional hand coloring. I also developed a technique for painting on 35mm negatives with dyes and then printing the neg. on color paper. It's quite different looking, and I have not been able to reproduce the same effect with Photoshop yet - I'm trying though! I've had a few gallery shows and had a few things published over the years, which has been kind of fun.

In 1994 I decided that I wanted a college education since I never got around to getting one, so I started college almost 20 years to the day after I graduated from high school. My major was English (I also write), but as soon as I was done with my studies I went right back to photography and being a lab tech.

I was born in Kentucky and currently live in central Ohio, which is where we lived when I was a little girl. Right now I'm in a little place with one stop sign, about 10 houses and and endless supply of COWS - about 12 miles to the closest "convenience" store and 20 miles to the nearest "real" town. But in between my childhood and now, I lived for 18 years in Phoenix, AZ and 10 years in Portland, OR.

I'm currently taking a leave from lab work to try and build my own retouching/restoration business.

[Flora]

By Flora Meletti (Flora) on Sunday, May 26, 2002


Hi everyone!
I really should browse around more!

I am Flora (my real name too!).

I am 50, married since 33 years and have two grown children: Claudio, 32 and Lara, 27.

I am Italian and live in Milan, Italy, but I have lived in different other countries (European and not) for over 25 years, (my husband, now retired, worked for an international pharmaceutical company).

I started out as a teacher, but decided later, to become a translator.

I'm probably the exception here, because I'd never been interested in photography at all... I started photo "manipulation" as a joke, (I wanted to make something funny for a friend's birthday); about 3 years ago, using PhotoDeLuxe which came with the scanner I had just bought...I enjoyed it very much so, occasionally, I repeated the experience...until I got hooked ...I passed to Photoshop about 1 and a half years ago, and finding it very difficult to use, I started looking for and reading everything I could get my eyes on, trying to learn how to use it!....During one of my searches, I found "Il Paradiso" (RetouchPro ).....and the rest is history....

[fugitive]

I'm surprised you didn't discover PSP, as it's much friendlier than PS and a fraction of the price $99 vs. $600 us. Most folks don't need PS even when they think they want it. They just like the statis it has. PSP can do almost anything it can do.

[Flora]

Hi Fugitive!

I'm sure you are absolutely right...but at the time I knew nothing about the variety in "image elaboration" software....and, obviously, I found a very clever salesman!!!....

[ravenmd]

Hello everyone. Well I feel like coming into a movie late. Let's see what can I say about me...

I'm 104 (always lie higher, not lower, that way people will think you look great for your age!)
I work freelance as a web designer and general graphics manipulator including photo restorations. I am fairly new at it and just dove in. One day I woke up and realized I had just been laid off and had worked all my life for the financial security rather than joy and still had no financial security anyways. I decided I would do what I love. I had nothing to lose.

I did take a quickie 2 month DTP course but mostly I am self-taught. I love Photoshop. No, I mean I am seriously addicted to it. I dream about it. I saw a ding on my new car the other day and thought I can just use my lasso tool and..... I wish.

Also... just for the joy of it I make extremely wild photoshop artwork which I have gotten much encouragement about. People seem to love them. I am working on my new website right now where they will soon be posted again.

Photo restoration and retouch is definitely an art I am still learning and I see some exciting talent on this site. I'm sure I can learn plenty here. Thank you all for being here.

oh yeah.. almost forgot. My name is Marie and I'm from Montreal

you can message me on yahoo as ravenmd
my url is: www.mariedubois.com

[Hydia]

Now it is time to jump in and join the fun. I have been a registered member for a while, but I haven't participated in any of the challenges. I would visit the board daily and read and look at the work being presented. I must say, there are many talented people here and to look back at early entries to the present, I really see the growth in skills.

Now about me I have been interested in photography since the youthful age of 8. I attended high school and also college to study the fine arts of photography. I have worked at various labs doing commercial printing.

I have always had an intrest in photo restoration, and creating collages. Using Katrin's book, I have learned a lot and, I have also learned a lot from you all.

Also, the sense of friendship and warmth I get from reading your responses to each other is something to behold - being the peson on the outside looking in.

[Jakaleena]

Originally posted by Hydia
Now it is time to jump in and join the fun.

I'm so glad you did! It really IS a lot of fun. I sure hope you don't go back into hiding...