[Hydia]

Nope, no more hiding.

[Blacknight]

Hi. My name is Phil and I'm a graphaholic. I have to force myself to go outside and tend my yard, and when I do I see a flower that must have its picture taken, and so I grab my digital and snap away, run back inside and upload it and manipulate it, then remeber that yard work needs doing and force myself back outside only to repeat the process. I also am a master at run-on sentences.

I've always liked graphics, in one form or another. Tried drawing as a child and was "ok" at it, but that wasn't my "thing." I got a Commodore 64 years ago and did graphics on it - even sold some to a magazine on disk for that platform. Finally got an associates in Graphic Arts and bought a Mac and here I am. I use Photoshop because I learned it as part of my studies and because I got a good deal on it from Apple who packaged it as an incentive to students to get them to buy their computer.

I have worked for a newspaper doing their graphics, where I learned to cut out images from their backgrounds and make clipping paths, and a label company. I was also a computer lab aid at the college I graduated from helping students with graphical and technical problems. I think it was the spirit of helping, which I like to receive as well as give, that was the attraction for me here. Talented people who are willing to share their knowlege is, in my experience, rare. It seems most are secretive, I suppose for job security reasons or something, and to find those who are not was really nice for a change.

Black Knight was my old CB handle to start with, the name I created my art under on the C64, and various other things during my history in computers. Most people eventually end up shortening it to BK, which I am very used to so feel free.

I'm in Washington state (moved here and thought "ahhh...finally!") and LOVE the place. I live on an island in the Puget Sound with my cat Pat. I play the keyboard fairly well, like walking in the woods and camping.

[Barry]

Hi everyone,

This RetouchPRO site is so massive I've only just found this thread so here's a little bit from one of RetouchPRO's minority groups - Brits!

I'm a 49 year old police officer from the North-West of the UK. I've been married to my present wife (ducking as she takes a swipe at me for that last comment!) for just over 25 years. We met 14 months before we wed and, for me at least, it was love at first sight.............(moment of passion from the good lady, Trish!)......!

We have 3 children ranging from our mentally and physically disabled 23 year old son, Mark, to our 20 year old daughter, Alex, a psychology undergraduate, and eventually our 15 year old youngest, Andrea, still at high school.

Since leaving college in 1974, I have been a teacher both here in the UK and in the Netherlands. In 1980, somewhat disillusioned by the crap state of most UK state schools I joined the Greater Manchester Police. I opted out of the promotion system in 1988, 12 months after being promoted to Sergeant. I am currently a traffic sergeant cruising around in Volvo V70 or S60 T5 cars.

My interest in photography started in 1990 with my first SLR, a Canon A1. I've owned most of the less expensive makes over the years (Canon, Nikon, Minolta, & Pentax 35mm systems together with Fuji and Mamiya 645 and 6x6 medium format kits). I've been secretary of a local photographic society for the past 6 years during which time I got into computers - BIG TIME!

I used to play a lot of on-line multiplayer gaming (Quake, UT, Half-Life, etc.) but now I tend to concentrate on the imaging side of things. It was through a link from a site I subscribe to www.davrodigital.co.uk that I came across ReTouch Pro.

This is without doubt one of the best sites on the web and also one of the friendliest. I am looking forward to spending a considerable amount of time sharing and learning with you all.

Cheers,
Barry

[OpalCat]

I ran across this site last week while I was looking for damaged photos to practice restoring, and I got hooked! I've been using computers since I got a Commodore 64 in the '80s when I was in high school. Even then, I used it for graphics with a program called Koala Pad--using a joystick to draw!

I'm 30 years old, married 11 years, and have a 6 1/2 year old son. We live in northern Virginia, outside Washington, DC and we love it. We moved here from Tucson, AZ, which we hated. 25 years of desert heat and dryness pretty much ruined me for sunny days. I prefer clouds, rain, snow, and cold weather.

I have been keeping a personal homepage since 1995 and I have a habit of sort of adding to it. A little. Ok ok a lot. It's aroudn 2,000 pages or so. In addition to that I run a number of others sites just for fun, including a vbulletin board like this one, at www.fathom.org

If you are curious about me, you can visit my homepage, which is in my sig. I'm glad to be a part of this community! I sent in a few of the challenges last night and I can't wait for them to be added -- how long does that usually take?

[DannyRaphael]

Hello, again, Opalcat! (I just seem to be following your threads today.)

RE: Tired of the heat/dry
Been there; done that. Lived in the state of Washington since 1965. Really appreciate the relatively cool weather and low humidity here.

RE: Challenge turnaround
When challenges are submitted over the weekend, it's not unusual for the turnaround to be a little longer than if submitted other times of the week. I'd be surprised if they weren't published first thing Monday a.m.

Our fearless leader and site admin, Doug Nelson, is normally very diligent at posting entries. We do, however, give him a couple hours off per week!

Based on what I've seen of your work so far, I fearlessly predict we'll be in for a treat!

Welcome, again.

~DannyR~

[Tabizan]

Greetings ,

After buying a second hand book , Photoshop Restoration And Retouching , I'm hooked on digging out old photos and transforming them into something ( hopefully ) better , I'm armed with a shiny new copy of photoshop and a wacom tablet and I'm ready to rock and roll .
About me , well I own a few car audio stores in the UK and currently live in Cardiff , Wales where men are men and the sheep are nervous , dabble in web page design and computers as a hobby and I think I'm a forum addict .
Travelled the world in my time and lived in Germany , Spain , Hong Kong , Thailand and the Phillippines over the last 15 years , now back in rainy , cold UK and wishing I was somewhere else, my main 5 year plan is to own a beach bar in Thailand , and never having to own another pair of shoes.
Still single with no kids , I have to keep telling myself I'm 35 now and need to be settling down , but I cant face it , maybe someday when I grow up !

Enough , enough,
Looking forward to chatting here,
Nigel.

[Jakaleena]

Welcome Nigel!

Cardiff , Wales where men are men and the sheep are nervous

We have a place like that here - we call it Kentucky (I was born there - lol)

I have to keep telling myself I'm 35 now and need to be settling down , but I cant face it , maybe someday when I grow up !

I know what you mean there! But I don't plan to grow up, so it's a non-issue for me...


We're glad to have you here and look forward to seeing more of you!

(cool avatar, btw... nervous sheep... hahaha...)

[DannyRaphael]

Nigel:

Welcome aboard. I recently turned 50, became a first-time dad at 44 and (according to my wife) still haven't grown up! Don't rush it. [i]Attitude is everything!/i]

Regarding your dream, see the Walt Disney quote below. That says a lot.

You've found the right site to get lots of questions answered about photo retouching / restoring, photoshop and about anything else you can image + have lots of fun.

Glad you found us. Look forward to seeing you in the forums.

--------

Jak:

With all due respect to Tom, another U.S. State where I've heard sheep are nervous is, "Mon-ta-a-a-a-a-na"! Something about especially chilly winters or the like...

~Danny~

[Tabizan]

Thanks , Jak,

Your avatar made me smile as well , throw me another smacker

[Tabizan]

Thanks for the welcome Danny , give me a couple of months and I'll have enough guts to participate in the challenges , for now I'll just be a unofficial moderator for sheep jokes and other animal related threads

[JBCaffrey]

Hi there,

Since I'm "hooked" on this site and it looks like I'll be hanging around for awhile, I thought I'd better introduce myself.

I first got interested in photography while in the army and, after discharge, I even worked as a photographer for a few years but gave it up and became an audio-visual producer. This eventually led to a job at The National Geographic Society's Educational Media Division producing materials for K-12 classrooms. After 23 years with NGS I retired in 1994. With my newly acquired leisure time I began researching my family's genealogy and that got me started restoring old photographs.
I didn't realize it could become an obsession. And a money funnel. It seems like every day there's a new program, plug-in, or gizmo I've just gotta have. So many toys, so little time.

I live in Silver Spring, Maryland where, when I'm not glued to the computer, I still take an occasional picture (digital camera), play the clarinet (mediocrely), dote on my five grand kids, and, with wife in tow, travel occasionally.

Jim Caffrey

[qom]

Hello, all. I am fairly new here. I am the Graphics/digital photography Sig (special interest group) leader for Another Baltimore Computer Users Group. My main computer interests are with graphics and paint programs and digital photography. Over the years I've used Paint Shop Pro starting with version 5, Photo Impact since version 3, PhotoShop 4, a shareware program called PhotoBrush, and Painter 4 through 6. In recent years, I’ve focused mainly on using PhotoImpact and recently PhotoBrush too.

I am 54 years old. Married with 3 daughters, 28, 18, and 11, the oldest of whom made us grandparents in February 2001. Until 4 years ago I worked in a local school system, in support services. I had to end up retiring on disability in late 1998 due to a neurological disorder that affected me to the point where I could no longer perform the job I had. Since that time I have spent a good deal of time learning more about computer graphics and working with digital photography. I look forward to participating here and learning from all you talented folks!

I have put up a website with a free site service to show some of my creative efforts and digital photography. If you're interested here is the URL:
http://members.designheaven.com/~toppergrafix/

In case you are wondering about my online name, "qom" it is short for quaker oats man. I've had that nickname for nearly 30 years now since someone once told a friend of mine I reminded them of the Quaker Oats Man. Of course that was back in my long hair "hippy" days. It just kind of stuck! Oh and my "real" name is Jim.

[DannyRaphael]

Welcome QOM!
(I was always a Malt-o-Meal guy, myself, mostly because that's what my dad liked = what my mom bought!)

With your wealth of graphics experience and being a seasoned veteran in life (I'm 50, myself), believe me -- you'll fit right in here, Jim. I'm sure many of us will benefit from some of your pearls of wisdom as much as you learn from others.

As you get familiar with the surroundings (see blue link below for a sneak peak at a soon to be ready for prime time site map), definitely checkout the public gallery (Post a few images of your own, if you like. Beware: 100KB size limit). Don't miss the Challenges area. The challenges is where the rubber really meet the road. The discussion Forums are great, too. Oh, heck, there's something for everyone!

Never be bashful. Ask lots of questions. Engage in the forums. But if nothing else, have a ton of fun while you're here!

Welcome aboard.

~DannyR~

[Doug Nelson]

Welcom QOM.

Have an avatar

[qom]

Thanks Doug, guess I have to ask the "dumb" question now... what do I do with it to make it appear on the bb?