My first camera was a Nikomat (yup, a baby Nikon SLR straight from Japan). I dabbled in the darkroom (my bathroom!) and just loved it all, from capturing the image to making the print. Then with raising a family and a busy education schedule, photography took a very back seat, as I seemed to never have time to 'get that film developed'... Then came along the Nikon Coolpix Digicams and I was rehooked with a pent up vengeance. I could take pictures to my heart's content and see my results right away, not have to worry about driving in snow to a photolab, or not even making 'store hours' because of a long workday. I could have the fun, once again, of laboring and obsessing over my own prints with an inkjet printer, even at 0300 if I wanted! I currently use the Nikon D3x (24.5MP), Nikon D3 (12MP), Nikon D300 (modified for astrophotography) Nikon D2x (12MP), a Kodak DCS Pro SLR/n (14MP),and a Nikon D100 (6MP)specially modified to do Infrared photography, although many earlier photos on this website were made with Nikon CoolPix (5000,5700,8700)cameras. Other main equipment: Nikkors 28mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4, 105mm f/2.5,105 VR f/2.8, 10.5mm fisheye,14-24 AFS f/2.8, 24-70 AFS f/2.8, 80-400 VR, 70-200 VR f/2.8, Micro Zoom 70-180mm; Sigma 12-24mm, Sigma 300-800mm f/5.6, Gitzos 2228 and 1548 tripods, RRS Ballhead (BH-55), L plates, and macro rails, Canon 500D, Nikon SB800 x2, Nikon R1C1 Macro Flash, White Lightning studio lights, Wimberly Sidekick, Leitz-Wetzlar Ortholux microscope, Epson Stylus Pro 3880 printer, and the Epson Stylus 2400 printers. I read, with interest, comments that 'debate' film vs digital. It's nice to be aware of the differences, like how great it is to travel with a 4GB memory card through the airports instead of 278 rolls of film (yup, at the lowest resolution my camera COULD put 9,999 images on just 1GB card), but it is a shame that photographers argue over 'which is best'. Having experienced both workflows, the bottom line is that IT IS THE IMAGE THAT COUNTS. Does it grab you, move you, enlighten a topic? The impetus for my return to photography in a serious way was my son joining the ARMY. I committed to sending him a photo greeting card for every single day that he was in Basic Combat Training, up through Graduation Day. I bought more software, and learned some Photoshop on the fly, all in hopes of keeping his spirit going through a difficult and isolating experience. I really enjoyed the whole photographic process, my son loved the pictures and shared them with his buddies, and we drew closer together from that endeavor. This is one of the deepest facets of photography, bringing people closer to each other. Although I am basically a self taught photographer, there is a lot I can learn from others. To that end, I enjoy viewing other's work and continuously engage in exploring and honing my craft and vision. I completed four BetterPhoto courses; Digital Black and White Printing, Stock Photography, Macro course, and the Lighting for Commercial Photography course. I was very excited to attend a weeklong workshop with two Nikon Legends, Vincent Versace and Moose Peterson! My take on Photography? Equipment and skills are important, Vision is supreme, Passion the reason...