[LargeFormat] Introductions

[Dean Cookson]

On Saturday, January 18, 2003, at 12:04 PM, Clive Warren wrote:
> It seems that we do not hear from a large number of people on the list 
> so this in an invite to everyone to come out of lurking mode and tell 
> us who you are. Something simple on your photographic background, kit 
> and preferred format/film and location would be a good starting point.

Surething. ;-)

My name is Dean Cookson and I've been dabbling in photography for 12 
years or so.  Like a number of folks I got my start in small format and 
shot 35mm color slides for a little more than a decade.  For the past 
couple of years I'd been getting an urge to try bigger negs in 1998 I 
traded some old Nikkormat stuff I had for a beat up C330.  It was an 
improvement but about a year ago I took the plunge and picked up an 
entire 4x5 kit (built around a Tachihara woodfield) on Ebay for a great 
price and I haven't touched the 35 or 6x6 since.

Starting in the spring of 2002, I took a few courses on the Zone System 
and on B&W printing at the New England School of Photography in Boston, 
Mass.  By this past fall I had a handle on how HP5+ would respond to 
development changes, was making prints I was reasonably happy with and 
I was thrilled with the facilities and community I'd found at NESOP.  
Then Fate, being what it is, decided things needed a little shaking up. 
  While on a 2 week vacation in Yosemite and California wine country 
(yes, I brought the 4x5) I was laid off from my job in Boston and got 
hired for a new one in San Francisco.  So, at the end of December, my 
wife and I packed everything up and moved out to the Bay Area.

Now that we're starting to get settled a bit, I'm trying to figure out 
what to do about a darkroom and looking forward to shooting some of the 
great countryside that's out here.

Dean