[LargeFormat] Good things about the View Camera conference

[Jim Brick]

First, I wish it known, that the views that I presented, at Clive's asking, 
were "entirely my own views." Any hint that I was speaking for someone else 
as well as myself is not true. It is entirely possible, and probable, that 
no one else shared these views. I am an old curmudgeon and am too old to 
pussy-foot around, making sure I don't ruffle anyone's feathers. And there 
is always two sides to every story.

The other side:

The good things about the View Camera Conference are:

1.) That it happened. Kudos must be given to Steve Simmons for putting out 
the effort to get it together.
2.) A lot of very enthusiastic LF folks got to gather and network. I saw a 
lot of great prints from participants.
3.) There were many solutions to many personal LF problems solved at the 
trade show.
4.) It is always wonderful to put a face with the voice you hear on the phone.
5.) There were indeed some presentations that were very good.
6.) The stand-up comic was very good (the Kodak rep.)  :-)
7.) After a few sessions of overcrowding, things were many times 
re-arranged to make room for large crowds.
8.) I learned that Kodak, Ilford, and Fuji will go out of their way to 
accommodate special product requests.

So, even though I viewed this conference in terms of all of the other 
conferences that I have attended, I have to say that I was probably unfair. 
I just realized (my wife reminded me) that this is the second ever View 
Camera conference. Knowing that, I have to say, in all honesty, that it was 
a very good conference.

My real gripes are still:

No checking of badges.
No microphones for the speakers.
Presentation room too full chaos.
Kodak won't make a special run of Super-XX!

In reality, these can easily be solved and most seasoned conferences have 
done so. I expect Steve to easily solve these annoyances. Except for the 
Super-XX!

Bottom line - would I attend the next conference?  Absolutely!!!

Steve, thanks for doing it. My friends and I are looking forward to the 
next View Camera conference gathering.

:-)

Jim