Hello everyone. I want to say hello and introduce myself and to thank you for the great information I have gathered so far from Lurkland, USA. I just registered and hope to be a contributor soon - but for now I have questions. I am a member of several forums outside of video and know how newbies can test one’s patience, so I hope I don’t cross that line.

I have been a photojournalist for a major metro newspaper for a long time, won my share of accolades in both photojournalism and fine art. I have been able to combine both in my work style as I push out the daily grind.

I bought a Canon Gl-2 and I use a mac G-4 laptop with an external 300 gig hard drive and iMovies. I also carry a small Zr-200 (rebate money) in my camera bag on assignments and have edited a few small stories for the company web site.

Honestly I don’t know where I am going with the video. I’m sure weddings- a shot (stills) 176 of them in the 90's, two more than I should have (LOL). I want to produce and shot documentaries but know there is really no the market for that kind of thing- but I still want to do the stories I have in mind. I am in the early stages of planning two. The GL-2 will be the back up camera- I want to buy a XL-1 or XL-2 within the next year if certainly things work out. Still, film has always been my passion, so I guess video fits right in there.

I'll ask my questions in another post. Thank you- mp

Welcome Michael! Glad you emerged from the 'shadows'.

I think you're in good company here. Personally I rarely shoot video any more, opting for still photography. But I still keep my hand in video and filmmaking, in general, continues to interest me.

You may be as much of a contributor here as a consumer. One of the deficits that so many newcomers to videography seem to have is a lack of understanding basic photography principals -- which, of course, all apply to videography.

So fire-away with questions when you're ready. But don't be shy about sharing your considerable knowledge of photography, either!

Thanx for the welcome. I probably might know less about the technical side of cameras than most of you. I started with Tri-X and accufine and now use a Nikon D-1H although I personally have own Canons my whole life. Computers have turned me into a techie over the years. I spent more time learning from the pictures of Gene Smith , Josef Koudelka and Sebastiao Salgado than from trade journals- though I wish I had at times.

Anyway- thank you for the welcome and I’m off to read some more threads.

mp