I like this. I beleive it captures your essence.

David from Skye: Many thanks Chichi!

This is so you! Look at all that geometry going on! Wasn't it Cartier-Bresson who said that with regard to composition, you should be able to turn an image up-side-down and it still look right? Something like that anyway. Lol, not so easy with a monitor but the shapes and balance within this frame are great. Lighting is good too. Lovely self-portrait David.

David from Skye: Thank you Jose- you know me so well, so I trust your judgement! Your turn next!

You look just like I imagined, David. Nice to meet you.

David from Skye: Thanks Mary- you were one of the instigators of this!

Not what i expected David, nice to meet you.

David from Skye: What- you thought I was even older and wrinklier?!

great to meet you David.

really handy to have a camera built into your head to! lol. mal

David from Skye: Thank you so much Mal- I've been laughing for hours at your comment! I wasn't thinking that at the time but so, so true- half man, half camera!!

Nice to meet you David, my days of "carting" a big camera like the Bronica are past but yoyr results that you show us make it seem worth your while I am sure. Have a good trip. Brian.

David from Skye: Thanks Brian, and I didn't have a very successful trip- took my camera solo from the bag for lightness, forgot to put a memory card in and didn't notice 'til 2 miles from the car!!

You did a fantastic job portraying yourself here, Dave. The shot is very tight, not a millimeter of extra space. But most I like the wrinkles at the corner of your eye. That means you like to laugh a lot, and per my life long obsrvation, folks who laugh a lot usually have kind hearts.
Cheers for the acquaintance, Dave.

David from Skye: Many thanks for your kind words Viktor- You are correct, I do a lot of laughing! In fact I am far too optimistic about life, it annoys friends as I am so unrealistic!

Great self-portrait David, well framed and composed. Nice to meet you. You are as I imagined - you have a kind face which goes with the sort of images you post!
Ingrid

David from Skye: Thank you for your kind and flattering words Ingrid, and without meaning to sound pompous, I'm very glad if that does show in my work- I'm very much a "glass half full" person! You next! We need more that boots though!

That really is a self-portrait that is captivating. Congratulations, David.

David from Skye: Thank you chad- I think it tells you a lot about me!

Very cleverly composed to have the end of the lens dead centre on your face.

Hello ... and aren't you glad the E3 is a bit smaller than this one.

It's a jolly good self-portrait, shows the essence of the man, and you are as I imagined you to be.

David from Skye: Many thanks Ellie, and, yes it says more than even I realised at the time- man who hides behind camera etc! The E-3 is only slightly smaller (I use it with the battery grip on for comfort) and only slightly lighter but much more comfortable in the hand!

Nice to put a face with a name. Nice capture.

David from Skye: Thank you Sherri- this was all your fault!

An excellent rendition David, and much like the image I had in mind, a bit rugged like Skye itself. The composition is quite striking as well with a grand use of the bronica to provide a frame to the face. Like it.

David from Skye: Many thanks Les- hiding behind a camera says a lot about me generally!

What a relaxed and happy expression - Skye life is evidently good for you. It is always good to put a face to a name (or even half a face!). Your's is nothing like but excactly what I expected. Now there's a contradiction in there that I hope you can see past!

As for the equipment - I used to cart around a couple of Nikon bodies, 4 lenses, a flash gun, tripod, filter set and lord knows what other assorted bits of kit. I'm so glad those days are over! I can now get better pictures with a single camera with built in zoom lens. OK quality may suffer a bit, especially over A3 but I'm not producing that type of print anymore.

David from Skye: Many thanks Ron- I think I know what you mean! I'm still producing A3 prints for sale elsewhere so still carry too much heavy gear. I have never worked out if modern zooms are any lighter than a set of the primes they replaced!

I now use a Fuji 9600. SLR style with permanently attached 10x (28 - 280) zoom lens, 9.6 megapixels on a larger than compact size sensor, 1cm macro, very quick shutter response, auto-focus and power-on time,,,,I won't give the full brochure spec. Enough to say that apart from resolution this one camera can rival and surpass the entire suitcase of Nikon gear I used to lug around. Of course, that's not a question of label or manufacturer but technology. And the weight? Less than the smallest Nikon film SLR I ever owned with a 35-85 zoom. Would I like better - of course, especially for specialised shots like birds or ultra close ups. Do I want to be encumbered - no way!! Would I like to sell my prints - you bet - any hints?

David from Skye: Hints? (1) Don't take photos "to order"- take only what genuinely interests you and your personality will shine through. (2) Have a unique slant to your work that no-one else is producing (in my case, no-one else is taking, framing and selling shots of the shifting weather of the Outer Hebrides and its effects, and (3) find a good outlet/gallery who will give your work time to find it's market. And finally, the equipment one uses to produce the work is remarkably unimportant- my biggest sellers were taken 15 years ago on a 35mm film camera (Olympus OM3), hand held in rotten weather! Your Fuji is a great tool and with the right motivation will produce winners! Good Luck!

Thanks Dave, useful advice.
You obviously been selling prints for years. Is/was it a sideline or your occupation? Do you print yourself or send them off to a lab? If yourself, do you keep detailed printing records of settings, profiles etc or just go with the auto settings? And what printer - I'm in the process of data collection for eventual purchase of an A3+ printer so any info/advice is most wlecome.

If lab processed do you instruct/keep records?

How about mounting and framing? Do you do this or leave it to the purchaser? And finally .....
Do you sell multiple copies of prints or just one-offs?

OK - brain-picking over. Hope you're enjoying the wonderful weather we've had down here for the past few days.

David from Skye: Ron, it started as a sideline (I was filming on Lewis, took hundreds of shots, started selling them in the excellent gallery there) but since I retired a couple of years ago I put more effort into it and it now provides a nice little back-up income! I do all my own printing- I have found an excellent paper that has archival quality, gloss or glacier finish, doesn't cost the earth and the onlinepapercompany send it in 24 hours. As my prints fit A3 or A3+, there really is only one printer for the amount I produce and I would suggest it for you too- the Epson R2400. It produces superb quality prints every time, is unassailable when it comes to B+W printing as it has three blacks, has never failed me in three years, is swift and very quiet- what more could you ask?! It has only two minor niggles that shouldn't put you off but are worth mentioning- one is the price of the ink cartridges (about a tenner each, and you need eight) but this added to the cost of my chosen paper equates to only £2 per A3 full page colour print- not a killer. The other is only annoying if you keep changing from glossy to matt papers (I don't) as it only has one slot for black ink and two different inks according to chosen paper so you have to swap them round and it then does a complete headclean using lots of ink! Stick to one paper and this doesn't matter.
I have the Mac, the screen and the printer all profiled, colour-corrected and talking to each other in one language, so don't ever worry about mis-matches- it comes out automatically!
I have a good friend/framer who does me a great discount, so I do all my own mount-cutting and putting into his frames. I don't do "limited edition" or anything fancy. Saving costs all down the line, finding the right enticing price to charge and being prepared to be surprised at which images the public prefer all help to bring in a good few thousand a year- good luck if you take the plunge!

you haven't changed a jot David in all these years - you always looked old

David from Skye: ...but I still feel as young as when you and I danced to Billy Joel's Uptown Girl while eating Penny's blue food!!

Hi David, and pleased to meet you. Seeing a picture of someone you have had communication with but not face to face almost always throws up a suprise - just like seeing a picture of a radio DJ for the first time. I'm not sure what I expected but I'm suprised none the less.
I guess I expected years copious amounts of single malt to have taken their toll a bit more

David from Skye: Ha! I'm a failure as a Scot- my favourite drink is milk!

Keep using the Bronica! The quality of the lens is everything in any form of photography

David from Skye: So, so true Chris- I'm sure many youngsters who have never seen a lovely Velvia trannie from a medium format lens wouldn't believe it was such "old technology" had produced it! I also think the time, effort (and expense!) needed to take a shot gives you time to consider what is important in all your chosen settings.

Hi Dave,

Just two questions about the Epson. I know there are concerns about Epson print heads blocking up if its not used for a while. This problem doesn't effect HP and Canon as both have replaceable print heads. Has this ever been a concern for you?

Do you use it for your 'normal' everyday printing as well or reserve it for photos only?

David from Skye: Ron, I can answer both questions in one- I use another A3 printer for "ordinary" stuff, with normal, cheap copy inks, the ubiquitous Epson 1290, a great workhorse for almost every studio in Britain for years! I used to run this with a continuous ink system for economy- it is incredibly cheap that way BUT the systems ( I used more than one through the years) kept failing for two reasons internal vacuums stopping the ink coming out, and the heads getting blocked- nightmares even writing about it now!! However, using it with cartridges, no matter how long a gap between uses, its a great friend!
And I can report, hand on heart, that the R2400 has never, ever failed or blocked for any reason in three years of use, sometimes bashing out prints non-stop every day and sometimes sitting unused for weeks. Hope this helps!