Allow myself to introduce... myself

[McNulty77]

Hello everybody!

I thought this must be the right forum to poke my head in and let all of you know who I am. I just signed on today and I am really excited about the site so far. My name is Mark, I am 29 years old, I teach 4th grade in Wilmington, Delaware, and I would describe myself as a very amateur photographer.

Obviously, teaching is my full time job and it keeps me very busy. However, I can't seem to sit still and keep diving into new adventures. Along with teaching, I have been an active writer and published one novel for middle readers, and I have also taken on a job with a local baseball team. Now, the new adventure is photography! I have been taking photos my whole life, playing with cameras and exploring, trying new things, but never took any formal classes or lessons. My Olympus digital camera recently began to malfunction in a major way, however, and I began shopping for a new one. I loved the digital SLR cameras but I had two conflicts: One, I am fairly broke and they were well above my budget. Two, I am still a novice, still learning, and I did not think I needed to jump right into that level for that price tag. Instead, I only went a little over my maximum budget and purchased the Canon Powershot S3 IS. I have been having a LOT of fun with that camera so far and still have so many things to learn about it.

I am proud of my photos and believe in their quality, but I also recognize I am just getting into the water and have plenty to learn. I look forward to sharing some of my photos and reading the comments or critiques. I ADORE praise and compliments (of course) but also take constructive criticism well as long as it is helpful. The critique is a tool for growth. Likewise, I look forward to viewing your photos and providing my thoughts, hoping that they will be a help to you. I am eager to become an active member here and participate as much as I can with my limited knowledge and experience.

Thanks for providing such a great place on the web and I look forward to getting to know all of you a bit more.

[Hellbelly]

G-day Mark. Welcome (from another newbie) to the site. I think you'll have a bit of fun in the photo challenges and contests. That was the main reason I joined. I'm in the process of buying my first digital SLR. Going for a canon 400D. Already bought a 2gig memory stick, the battery grip with two extra batteries and I'm just about to buy either a 17-40 or 17-85 lens. Looking forward to it. Sould have it all together by end of January.

Cheers.........HB

[STaylor]

Hi ... Mark welcome to bytephoto ...

[Andrask]

Welcome from another recent arrival although not to photography or forums. Couldn't agree more with you about the friendly and helpful atmosphere in this site and look forward to sharing the passion for the "light fantastic" with you and all the aficionados and members here.

[Tiger]

Hi, I am am based in the UK and new to this site also. The monthly challenge looks very interesting. I look forward to seeing some of your images.

[Sambo]

Welcome to Byte Mark!
This is a great (the best) place to learn how to improve your photography skills. I'm coming up on my one year anniversery here, and I would have never believed it if you told me I could learn so much from a web site. I think if you look in my gallery, you will find a steady improvement. The members here are all helpfull, but tend to be tough some times. But the longer you're here, you'll find that most of the critiques have merit. Feel free to comment on other's posts as well. That is the best way to get name recognition, and the members will see that your serious about being an active member. (Sometimes it's easy for a post to get lost in the shuffle.)

Look foreward to seeing your photos!

Sam

P.S. Please don't juge us by our (lack of) gramer and speling skills! (-: