Camera Talk

I miss CE and Ed the Ned, too.

Hard to believe it's been 10 years already since NFF was in its glory days.

As above. I also miss Jorn -even if he's alive and kicking.

You know, after the move from photo.net, we had many great characters. Many of them have moved on, and along with them the interesting discussions that once filled the forums. A few have passed away.

Not that the people here aren't interesting, there just aren't enough of us. We need to change this from "assisted living" to a vibrant community again.

I'd like to see us get a lot more people in here, including some younger folks who are passionate about photography.

Forums are a tricky thing. Certain forums have a certain attitude toward them. At any time of the day, you can go to RangefinderForum.com and see a discussion that debates the various ASPH versions of a Leica lens.

DPReview, unless it has changed, is totally digital, which you would expect, filled with pixel peepers and needless discussions of minutae.

Photo.net continues, although I haven't spent any significant time on there in years, so I couldn't tell you the current state of things. I don't spend any time on Fred Miranda, Ken Rockwell, MF Forum or really any others. APUG still has a strong following - and is still always asking for money. That sort of turns me off.

Regardless, I won't be shutting down the forums, as the cost for operating them is minimal. And I won't be asking you for money.

Pnet had some major personnel changes and most of the older Mods and Admins quit. It is a great archive. Flickr forms used to also be viverant and a few were like the Wild West until someone hired me as a new Sheriff. Then on the other hand Flickr most likely won't be around in 10 years with Yahoo in the state it is in.

I would be more than happy to help recruit a younger class of people but I fear most of them are too thin skinned and have been raised with the attitude that almost is good enough and everyone is a winner. Maybe I should get off my lawn chair and just yell at the kids to get off my lawn

Also, please remember that NFF had its ups and downs, and slumps in enthusiasm were not uncommon. As Mike says, there aren't many of us, and a couple of missing ones makes for a big dent.

The upside of this is we are basically a bunch of friends. I've been tempted to come and vent my personal life here, as I feel very close to all of you. And in fact, I will explain now why I have posted so little: I am too sad. My country became a literal hell hole in the last 2-3 years, and is still going downhill fast. Constantly worrying about my family's wellbeing does not entice photography all that much. At least not for me.

We still have good times. I still take pictures of them. Heck, I'll share some soon.

Yes I wondered why you have not mentioned anything about that.

Santiago, down here we more or less follow what is happening there, and I do regret most of it.

All the best to you and your family.

The best to you and your family in these trying times, Santiago. I read an article today about the government's inability to pay for all the money they have had printed. How long can Maduro last under those circumstances?

PF

What Julio and Phil said.

Thanks a lot, friends. Maduro's government seems to be on its way out- give hime 2-3 years max. But I think the damage they have done will endure what is left of my lifetime.