Wildmaven in the house!!!!

wildmaven

New member
w00t w00t!

Hi all! I've been looking for a new photo site, as PhotoCamel bit the dust, and this looks like a very well-tended forum. :)

I currently live in Ridgecrest, CA, the earthquake capital of the world (apparently a title unknown to me when we moved here).

https://www.kget.com/return-to-ridgecrest/return-to-ridgecrest-ptsd-from-aftershocks/ There is video in that link that shows how the shaking from last July's 6.4 and 7.1 looked. I was in NY during 9/11, had recently been assaulted yet again by a patient, and then the earthquakes, so let's just say I'm having a rather difficult time lately. I took 3 months off, but am going back to work on Monday. Still not sure how I feel about that, but I've started incorporating my creative side into my therapy and it's helping.

My husband and I live with our two basset hound mixes, DarbyQ and Churro, both rescues with horrible past lives. Now, they only thing they have to concern themselves with are playing with pine cones, getting belly rubs, and knowing they are safe for the first time in their lives. :eek:

churrodarby2.jpg

I love to do landscape and wildlife photography, astrophotography, and used to do portrait and wedding photography until my arthritis put an end to that. I love to experiment with my camera when I'm bored and will assign myself projects.





I have been shocked and honored to have my photos featured on Good Morning America, ABC news, FOX news, Space.com, Seattle Aquarium, Sky and Telescope Magazine, The Community Cloud Atlas, and the Washington Ornithological Society. :eek: What, what???

I also do Pen and Ink Stippling, where each dot is hand applied with a pen, a time-consuming artform and one that is rapidly dying out in this silly rushed world of ours:



I've been doing photography as a hobby since the mid 90's when I picked up my first film camera on eBay for $40 (totally manual SRT100 Minolta), which I still have! Lots of changes to my gear since then, though!

Well, that got quite long, haha. If you read this far, you're my new best friend! :beguiled:
 

Dangerspouse

Senior Member
Wow, what an entrance! Lol - welcome! With a photography CV like that, I can't wait to see what you post here. Jump in and start playing the weekly and monthly challenges with us, particularly!

Oh my god, those dogs are sooooo cute. (Are they loud?) One of the few things I know about the breed is 1. they bay, and 2. Columbo had one, named "Dog". I bet they keep you laughing!

Great to see you here, and I hope your transition back to work is a non-stressful one. All the best!

:)
 

Dawg Pics

Senior Member
Welcome to Nikonites.
I felt that earthquake in my living room here in Lake Elsinore. Felt the next one too. Of course, it was just enough movement to feel weird.
 

wildmaven

New member
Wow, what an entrance! Lol - welcome! With a photography CV like that, I can't wait to see what you post here. Jump in and start playing the weekly and monthly challenges with us, particularly!

Funny you should mention the challenges. I just entered the fruit one today. :)

Oh my god, those dogs are sooooo cute. (Are they loud?) One of the few things I know about the breed is 1. they bay, and 2. Columbo had one, named "Dog". I bet they keep you laughing!

Thanks! :) Bassets are known for being stubborn and, even as mixed breeds, these two have every ounce of that trait! They're also big clowns! However, they have never bayed, which is a good thing. DarbyQ sheds like crazy, but Churro doesn't. Churro's tail was violently cut off by a very mean man in Mexico. He was also kicked, shot at, starved and eventually literally scraped off of the sidewalk by the authorities. After all he's been through, there isn't an angry bone in that dog's body (though he does have shrapnel still in his neck). Top photo is him today, bottom was how they found him. See the food in front of him, he had completely given up. He had maggots, flies, infections, and stuff I can't even talk about



Think he's happy?



DarbyQ spent his first 2 years of his life in solitary at a rescue, where he had been given the name of Trouble. All he needed was to learn proper dog behavior by someone who wasn't quick to give up on him. We lost a couch, multiple remote controls, an ottoman, and a recliner in the process, but now he's just a big snuggle bug.





Great to see you here, and I hope your transition back to work is a non-stressful one. All the best!:)

Me, too. Though after 38 years in the field I would really like to retire. :)

Welcome to Nikonites.
I felt that earthquake in my living room here in Lake Elsinore. Felt the next one too. Of course, it was just enough movement to feel weird.

It was really scary. I ducked under the overhang of the kitchen island, held on, and watched out the French doors as the pine trees outside moved and the ground looked like liquid. I would not wish that experience on anyone. Glad you only got a small ride.


Thanks! :)

Welcome to the forum.

Thank you! :)

Welcome aboard!

"9/11/assaulted/earthquakes "

Remind me not to get too close to you! JK, glad you're OK.

Haha. Let's not forget the 180 stitches on my skull when I was 5 months old, being swept down a river as a teenager and almost drowning, having an abusive ex, and slipping down an entire flight of icy steps in NY and breaking my back. Yeah.............. you might want to keep your distance! ;)

Cant watch the vid, they dont like us from the EU, mind you that shouldnt be for much longer.

Universal videos for everyone!!!!! :) And cookies. Definitely universal cookies. Mmmmmm......cookies...........................



Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.

I've had too many rides lately. Do you have chairs here? I could really use a chair? Or was I supposed to bring my own?
 
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Danno

Senior Member
Welcome to the forum. It is a pretty easy going place most of the time. I took up photography AS my therapy after a couple strokes took me out of the workforce. It was just what I needed. The pace is what I chose to make it and the schedule and focus is the same.

I have a little dog, Jersey Girl, that a friend gave my wife and I so I would have company during the day. Hope you enjoy it here.
 
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