========================================================== THE NIKONIAN http://www.nikonians.com Regular Newsletter #14 21-JUL-2001 =========================================================== In this issue: 1. Editors Note 2. Congratulations to the Winners 3. New Feature in The Contest Galleries 4. Vote for The July 2001 Contest 5. Nikonians North Carolina and Tennessee Photo Trip 6. Where New Users Meet 7. Upcoming Events From Our Calendar Coordinator 8. If You're Into Aviation Photography 9. The Death of a Nikon Site 1. Editors Note =========================================================== Thank you for your interest in our non-profit community, a home on the internet for over over 4.000 Nikon users. It's summer time again and our film degrades fast in the heat, making it the best thing to stay outside, offline and to shoot loads of that old silver. Second best thing is to keep all of your film - together with the beer and coolers - in the fridge, while you're browsing Nikonians participating in our forums and contests. Some of the hardcore Nikonians have decided to go for the offline version, to bring lots of film, a jolly temper and to meet up in North Carolina early October for Nikonians First Photo Trip. There are still seats available, check out Doug's (aka f5fstop) article in this issue of THE NIKONIAN. Nikonians have kept on growing at a steady pace and it has become the largest Nikon related community on the net. The best thing though is that we have completely succeeded in being truthful to our motto: Being a friendly place to be at. This has only been possible thanks to you! All of you loyal members who have kept on providing insight, thought-inspiring topics and endless help while keeping your temper just as cool as your film. A big, warm thank you from the heart is in place! Bo & JRP 21-Jul-2001 bo@nikonians.com jrpalacios@nikonians.com 2. Congratulations to the Winners =========================================================== We are proud to announce the following winners of our monthly contest - Great job guys! Winner of the May contest: Sarbajit Banerjea with his great photo "Upper Antelope Canyon". Winner of the June contest: Jaap Hart with his lovely picture "Orange Tulip Field in Polder". See the photographs of the monthly 2001 winners: http://www.nikonians.com/cgi-bin/imageFolio/imageFolio.cgi?direct=NikoniansPhotoContest-Winners/2001 3. New Feature in The Contest Galleries =========================================================== Starting with the July 2001 contest, we have made it easier for members to get in touch with the photographers in the contest. A direct email link is now located under the full- sized photographs. Click the link and you will be taken to an email form. You must be logged-in to be able to use this feature. 4. Vote for The July 2001 Contest =========================================================== There are many photographs in the July B/W and Color photo contests. Make sure you place your vote for your favourite shot by no later than the 31st of July! As always, vote once only please. B/W contest photographs are here: http://www.nikonians.com/cgi-bin/imageFolio/imageFolio.cgi?direct=NikoniansPhotoContest-CategoryBW/2001July Color contest photographs are here: http://www.nikonians.com/cgi-bin/imageFolio/imageFolio.cgi?direct=NikoniansPhotoContest-CategoryColor/2001July You vote using the online voting form: http://www.nikonians.com/html/contests/voting_form.html 5. Nikonians North Carolina and Tennessee Photo Trip =========================================================== Come with us as the Nikonians take their first trip through the waterfalls and mountains of western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. The trip starts in Asheville, NC on Sunday, October 7, 2001, as we all meet at the Best Western Biltmore Hotel. Meeting on Sunday allows us to get to know one another, share some stories and of course, check out each other's photo gear. This is also where most of us will meet for the first time, and we will plan our trip for the week. Monday, bright and early, we will start the trip. One place we will most likely visit will be Mount Mitchell (highest mountain east of the Rockies); the group will decide other places. Tuesday, we will travel to Sapphire, NC, where we will stay at the Woodlands Inn of Sapphire; a small bed and breakfast that I have stayed at a few times, and always had small but very clean rooms. This trip from Asheville to Sapphire, normally takes about an hour and a half if you drive it nonstop. However, there is just too much to see between these two locations. Therefore, I believe we will "shoot" our way between Asheville and Sapphire. The route we will take is I-26 to Route 64, which we will take west to Sapphire. Route 64 passes through Brevard, the home of a breed of all-white squirrels that we may try to capture on film (I found a place a few years ago where they like to hang out). North of Brevard is Pisqah National Forest that has some great waterfalls such as Looking Glass, Twin Falls, Sliding Rock, just to name a few. After hitting a few waterfalls, and hopefully getting a photo of a white rat with a bushy tail, we will continue to Sapphire. On the way, we can stop at the highest cascading waterfall east of the Rockies; Whitewater Falls. However, I would recommend we hit this waterfall early the next morning. We can get a great sunrise near the falls, and see the falls in shadowed light that makes for a great shot. After checking into the Woodlands Inn, we can continue to photograph the area, there are approximately 250 waterfalls in this county, and plenty of walking trails. We will be surrounded by two giant National Forests: Pisqah and Nantahala so we will have plenty of locations to choose from. On Wednesday, we can start out the day with a sunrise (and plenty of coffee), and end it with a sunset. In between there is a large amount of locations to shoot that everyone should be happy. There are great mountain views, great waterfalls, great forests, and hopefully, fantastic colors. Thursday we begin our trek to Townsend, TN; known as the Quiet Side of the Smoky Mountains. This trip will take us right through the heart of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, which is the most visited National Park in the US. In the fall, it is also one of the most beautiful with its wide range of colors, deer, bear, fox, and sunrises with fog in the valleys. The trip ends on Saturday when we will all head home. However, we will have memories of a great trip that no one will ever be able to take. That along with the great photos taken will be something that will be discussed at Nikonians for years. This is just the first of many trips that will be planned over the years. Who knows, maybe in the future we can charter a plane for a safari in Africa, or a trip through Europe :-) Most of us will be there the full six days; however, if there is anyone local who wants to join for a day, please let us know and we can figure out a place to meet. If anyone wants to join for a day or two, three, four; whatever, please do, the more the merrier. For those traveling by air, there will be at least two vehicles we can all travel in so you won't need to rent a vehicle. The only requirement is to bring plenty of film; you will need it for this trip. -- Doug For more information and hotel reservations, please see: http://www.nikonians.com/html/about/nikonians_photo_trip_2001-10-07.html 6. Where New Users Meet =========================================================== On a normal day at Nikonians, we have some 20-30 new users registering. As a new user, it may be hard to find your way throughout all those messages and sections of the site, so here's a small roadmap for you. After you have registered, make sure you update your profile. It's easy and shouldn't take more than 5 minutes. You can fill out your profile here: http://www.nikonians.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=user After you have filled out your profile, check out the new users forum. You may want to post your very first message here, telling the other members some about you: The New Users Forum: http://www.nikonians.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=list&forum=DCForumID10 If you want to have your own gallery set up, you should consult the gallery section: The Galleries: http://www.nikonians.com/html/galleries/index.html Last, but not least, check out all the other forums and don't be shy. One of the favourite stops for many Nikonians is our Café: http://www.nikonians.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=list&forum=DCForumID38&conf=DCConfID10 7. Upcoming Events From Our Calendar Coordinator =========================================================== Exhibits "Game Face: What Does a Female Athlete Look Like?" - Washington, DC Photographic exhibit showcasing the female athletic experience. June 27, 2001 to January 2, 2002 Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building Washington, DC Info at http://www.si.edu/activity/exhibits/ai.htm "David Hockney Retrospective: Photoworks" - Los Angeles, CA Photographic works by one of the foremost British artists of the 20th century. July 22 to October 21, 2001 Museum of Contemporary Art California Plaza Los Angeles, CA Info at http://www.moca.org 8. If You're Into Aviation Photography =========================================================== Our winner of the Nikonians 2000 Photography Contest, Lassi Tolvanen, has put up a nice site with his Aviation photographs, all done with his Nikon equipment - Check it out: http://www.saunalahti.fi/flyhigh1 9. The Death of a Nikon Site =========================================================== A site and mailing list which many of us Nikonians have heard about and have participated in, the Nikon Users Mailing List, is no more. It has experienced some heavy problems throughout the last months where very ill-minded people have destroyed the site and also have made it hard to post on the mailing list. The main page of the site now seems to redirect visitors to some porno sites. Our *sincere* thoughts goes out to all of the guys who have been communicating on this mailing list throughout so many years, and especially to Alexander Tsiris, the master of the mailing list and to all of the admins who have helped him out. Bless you guys. =========================================================== If you have any questions regarding this newsletter, please send an email to editorial@nikonians.com You receive THE NIKONIAN because you have requested it. We hope you find it useful, however, if you'd like your name to be removed from the newsletter, you can simply do so at any time from the main page at our community: http://www.nikonians.com nikonia.com, nikonia.net, nikonian.com, nikonian.net, nikonians.com, nikonians.net, nikonians.org and THE NIKONIAN are not associated with Nikon Corporation nor with any of its subsidiaries or affiliates in any way.