Test Flight...

Thanks friends and family for visiting this site in development. Thought I should use this first blog post to give you a bit more detail about what I’m trying to accomplish and how I could use your help.

P51 Mustang much like one my dad flew from Iwo Jima in WWII

Why even do this…

As most of you already know, I’ve been interested in photography pretty keenly for about the last 50 years. Over that time so much of the process has changed dramatically. In the past year I made a “minor” investment in a used/refurbished DSLR camera that would enable me to work with RAW images that can be “developed” in a manner similar to what in times past could only be done in a darkroom.

Over these many years I moved from 35mm photography to early digital and now to RAW. In a day where so much photography (even excellent images) takes place with smart phones I’ve wanted to see how my “old skills” translate to new opportunities.

Why a blog/gallery site…

I decided on this format so I can record my experiences along the path and share a few images related to the journey. As with my other past times/endeavors one of the challenges I enjoy the most is finding a way to pursue them without getting caught up in the most expensive/elaborate equipment and methods that can often carry one into caring more about the equipment than the actual experience itself.

To that end I’m developing the site with an open source site development app called Publii on a somewhat behind the times computer running Linux Mint OS. And I’ll be publishing the site on a free hosting service, Cloudflare. So… sticking to the basics as websites go in 2026.

What you’ll find…

Darkroom to Digital is about experiences and insights from the past fifty years. So you’ll find stories mostly. And you’ll find images and images galleries to illustrate those stories.

What you won’t find…

There are so many resources on the internet these days it can make one’s head spin and eyes cross (at least in my experience). The information on cameras, accessories, software applications and “how to make money” is ubiquitous. Some of it excellent and much of it less so. While I will likely include a few external links in time, what you won’t find here will be:

• Camera reviews and comparisons

• Editing applications reviews

• Suggestions or evaluations of computers used for digital photography

• Critiques of images or their use across media

How you can help…

I’ve asked you to have a look at “Darkroom to Digital” because each of you have insights I value and rely on from time to time. You’ll find comment sections at the bottom of each post and page. Please use them freely as they are reasonably secure and don’t require you to login or sign up to some service that asks you for personal information. Also Cloudflare is a well known and trusted hosting service.

And don’t hesitate to email or call me too. Time seems to pass so quickly these days that I know I don’t take the time to stay in touch the way I want to. If this site makes that happen more often, then it will have been worth a great deal aside from sharing experiences and images.

Thanks, and have some fun with it.