Howdy

I've posted over 40 times on this forum since the beginning of April and I haven't even introduced myself yet.

I'm almost 27, married, have 2 cats, and work as a Systems QA Analyst for a very large US bank. Born in Panama and am myself half Panamanian but have lived in the US most of my life.

I built my first PC in 2011. Nothing crazy but I did go overboard on size and fans. It was a Corsair 400R and I filled EVERY possible fan mount available in the case. I got into the PC space thanks to a friend who's been in the tech world his whole life. I first got interested in SFF when Corsair released the 250D. I fell in love with that case, so much in fact that I moved my first build into it.

It was short lived. Only a few months later, I ended up selling my consoles, games, and all traces of PC hardware. Did this for financial reasons, and to kick the gaming habit. Video games are something my wife doesn't like.

For years I always dreamed of coming back to the PC world. I currently run a ThinkPad Yoga 14 which I got at a very steep discount thanks to my work and it's fine but nothing amazing or even great honestly.

I did pick up photography as a hobby a few years back and I really enjoy it. It makes me go out and explore. I'm especially fond of photographing wildlife. You can follow me on Instagram @gregshovlin

Since my laptop specs and screen are not the greatest for photography, the idea of owning a powerful yet tiny photo editing machine is that much closer to reality. So one day...

 

[AleksandarK]

Welcome aboard.

 

[jeshikat]

Wow, pretty nice photos there! Have you thought about trying to make some money off the photos to pay for a better rig?

 

[Weredawg]

Wow, pretty nice photos there! Have you thought about trying to make some money off the photos to pay for a better rig?

A number of people have asked that but I've been holding off on doing that for now. Even photographers who are much better than me rarely sell prints. The real money is in weddings, events, senior photos, headshots, etc. And I'm not comfortable enough with people to do that. That's why I stick to animals and landscapes mostly.

 

[Phuncz]

Thanks for taking the time for introducing yourself ! Photography seems a hard business to make a living out of, as it seems most people are into the hobby for the adventurous and technical, while as you already said the money is more in the people photography.

 

[confusis]

Welcome aboard! There are a few photography enthusiasts here

 

[Weredawg]

Welcome aboard! There are a few photography enthusiasts here

I've noticed that here. And it's a trend I've noticed ever since getting into a photography. Interesting how the two usually go hand in hand.

 

[Soul_Est]

Welcome! I do hope that you have a great time here.

A number of people have asked that but I've been holding off on doing that for now. Even photographers who are much better than me rarely sell prints. The real money is in weddings, events, senior photos, headshots, etc. And I'm not comfortable enough with people to do that. That's why I stick to animals and landscapes mostly.

Don't forget conducting workshops or doing commercial work for companies. Ming Thein goes into this quite a bit on his blog.

 

[Weredawg]

Welcome! I do hope that you have a great time here.


Don't forget conducting workshops or doing commercial work for companies. Ming Thein goes into this quite a bit on his blog.

Thanks, I've enjoyed every minute here so far. I totally forgot about workshops and commercial shoots. That's a good idea.