jumping in with both feet here

[john farnsworth]

Greetings from California. I've just finished a phd program, and got myself through the last bit by promising to get back into photography once I defended my thesis. For graduation I've given myself a Canon 70D and a 100-400mm lens. I volunteer with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, so raptors will probably be a primary focus.

[Diane Miller]

Hi John, and welcome! Sounds like you're in the Bay Area. You'll find a few other "neighbors" here.

What is your field?

[john farnsworth]

Hi John, and welcome! Sounds like you're in the Bay Area. You'll find a few other "neighbors" here.

What is your field?

Environmental studies, especially from the perspectives of the environmental humanities. My specialty is literary natural history. Recently I've been working on Baja natural history. I had a paper on condors published yesterday: http://www.humansandnature.org/the-c...8.php?issue=26.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Welcome John! That's a great combo to get hooked on wildlife photography with!

[Christopher Miller]

Welcome to BPN, John!

[Marina Scarr]

First of all, huge congratulations on attaining such an amazing goal, and a nice present you've given yourself for it. Looking forward to your participation. There's a lot to be learned here, so jump right in!

[arash_hazeghi]

welcome to BPN and congrats on your graduation

[Gabriela Plesea]

A very warm welcome, John, and congratulations on your graduation!

Looking forward to your images,

Kind regards,

[john farnsworth]

A very warm welcome, John, and congratulations on your graduation!

Looking forward to your images,

Kind regards,

Thank you all for the warm welcomes and kind congratulations. It seems somewhat strange, on the other hand, to be hit with a $40 membership assesment three days after joining. You should consider notifying people that this is a subscription forum when folks initially register. Otherwise, new members might rightly feel that something of a bait-and-switch scheme is happening here.

Any other surprises in store?

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear John,

Thank you so much for your enquiry - kindly check on the Home Page under "Member Subscriptions", you will find some of the information you are looking for.

You might have noticed that no ads are present on this website, BPN relies on subscriptions from its members. Also, there are costs involved in hosting and maintaining a website, especially one that is not profit-driven.

I personally learnt more on this website than I have learnt on any courses or from photography books, in terms of processing as well as my skills in the field... well worth paying membership fees. I am here because of my passion for wildlife and photography, spent most of my savings to buy the best equipment I could afford and on BPN I still learn something valuable every day. We encourage lots of feedback and technical critique - if you are willing to spend the time to learn and perfect your skills than this is the place for you. Unlike Facebook or other social media, when uploading your images on this website you should be prepared to receive the critical opinion of others and spend a few minutes to comment on other photographers' images. BPN is a very special and unique place where friendships are made and new skills are learnt - hope you enjoy the ride and do jump in with both feet, you'll have a perfect landing I am sure

Kind regards,

[Hazel Grant]

Welcome, and as regards other surprises? Only that you'l be surprised at the amount of caring critique and teaching that goes on here. You'll be glad you joined! Looking forward to your posts. And congrats on finishing your degree!

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hi John, welcome to BPN!! As Peter mentions, this is just three month free limited membership that new registrants get. This way you will be able to really kick the tires on the site :-) Looking forward to your participation!