Hello from Washington State!

Bumbles · 04-11-2013, 11:38 PM - **1 Like**

Hmm... so much to say, or is there?

I'm a bit of a goof, and photography is pretty much one of the biggest driving forces in my life that keeps me (mostly) on track!

Just for fun, here is me.....

See? Just a big old goof!

When I graduated from High School in 1993, I wasn't ready for college. Checked it out, didn't like it. So I worked for 10 years before finally deciding that I was ready!
In 2003 I was laid off from my job and it seemed like the time was right for a switch, so off to college I went to get my degree in photography and graphics design.
Kind of hopped around a bit, took *every* art course the college had to offer, painting, ceramics, photography, Photoshop, etc. I'd already been using a camera since around 1990, so taking the black & white photography course at the college seemed a given, so I it. Learned to develop my own film, negatives, and prints in the college darkroom, before actually applying for a part time job to WORK there as a mentor to other students. Running the lab was not only educational, but was a lot of fun!

Midway through college, I was offered a graphics design job at the local newspaper so I took some time off from college to work and gain some experience, before returning once more to college and graduating with honors and my associates degree in 2010. After obtaining my AA degree, I studied for my Bachelors in Graphic Design. I have only 8 classes remaining before I get that degree, but due to a disability caused by numerous work and play related accidents over the years, I have been left with foot, knee, and back injuries, degenerative arthritis in my spine and knees, and I am unable to sit through classes. Hope to finish that some day.

So, in the mean time, I am attempting to lose weight, get in better shape (like I used to be), so I can hopefully have a few surgeries to make repairs, and get me back in the mountains with my camera again! Also, waiting on a Pentax FF to be announced so I can swap out all my Canon gear for Pentax again!

I got my first camera back around 1990. It was a Pentax Asahi K1000 with an SMC Pentax-M 50mm 1.4 lens. I had spent a number of years collecting more SMC Pentax lenses, all primes, and had a rather large collection until my roommate stole all of my camera gear! SO much hate at that time

After that I ended up with a Nikon F2A Photomic and another collection of Nikkor prime lenses. Those helped me win scholarship that paid for part of my Associates degree while I was studying graphic design! Then in late 2006, my apartment was broken into while I was working for the local newspaper, and someone ran off with $6,000 worth of my stuff, including all of my camera gear. My insurance company screwed me royally, so I was unable to replace almost anything. I saved up for a while, and got myself a Canon 40D dslr, which I am using currently using. My favorite lens on the Canon is, of course, an SMC Pentax-M 50mm 1.4. Love it!

A few of my favorite photos I have taken...

My favorite car of all time (that I miss) where my nickname of "Bumbles" or "Mister Bumbles" came from.
A 2002 1.8 liter turbocharged VW Beetle, in a color-concept edition.

Yup, I loved that car. But due to my back & knee injuries, it got to a point where climbing in and out was just not good for me. So I sold "Sting" and moved on (sadly).

The sunset as seen from the top of the local Hospital parking garage.

My late grandmother, as she sat looking longingly out the window of her care facility. She was an amazing lady.

And on final thing... I love shiny stuff. Glass. Lights. Etc.

Anyway, there you have it. A little bit (or a lot??) of info about me! Cheers!

**Kerrowdown** · 04-12-2013, 02:37 AM

Welcome to the forum, that is without doubt the best introduction I've ever seen.

Bumbles · 04-12-2013, 12:40 PM

Originally posted by kerrowdown

Welcome to the forum, that is without doubt the best introduction I've ever seen.

I do try to keep it fun and upbeat!
And, hi there!

**Arn** · 04-12-2013, 04:42 PM

Welcome Bumbles, from just up north of you. Great intro and pics!

Bumbles · 04-15-2013, 05:17 PM

Originally posted by Arn

Welcome Bumbles, from just up north of you. Great intro and pics!

Hi there sir Arn! You must be in Vancouver, BC? Just south of me is Vancouver, WA, too

I haven't been up to Canada since a rather, shall we say, interesting yacht trip with a family acquaintance. It started well, but ended with us hitting a submerged log at high speed, ripping off one of our props. We limped the boat into Port Hardy, and there it sat for a while, awaiting parts before I had to end my trip early and come home. I really thought it was beautiful up there. I need to come back some day and visit again!

Bumbles · 06-30-2018, 08:08 PM - **2 Likes**

Well hello everyone! Long time no see, right? Things kind of went a little weird a .. *cough* few years back. To put it as simply as I can, my partner / bf turned out to be a drug addict. Even though he was working a GREAT job at a nursing home, had someone at home who was supportive, kind, loving and loyal (me), he kept turning to drugs. I spent a few years trying to get him through rehab, but he kept making bad choices. Turned out he was stealing from the nursing homes he worked at.. and things at home got REALLY weird. In the end... I had to call the police on him.. move out.. live in a motel for a bit until I found a new home, then start MY life over without all that drama attached. Somewhere along the way, I just... went 'away' from social stuff. Was embarrassed by all the crap at home and just .. hid for a while.

I'd been through 5 years of .. bizarre hell and I just didn't feel like being around people. And every time I started feeling like coming back.. a family member of close friend would die. At one point, five elderly friends of mine whom I've known my entire life died within 4 weeks of each other, AND I had the memorial for my uncle Frank who had commit suicide 6 months before.

Anyway, since I left and had to start over on my own, I started working on self improvement. Started working out, physical therapy for all the accidents I had over the years, eating healthy and cooking for myself instead of eating out. I've lost 114 lbs in the last 3 years! I've still got a long ways to go, but my self esteem is way up, my relationships with family are at the best they have ever been. And I felt like rejoining the places that challenge / interest me, and Pentax Forums is one of those places!

While I was going to physical therapy, there was a company, HCI Fitness, that found out from my physical therapist that I LOVED working out on their Physiostep MDX recumbent elliptical. They relayed a message to me that they wanted to talk to me about why I liked the machine and what kind of difference it was making in my routine, and I didn't think much of it when I told them I'd be happy to meet with them.

A few weeks later I was MORE than surprised when they showed up with camera crews, sound crews, lighting setups, etc. They didn't just want to talk to me, they planned to INTERVIEW me and upload videos to Youtube. So, the interview happened. As a surprise after the interview, they told me they were giving me one of the machines so I could work out at home. At that point in time, I'd lost 75 lbs. But started losing more weight since I could work out any time I wanted at home and not just when my insurance covered a visit.

At one point.. I tried out long hair for the first time in my life to celebrate the weight loss...

But then I decided it was FAR too much work when you are swimming a few times a week and just buzzed it all off...

Embarrassing video #1 :

You Tube

Embarrassing video #2 :

You Tube

Since then, I've upgraded from the Physiostep to walking (painfully) on a treadmill, and after that, I started doing water exercises (swimming, water jogging). I also sold my beauuuutiful 2002 VW Beetle "Sting" and upgraded to a 2011 Ford Transit Connect minivan with the license plate "Bumbles".

Even though I've been absent from the site.. and my budget hasn't ever worked out to pick up a Pentax dslr body to go with my lovely SMC Pentax-M 50mm 1.4 (yellow body... someday!!), I've kept up with my photography.

Anyway.... end of update... for now....

**Mikesul** · 07-01-2018, 01:57 PM - **1 Like**

Welcome! I will be your friend if you let me drive that Yellow VW!

Bumbles · 07-01-2018, 03:50 PM

Originally posted by Mikesul

Welcome! I will be your friend if you let me drive that Yellow VW!

Aw maaaaaaan. We can ONLY be friends if you drive a car I sold in YEARS ago? That could be a problem.

Sting was terribly unreliable, so I sold him, and bought "BUMBLES" the van.

Bumbles is fun, but not a manual and not turbocharged. He's more useful though! I have been able to have 1,000 lb pallet of canned goods forklifted right into the back so I can haul it to the food bank I volunteer at. So Bumbles is far more functional. Just not as much fun. I miss all that lovely yellow!

**Mikesul** · 07-01-2018, 04:25 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Bumbles

Aw maaaaaaan. We can ONLY be friends if you drive a car I sold in YEARS ago? That could be a problem.

Sting was terribly unreliable, so I sold him, and bought "BUMBLES" the van.

Bumbles is fun, but not a manual and not turbocharged. He's more useful though! I have been able to have 1,000 lb pallet of canned goods forklifted right into the back so I can haul it to the food bank I volunteer at. So Bumbles is far more functional. Just not as much fun. I miss all that lovely yellow!

An unreliable VW. A hard concept to handle. Anyway you showed delightful taste once upon a time and it just did not work out. Happens to a lot of us.

Bumbles · 07-01-2018, 04:33 PM

Originally posted by Mikesul

An unreliable VW. A hard concept to handle. Anyway you showed delightful taste once upon a time and it just did not work out. Happens to a lot of us.

*lol* "delightful taste, once upon a time" ? Ouch man, ouch =)

I DO have plans for Bumbles that will make him more unique. Even worked up a Photoshop concept.

**Mikesul** · 07-01-2018, 04:38 PM - **1 Like**

Do it! That will go a long way to correcting your original mistake.

krre23 · 07-01-2018, 06:30 PM - **1 Like**

Thanks for sharing photos and stories, talking about health, Have you ever tried Qigong? it's wonderful!

Have a nice week!

Bumbles · 07-01-2018, 07:00 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by krre23

Thanks for sharing photos and stories, talking about health, Have you ever tried Qigong? it's wonderful!

Have a nice week!

I know what it is, but I haven't actually DONE it.

rickxx · 07-02-2018, 04:03 AM - **1 Like**

welcome!

**southlander** · 07-09-2018, 04:07 AM

Welcome back! Keep up the self improvement initiatives.

I particularly like your photo of the yacht moored on the snow banked river.

07-01-2018, 03:50 PM	#8
Bumbles Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Longview, Washington Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 64 Original Poster	Originally posted by Mikesul Welcome! I will be your friend if you let me drive that Yellow VW! Aw maaaaaaan. We can ONLY be friends if you drive a car I sold in YEARS ago? That could be a problem. Sting was terribly unreliable, so I sold him, and bought "BUMBLES" the van. Bumbles is fun, but not a manual and not turbocharged. He's more useful though! I have been able to have 1,000 lb pallet of canned goods forklifted right into the back so I can haul it to the food bank I volunteer at. So Bumbles is far more functional. Just not as much fun. I miss all that lovely yellow! Last edited by Bumbles; 07-01-2018 at 04:19 PM.

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04-11-2013, 11:38 PM - 1 Like	#1
Bumbles Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Longview, Washington Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 64	Hello from Washington State! Hmm... so much to say, or is there? I'm a bit of a goof, and photography is pretty much one of the biggest driving forces in my life that keeps me (mostly) on track! Just for fun, here is me..... See? Just a big old goof! When I graduated from High School in 1993, I wasn't ready for college. Checked it out, didn't like it. So I worked for 10 years before finally deciding that I was ready! In 2003 I was laid off from my job and it seemed like the time was right for a switch, so off to college I went to get my degree in photography and graphics design. Kind of hopped around a bit, took every art course the college had to offer, painting, ceramics, photography, Photoshop, etc. I'd already been using a camera since around 1990, so taking the black & white photography course at the college seemed a given, so I it. Learned to develop my own film, negatives, and prints in the college darkroom, before actually applying for a part time job to WORK there as a mentor to other students. Running the lab was not only educational, but was a lot of fun! Midway through college, I was offered a graphics design job at the local newspaper so I took some time off from college to work and gain some experience, before returning once more to college and graduating with honors and my associates degree in 2010. After obtaining my AA degree, I studied for my Bachelors in Graphic Design. I have only 8 classes remaining before I get that degree, but due to a disability caused by numerous work and play related accidents over the years, I have been left with foot, knee, and back injuries, degenerative arthritis in my spine and knees, and I am unable to sit through classes. Hope to finish that some day. So, in the mean time, I am attempting to lose weight, get in better shape (like I used to be), so I can hopefully have a few surgeries to make repairs, and get me back in the mountains with my camera again! Also, waiting on a Pentax FF to be announced so I can swap out all my Canon gear for Pentax again! I got my first camera back around 1990. It was a Pentax Asahi K1000 with an SMC Pentax-M 50mm 1.4 lens. I had spent a number of years collecting more SMC Pentax lenses, all primes, and had a rather large collection until my roommate stole all of my camera gear! SO much hate at that time After that I ended up with a Nikon F2A Photomic and another collection of Nikkor prime lenses. Those helped me win scholarship that paid for part of my Associates degree while I was studying graphic design! Then in late 2006, my apartment was broken into while I was working for the local newspaper, and someone ran off with $6,000 worth of my stuff, including all of my camera gear. My insurance company screwed me royally, so I was unable to replace almost anything. I saved up for a while, and got myself a Canon 40D dslr, which I am using currently using. My favorite lens on the Canon is, of course, an SMC Pentax-M 50mm 1.4. Love it! A few of my favorite photos I have taken... My favorite car of all time (that I miss) where my nickname of "Bumbles" or "Mister Bumbles" came from. A 2002 1.8 liter turbocharged VW Beetle, in a color-concept edition. Yup, I loved that car. But due to my back & knee injuries, it got to a point where climbing in and out was just not good for me. So I sold "Sting" and moved on (sadly). The sunset as seen from the top of the local Hospital parking garage. My late grandmother, as she sat looking longingly out the window of her care facility. She was an amazing lady. And on final thing... I love shiny stuff. Glass. Lights. Etc. Anyway, there you have it. A little bit (or a lot??) of info about me! Cheers!

04-12-2013, 02:37 AM	#2
Kerrowdown PEG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Highlands of Scotland... "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand" - William Blake Photos: Gallery Posts: 57,819	Welcome to the forum, that is without doubt the best introduction I've ever seen.

04-12-2013, 12:40 PM	#3
Bumbles Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Longview, Washington Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 64 Original Poster	Originally posted by kerrowdown Welcome to the forum, that is without doubt the best introduction I've ever seen. I do try to keep it fun and upbeat! And, hi there!

04-12-2013, 04:42 PM	#4
Arn Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Parksville Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,497	Welcome Bumbles, from just up north of you. Great intro and pics!

04-15-2013, 05:17 PM	#5
Bumbles Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Longview, Washington Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 64 Original Poster	Originally posted by Arn Welcome Bumbles, from just up north of you. Great intro and pics! Hi there sir Arn! You must be in Vancouver, BC? Just south of me is Vancouver, WA, too I haven't been up to Canada since a rather, shall we say, interesting yacht trip with a family acquaintance. It started well, but ended with us hitting a submerged log at high speed, ripping off one of our props. We limped the boat into Port Hardy, and there it sat for a while, awaiting parts before I had to end my trip early and come home. I really thought it was beautiful up there. I need to come back some day and visit again!

07-01-2018, 01:57 PM - 1 Like	#7
Mikesul Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 7,594	Welcome! I will be your friend if you let me drive that Yellow VW!

07-01-2018, 04:25 PM - 1 Like	#9
Mikesul Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 7,594	Originally posted by Bumbles Aw maaaaaaan. We can ONLY be friends if you drive a car I sold in YEARS ago? That could be a problem. Sting was terribly unreliable, so I sold him, and bought "BUMBLES" the van. Bumbles is fun, but not a manual and not turbocharged. He's more useful though! I have been able to have 1,000 lb pallet of canned goods forklifted right into the back so I can haul it to the food bank I volunteer at. So Bumbles is far more functional. Just not as much fun. I miss all that lovely yellow! An unreliable VW. A hard concept to handle. Anyway you showed delightful taste once upon a time and it just did not work out. Happens to a lot of us.

07-01-2018, 04:33 PM	#10
Bumbles Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Longview, Washington Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 64 Original Poster	Originally posted by Mikesul An unreliable VW. A hard concept to handle. Anyway you showed delightful taste once upon a time and it just did not work out. Happens to a lot of us. lol "delightful taste, once upon a time" ? Ouch man, ouch =) I DO have plans for Bumbles that will make him more unique. Even worked up a Photoshop concept.

07-01-2018, 04:38 PM - 1 Like	#11
Mikesul Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 7,594	Do it! That will go a long way to correcting your original mistake.

07-01-2018, 06:30 PM - 1 Like	#12
krre23 Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Caracas Photos: Gallery Posts: 540	Thanks for sharing photos and stories, talking about health, Have you ever tried Qigong? it's wonderful! Have a nice week!

07-02-2018, 04:03 AM - 1 Like	#14
rickxx Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: michigan Posts: 181	welcome!

07-01-2018, 07:00 PM - 1 Like	#13
Bumbles Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Longview, Washington Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 64 Original Poster	Originally posted by krre23 Thanks for sharing photos and stories, talking about health, Have you ever tried Qigong? it's wonderful! Have a nice week! I know what it is, but I haven't actually DONE it.

07-09-2018, 04:07 AM	#15
southlander Site Supporter Join Date: May 2012 Location: Adelaide Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,364	Welcome back! Keep up the self improvement initiatives. I particularly like your photo of the yacht moored on the snow banked river.