I totally agree on donating a rangefinder to a not for profit photographic education center. Here in seattle we have a center called Youth in Focus. Their main goal is to take youth off the streets in the urban areas who have low to no income families and teach them art instead of being in gangs, vandalizing, getting involved with drugs, etc. Y.I.F. has a bank of 35mm's and one or two digital that are checked out and returned. They are learning darkroom skills and PS skills as well.

Just think how warm that makes you feel helping some troubled teens and tweens eager to try out a rangefinder and what it means to go back to a classic way of capturing a moment that requires a bit more skill than p&s, slr, and digital.

So, ya, in closing ... I second the donate to educate.

Hey dads, Not all of us fsu members are broke & poor. The LORD has blessed me good this year, and I'm not bragging but I could walk into a store tomorrow and pay cash for a M8. I choose fsu stuff because I like it. But I do get your meaning. There are those who really need it.



Merry Christmas to all

Greg

I don't know a lot of RFF Members yet,. A few, though. And after being a lurker for a week or so, I got the RF bug. Mind you, I own a few camera's, but I had to save for 8 months for my DSLR, and for the RF I bought from Flashover, I saved for 6 weeks. Although I was saving towards a Upgrade from my D60. I desided to get a RF instead. Glad I did!! I am using Film 90% of the time now. And have been looking at selling my D60 for a Bessa R2C (since I have 3 FSU lens). But a R3a is a great RF too. Since I don't have a lot invested in FSU stuff at the moment.

If I could elect myself, (a bit selfish? Well, I don't know, We don't realy have the extra cash, I try to set some $$ aside that won't interfer with our living bills).

It took 2 years to save $400.00 to build a newer XP 2mhz computer, from my 98 433mhz one.

But I know Ash, and have followed many of his threads. I vote for Ash too. Even if it is a drawing. May his name be at the fingertips of the offical drawer!

Sorry Greg, I meant citizen of one of the former Soviet Union Republics...like the fella from Yugoslavia (or the former Yugoslavia) who had trouble buying film....

petr dima...was that guy

I think the key is getting the community involved. therefore, the voting will probably be best.

This is asbsolutely the worst, illogical way to give out a camera! Geez! I'm almost mad at the idea. Not almost but VERY.

Why not create a thread where each person has to shoot a given strict subject within a time frame (let's say 7 days) and then there's a popular vote for the best picture?

Isn't that what photography is about???????

we did that already.

Ah... Well I'm poor, formerly from the former yugoslavia, good at photography and since I don't own a rangefinder I haven't really posted here. So this makes me a good candidate... I guess. But honestly, why would someone give me a free cam?

jorge is a bit funny that way...

it's christmas time, the time for giving...

NB23,

It's about giving. It is not a competition. Unfortunately, we all have to decide who to give it to. It will be difficult.

yeah, how about stephanie brim?

The problem with giving the camera to a school is that students trash cameras. Most cameras are victims of newbie mistakes. Others are victims to the student's "you owe me because I paid for it" attitude. Of course their can be exceptions, but I have seen students trash just about anything schools provide them, either because they don't know better, or because they just don't care. The other problem is that this giveaway is to benefit the RFF community, not a school.

When George and I planned this Xmas gift, the idea was to get the RFF community involved by playing Santa to a RFF member who could not afford to buy the camera themselves. I'm sure there many deserving candidates, but unfortunately only one Xmas camera.

It's easy to get a lot of volunteers by saying "raise your hand if you want a great free camera!" That is not what is going on here.

This Santa gift is designed for the RFF community effort to come together by attempting to decide who is the best overall choice for such a helping hand.


What real photographic difference will it really make? Who knows? All we can really do is help plant the seed and hope for the best.

I can't help thinking and hoping that the process itself will help make the RFF voters a little bit more wiser and community minded.

I don't know who the best choice is, the voting will decide that. However I agree that Stephanie Brim merits consideration. I enjoy her enthusiasm and often interesting point of view on imaginative photographic adventures -- all the time dealing with a very limited budget.

Stephen

This is a wonderful idea and a generous offer from Stephen/Jorge. Here's my suggestion: Stephen and Jorge form a committee of two and you guys decide who is the most deserving. Being Jorge's site, he probably has a better feel for this than anyone else and since Stephen is (I assume) donating the camera, he should have input.

Whatever you decide, I want to help. I'll donate my three free rolls of Kodak film (one roll was a 120 so it's of no use to the winner). Maybe others here will want to contribute as well.

Regards,

Charlie (not Seal)

Please start listing names on this thread.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/foru...646#post439646

Just post names and nothing else. It will make goingthrough th elist easier. YOu can continue commenting in this thread.

very generous! i wouldn't mind having a bessa.

What a terrific idea!

Why not gather all the names as you are doing, then for the big raffle give away, make some sort of criteria to limit the choices for the members to decide...

For example:
1. A need for a camera
2. Have contributed to the community...must have over X amount of posts OR X amount of photos in the gallery

just a thought...

No offense, but Steph's rarely here, mods on another forum, and has plenty of cameras. I like the idea of Petr Dima, but haven't seen him around lately either. I'd just like it to go to a contributing member (under 25) in someplace other than the affluent West.....
But the idea of putting RF's in the hands of young, aspiring photographers in one of the war torn countries is very appealing to me. I realize this is too late for this year, but perhaps we, as a community, could manage a contributory program to do that next year.

dadsm3...........PetarDima's last post was pretty recent. I like where you're going with your idea though. My vote would goto him.

All said and done, I'm sure this camera will find it's way to a deserving RFF member. Thanks for making this possible (Jorge...........Stephen).

What a coincidence here; I was thinking today about suggesting to give this camera to a young Iraqi reporter/journalist someone in Iraq. It would be a gift from heaven. Maybe there is another camera that can be donated that way.

Raid

I have a Contax G2 and but can't take especially good pictures--too bad you guys aren't donating photographic skill! But seriously, thanks for your charity, great idea.

i totally agree with raid... instead of trying to figure out who amongst us all should get such a fine prize... maybe we should all put our minds to discovering an "up and comer" of sorts. a fledgling photojournalist etc.who might not have the resources. someone working on borrowed gear or what not. i know a fella here in london, ontrio who is a gifted artist, runs the local anual artist gig called LOLA, curates at local pub's and cafe's for young artists and does it all on a volunteer basis. he is a new and fairly gifted photographer shooting on a borrowed canon g3... he contributes to the artist community and really has no money (going to school full time and working in a restaurant).
now i'm not saying give it to him exactly, BUT someone like him. it could be like a rangefinder forum scholarship of sorts... could develop into something real cool.
anyhow, i really hope it goes to someone like that.
john

Instead of having people naming who they would want to give the camera to - why not have a thread where people that want to receive the gift can post 'why' they would want/need a free camera.
I'm sure there are a number of interesting stories out there that may 'flush' out someone who is really in need of it (rather than just picking a name out of the top posters which is what that other thread seems to be becoming).

So;
1) A thread where people that are interested in receiving the gift can state 'why' they need/want it. Maybe cap it at 20-30 people.

2) A poll/voting amongst all members of which person out of '1' above should win

Just a thought (and no, I don't want/need another camera personally).

I second the sentiment.

Unfortunately, I don't think we as a group know of the name of somebody like that that we can vote for. Well, I don't.

Two names came to mind before I read your posting: Beniliam and lynn.

Beniliam already has a rangefinder and is certainly into rangefinder photography; he has never asked one material thing, as far as I know, from anybody on this forum. Yet I'm certain he's a struggling artist. I splurge on my gear, and I certainly am a struggling, a few times in the past year a starving one.

Lynn, as far as I know, doesn't own a rangefinder, "proper". She takes beautiful pictures. I'm sure this kind of camera will add a new dimension to her expression outlet.

I also thought of both of them because they are supportive, encourage people, and are throughout just good souls.

I do a lot of "talking" and pisses a lot of people off -- my New Year's resolution is to be as properly expressive as they both are, both in pictures, words, and silence.

Too bad there aren't two cameras up from Santa for us to vote for.