My name is Maggie "The MagRat" and I'm actually Rick Bear's little cat
.(When Rob was first setting up the forum, Rick had some problems getting his account working, so had to create a new login using my name and email. That's why Rick Bear's forum posts are under the name MagRat Garlic.)
Rick Bear is a professional photographer and technical consultant who lives half way between London and Southampton in the UK. He started his photographic career back in the late '70s early '80s, mostly working on high-end product advertising photography using 5x4 Studio Cameras (e.g. high budget Whisky and Cigarette advertising). He later moved into Extreme Expeditions Photography using his 35mm film Olympus OM-1 and OM-2 cameras, which he chose because of their ergonomics. Rick is also known for his work as an aviation artist and photographer, with work published in many magazines. Rick's signature is the format and tonality of his pictures, where he uses a "wide-screen" or panoramic type format combined with almost monochromatic colouration.
Career wise, Rick has always been an artist and photographer, but has combined these visual skills with writing technical manuals and training materials, as well as being a technical subject matter expert in software development methodologies. He has worked all around the world as a senior consultant for well known technology companies, including Panasonic, Sun Microsystems, IBM, the European Space Agency, and the like. But, always, his main interest is in helping people to fulfill their life ambitions by becoming better programmers, photographers or communicators.
Rob Trek is someone who Rick greatly admires. Rob has a natural skill as an educator. Indeed, Rick says Rob is the best technology teacher he's ever met (and he should know, as he has trained and managed hundreds of technical training professionals).
Hopefully you'll submit some of your pictures on the various Challenges that Rick puts on the forum. You'll only ever get constructive criticism, as Rick isn't one of those people who is worried about perfect focus or pixel peeping. Photography is about the overall impression of the image. It's about telling a story. A great image is about exciting the viewer, and that's all that matters.
As for me (Maggie MagRat), I'm a stray cat that decided to adopt Rick on Christmas Eve 2019. I always watch Rob Trek's videos and livestreams. And, sometimes, I'll contribute with a critical review of Rob Trek's attempts to edit your submissions. Here's what I thought of Rob's latest attempt...
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Hope to see you in the next livestream or on the forum,
MagRat Garlic (for Rick Bear)
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