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I feel pretty certain that most of you don’t know what you were doing on September 1, 2009. Surely it was just a random day of the year for most, but not for me. I vividly remember not only joining 1x, but also submitting my first photo to the curators.
It was a gorgeous day in the tiny mountaintop village in southern Spain where I was living. You know, one of those cloudless blue sky, peaceful, click-your-heels kind of days. Well, it was... until I pressed that Upload button, I mean. A sudden shot of adrenaline, quickly followed by a bolt of sheer terror, flashed through my veins. And in one nanosecond it was clear to me: I had completely lost my mind. I actually just submitted an image to the renowned 1x.com!
Almost six years later (mind at least mostly intact now), I am so excited to be writing my first of many blog entries for 1x. This is my virtual home; it has been for a long time. I was a Senior Critic a few years ago, I’ve been proofreading 1x tutorials lately, and now I’m truly honored to be in the position of keeping you up to date with the latest in photography around the world.
So before we get started, I’d like to take this opportunity to say a few things to all of you:
1) This is our place to discuss every aspect of photography under the sun – news and current events, tips and tricks of the trade, the latest trends, how-tos, 1x member news, a few surprises I have up my sleeve, and of course, some extra-cuddly kitten photos every now and then.
2) Whether you joined 1x ages ago or just became a member today, I want to hear from you! The door is wide open to all points of view, thoughts and comments on everything I post – the goal is for us all to communicate and share ideas. Everyone is invited to the discussions, so if you have something to contribute, please don’t hold back.
3) Ok, ok. No cute kitten photos. I wouldn’t do that to you! I like baby goats better anyway, and I’m sure you will too, eventually.
I’ll be back soon. In the meantime, send me an email if you are doing something super-stellar with your photography that we should know about, come across a great topic you think we should discuss, or have any idea how to stop a mockingbird from constantly chirping at the top of his lungs from midnight till morning in the tree right outside my window (!!).
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 | Gerard Sexton Ah ha so let it begin. You have my unqualified endorsement Mandy though you know that. It is exciting and I can't wait to read your first offerings. If I though you needed luck I would wish it of you but this is not about luck its about reinvigorating the community to reinstate 1x as the best and I certainly believe this blog will be instrumental in getting it there. Bring it on. |
 | Ben van der Sande PRO I understand that this will finally be a place where we can talk about photographic subjects.I hope for your succes. Than it will also be a succes for 1X |
 | Jacob Jovelou FOUNDER Welcome Mandy! What a great addition to the blog team :-) |
 | Mandy Schoch PRO Hi there Jacob! Thanks so much. I so appreciate the compliment. Please drop by any time and let me know what you think. Always great to hear from you! |
 | Thomas Brindt CREW Welcome Mandy! I can't think of anyone better suited for the job, considering your wonderful work on the tutorials. I'm really looking forward to reading your blogs, especially those concerning baby goats. |
| Mandy Schoch PRO Thomas, it's such a treat to be working on the blog with you. Thank you very much for the welcome and kind words. (PS. I have a confession. Just between you and me... I'm not really planning on inundating the blog with video clips of jumping baby goats, tempting as it may be for me. But don't tell anyone, ok?) |
 | Christoph Hessel PRO Dear mandy, what a joy, to see you back here and participating again. We both Marei and i wish you al our best and lots of good times :-) Christoph |
| Mandy Schoch PRO Christoph. Ahhh. I smile. You and Marei are special. Always have been. Thank you for popping in here and for your well wishes. Don't be a stranger to the blog... I'm counting on you :) My best as always to little A too. |
 | Hans Martin Doelz CREW Welcome Mandy,
as a tutorial team member I got in contact with you as a proof reader. I know you as a friendly, helpful, cooperative person and I'm happy to hear that you're now part of the blog team. I wish you all the best and look forward to read interesting stories about all kind of photography.
Congrats and all the best
Hans-Martin |
| Mandy Schoch PRO Hans-Martin, thank you. I have really appreciated all your help and great work on the tutorials. You have made my job much easier. It's been a real pleasure to get to know you too. We will still be talking about tutorials (you can't get rid of me that fast :), but I'll also be out here on the blog... so be sure to share your thoughts here too when you get a chance. |
 | Stefan Eisele PRO Hello Mandy,
I am pleased if it again gives a place to swap out!
Of course, I am pleased as well that you'll do the job !!
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| Mandy Schoch PRO Hi Stefan, absolutely this will be the place to swap all kinds of ideas. So feel free to say whatever is on your mind. I so appreciate your supportive sentiments. It's great to hear from you. Thanks! |
 | Christopher Schlaf PRO HUGE congrats Mandy, You are going to be nothing but amazing at this.
I like goats better also LOL |
| Mandy Schoch PRO Chris, thanks a ton for that. My ulterior motive, of course, is simply to convert everyone into goat fans. I will check you off the list of potential resisters. It's a minuscule drop in the 1x pond, but a good start on my first day, and I'm on a mission! |
 | Andre du Plessis FRPS ...... 1st request: Please add an 'edit' button so that one can fix one's typos. The blog is for everyone out there to read, and given the limited window when one enters text, typos float in frequently:) |
| Mandy Schoch PRO Glad you mentioned this, Andre. I'll pass it along for sure. |
| | Andre du Plessis FRPS Congratulations Mandy - I think that this was a super appointment. Maybe this blog will morph into the 'village' of old .... that is my wish. Really looking forward to where this forum will go, as there is so much to talk about. Just tonight I had a bird photographer on the phone who needed guidance, and although I don't know my sparrow from my pigeon, there were nevertheless things that came out during the conversation that he found useful. It will be good to have a place like this to ask, learn and discuss, however, it will only work we we as a community drive this. I have no doubts as to how resourceful you are, but I hope that your involvement will result in lots of members to chip in and for the conversations to flow and flow. Fingers crossed! |
| Mandy Schoch PRO There is definitely a village here, and now there is a place for all of us villagers to easily talk to each other. As you know, I've read every published tutorial on 1x, and I personally know that we are collectively sitting on a goldmine of information and ideas and insight from around the globe. Now it's time for us to talk about these things... together. Thanks so much, Andre. I'm so glad you're on board. I know many folks here will so appreciate your thoughts and guidance on all matters of photography, even if you don't know squat about birds! |
 | Ralf Stelander FOUNDER Welcome Mandy, this is going to be exciting! |
| Mandy Schoch PRO Thanks Ralf! I'm excited too, and I'm really looking forward to chatting with everyone here and hearing what's on everyone's mind on a daily basis. I mean, we're all here because we love photography. So let's start talking about it! |