An open note To The group and Specific posters: Steve Simmons, Brian Ellis and Stacey
As To my posting under No1inparticular.

Steve and all;

 I have been thinking alot about how to go about apologizing for
my recent commentaries on the Large Format newsgroup. In short
I do apologize to you and View Camera magazine as I have caused a
an error in  the spirit of my writing in the magazine and the trust I was given
by you.

An apology however without explaination I think is rather
weak, I have thought alot about how this transpired so please bare this out.

Starting from the reverse, I mistakenly perceived wrong doing by View camera
and that I had been used to get even with Paul Butzi, though I understand now
how this was not the fact.

 Initially I wrote the Efke article, as a way to mend some
fences between Steve and I from past experiences. Generally money is
not a major issue for me but is a concern unfortunately,

Provided I know the terms that I am doing work under
and feel I am benefitting in some small way I sometimes offer to do
"charitable" work to encourage a future business relationship or just because.

I was really very pleased that View Camera would intrust me to do
so, when I was asked to do the Acros article that really made me
feel that I was important. At the writing of the Efke article
I expended personal funds to accomplish the testing, which was fine,....
I anticipated after I was assigned the Acros test that I could make
up some of that expense by writing the second article. Steve and I agreed
to a set price which we both deemed fair.

 However I had some problems with the Acros test,
I had planned to use the plotter program however I needed
a older computer to use the software,....I ended up buying
an old set up which had the software previously installed.
However the computer died shortly after printing the charts,..
which was most annoying and somewhat costly for the use of one article.

Coupled with that at the location I did the test, I managed to get
special permission to take pictures only to drop my $700 90mm
lens on the concrete,...damaging the shutter (& now quite possibly the glass)  
shortly after those three exposures. I had lots of film but that was the only lens I had.
Luckly I had all the prior testing completed. But I was feeling very frustrated, the only
bright thing I had to look forward to was having my name & work in the magazine.

In the end money became an issue for me because of these circumstances,
unfortunately I should  have remained more patient, despite what I
perceived "mistakely"  as hedging on the part of View Camera and Steve.

When I perceived others were jumping in to the
fray recently and criticizing Mr. Simmons I jumped before looking.  

So I hope you all can see my point of; how this blew up and got somewhat out of control
in any event I apologize to any who have been offended and to Brian and
Stacey who I derided for thier support of Steve. I feel I have learned an important
lesson, I hope others will learn from my mistake as well.

In any event

Best regards as always Greg Blank