About Me

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Hi, I am Darren Rowley, and I am a 39 year old husband and father of two.  I am, and have always been, a huge technology geek.  My passions are for computers and now digital photography.  I have two wonderful kids, Megan, who is 8, and Colin, who is 5.  I have been married to my wife Brandi for 12 years, and we live in Rocky Mount, NC.  I currently work as a Quality Engineer working in New Product Development with Cummins, Inc.

Computers

I have built every computers I have ever had except for my Vic-20, Commodore 64 and the first PC I ever got.  It was in 1991, and it was a BSR 386sx/16 with 2 meg RAM and a 40Meg HD.  I got it from DAK Industries (remember the catalog??) and it came with Windows 3.0 and a DOS version of Wordstar….I had to install DOS 3.3 and all software after taking it out of the box.  That started it for me, and I have been a computer nut ever since….

My current Windows system is:

  • Shuttle SN27P2 SFF PC
  • AMD Athlon X2 4600+
  • 4 Gig RAM
  • 500 Gig HD + 320 Gig HD
  • GeForce 7600GT (I am not a gamer, so its fine for me)
  • Dell S2209WA 22” LCD Panel with a Pantone Huey for color correction
  • Running Windows 7.

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I also am the proud owner of a 15" MacBook Pro.  It has a 2.53 Ghz Core2Duo processor and 4GB Ram, and runs OSX 10.6.2.  I have already upgraded the HD to a 7200rpm 500Gig drive.  Owning this has made me decide that my next desktop will be a 24" iMac.  I almost despise using Windows after using the Mac.

Photography

My current hobby is photography.  I have been shooting with my digital SLR for a little over a year now, and really enjoy the hobby.  I am a Canon shooter and have found that it can be an expensive hobby, but worth it!  Here is what I currently own:

  • Canon EOS Rebel XTi w/ EF-S 18-55mm kit lens
  • Canon 430EX flash
  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II (The Thrifty Fifty) lens
  • Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 DC OS lens
  • Joby GorillaPod SLR Zoom with Sunpack Ball Head
  • Manfrotto 190X PROB3 tripod with 322RC2 Grip Action Ball Head

I have become a huge fan of shooting in RAW and post-processing my shots in Adobe Lightroom 2.