I know I am one of the oldest members on this board - going way back to when the forums were still on the Harbour Lights Website.

My participation dwindled awhile back because we've moved three times in the last five years, I now have a 2 1/2 year old daughter who consumes a lot of my time, and I have also spent a lot of Internet time on genealogy. I haven't even touched that since the birth of my daugther. In April of last year, I became a full time stay at home mom. I can now fully dedicate myself to her and to my photography, a long-time dream come true. Hence my recent active participation.

I didn't even know until recently there were other lighthouse boards out there. Like Ned, I also spend a considerable amount of time on photo.net for feedback and answers to questions on photography from other pros. Some lighthouse boards that have far less members are more active than the CF has been.

I'm also not sure also if the interest in HL is diminishing. It sure seems like an awful lot have come up for sale on eBay with no bids, and the ones that get bids go for dirt cheap - less than half of retail.

I have been an avid HL collector since 1995. I have never collected all of them - mainly the Michigan lights and a couple pieces of lights that I've visited. Space and money has also prevented me from collecting more than that. There are other lighthouses that I would love to see HL make - but I think their strongest area has always been the LE pieces. Branching out is fine, but too much branching out spreads you too thin and things start to suffer.

It seems like there has been a large outcry for HL events, too. What ever happened to the reunions? Cost? That cost could be recouped from money that is spent on branching out too much. I think in order for a company to be successful, they need to listen to their regular customers.

My interest in lighthouses, if anything, has become more obsessive since I don't work full time anymore. I have always enjoyed this board and would hate to see it disappear. I find out about lighthouse events here that I would never hear of otherwise. I have met a lot of great people and received a lot of feedback on my photography. I also enjoy seeing other photos from different areas to scope out new places to travel. You don't get that on a chamber of commerce webpage.

My two cents. I'll go hide behind my lenses now.