www.philwinterphotography.

Thanks for the question. No, I (we, actually, my wife worked with me) did this as a charity activity to benefit an organization that provides shelters for sex-trafficked girls. It was a lot of fun, and we'll probably do it next year, if asked. The only down side was the weather. Normally in April in the Atlanta, GA area, we are getting warm days. But even though the day prior to the event was very nice, the day of the event was cloudy, blustery and in the 40's. Toward the end, the sun did come out, and the temps rose to the low 50s.

Thanks, Gary, Great advice. My camera, an Oly EM-1 is totally silent, or rather, has a mode that is totally silent. I was recently in a wedding as a guest, using the silent mode, but the guy next to me was using using an iPhone with simulated shutter and mirror slap. I hope they didn't think the sound was coming from me!

In about 5 weeks, I'm going to photograph a charity golf tournament. I've never done that before and I'm looking for some hints and advice. Coverage will be all day - from registration through awards presentation. I understand it will be a shotgun start so I'm thinking I can hang out a the first (or some other) tee and get shots of every group. My camera does have a silent mode. One question, will fill flash be useful (obviously not on the course)? I have a general shot list, but nothing specific at this point. I will ask for a detailed shot list. I will do this at no charge because it is to benefit a program to rescue girls from human trafficking. I will be using lenses (in full frame terms) of 24-80 and 80 - 300. Is there any other gear that might come in handy?

Hello, I'm looking at the YN 560 IV or the YN 660 flash units for my EM-1 Mk 1 and an on-camera controller. I know that both of these flashes are manual. I'm fine with that. Your recommendations on the 560 vs the 660 would be welcomed. However, I do not see the on-camera controller on the B&H site. Can someone point me to an on camera controller for either of these two flash units? Thanks!

<p>Try going to S-AF mode 3. In that mode, the focus is locked with the AEL/AFL button. Use the smallest focus point you can, and make sure the image snaps into focus with the press of the AEL/AFL button. I think I'm correct in saying that in mode 3, the focus is locked until you refocus or turn the camera off. Exposure is locked with a half press of the shutter button. Mode 3 avoids the problem of a half-press locking focus on the wrong target.</p>

<p>Check out Graveyard Fields on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's at mile post 418.8. Good landscape shots are possible from the side of the road.</p>

<p>Thanks for everyone's help. After reading your responses, I decided I'm not mechanically savvy enough, nor is it worth my time and frustration. I have located a factory-trained Nikon repair facility nearby, so I will check with them about the repair.</p>

<p>Thanks to everyone who contributed, but Edward, I think you hit on it. If I take the lens off, and set the aperture to something like f5.6, I can rotate the aperture ring between f5.6 and f16, and the blades open and close like they should. Same thing happens if I start at F4. From what you have said, this is normal. But, if I start at f2.8, and close down, the blades become sluggish from f2.8 to f4. If I start at f2 or f1.4, turning the aperture ring toward f16 does not close the blades at all. It appears that the blades are sticking wide open.</p> <p>Is cleaning the blades something a reasonably mechanically savvy person could under take, or is it best left to a professional? Some time back, I actually got some nice indoor images shooting everything at f1.4. Thanks!</p>

<p>Hello, I have a plain prism Nikon F from the early 60's with the 50mm f1.4 lens. For some reason, the lens will not stop down when pressing the shutter. It just stays at f1.4. Everything else is fine. Does anyone have an idea of what I should look for? Is this problem likely the lens or the body?</p>

<p>Don't obsess over the technology. Sure, it's important but it will come. Put your camera in program mode and have fun. Shoot what appeals to you. You will soon learn what works and what doesn't. Then, take one feature - such as depth of field - and play with it until you get it. My wife is a math major and has sat through my basic photography class at least a dozen times, and she still doesn't really "get" f stops. But she's sold many photos and has won awards in shows. But she knows what she likes to shoot, and what will make a nice photograph. A good eye and good light will beat technology any day.</p>

<p>I, too, was a victim of MS shenanigans. I leave my computer on all the time, and a came in one morning to find I now had Win10, thanks to the generous, all knowing people at MS. Everything rocked along fine for a couple of weeks, then the internet would take many minutes to load one page, if it ever did. I rolled back to Win7, but that didn't fix it. I spent four days with an MS rep connected to my computer to fix the problem. My wife's computer was similarly upgraded to Win10, but it's working fine for her.</p> <p>Ironically, I tried the free upgrade to my W8.1 laptop. After about a dozen upgrade aborts, I gave up. I simply lost patience with the cryptic MS error codes. Forcing a W10 upgrade is like someone breaking into your house at night and leaving you with a pregnant kitty. My next computer will be a Mac.</p>

<p>I bought a Canon 10D in 2005, maybe late 2004. I still have it an use it from time to time even though I've gone to the "dark side" of micro 4/3. The 10D is a pro build, it's heavy and is much more sturdy than the current crop of plastic XXD cameras. It's only 6MP, but in many cases, that's all you need.</p>

<p>Sorry to be late with this, but I've done this in Lightroom quite easily. Go to the Print module, and in the Cells menu, create a background in the aspect ratio(s) you need. Then simply drag your image onto the background and drag the corners to get the image size you want. Hope that helps.</p>

<p>That sounds pretty simple! Thanks everyone, that helps a lot. </p>