phyrpowr

<p>Are you using the "Green Square" mode (can't recall the actual name)? My experience is that it picks the wrong focal point almost always. The focal point should show with a lit red square in the viewfinder. Place it for center focus, then test as described above. </p>

<p>Not to mention the hotel that looks like it's isolated, but is actually cheek-by-jowl to two other monsters, the room shot slightly wide angle that's not big enough to swing a cat in, and the more sophisticated clientele who somehow aren't ever there.</p>

<p>Michael, a case here in NC quite some years ago ruled that urination on the side of the road, if the person was making some effort to conceal himself (but wasn't totally successful) was NOT public exposure/indecency, the intent of the accused being the determining factor.</p>

<p>In the above cited case, it would also seem that intent is the key: did this guy intend to show himself to the public, or was he acting with reasonable expectation of privacy?</p>

<p>I too gave up nude photography, due more to the "sunburn factor"</p>

<p>Not years, but months off and on. Beauty of photography is that I <strong><em>can </em></strong>take it or leave it, the gear is waiting for me, and I can recharge my, and the camera's, batteries and take off again. </p>

<p>Notice how the "I don't talk about equipment" threads tend to be some of the longest?</p>

<p>I have a water tower with lots of detail in black and white, and a couple of convenience store fronts with lots of posters, mdse., etc. very colorful that are my standards</p>

<p>Jeffrey, B&H, Adorama, and KEH are all reputable and safe for online purchase. KEH especially has a great reputation for selling better lenses than advertised, i.e., their "good" is others' "very good", and they are used lens specialists</p>

<p>I'm thinking about a really good P&S, sure have enough to trade in on one</p>

<p>I agree, keep the card<strong><em>, test it thoroughly</em></strong>, no problems>keep it...but mark it so you don't use it for important shots, just for your own peace of mind. I've done that with a CF (which still works fine) </p>

<p>Let's just say that some of <em><strong>had </strong></em>to learn the hard way that every bottle, tray, etc. needs a nice big label, and leave it at that, shall we?</p>

<p>Sure, I haven't shot much of anything for a couple of months. Not worried, the gear's still in the bag, I'll get the bug again, happened before.</p>

<p>Like Mark L., for me it was a workshop (Rocky Mountain School, Tim Cooper & Doug Johnson). Tim would routinely ask, at the critiques, "why is this in here?", "what does that do to help this shot?" He'd crop shots brutally (in a pleasant manner), and the result was always better than what we started with</p>

<p>It REALLY got me to think about "what am I taking a picture OF?"</p>

<p>Longish story, but with three! cameras on the car seat, and a magnificent bighorn ram about 30' away, I grabbed the one with mirror lock up on</p>

<p>Also I didn't have the nerve to photograph the prettiest girl that maybe I ever saw, walking toward me in Venice...unsure of the customs </p>

<p>A shameless plug here, for a shop in which I have no interest other than keeping it open: Biggs <br />Camera in Charlotte NC still has good inexpensive used gear, rentals, a ten day return policy, competitive pricing on new gear, and a friendly and knowledgable staff.</p>

<p>It's the last independent camera shop, in a city of half a million </p>

<p>March 13, 1992, by Ken Rockwell</p>

<p>Gerry, I think the problem is that the subject really doesn't know where that shot will end up: your scrapbook of cool places, or on some website (W/NW for example) with some snotty caption or comment under it. And the business likewise has no idea as the use that will be made of their premises and customers. </p>

<p>I know all of us here at PNet are honest and caring and empathetic and creative and just peachy, but hey<em>, somebody </em>is out there providing shots for that "People of Wal-Mart" site. If you owned a coffe shop, how would you react when your customers came screaming up asking why you let some "investigative journalist" run their pix in your place on the "Nazi Corporate Greed" blog?</p>

<p>For an alternative type Alaska tour, go to <a href="http://www.greentortoise.com">www.greentortoise.com</a></p>

<p>Isn't there one of those old New England Yankee proverbs that says "If it wasn't painfully difficult, you didn't do it right"?</p>

<p>Off and on, I go back to the darkroom, and when I'm finished, I'm so proud...and so tired I swear I'll never do it again. Then about four or five months later I forgot the pain and see the print and go back. Repeat above.</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure Outdoor Photographer had an article on this in the past year or so. Think it was for a non-living quarter type 4WD , but could be some good guidleines on power takeoffs and the like,</p>

<p>There's not a "The Print" at issue here, it's just "a print" they made for certain purposes</p>

<p>I sympathize, I drew a little nude female on my 20D dial, but it never worked.</p>

<p>If you hadn't put the "for real" addendum in there, half the "geniuses" on Pnet would've still been torching you</p>

<p>As usual, a furor over currently photographing something that probably has a thousand online photos already, and detailed schematics published and sitting on the public library shelf.</p>

<p>Or have they recently installed the double secret anti-terrorist pods on the trains?</p>

<p>Could be, Ian, that your reputation is worth the extra $$ to some buyers. </p>

<p>Onboard flash will emphasize flakes right in front of the camera. See if you can get some light off camera and sort of out in front, e.g., a porch flood or car headlights</p>

<p>I'm nearly 60, and I can walk fine, but I can't fly up to where those cool architectural details are, so it's zooms for me</p>