johne37179

<p>What is your vision of the images of the mountains?... that should determine the lens choice. </p>

<p>The beginning photographer needs the same things the experienced photographer needs -- passion, knowledge and vision. Everything else is transient.</p>

<p>An interesting question. The role of photography in my life has changed over the years from providing my living to what it has become now that I'm 70 plus years old and well beyond being a photographer for more than 50 of those years. Photography has replaced my sketch pad, paper, canvas, paint, etc. With some arthritis that prevents me from manually creating graphics as I once did, digital photography allows me to start with a digital image and work toward the graphic concept that I use to execute with ink washes, paints, etc. years ago. Digital photography opens so many artistic opportunities and horizons beyond traditional photography that it is a very enriching part of my life today -- in the creation of graphics that started out as photos... maybe it is graph-photory. I tend to put the graphic in front of the photo in my final vision.</p>

<p>The first rule is: All backup systems fail. Therefore multiple backups are essential regardless of what you use. I have 17TB of RAID on a Drobo. I also have four external HD of the 1-3TB each. I also use Apples time machine for short term back up. I may be paranoid about it, because of having to recover from failed drives or simply losing one of the multiple backups in the past. Hard source, air-gapped backup DVD used to be a viable mechanism. However, the limited storage on one DVD and the fragility of the medium is probably not a safe route anymore. What do you do if your backup burns down with your house? I guess cry a lot. Nothing is for certain, but I take more comfort in multiple copies than any other part of the strategy.</p>

<p>I found that I had to calibrate the focus process for my lenses when I got my D7000. It is well worth the effort and takes a couple of hours, depending on how many lenses you have to calibrate. Of the five lenses I have, four had to have a significant calibration differential made. There have been a number of threads here on the process. </p>

<p>I shot one wedding many years ago for a book done by National Geographic. That was enough for me. How much to charge? There is not enough money on the planet! I must admit that some of the most creative and beautiful images I have seen have been done by wedding photographers. In my experience you should not get paid for your photography but for putting up with all the hassles that go with it. Give me a nice combat assignment any time -- get someone else to do the weddings!</p>

<p>The issue for you is when do you form that image. I usually have a shooting plan before I go to a location. But like all plans, they tend to fall apart the minute you stop making them. As long as you have that image in mind before you trip the shutter, you are still visualizing the shot. Back in 1968 I had the pleasure of spending a good deal of time with Ansel Adams -- who truly visualized every shot. During the month or so that I got to work with Ansel then, he exposed one sheet of film, even though we went out every day. He would go out, tell his assistant where to set up the tripod and camera. We would wait until he thought the light or whatever it was he had in mind appeared - it rarely did. So we'd pack up and go home and have a drink. Those were great days and very fond memories. Ansel and I stayed in touch and he visited me several times more before his death. I found out about a year ago that he kept several of my prints in his personal collection which is available online.</p>

<p>There are perforation streaks which indicates a lack of agitation. My guess is that it was not processed properly in any respect -- the lack of agitation should be a major clue to indicate that the person doing the processing did not know what they were doing.</p>

<p>I suspect that you are out of space with such a small HD. Have you done any maintenance on your drive? At a minimum you probably need to defrag your drive. Given the size of digital images you may simply be out of large blocks of space on your drive. BTW, prices have come down -- I'm currently selling one of my used 21.5 iMacs with 8GB of RAM and a 1TB HD for $850. It is the current model. You should be able to find something similar on eBay or elsewhere.</p>

<p>Take a look at the Sigma 10-20. It is my go to landscape lens.</p>

<p>You youngsters! I'm 72 and have found that you never run out of material just steps from the car or down a pleasant path. I don't miss packing 60 lbs into the mountains for a week. Glad i did it, but there is a rich life within arms reach.</p>

<p>Look at the work of other photographers and figure out how they took those shots. I've been learning about photography for 60 years and I am still at it. Good photographs are made in the heads of photographers, not in cameras. Understanding how light paints pictures -- whether in a camera or on a canvas or piece of paper is critical to conceiving and executing good photographs. Never stop searching for good photographs and good photographers. Eventually, you will recognize a photographer by looking at the photographs. All the really good photographers develop their own vision and show that in their work. Good photography is about the vision of the photographer. The camera is a tool and the digital SLR is a very powerful tool -- but only half of the process. Understanding the darkroom (now the computer) is the other half of the tool set. One of the great things about photography is that there is always more to learn and it stays fresh and rewarding the more you do learn,</p>