I had some old photo CDs from the early 2000's that I tried to read. No success with some of them maybe "CD rot". I still have them and came across a web site that offers a program that can read them such as with a SD card. Not sure if I want to restore them, I found my early digital photos not to be all that good.

A few months ago, I got a phone call from a supposed Amazon representative that my account had been hacked. I wasn't worried since I don't keep my credit info online. When I asked him why the caller ID said "Blocked" or something similar, he hung up. My goal is to somehow have my granddaughter answer these calls. She loves to make up stories.

In Colorado and California, there is the Mike's Camera chain. Besides having a good selection of gear, they also offer seminars and photo trips. I was at the Colorado Springs Balloon Liftoff last Labor Day and besides having access to an elevated platform with a great overview of the balloons, there were vendors from Nikon, Canon, and Sony with there newest gear (bodies and lenses) to try out.

Find a building/object/tree about 300-400 feet high, roughly the same altitude the rockets go up. Drive about 10 miles away and get out your zooms to see what the fireworks would look like. You might decide it's not worth the effort.

Shoot manual. The time-lapse interval will not likely match the shooting interval. You might end up with shots that stop just after launch or between shots. I usually shoot with a 2-5 second exposure so I get the "full" spread of the arcs of the fireworks with a remote wired trigger. I start the shot at launch, so I get a shot of the the full arcs.

Check your shots when starting for ISO/shutter speed, etc.

I used Canon and non-Canon batteries in Canon APS-C cameras for many years when I shot with that system. The only battery that I had that went bad was a Canon OEM battery. But those were probably dumb batteries without a chip inside them. New batteries seem to have a chip in them, not sure if non-OEM batteries do also. Also, you might not be able to charge the non-Canon battery in camera.

I took a screenshot from the KEH page and darkened it.

(Download)

I just came back from a 4 day trip in NYC. I shoot with an OM-1 (micro 4/3) and just used my 12-100 lens (24-200 FF). Had a wide angle lens (8-25 16-50 FF) but never used it. I saw the following:

Ferry ride to Statue of Liberty, just the tour around the base and museum, didn't have tickets to the pedestal or crown.

Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset. Next time, I'll shoot a time-lapse from there.

Mid-day visit to the Empire State Building (86th floor), fantastic view. If my schedule had allowed it I would have gone up at sunset for a few hours. Will do it next time I'm back there.

Times Square, day and night.

Grand Central Station.

Rockefeller Square and the skating rink.

American Museum of Natural History, for me a minimum of 2 days to see

Art museums; the Met, MOMA, Guggenheim, Whitney, etc.

East River at sunrise and sunset

Architectural photography with the reflections in the glass buildings.

It's posts like this that remind me how much I hated junior high shop classes....

I have used Mixbook the last few years to make photo books of my grandkids. I can make a book that lays flat with thick pages that survive young eager hands. Otherwise, I use Shutterfly.

I'm only 73 and still play hockey (I skate with a 86 and 76 year-olds) so I don't complain. At my age, my father was in a wheelchair. I had an older neighbor (now 88?) who remarked aging is difficult, but it is better to be looking down on the grass than up from below.

I looked into this a few years ago for printing a manual. OfficeMax (?) quoted over 150 dollars, no sale.

I put on my Groucho Marx glasses/nose/mustache mask when checking out books like this....

Which Youtube video on the OM-1 are you referring to, I found several online?

7th grade in Toledo Ohio, not sure what we were studying. Don't remember whether we got let out from school early, just remember the announcement. My grandfather always visited us over Thanksgiving, he spent the rest of the time with us sitting in front of the TV.

November 22 is my grandson's birthday, I think I was the only one in the room who knew the significance of the date.

Amazing/disturbing what a little insignificant nobody like Oswald could have such a ripple effect on American politics and society.