I have my great aunt to thank for my hobby of photography. I was 8 years old and her brother had passed away. She gave me an ancient Exakta 35 mm camera and most of what i needed for my own darkroom. That caused a much better bonding between my father and I. He saw what i was doing at the time in my makeshift darkroom under the eaves of a very old house. He said I like this let's build a darkroom in the basement.... During my high school days we would turn out as many as 500 5x7 prints at a time for the posters all over town of the football team. Also did a photo layout for a local paper of The famous Dick Biondi in Chicago. Yep he is still on the radio here that was in 1963.... I am 65 years old and still having a great time with photography.
Definitely encourage photography in the young ones... All of my grandkids have cameras.... they love them.

Not sticking up for either side we can say this without a doubt:
What business or service does the government run efficently?
1. The post office? Bankrupt
2. Social security? Bankrupt
3. Medicare? Bankrupt

I would put my money on UPS. Fedex. etc.

I would put my money on the private sector any day of the year.

Chevy colorado Z71 4x4 and off road package :)

Avery and some others provide some nice looking blanks. I use them in both an epson color printer and both of my laser printers. I can make specific occasion cards. Have been doing this for many years as i have done varied side jobs throughout the years.

I glossed thru pretty quickly... Try the architectural tour on the chicago river, Also available will be the walking tours on the same subject. Millenium park. You could spend years here photographing all the sites and still wouldn't cover everything the city has to offer. Enjoy your trip.

Just a simple question? If the IRS has not gone after Mr. Romney then why should we? Perhaps Barry should unseal all the records of his college years? Just wondering what he has to hide?

I agree with newfie... i have the trigger and 3 remotes... always work.

Zeiss Lens cleaning wipes are available at Sam's Club.... I think wallmart might also carry them since they are the same company.

Love the first one.... Hoping to spend some time there soon.
Also Botanic Gardens....
And of course Busse woods.... :D
Many Photo ops around here for sure.

One of the best programs to replace the cumbersome windows explorer is the two pane program by Ghisler. Lots ofcustomization
abilities.... has a freeware version that you have to click on a number when starting..... very easy but you can also buy a license....

http://www.ghisler.com/

Most of the time the people i have seen that have a passion for a hobby and end up trying to earn a living at that hobby tend to end up hating the hobby..... At 42 you have a long way to go before retiring. Wanting to take shortcuts as you stated also in many cases ends up in failure.... Many have been there before you.... Think long and hard before you make a leap like this..... Especially since you are new to photography..... Wondering if you have had any type of artistic endeavors in the past? If so what were they?
Wishing you the best of luck whatever you plan to do.

The only stupid question is the one you don't ask!
I have been lurking for quite sometime and totally agree the ribbing is mostly in fun..... and I have learned a great deal... even though i started in a darkroom over 55 years ago....
Great bunch of people here.

picture frame and they do make them that you can remotely send pictures to.... this way you can constantly update the pictures for him whether you can make it there or not.

Home Depot carries fairly large pieces of rubberized magnetic material. Look in the plumbing department. They are called magnetic vent covers.... I think 3 come in a pack. Should be easy to glue the pictures to them.

I have been using corel draw..... Really easy.... I made a template and easily paste in pictures and things to make the cards look great. Print on 8.5 x 11 paper and fold twice :)