Thank you😃

I love these creatures. When I was about 7, my cousins told me they were really aliens, planning an invasion. Imagine my surprise when I found one in my bedroom. I tried to get it to climb onto a piece of paper so I could take it outside. Instead, it decided to fly right into my hair and got tangled. I was so scared but once my dad got it untangled, it climbed onto my arm and I was able to really look at it. I have had a fascination with them ever since.

(Download)


(Download)

I taught my boys about this when they were younger. We had a family member suffer two strokes and I felt it was something they should know, just in case. They never needed the info personally but they had talked about it to a friend a few years later. A good thing as the boy was with his grandmother and she began acting funny. He asked her to do the raising of the arms, sticking out her tongue, and smile, which she had no problem doing. It was when she tried to say she was fine that he knew something was wrong. She kept saying saying she was sun instead of fine. He called 911 and his parents. She did have a stroke and because of his quick thinking, she completely recovered.

I have been to two weddings that had this issue. Two separate photographers were used. Both sent a notice along with the invitations. Both weddings had guests that still took photos.
At the first wedding, the photographer, after realizing that pictures were still being taken, announced that after he took his photos of each pose, he would allow a few moments for guests to take a couple of shots. The guests really appreciated this and at the reception, made an effort to stay out of his way. He got some wonderful photos and everyone was happy.
At the second wedding, things did not go so well. The photographer made his announcement at the church stating that no picture taking would be allowed what so ever. He did not give an explanation and came across quite rude. When the bride and groom got their photos, every single shot had either a camera, cell phone, or a person's body part in them. The only explanation they got was that they signed a contract stating that his company was to be the exclusive photographers.
To me, it just seems like common courtesy to stay out of the paid professionals way.

Very nice. I really like the 3rd one.

When my son was 4, he was extremely shy with adults. I explained this to the photographer before hand. When we arrived, he had his daughter there. We watched as he took some pictures of her, having her pose this way and that. As he did, he explained to my son what each piece of equipment was for. When he was done, she came over to my son and started talking about the shoot. She explained how his picture would show up on the monitor and he could see it if he wanted. He took right to her. When it was his turn, he was still shy and didn't want to do much smiling. Until her dad let him click the remote a few times and check out the pics he took. He was all for it then.
Some kids are shy and some are just unsure of the unknown. This man took the time to let my son get comfortable with the equipment by using his daughter. Not many people would have that kind of patience but he did. He made quite a name for himself in our little town.

I believe the issue has been resolved. I did a factory reset and the test pictures are in jpeg. I am thinking that one of my children has been borrowing my camera unbeknownst to me. Which would be why my settings seem to change all on their own.
Thank you to those who took the time to try and help me.

When I go into the menu, it shows that it is on jpeg fine. It still seems to be taking them in raw format though. It has never did this before. Very confusing.

I am somewhat frustrated and I hope someone may be able to give me a bit of help. I have a Nikon D3100. I have been shooting in jpeg plus raw. I recently tried to switch back to just jpeg but upon downloading, they were still in both formats. I have reset my shooting options and changed my image quality to jpeg fine and still no luck. I am sure I am missing something simple and would appreciate any help with the matter. Thanks!

It is a pipevine swallowtail. Very nice photos.

We put the bottles in a bag with extra clothing. They were empty at the time. We filled them later.

I used to purchase 2-3 cases of water weekly for my family of 4. It was convenient and the kids would take a couple a day to high school. (You would not believe how hard it is to stay hydrated in a school with only 4 fountains.)
One day the school ran a contest to see which class could collect the most empties for recycling. We collected more than 250 in 2 weeks, all from our own home. I was shocked! Where I live we don't have recycling. I would have to drive more than an hour to find the closest center. Realizing how much waste we were creating, we switched to Britta filtered bottles. Now the water tastes just as good, there is no more waste, and best of all, I can refill it anywhere there is a faucet or fountain. This saved us more than 40 dollars a day on a recent visit to an amusement park! So worth it!

I would like to say thank you to everyone who posted. I got some great tips and advice. I will definitely think twice before purchasing on eBay. I think I may have to wait a while and save a bit more.
I do have an old Kodac Easy Share. I think I will just continue to mess around with it for a bit. Thanks again. This seems like a great community!

Hi there. I am relatively new to photography. I have a very tight budget. What I need is a camera that will allow me to take various types of photos including portrait and sports photos. I was thinking about the Nikon d3100 because it is entry level so I would be able to use it to learn and the price seems right on EBay. Any insight anyone could provide would be great. As I said, my budget is very tight at this moment. As in 275.00 or less. I know I can't get much but I am hoping that by patience, luck, and eBay I may find something. Thank you in advance!

Thank you for the warm welcome everyone!