Yes, Mary, we are an unfaithful, stiffnecked people here in the United States of America. God has blessed our nation beyond our expectations. Our downward spiral has been one of slow deliberate actions; first by heathens in the general public that do not believe and secondly and most dramatically by our political leaders and law makers and supreme court which have passed laws which directly oppose God's word. Satan is very deceitful and cunning and is at the bottom of all this. Pitifully, we, as a people, including our own government expect God's blessings with no sense of responsibility or faithfulness or duty to uphold His Holy word. I could go on and on but know one thing: There is only one God and it is not Allah. God has a son named Jesus and He is the savior of all who believe in Him. I believe the great apostasy is upon us but like the apostle Paul I know whom I have believed: and am persuaded He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. Fear not, Mary, and keep the faith if you are a believer.

Well you can't count me as one of the ones who knows nothing about being a Christian or going to church. I went to Church three times a week for fourty years. I was going to be a preacher. The only reason I lost faith is because I found out they were hiding the truth from me about the history of the Bible. But that's another thread.

Everything you said about Christians being normal People is true. That is why I said it is typical behavior. Either his work wasn't up to scratch or they saw him as the free photographer not worthy of paying which is unfortunate.

Please understand this is an observation. Not the magic do all, fix all.
I am a grinder. By grinder I mean just a guy that loves photography and have loved it all my life.My equipment is sparse and in almost all cases entry level. Not a complaint but a fact of life. Kids, college, weddings, all came first. Photography is a passion but in most cases comes lower on the list of must haves. I watch posts on UHH and almost daily people ask for this vs that and seem to think this will make them better. What makes you better is practice and knowledge of the equipment you have. My lenses are kit lenses. My camera an entry level DSLR. My enjoyment has been and is over the top. I love what I do. I love getting better. I love the knowledge. So for all you people out there who think the equipment will make you better. Nope it's practice, read, understand. That's what makes you better.

The D850 is giving me real GAS, however I'm going to pass at this time. My D800 has far more capability than I as an "advanced" amateur. The only reason for thinking of changing is GAS. My reason for passing at this time is that at my age I expect I will only get one or two more DSLR's. The only DSLR's I've had are the D90 and the D800, both of which I still have. I entered the world of digital in 2008 with the D90, adding it to my Nikon F4 (which I still use). I was so new to digital I didn't even realize that DX meant a crop sensor, I just thought the D90 was a top of the line amateurs 35mm (FF) DSLR camera. The info I read at the time didn't really describe the crop aspect. All I knew was that it was a lot less expensive than the "Pro" Nikons. I was and am still happy with the D90 and the DX format is absolutely no hindrance to me, has no bearing on the desire to upgrade, but GAS forced me to want an actual FF camera. Didn't need it, just wanted one. Plus I have a lot of FX lenses from the F4 era and have now added more (yes, have used them on the D90). Finally bit the bullet in 2014 and jumped in to the D800. Again, far more camera than I need but love it. So this was a gap of 6 years between my first DSLR and latest DSLR. Now, looking at the timeline of Nikon FX releases I see a span of only 2 to 3 years between them, each offering interesting steps forward, especially in sensor size and/or iso. So my thought is, since I've only had my D800 for 3 years now that the D850 is out, what will Nikon be releasing in another 3 years? If I keep my 6 year gap between DSLR purchases then I'm wondering what Nikon will have for us in 2020? Figure if I start saving now, I'll even have enough money to buy whatever they have to offer by then. If I had a real reason to upgrade, I'd get a D850, but..... I can wait. Anybody else thinking of waiting?