I have been there a few times. I use one of those rubber "jar lid" rubber sheets. As you turn, push the filter into the lens.

Either buy a filter wrench or go to a camera store and have them remove it.

Do NOT use the freezer. That makes metal shrink and the connection even tighter. Put the lens in a very warm spot, such as a car window on a very warm day. Give it a few minutes until the filter is warmed up and then try to turn it. The jar lid sheet or a rubber band around the filter can also be used here.

A very small amount of graphite OR candle (paraffin) wax will work. Do not use any oil lubricant as this will attract dust.

If you wear contacts, you must be familiar with dry eyes. I recommend taking extra eye drops along with plenty of cleaning solution.

Generally your eyes produce enough tears to wash away dust.

Beautiful architecture. Two things that would give your shots more impact.

1) Use a polarizing filter. That will reduce the reflected light and give even more vibrant colors. Your bricks will have a deeper red, awnings look less faded, and whites less washed out.

2) Crop your shots lower. Less sky and more street level. What makes neighborhoods includes the people, not just the buildings. Store fronts, sidewalk cafes, and pedestrians all add vibrancy to neighborhoods. If that was not your intent then I apologize.

Thanks for sharing, you do have some great shots.

Well done. Thank you for sharing.

These species were saved because of government management, not "sportsmen". Habitat was saved and their predators were reduced or managed. Times to hunt were established and licenses required. Indiscriminate killing was stopped.

I have a difficult time calling hunters "sportsmen". I don't see any sport in using a high powered rifle to kill from a distance. It is hunting plain and simple. I hunt and there is nothing sporting about it. I take my deer and turkeys and fill my freezer. It is not a sport and there is nothing sporting about it.

Whether it is a lion or giraffe in Africa, a Kodiak bear in Alaska, or a tuna off of the South Carolina coast. There is no sport in the killing. This is not helping to manage anything. Every animal on that endangered poster got there from over hunting and reducing their habitat. Mankind caused their crisis.

My advice here would be to visit a good camera store. Look at the different models and talk to a salesperson. Bring your camera and try out some of the various heads.

You may have to drive a little while to find a good store, but the results make it worthwhile. You end up with a product that fits your needs. Besides tripods and heads, looking at the various camera bags will give you a better grasp of how your needs can be met. You may py a little more but have fewer regrets later.

Good luck.

This not "bokeh" as much as just an out of focus background. My suggestion would be to add some contrast, darken it a bit, and make it B&W. Crop in closer to make your subject more prominent.

#1&2 are very powerful and well done. I never think twice about cropping to remove undesirable elements or to focus on a particular element.

It does nothing for me. There is no subject to grab my attention other than the tower. The tower has nothing to recommend it. Removing the light would diminish the tower even more; making it look even less alive.

That though is not a bad thing. It just doesn't appeal to me. It does appeal to some (see above) with great tribute. And that is fine too. I don't expect my work to appeal to all.

Just remember that my opinion and $1.19 gets a 20 coffee at the local gas station.

OK, so if you get down this far, here is the reason you are being warned.

Abes of Maine started out as a reputable business. Then around the time of the 2008 Recession, they went into bankruptcy and were bought out. The new owners do not have the morals or customer concern of the original Abes.


Today they are a bait and switch outfit. That $600 M5 does not come with a charger or even a battery. They are extra. The camera itself is gray market and there have been many reports of manuals in other languages than English. If you have a warranty problem they won't answer their phone.

Abes of Maine is not the only bait and switch outfit out there. They are a prominent one though. The moral of the story is "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is".

This started as a discussion on the rights of photographers to go about their business without harassment.

Give it up already. This is about photography, not the politics of immigration.

Everyone debating our borders, TAKE IT ELSEWHERE.

Yes, I was getting a good laugh out of the direction. Fright Wing Radio has twisted some minds.

There have been enough court decisions that have confirmed there is no right to privacy in the public square. Many large police departments have instructed their officers on how it is not illegal to video or photograph in public.

What program did you use to convert to JPG.

Canon does have their own photo editor for CR2 (RAW). However, it can be a resource hog. If you don't have it, you may d/l DPP 4 from the Canon website. But you will need to enter your camera serial number. DPP will allow you to revert to the original shot even after making changes and saving them.

While the B&W is nice, I strongly suspect you don't want to have this happen in the future. If you converted it from CR2 to JPG, your CR2 should still there. Check the original d/l folder for it.

Good luck.

Those that conflate fighting for our nation with a Sunday afternoon football game missed what we did in those jungles, beaches, seas, and forests.

Forcing others to follow a practice they disagree with insults every man and woman who died or bled for our nation.

No war was won because someone at home wore a flag pin. Wars were won because we prevailed in the end.

Jingoism has killed a lot of Americans unnecessarily.

The colors of the flag mean: "Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, explained the significance to Congress when he presented the seal. “The colors,” Thomson said at the time, “are those used in the flag of the United States of America. White signifies purity and innocence. Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue… signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice.”" While many have bled for, and on, our flag, the red in the flag was never to signify blood.

Yes, many veterans came home and were spit on. The vast majority weren't. The worst though were those that bought deferments for bone spurs and other trivial complaints. The one who called those held in horrendous prison camps "losers". It's funny how some people that hold this man up as a hero ignore his insults to veterans. To those wounded. To those who didn't come home. And when some people clearly state that they disagree with the abuses of the government, they are the ones called traitors.

If you want to take a knee, go for it. I don't; I stand with my hand on my heart. But I do it from my own volition, not because I have to. If someone wants to make an issue of whether or not I stand for our anthem then it is they who has the problem.

Those who whine the loudest didn't serve.

Very close.

Nikon USA is an American company with the exclusive right to import and sell Nikon cameras in America. Under American law, Nikon USA can not stop anyone else from importing and selling the same product from another country. But, only Nikon USA can claim to be the authorized dealer and importer.

Nikon USA is separate from Nikon Inc, the manufacturer. Nikon Inc doesn't issue the warranties, the importer (Nikon USA) does. As you point out, Nikon USA has no warranty for non-Nikon USA imported products because they are not Nikon USA product.

The Nikon products all come off the same assembly line. The only differences in the box would be in the type of battery charger; 110V or 220V, and the manual. While Canon does change their names for different countries, Nikon doesn't.