Great photo of a handsome guy!

It's a good printer. I've had one for 3 years now, and after a small challenge in setup that customer service walked me through, it has worked very well. Most of my printing is on 13x19 paper, and ink is a bit pricey, but it's been a reliable machine.

I had cataract surgery about 4 years ago, and the results were truly rewarding. You'll most likely love the results. The enhanced sharpness has been very fine with my old eyes.

Here's a preventative measure for mold on / in cameras and lenses: When I was a USMC photographer in Vietnam in 1965, we prevented mold on camera equipment by using a "Hot Locker." We took a large ammo crate with metal hinges, made sure the seams were reasonably tight, and installed a 40-watt electric bulb and socket in the crate. We stood the crate in a corner of our photo lab tent, plugged it in, and when the generator was running, the 40-watt bulb kept the air dry in the "locker" dry enough to keep mold at bay. The camera gear was warm, but workable. It worked; when I returned to the States, my old 1961 Nikon F was mold-free, as was the equipment of the other photographers in our unit.

I've been using the D-810 for a little over a year now, and have found the Nikkor 24-120 zoom lens fits my shooting style well. The lens has good sharpness over the range of its zoom, and isn't too cumbersome as a walk-about lens.

THANK YOU for noting my error! It's NOT fixed focus at all, of course; rather, fixed focal length (NON-zoom). --AJ

I earned a BFA with a major in Photography at Florida International University in Miami FL. Their BFA program was / is particularly fine. The discipline afforded by meeting deadlines, concentrating on form and content in my photographs and on the way light looks, all helped my way of seeing. Good luck with your studies--in and out of class!

For Sale: Nikon / Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G prime lens $160. This lens is about a year old, tenderly cared for. The lens is a very sharp fixed-focal length 'prime' lens designed for full-frame sensor Nikon digital cameras. I have used this lens sparingly over the past year with excellent results. Excellent condition. Includes front and rear lens caps and bayonet lens hood. Free shipping to lower 48 states. Contact: ajcotterell@gmail.com

The photography that causes you such hesitation is simply recording a moment in time; a moment significant in the maturation of your son. It is the photographer who matters, not his equipment. YOU make the photo, not the camera. It is YOUR vision, YOUR caring for your subject that will come through in the photos you create. Comparison with "better" or "more experienced" photographers' work is inevitable. For example, every tourist who photographs Half-Dome in Yosemite is going up against (in a way) the great Ansel Adams and his photos of the park. Does this concern less well-known photographers? Heck, no. Go for it, care nothing for a "better" photographer, and provide a record that you and your son will look back upon in years to come.

In shooting from a helicopter, DON'T allow your arms to touch any part of the aircraft, as vibration will be carried to the camera and may blur your shot. It's a little-known fact that helicopters actually don't fly; they vibrate and shake so much that the earth rejects them.

As a Marine Corps photographer for 24 years, I used 4x5 Speed Graphics and Crown Graphics a lot, Graphic View cameras quite a bit, and occasionally an 8x10 Deardorff View Camera. Rolleiflexes were frequently used. Occasionally a Leica M-4, when my officer-in-charge allowed. But my go-to, stand-by, most useful camera was a Nikon F with a 58mm f/1.4 lens, bought for my own use in Japan in January 1961 It was a no-frills, black finish camera that I used almost daily in and around Japan from 1961 through 1965, when I deployed to Vietnam. I used the Nikon in Vietnam for a year and a little bit, then til 1977, when I retired and used the F even further while earning a BFA in photography. The "BEST" camera? For me, the Nikon F, hands down.

I disagree with the idea of planned obsolescence with regard to Nikon products. I personally have used Nikon cameras since 1960, and have a Nikon F that I used as a Marine combat photographer in Vietnam (1965-66). The camera still works, has been overhauled here in the States twice, and is now a museum piece, as I have moved on to a Nikon D810.

In Vietnam, USMC 1965, we used an old ammo box (about 2 x 3 x 20") with a 40-watt light bulb inside to ward off the intense Vietnam humidity. We stored 4 Nikon F's and a few lenses for about a year and a half and had no fungus or other issues with the gear stored there between our forays into the jungles. There are probably more efficient / attractive alternatives today.

On occasion, they DO collide. I saw some Canadian geese in their usual "V" formation flying over Virginia Lake here in Reno, NV. One of the birds in the back of the formation swerved into the bird ahead of him and they both fell a few feet, then regained their places in the formation. I don't know if our local air controllers reported the mid-air collision, or if the FAA got involved.

Nikon AF-S 24-85mm f/3.5--4.5 G ED/VR lens in mint condition THIS ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD
1- lens hood and front / rear lens caps
1-Polarizing filter
1-UV filter (installed on lens)
1- Variable ND filter
1-ND-1 filter
1-ND-2 filter
1-Filter case
All in mint condition. Sell for $350. No PayPal; Postal money order or personal check only. E-mail me at ajcotterell@gmail.com THIS ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD

24--85mm lens w/ accessories