Ok -- this is a little about photography.

I'll start by saying, I take pictures for my own pleasure. Am by no means a professional photographer. That being said, I am occasionally a photographer for social or political groups in which I am involved. Things like getting shots for a newsletter or a website, or making sure that someone who is being honored has a record.

So, it was with surprise and excitement when I opened my local newspaper a couple of days ago, and saw they had printed (and credited!!!) a picture I had taken of some local candidates for office. Nothing particularly special about the photo itself, but still, it's my first published photo.

I am agonizing over the choice between buying a used D7200 vs a new D7500. My current D5100 has several issues (Flash won't pop up, can't enter video recording mode and most critically I find myself having to switch to live view to take a shot at all. After a shot in live view I'll get to use the viewfinder mode once or twice before having to switch to live view again to take the next shot). Sadly Nikon has told me they no longer repair the D5100 and none of the local shops are willing to work on it either so rather than risking sending it off to an unknown repair shop I've decided I'm better off stepping up. I've loved the D5100 but at 31,115 actuations I can't say I didn't get my use out of it. In addition to the 18-55 and 55-300 AF kit lenses I also have some lenses from my F2/FM film days; a 16mm f 2.8 full frame fisheye, a 50mm f1.8, a 25-50mm f4.5 and a 100-300mm f5.6 (all manual focus) that I'd like to use more often. A good amount of my shooting is various motorsports events so quick and accurate autofocus is a must although I do also do quite a bit of static car photography as well as just general photos. My budget is somewhat limited as I'm a retired senior and Social Security doesn't give me the income I'd need for a D500 or 850. I'd love some input as to how I should proceed.

Thanks in advance,

Ric Johnson
Des Moines, Iowa

While I have done Adobe Photoshop, it's been a long time. Since I am just getting back into this, I'd prefer to hold off on making a major investment.

I've been playing with some free programs, the last being Pixlr. There's so much on the web that it gets overwhelming, so I thought I'd throw it out to all of you to get your opinions.

Since I have a lot on my plate, I would prefer a solid program but one that doesn't involve a steep learning curve.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Because of difficulty with importing photos into Lightroom (see discussion on that subject on UHH), and needing these photos to be cataloged and keyworded, the Adobe agent suggested that I start using Bridge for those proposes. Are there any hoggers that use Bridge for cataloging and/or keywording that can shed some light for me? I think I will check out some tutorials in Youtube today to see if I can grasp the functionality. Either that, or shitcan Adobe altogether and seek another software for editing, cataloging and keywording.

I just was with my daughter to attend my grandson’s graduation. I didn’t take many photos, but my daughter did. Not a great camera, but good enough for snapshots. While reviewing her photos, she asked me a question I not only couldn’t answer, but would love to have answered for myself: Why, when taking the same photo, seconds or less apart, is one photo more underexposed than the next? No change in settings, no change in light, yet the two photos are noticeably different. She’s using an old Canon, I’m using a Z9, and it happens to both of us. Would love to hear anyone’s thoughts.

Thanks,

Mike