Thanks! Very nice effect, but I think the strong point in each is your composition. I've been a designer for 30 years, and I know that most people (even many professionals) don't get how composition brings art to life.

If there's anything I would try a little differently would be to shoot options at higher f stop to try to get a little more depth of field. The middle photo seems perfect in that respect as the out of focus material acts as a frame. The first and last, I'd be interested to see how some of those small detailed buds look sharper. Though I must admit, often when I go through the time of taking, and looking at the options, I realize I had it right the first time. It's just an obsession that comes with my profession.

I like the effect. I just wish it could have kept the contrast of cool background to red hot subject.

I have the D7000 and leave the battery in all the time with no problem.

First, let me say, I quickly read through a response to another post a week or two ago that would answer my question, but I didn't bookmark it and can't find it through search, so here goes the subject again.

I'm currently working on and learning off camera flash with using my D7000. Looking to invest in a system of multiple flashes, and possibly a controller. I know I can get Nikon speedlights and use the TTL system, but even used, those get expensive. And I'd like to work around the on-camera flash effecting the scene while it acts as the master. Any recommendations for a non-Nikon brand of lights and controllers?

Funny how people need to announce when they leave. Me, I prefer the "Irish goodbye", but, hey, we all have our own opinions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGcHNnI2mh4

Ive used that lens on my D7000, had to use the manual focus. It worked well because I was shooting table top product, that seems to be pretty much what the lens is good for. Very sharp images. I was shooting running shoes for web catalogue and the client demands that the material texture and woven surfaces be crystal clear, and they were.

Welcome to UHH. I too got into photography by art directing many shoots over the years (and often times thinking I had a better eye than the photographer making more money than me)

For your budget, consider used. Look at the for sale section here or over at Fred meranda; http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/10

Or you may be able to get into a new sony camera and lens for that.
https://www.adorama.com/isoa7ka.html

Just note that you will still need memory cards, filters, bags, software costs or subscriptions. But hey, as we like to say here down by the seashore, it's cheaper than a boat.

Have to agree. If your old machine gave you 7 years, that's a winner. I like that machine PaulR01 recommends. You can put your system and software on the SSD drive and then use the 1tb drive for your files.

thanks for the info on the "myportfolio". Love the "machines" series.

So many options in all of those states. But here's a bit of a POV from a Boston guy;

• If you're visiting anything on the shore during the summer season, do it midweek, go inland on the weekends unless you love traffic.
• Maybe I'm just sick of it, but I don't find Cape Cod specifically photogenic.
• Others have given a lot of advise on Maine, and you've probably seen the other post on that subject today, http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-521305-1.html
• Don't discount Rhode Island. Yes it's small, and we all make fun of it, but there are some nice places. Newport is great to visit, but hence the advice on sea shores and weekends.
• I'm a bit biased towards New Hampshire. Not a lot of big tourist areas, but some good hiking without being a mountain climber.
-North Conway is a good place to stay, then you can explore the mountains, rivers and ponds from there. Eastern Maine is also just a bit to the east. The Black Cap trail off of Hurricane mountain road gives a great view as you're 1200' above North Conway with views across the valley. And most of the vertical is gained by driving to the trail head.
-North Woodstock is a bit sleepy in the summer, but once again, you'd be 10 minutes away from some nice photo opportunities. Nice hikes, an arial Tram at Cannon Mountain, and the west side of Mount Washington just to the north.
• Vermont is really nice too. If you enter from NH, route 4 just off I-89 brings you through Quichee Gorge, and then to the picturesque resort area of Woodstock (yah, we like that name for towns in New England) North of US 89, there's Montpelier, Stowe and the farm country if you head north on Rt100, and then Burlington along lake Champlain.

I'm in New York a couple times a year, and when I know I'll have the down time I'll bring a camera and a lens or two. Everywhere has interesting possibilities. Though I often find myself at B&H or Adorama...you may want to avoid them as there's aways something to spend your money on.

From Boston area, and I'm a big fan of the Portland waterfront. Lot's of nice restaurants, and not quite as touristy as Cape Cod. There are many boat or sailing excursions (sunset cruise on a sailing vessel should offer some photo ops) and there are small islands that you can ferry to and poke around some.

I was up in the Lake Sebego area last August and they had an antique in-water boat show in Naples that offered some great photo ops.

There's a lot of Maine, and it seems bigger as not all the road choices are as wide or direct as I-95. But if you're sticking to the shore route there are a few nice little towns, from north to south;
• Yarmouth, not a real lot here, but it has a busy waterfront along the river, and you can drive out to a couple of the islands via Drinkwater Point.
• Kennebunkport, a little more affluent area, but rich people sure know the nice areas. Some reasonable hotels along the river, but book now if you think you want to stay over. And watch for George HW Bush, he's often seen cruising on his boat, which can be spotted by the half dozen secret service members on board.
• Wells beach and further south the York Beach areas. A bit of a time warp here, maybe conditions of the buildings have seen better days, but nice old seaside architecture with a bit of gritty charm
• In between the two areas above is Ogunquit. Nice, not a lot here, but there's an intersting walkway the winds from the Perkins Cove to the ocean. Lots to see and photograph.

Have a great trip. And if you've never been way up to Arcadia, bring your fall clothing too!

I'll give my two cents with some shared experiences.

My main system is a Macbook Pro. I have 16gb RAM and for most instances it is adequate. If I need to work on video or large image files I also have MacPro tower, but the only time I've had to use it was when working on some large image files for trade show graphics (800gb photoshop files) So 16gb of RAM is a great place to start. In fact, there are other parts of your system to concentrate on to insure good performance.

Other things to consider for system speed and work flow:

• Consider upgrading to the i7 processor. It makes a big difference. I'd go for the cheaper of the i7 options, but where this is only offered on the 27" machine, it's kind of a double hit on the cost.

• The upgrades to SSD drives are nice, but very expensive doing it through Apple, so stick with the standard option there and get an external drive(s) for keeping your work files on. When you set up that drive, you can partition it so you can assign 250gb to photoshop scratch disc. I use a 2TB RAID with an additional 2TB slower drive that automatically backs up the RAID. The RAID is overkill for personal use, I have mine set up to be shared as it holds client files for the office. You could get a 2 or 4TB Thunderbolt drive, and then a cheaper drive of the same size for constant backup. This keeps your main hard drive nice and clean and running fast. I'd recommend this step which ever main machine you opt for.

• You say you have a second 27"monitor. Have you talked to anybody at apple about running that off the iMac as a second screen? Once again, I run a second large monitor of my MacBook, but I found that it really requires the best video card available. I went with the upgrade from Apple, but my AppleCare expires in June and I'll be putting in an even better third party card as I get a lot of errors and video memory problems under certain conditions. Once again, my usage is a bit extreme, but consider the upgrade to save time and aggravation. But, this option once again is only available on the 27" machine.

Well, that's my two cents on how to spend YOUR money. Which ever way you go, it will be great. Always nice to get a new machine, and you won't really be looking to upgrade for a while. And I know a service that upgrades non-upgradable Apple machines. It's possible, but best left to the pros and done after warranty period is over as it will negate the AppleCare agreement.

Chickadee!

Crystal Cove area is nice. It's on the shore between Laguna Beach and Newport. The beach is nice, and across US 1 are great hiking trails up through the hills that offer some great views and lots of wildlife in the scrubby vegetation.