SnapHappy, I get good ratings with my P&S Panasonic TZ3. There are few rules I have learned since I protested my consistently low scores. Since that night the club has been doing critiques for all shots.
1 Focus on one assigned theme and it should make a statement
(this month water, a bowel of still water is not a statement, the water should be doing something or something doing to the water.
I have one of my two for Sept. Second will be my handful of Ice in glass coffee urn then use the trick to make (fake smoke) steam. Title: Add handful of Ice to hot coffee!! http://photoextremist.com/ search for video on fake smoke.
2 get rid of junk (preferably before shot, or use clone)
3 do tight crop to theme area (that was my rude awakening)
4 no burned (over exposed) areas (turn down exposure to- you can always brighten)
P&S do not worry, one night a Cellphone photo was top dog! I waited months before submitting. Point is you learn a lot and have fellow FotoNuts to be around once or twice a month.
PS: Download Topaz Adjust. If you do not have a PS etc type program, then they have a free stand alone machine that will use the topaz plugins. Try it for 30, you love it. Don

www.photoextremist.com

Wild and Crazy Guy is a complement of high rank.

Check out this Photo Heroic site. He loves photography and has given PDFs of his books for down load. He does creative photography using typical equipment.

What do you guys think. Check him out. :idea:

Brad, you and The Canon gal,SnapHappy, are both in the area. The TBCC is a great club. The Critiques after the point competition is very helpful. The club meets at 7:00 pm, but usually people get there early to fill out the forms for submission. I think we had over 40 photos submitted last month. Dues are only $35/year and you get a christmas party with food!!! mytbcc.com
Oh, yes, we now have IDs and Press Passes.

Sensitivity, here in USA everyone excuses them selves and are so politically correct!!! My year in Argentina was great, they talk about anything any time and argue political issues and burn tires in the street, just a place of freedom. The strikers have the drummers, and burning tires and are protected by the police. Are we as free as in Argentina? I took lots of street photos there, here I am reluctant, usa is odd place to live once you see the world!!! And I have been here all my life. Also cars and wires everywhere!!!

Brad, I thought you had seen my flowers, every male artistic person has the sensitive-fem side of appreciation of beauty. And, if you are old enough to recall, in the 1990's the ladies searched the that "male with sensitivity and understanding!!!)

No offense taken, see, one lady already replied!! Also have psychological hide like leather. I had a good chuckle. First thing i said was .. Brad's another candidate for remedial reading 101.

Macro - Fungus N Clover


Macro - Lawn Jelly Fish

SnapHappy: Are you in the Tampabay Area? Are you a member of the TBCC, www.mytbcc.com This friday is the competition meeting, Water is the theme.

If in the area, at least check it out one time. d/p

PS: I have a Canon G-2 that I converted to IR only.
PPS: The gal has to have one of those hardy Nikon Bods. I have an old! Nikon 8008. Minolta died long ago. Kodak DC4800 is still a living camera, 3mp and 12years old!!!

Alas, Ronny, Look up FastStone Resize. Free program, will do batch processing. It will increase or decrease size, dpi, pxls, add copyrite and jump over tall building in a single bound. I think the free "topaz Fusion" allows for standalone otherwise, you use it as a plugin for PSP, PS and prob others.
http://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm

Go to the topazlabs.com website and see the examples, wow.
You can download a full working for 30 days. The have educational Webinars for free and you get discount on programs. New B/W program (much more than B/w) until 9-28 intro for $29. The simplify will take the MG and work it over that is one of their examples.

If i go to the site and see the MG-TC? I will cry! Loved my classics and my Triumph ,,, My last was a 66 Ford Fairlane convert. I bought with 54K and 17 y/o drove for 14years and sold for twice what I paid for it. Hug the road!! d/p

NO, Brad, I, Don, a stout hearted male, looking for a Gal with beautiful Nikon Bod.

The October Popular Photography that I just got via digital, has a great rundown on all the Mirrorless cameras. Worthwhile article.

Probably rather than hunting for a Nikon gal, I will look for a Nipon gal named Sony. I have Minolta AF lenses in my ol' stuff box. Sony fits my travel lite style.

Brad Robb wrote, "My wife says to me today, I think my old camera is a Canon see if that lens will fit. Come to find out she has an old EOS Rebel G with a 35-80mm 1:4-5.6 on it. Free lens."

Brad, I am single, you have inspired me! I will place a singles ad today; "Single guy-photo-fanatic with Nikon Lenses wants to meet lovely gal-photographer with beautiful digital Nikon-body."

Guys, beautiful macros and great lighting. Kudos.

Jerm, Please tell me that No Fly was injured during the making of this photo :>) Again in Awe of this photo! Flys can be beautiful; they are the Macro-Vultures of our world and an environmental necessity.

Quagmire,you went with a Super-Zoom rather than an alpha with interchange. Is it for the same reason as me, I hate lugging stuff around (hence my Panasonic TZ3)? I see that the 100V has impressive specifications and great burst. I am considering an Sony alpha because I have Minolta Lens. Most of the time I would use the come-with 18-55mm lens. The large sensor would give me an image I could crop to give, perhaps, a telephoto equal image. Or, heaven forbid, I would carry one super zoom telephoto Minolta.

What tilted you to the 100V?

Ronny, I agree. PSE 10 will probably change your 80% up another 5% the remaining 15% useless to most. Reality is that buy a system and learn the tools and you have a big investment, your brain and hours of learning; SO BUY ONE AND STICK WITH IT.

Changing systems is difficult and generally a worthless investment of learning time/energy. What a fiasco MSWord 07 Ribbon is to many and me!! I will stick with 03 for ever because I know the menu. Perhaps Ribbon is better but so-what, likewise, stick with familiar menus, be it PS, PSP etc. (In fairness, I should not leave out Serif X-4 that I purchased on full rebate!!!) If PS came out with a Ribbon Menu and did not allow old style, they would lose a big following.

For those concerned with $$; usually the many Point-Shoot/NewB guys, they may like to consider PSP. Corel's PSP X3 Ultra, is only $30 (on special) direct from Corel and does most every thing that PS-CS does and Ultra comes with many plugins. Another advantage to PSP X-3 is the automatic-indexing to tool-in-use Help is on the left margin for newB's leading-by-the hand (OK,me too sometimes!). GOOD HELP SYSTEM IS VERY IMPORTANT. PSE goes on line for help and muddies into lists and then further muddies with different versions of PSE.

The $50 difference in PSE and PSP can be used for buying TopazLab's Adjust that turns PSE or PSP into magic. Ronny, have you tried Topaz Adjust?

TainKc Great rundown on Sony Thank You.

Well, if there was a counterfeit "Nikon" or "Canon" or a hybrid "NiKanon" sticker that would cover up the "Sony," then lots more people would buy Sony.

I mention Sony to people at the Camera Club and get a raised eyebrow and a quick change of subject. The old "don't confuse me with facts" and the "but, what does reality have to do with it" syndrome. Nikon/Canon/Photoshop are religions, to the faithful, people purchasing other cameras (tho based on facts and/or $ limitations) are considered as owners of unterKameras and they are labled as die Untermenschen.

You have put me in a comfort zone with your personal experience, reinforcing my deviant thoughts - Considering a $ony. Thank you.

I have been using a Panasonic TZ3 and get good results, but obviously the next step is a larger sensor. But I am no long a fan of big body cameras with big lenses like my ol' Minolta i7000. I am a small camera always-carry-with - shoot fast guy. What is your feeling about the Sony C3 mirrorless. Do they require adapter for Minolta AF?

I found an index of Minolta lenses - links to discussion of the individual lenses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Minolta_lenses
Next I found "mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera(MILC)"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirrorless_interchangeable-lens_camera

The Sony C3 does not have a hot shoe nor built in flash, but I feel that a little ingenuity one could do like I have done hot glue a shoe and tap into the flash trigger plugs for the $ony plugin flash. Otherwise if lenses inter change great. But if I have to spend $200 for a lens adapter then i would be better off with a different $ony that would take my Minolta AF.

Please, comment TainKC I value your Camera/RR hobbyist views.

Kisha B, I betja that they allow it on desktop and laptop. Many programs do allow dual installation. Worthwhile asking. I asked for the discount price on one of the group and the special was over the previous month and they gave me the discount price. If that is an indicator, then wort asking for using on two computers.

I am going to signup for their webinars, even if I just listen lightly, I usually pickup a point or two. What would I do with out my Adjust, huh. Have you wondered where those details come from, fantastic, and the price is right.

And, Kisha, yes the first Crimson Passion photo was processed with Adjust and Noise.

Same photo DAP dynamic autopaint
Excellent program for dynamic artistic effects.

Like I say, Older PSE etc are the underpinnings for addon and plugins or pre-processing before programs such DAP. Many free thing out there that do not require big $$ like for CS5.5 or the Suit.

Starie Night modification of flower

Yes, indeed, I did search before I asked. Please check your file for source or correct name. Go to My computer, main drive usually C:, then to "program files" and find the program. Or do a search on your computer and were does it come up. Then find out the company or name. The Pixbender I found is for Adobe CS only

Pixel Bender

Is there a Pixel Bender that works with non adobe programs.
Where id did you download, i would love to get it. Thanks d/p

People speak highly of Gimp. I use PSP.

What you use depends some what on computer, some programs eat memory and if you do not have lots, problems can happen.