You can use a strobe,set at -1or -2stops

Sorry to disappoint you. It is the photographer.

It would look fake.

Very Nice. I have downloaded and played with it in B&W. I think the color is distracting.

The 70-200 hands down.

Having had the surgery, DO THE REHAB. Tell the therapist what you do with a camera and the will help with light weights at first. Rehap from this sugery is painful, but you must do it.

If you are walking along and see three dimples on the ground then you have found the photographers
every other picture take HERE, and your photograph will look like. Look at a couple of idea books, then go off and create something really unique.

In the long run you get what you pay for.

Currently, the cheapest and most reliable media is a hard drive. You can buy a desk top reader for internal hard drives. They are cheap, fill them up and store them. You can still read IDE drives,and they are very reliable.

I have used RAID arrays for years, and had several RAID failures. It is theoretically bullet proof, but after some bad experiences I now run dual RAID arrays that mirror each other. I also use DVD and BLU RAY, but make duplicates to store off site. If it is digital, it will eventually fail. Be safe, keep up with tech formats and above all CHECK your backups to make sure you can read them.

There are two kinds of people. Those who have suffered a crash loss and those who will suffer a loss. Back up at least on one back up or be prepared to lose it. At some point ALL digital media fails, yes all, or the computer industry will change formats and stop supporting it. You need to keep up with the back media. Remember OS9 or Windows 98?.

If you are interested in experimenting: If you have studio strobes, use a bit more of paper. Hang the orchid with tungsten wire (avaiable at any camera shop. Using a soft box light at about 45 degrees from each side. Manually set the background lights at least 2 stops brighter than the light on the orchid then shoot the orchid from difference angles. to make itmore isolated, hang 4 x 6 board vertically to stop the bounce of the background from coming too close. Experiment with having one light on each side of orchid or balance the front lights at different brightnesses.

This kind of light makes any dust disappear,

Do not under any circumstances leave anything you care about in the car. Auto break ins are epidemic, thieves watch for out of towners, and will smash a window and be gone in 5 seconds or less. Has become such a problem the police won't even come out and take a report. Best advice is park the car at the hotel and take a cab. As for photo spots, Fort Point under the GG Bridge, china town, Coit Tower Alcatraz. Keep your camera strap around your neck. Just moved away after 30 years. Be careful. SF ain't safe anymore.

If you are dealing with a textured print, you can try to take a photo using a good macro lens and a tripod with even light. Make sure the focus is tight with no shadows. I have had some success with this. Oh and use a full frame camera.