I have one in the back of my old chicken house - found out she's been stealing my cat food - had to increase from 3 scoops to 4 scoops so the cats get their share LOL...
Will be glad when the babies are grown and gone...

You could spend a year in Maine and not see everything - beautiful state - lived there 5 years at the Naval Air Base in Brunswick and didn't see all there was to see -

Fort Popham - about 15 min from Bath on Rt 209: http://www.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/doc/parksearch/search_name.pl?state_park=&historic_site=40&public_reserved_land=&shared_use_trails=&option=search

Portland Maine - Fort Williams Park has the oldest light house in Maine - a photographers dream park: http://www.fortwilliamspark.com/

And don't forget the covered bridges of Maine: http://www.coveredbridgemap.com/me/

One thing to note - when the colors change, the state of Maine has a population growth of tourists that is in the thousands - many cruise ships arrive and the roads are bumper to bumper to the islands - you will be traveling on 2 lane roads and if anything happens on the road, you are stuck until it clears... generally that does not happen, but be prepared...

There are wool outlets in Maine and Freeport Maine is home to LL Bean so if you like to shop for outdoor clothing or equipment, you're in the right area.

There is a maritime museum in Bath, Maine that is extremely interesting - it does cost to enter but we enjoyed it... http://www.mainemaritimemuseum.org/

Aerial America by the Smithsonian Channel is an outstanding overview of the state and may give you some ideas on what you want to see. Here is their website for the Maine video (the lighthouse showing is the one at Fort Williams): http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/sc/web/series/701/aerial-america/136451/maine#harbor-island-mans-inhumanity

Dining - we found that the small restaurants and cafes in the out of way places offered the best prices. It will be tourist season and the "choice" eateries will adjust their prices accordingly... However, there are occasions when one wishes to splurge a little and we found "A Taste of Maine" (http://www.tasteofmaine.com/) on the island was excellent - the food was great with a spectacular view off the patio.

Enjoy your trip...

I picked one up a couple of weeks ago - haven't been able to use it much yet so when the grandkids came to town this week, I took them to the zoo for a photo shoot. Used auto mode to test it out - I discovered shooting through fences can skew the focus but other than that, I was pleased with the results...
Here are a couple of shots. I resized with a 50% factor to reduce the image size (from 7Mb to 2Mb) but no other post processing - I put the focal length in the description to give you some perspective...

Robin in flower bed - focal 165mm

(Download)

Lion on rock - focal 52mm

(Download)

Lion on rock - focal 100mm

(Download)

Had to get my sister's wireless router working last night - luckily she had a Linksys model that would not kick me out when I made changes to the wireless section - found this application and thought it was great - so, if you need to remotely connect to another system or want to hold an on-line meeting, check this package out.

And best of all - it's free for personal use...

http://www.teamviewer.com/en/index.aspx

Check out the article in the Readers Digest:
http://www.rd.com/culture/case-peeping-photographer/

A photographer took photo's of a family without their knowledge or consent and then used them in an art gallery as a photo show - this went to court and the photographer won the first round - the case in still pending...

What is interesting is that this is in New York which I would take as implying that each state has their own laws around this.

That is the $64,000,000 question - and I don't have the answer...

I agree that with the economy the way it is, fiscal responsibility should drive the travel decisions but IMHO the current administration is not listening to the people - it seems they have their own agenda which no one is able to change. You could start a grass roots movement to remove them from office...

One thing to remember about the use of the military - like statistics, all things can be skewed to look the way the presenter wants them to look. As far as the cost of the aircraft carrier and the support provided, the military is there 24x7 whether they are in combat or not - they fly and train to keep proficient so when the time comes, they can react swiftly and safely. If they are not engaged in combat related missions, then training missions or support missions are performed.
As far as the logistics for the President and his staff - regardless of who the man is - the "President" of the United States deserves the protection provided. Remember, you may not like the individual filling the position, but it is the position that is respected, supported and protected...

This site is a trip down memory lane - thanks for sharing :0)

Check out the Opteka GH1 Pro Heavy Duty Metal Gimbal Head - supports up to 30 lbs and is only 2.7 lbs. I found it easy to use and have had no problems with it - used it with a 40D with the 28-300 lens. The quality is excellent and for the price ($149). I am extremely pleased with this unit - since I used it with my Manfrotto (O55XPOB) around, I wasn't concerned over a couple of more pounds.

http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0071BIQZC/ref=pe_385040_30332190_TE_dp_1

3

A friend of mine was a professional photographer and was happy with following sites:

1) MuseCube Modeling Portfolios and Photographer Directory - http://www.musecube.com/

2) One Model Place - http://www.onemodelplace.com/

I would suggest reading the reviews on the sites you are thinking of using before shelling out $$ for membership.

My daughter has done some modeling for amateur photog's in her church group - might be another avenue to explore...

Good luck in your search.

Hmmm - the link didn't attach - attempt 2

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/copyright-fair-use-and-how-it-works-for-online-images/

As far as "formally copyrighting" - when you take the photo, it is protected -

Copyright is a federal law of the United States that protects original works of authorship. A work of authorship includes literary, written, dramatic, artistic, musical and certain other types of works.

Copyright attaches as soon as the original work is created, and applies to both published and unpublished works. As soon as you type words, click the shutter on your camera (or, for many of you, hit the home button on your iPhone), apply paint to canvas or paper or lay down tracks for your next hit, you’ve got a copyright (with some exceptions).

Copyright is an automatic right and does not require the author to file special paperwork, as is the case for trademark and patent. Registration is required to enforce the rights, but as a matter of right, an author is not required to register anything to get the right to use the “circle c,” showing the work is copyrighted.

Hope this helps -

Nice shot - thanks for sharing.
I want to lean on the fence and watch the sun come up but the sailor part of me says to go inside before the rain comes - (red sky in morning, sailor take warning)...