I use an HP Officejet Pro 8500A Plus for general photo printing and because it has an okay scanner and fax, and I also have an Epson Stylus 3000 which I bought at a fantastic price at a PPA national event in New Orleans.
I really love the Epson for it's printing quality and the ability to print larger format photos. The amount of ink needed is frightening but you have to learn to print test prints first and perfect them before using the Epson.
I personnaly have had very bad luck with printers in general and the longest I have ever had one is about 3-4 yrs. I think you have to plan for a short life span and get what you can afford with this in mind.

Have you checked to see if your video card is up-to-date? Mine wouldnt run on one old computer and that was the problem. I am now trying to delete Elements 10 since I have it on 3 computers and they are threatening to disable them all if I don't delete one. I can't get in touch with anyone at Adobe who will help. The techs on line don't have a clue and you call them and get put on hold for an hour.

Then go for it and go to Iceland! It will be something you will never forget...the land is one of the most active areas of geologic change in the world and that results in geysers, thermal pools, ice caves, cataclysmic events and other things that geologists find irresistable. (my daughter and her husband are both environmental geologists and found it fascinating.
Of course if you are looking for waterfalls closer to home I couldn't think of a better place than the Old Columbian Highwy from Portland to Mount Hood with probably over a dozen waterfalls in sight ritht off the road. I did that trip alone and hiked some amazing trails up into the falls, later watching a sailboarding race on the Columbia river and later that day skiing on Mount Hood. What more could you squeeze in on one holiday trip? Multnomah Falls is beautiful but there are so many others that are awesome. Just a thought. Go anywhere but GO! Must not wait until you can't go for some reason!

My daughter got some good ones of Gulfoss Falls also,, but not as great as yours. Those are beautiful. Someone else who has great Iceland photos is the "Lost in Customs" guy Trey Ratcliff. He has some spectacular one - some on his website i think.

Here are a couple of photos of Iceland - my daughter's honeymoon! She got some great photos - went to all the neat places like the blue lagoon....go their photo taken in an ice cave. It was an experience. Oh yea, they also rode the Icelandic ponies which I insisted on them doing. They have a super fast gait (tolt) which is really exciting to ride.

My daughter just returned from Iceland for her honeymoon! They had a blast - got some awesome photos of sunsets and frozen lakes and blue ice! He is right...everything is expensive but the beautiful sights are worth it!

I am considering an 18-270 f/3.5 Di II VC PZD LD Aspherical IF Macro zoom (Tamron) for my Canon Rebel XTi camera; or if I can afford it the Canon version which is more $$. Would really like to have a faster lens (f/2.8 or less) but don't know if that is way out of my budget range. This would be my last lens for awhile because I have all the specialty lenses (macro, close-up, small wide angle and some others all without IS, which I need.
What is your suggestion for a one time buy to cover my needs? i do mostly nature, groups, kids, animals and on-street-people shots and hate to carry a lot of equipment. ALso do a lot of post processing with photoshop and have super printers for this. I know I need a new camera but on a budget I can better afford an adaptible lens and a piece of flash equipment to match my present camera. ANy advice? Just purchased an Epson R-3000 pro printer which is great but limited funds now.

Here is one of mine in B & W. Better than color in this situation I think. Oregon coastline with eternal fog.

May have missed the thread of this topic but I just wanted to share a photo of my best friend Alex. He has been on YouTube for his antics watching TV shows.....he has learned all the music for the commercials that feature animals and runs from one end of the house to the other when he hears it. He lost his long time buddy last year, my long hair dachshund Tootsie. Still trying to come to terms with that.

You guys are too funny.

Thanks for the replies....you are right - there is an awful lot of time and money that went into getting to this point!

Thanks for the comments...I agree that it would be a waste of time and money to charge too little for something you have a lot invested in. When you think of all the expenses leading up to making a good print (ant the time) one should not feel bad about charging what it is worth. I will just have to get a thick skin and get prepared for dirty looks from friends who expect a lot for nothing.

Thanks guys,
I appreciate the advice. I am torn between the telephoto and the shorter lens....I think the event will be held in an area off to itself so getting over heads won't be a problem..I just worry about lens blur with the slower telephoto (I don't have a super lens with stabilization -yet). Maybe if the light is bright enough that won't be too much of a problem. (My Canon's ISO only goes to 1800 - don't have a super camera yet either). Seems like everything would be overexposed with the ISO set that high).

Pigpen....thanks for the response. I print all my own stuff presently, but occasionally if I have a really spectacular image I send it off. Since I print my own, I usually print the size I want - 8x10, etc. I am in the process of buying a large format printer so will be able to print larger, but for now, I print and buy the pre-cut mats and cut my own foamboard. I guess I will have to officially sell a few to "non-friends" to feel like I can charge big bucks, but, as you say, I don't want to sell myself short. I imagine that once I sell a few more I will want to send them off to a professional, but then it is necessary to charge a lot more. I tend to sell them matted on foamboard and ready to frame, letting the client chose his/her own frame. Just wanted a ball-park figure. I don't live in New York or Chicago (wish I did) so I don't expect to make a mint.

Hey, that is not a bad idea, but it might scare the animals to death.