The ONE WAY road in……..

Why thank you. There are some great photos displayed in the thread. Interesting that you chose the 3 pics of mine that featured little of the blazing color that most folks associate with sunrise/sunsets. The reality though is while I too like my last 3, the vertical surfer shot is one of my most popular. Part of that has to do with the fact that that beach is in my neighborhood and locals seem to gravitate towards it. BTW - those colors are not wildly overprocessed. For the most part, those were indeed the colors I saw.

Sunsets - Siesta Key beach, Florida, Saguaro National Park West in Tucson (on Velvia), Old Jaffa (Tel Aviv). And not every sunrise/sunset photo needs blazing skies. Often it’s the lighting that makes the image. Portland Light in Maine - first sunrise, second, sunset same day.

While I was writing my reply, you beat me to my point and said it in far fewer words than I did 2 posts after yours.

I think the pics with the red flower natural frame are the best of the bunch and I would use those images to reinforce the specific advice about watching the backgrounds. If I would do just one thing in post, I’d remove that white post that appears in the background along side and/or between your subjects. It just immediately draws your attention away from the people and I find far more egregious than the “busy” backgrounds in the other shots.

Sure the first few against the buildings have distracting backgrounds, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that the subjects in those other photos are so darned happy. No insult intended, but the OP is not a pro photog, probably not particularly proficient at post processing (or he would dealt with some of the obvious problems before posting the pics), nor is he shooting someone else’s happy event. He’s the proud grandpa and anxious to snap off a few while the joy was still evident in the family’s faces. Who among us has NOT grabbed some snaps of family events spontaneously before allowing our “accomplished photographer” status to kick in.

Of course we “pros” would have preferred clean backgrounds and prudent PP, but these are family treasures capturing spontaneous joy, not art work to be displayed at an art show. I appreciate the fact that most of the replies have accurately nailed the criticisms and perhaps the OP can apply some of the points the next time, but sometimes a snapshot that captures spontaneous emotion works just as a snapshot.

Except for the damned white post in the flower frame shots. That has to go! 😎

Made me chuckle. Moe is the laziest dog I’ve ever owned. Gorgeous, friendly and affectionate, but has never broken a sweat in his life. When we play fetch - never more than 2 throws. 10 minutes into his morning walk, hi lies down and a calls it quits. My neighbors look forward to watching me drag him home. But those eyes!

Especially if you have the new Nikon Z8 as I do….😎

Holy cow - I thought my F mount 70-200/2.8 on my D850 was sharp. The Z version is a killer. I have no idea how to use about 80% of the new stuff the Z8 offers (I 'm still trying to digest all of the different focus modes, etc).

I slapped the lens on the camera, stuck on my Nikon SB950 and woke up my English cocker Moe. The first image below is the normal crop that I would have defaulted to for a pleasing image. When I examined the detail, I cropped the same shot in (#2 below) and was astounded with the results. I think I am gonna have some fun with this gear.

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Nikon 105/2.5 AIS AI. mine is more than 50 yrs old, use it regularly and will never sell it. But you have to be old enough to know how to manually focus. Probably leaves out 80% of today’s photographers!😎

Addition to my earlier reply - if you want a fast 105 to use for both macro and wide open portraits, Nikon made a 105/2.5 AI lens that has a cult following as a portrait lens. It is not a 1:1 macro, but becomes one if you add the Nikon PK-11 extension ring. If you might want to use one lens to shoot both portraits and macro, consider this 2.5 version. Way back when, this lens was my go to fast portrait lens. It was stolen and replaced with the 2.8 AIS.

If I recall, the famous Pulitzer Prize winning portrait of that Afghan girl with the mesmerizing eyes was shot with the 2.5 version. I know at least a half dozen photogs who still use that 2.5 as their go to portrait.

Yup - just checked. It was the 2.5 that was used for that famous pic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Girl

If you are ok with manual focus as you say you are, based on my experience, the Nikon 105/2.8 AI S cannot be beat. I own one and also the 105/2.8 AF-D. When I shoot macro, I seldom (never?) use AF. I find MF to work better for me. And - since I stopped using any macro lenses as a portrait lens, I doubt any of my macro lenses have been open past f16 or so in the past 20 yrs. I want max dof for 99% of my macro work. However, if used for portraits wide open, the bokeh on both MF lenses is spectacular. Perhaps slightly better with the MF one.

As an aside, I also have a Nikon 200/2.8 macro (micro in Nikon speak) and that is equally spectacular lens for used when I require longer working distances.

Best news of all for you is that you should be able to snag a 105/2.8 for relatively small change. Check KEH or MPB for pricing and availability and buy the one with the best combo of price and condition. Both are built like tanks.

Bump - new price

Contact Topaz. They’ll have the correct answer

The simple solution is to just google local secure shredding companies in your area. They come to you and do the deed and,importantly , gives you a certificate demonstrating that the items were securely shredded. Very important to have demonstrable proof of proper disposal in case of future legal action. Try Shred-It for example which is an international company. Or look for local, reputable shredding services in your neighborhood who may charge less.

What? You think OP is gonna risk his license and rely on that? Follow up similar answers demonstrate a total lack of understanding about the word “confidential” and a total disregard of privacy.