Hi Bob, That is a really nice photo. I can tell that you have been practicing your inner Ansel Adams.

Hi Vonzip, Really nice photo and perfectly focused on a bird in flight. I have to ask about the background. It looks so white, I can't help but wonder about the sky conditions at the time you took the picture. Was this a natural thing or done in editing? Thanks for posting.

Yes, she is so relaxed on the horse that she is texting as she is riding. The whole group must have done this a thousand times because the casualness is what attracted my attention. They do 9 or 10 races each day and the racing season is several months long.

I'm new here on UHH so I don't know if I broke some kind of rule or maybe a breach of etiquette. Should I have posted these three photos in a "gallery" of some kind. Any help appreciated. Thanks, Paul Best

I went to the Race Track at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington yesterday. It was a fun opportunity to take some photos. The top picture is the "Call to the post". The second are the ladies who escort the race horses to the starting gate. I was impressed at how casual they looked in their saddles in a somewhat unusual occupation. The third photo was taken just as the starting gates opened.

That's a really great shot. I like the pier stretching into the darkness and the Big Dipper to the left with the aurora to the right. How did the pier stay lighted like that and what was your exposure time?

Here are a few more photos. The one of Lenin's tomb is on Red Square at the Kremlin wall. You can see how hard it is raining and the guard is wearing rain gear. The one of all the onion domes is inside the Kremlin wall and I don't remember the name of the church. The last photo is from Kizhi Island on the Volga River. It is the oldest all wood church in Russia. The picture appears black/white but it was an overcast day with light rain and the wood of the church has weathered over the years. The red building is the State Museum at the opposite end of Red Square from St. Basil's cathedral.

We were not able to visit Lenin's tomb because it was only open for two days a week. The Monday before we arrived and the Friday we were leaving for St. Petersburg. We were only able to view the mausoleum located on Red Square and not the actual viewing area.

I've just returned from a two week visit to Russia. St. Basil's Cathedral is an amazing sight at the far end of Red Square and is a photographer's dream. It's right across the square from the Kremlin's mighty wall. It was very hard to take pictures of St. Basil's because of heavy rain and 20+ winds and large crowds. It was almost impossible to keep my lens dry. BTW, I learned that "Red" Square has nothing to do with Communism, but is named Red because to the Russians, Red is the most beautiful color and Red Square is named so because it is beautiful. There are seven Churches inside the Kremlin walls. This photo is of Christ the Savior Cathedral.

Three brave men indeed. Michael Collins was always the forgotten man as the press expended all of their adulation onto Armstrong and Aldrin. I remember on the 25th Anniversary of the moon mission, the astronauts lamenting that the US Space Program had not lived up to it's potential as NASA had decided to not go forward with more manned flights.

digitalexplr--Thank you for the quick and perfectly useful explanation. I will be looking for a solar filter today. I don't have a clue where to buy solar glasses though. Any help there?

I live in the state of Washington and we are fortunate to be in a good viewing area for the upcoming August 21st Solar Eclipse. I'm certain there are many on UHH who have photographed eclipses before. Is it safe to view the eclipse on the monitor of my camera? I will be using a tripod for both video and stills and I do know better than to look through the view finder. Are there precautions that I should take, such as sunglasses, before looking at the eclipse on the monitor? I am anxious to hear what everyone has to say on this subject. Thank you.

Hi all, This is my first post on UHH! I caught this hummingbird feeding with a wisp of Cottonwood "Cotton" on his head. At this time of the year it is literally flying everywhere and it seems that the "hummers" have to contend with flying into it.

I recently had to replace my wife's HP printer. Her model didn't not have the removable print heads. I worked on it for three days and tried several different methods of cleaning, all to no avail. There is no doubt that the non-removable print heads is to force you to buy a new printer. Other than that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the printer. My printer is a HP 8600 and has removable head. You can take out the print heads and place them in a bowl of warm water. After the ink has become soft you can flush the head clean. You can do a quick check on You Tube to see if anybody has a different method for your particular printer. Good luck.