Frank Logan--That's so true! I had a dog that was 1/4 each of black lab, golden lab, doberman, and Irish setter. We had to move from the farm and into the city and couldn't take her with us. (The landlord took her to live with him for us) I had had her since her birth and saved her life when she was born. She returned the favor later on when she was only 3 months old. We had a prowler on our farm who was there to hurt one of us and she warned me and attacked him sending him packing never to return. She was handsomely rewarded afterward too! : ) Long story shortened....after her death years later, my mom got a little miniature long-haired chihuahua and he is so much like her I almost feel sometimes like she was "reincarnated" and came back as him. He's my special buddy too and my protector. So sorry for your loss too! Our pets are so precious...like no other!

I know what you mean about learning more about your camera every day. I have attended college from 2000-2003 and returned to finish what I started back then in 2010 and still am attending college, to get a photography degree and have taken every photography class they offer. Still I haven't learned how to use everything on the camera they have had us learn on or my own that is like theirs only a couple steps up. I have a Canon T2i with a sigma 18-200mm OS lens that I just got in Dec 2011, and I am facinated by all it can do. Histograms are still my nemisis. lol

Thanks and you are very welcome!

Thank you! Glad you like the card. I will try to check your place out when I get more time to do so. Sounds interesting.

Thank you very much! Glad you like it.

I can't remember for sure but I think it was all photoshop 5.0 and possibly Fastone Viewer too. Anything else I believe was on my standard computer software & / or programs already on my pc. I had to print it from my pc standard program / software that came with my pc. I have an Epson printer. I think that both photoshop 5.0 and Fastone viewer have a create icon that allows you to make various things through their software and Fastone is free. Photoshop 5.0 for me anyway was free as a friend gave it to me. Does this help?

Thanks everyone. I am starting to think about how I can come up with perhaps an entire line of greeting cards (except for the more serious occassions) using this sock monkey. What 'd ya think? Think it would fly as they say?

I think you could be right. It is partly the shadow but I also as said before had to shoot a printed out version of it to get it to post here and I think I moved it just a teeny tiny bit too.

Here's another try to post the photo I told you about . I had to print it and then photograph it to get it to work,then the lighting was off. So once more I took it to photoshop and adjusted the lighting and saved it as a jpeg file and tried it again and voila! It worked.

I thought I'd try designing my own greeting card. I set up the background/subject, shot it with my Canon T2i with a sigma 18-200mm OS lens with a shoe mounted flash that was indirect, bounced, and diffused. I didn't get it quite like I wanted it so taking it to photoshop, I adjusted the over all color balance, clone stamped the background to even it out abit, lassoed each half of the heart box individually color balancing them to match and clone stamped the dividing line out. Then put the greeting card opening line on it, put my "trademark" and date, and my logo on it and here it is. All in all I thought it came out ok for my 1st ever attempt at making my own greeting card. The sock monkey in the photo will be 39 in December 2012. Had to share the results just for fun. Hope the photo comes through okay. Looks like I can't get it to go through so I will try something else and attempt to post it in another manner later for your viewing. Please bear with me and I will try it soon as I can. I'm kinda new at this stuff here.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I am wanting to get some more equipment before too long, but I am holding off till I see if I maintain the GPA required by the PELL grant. I lose my PELL and have to repay the overage I have put aside if I don't keep a certain GPA. I have been really struggling in my classes this semester so I have to see if I end up having to repay the grant money 1st before getting any equipment. How expensive are we talking for a CP? I have bought all my equipment and camera from B&H photo so I too know they are a great place. I will experiment with different angles and parking it under a tree or in the shade etc. until I can get a CP. Thanks and if any of you have any further suggestions on the subject I am open to them. I am on a very tight budget though so it takes awhile for me to save the money for things I want or need like this.

Could anyone here help me to take better shots of cars for example that are shiny but without having so much reflected in the car's surface or the windows. I don't have a polarized filter so how do I do that without one? Thanks!

I would say check out a program called "Faststone". It's a free software download you can get to view your photos and even make a few creations such as contact sheets, album pages,and even a slide show that has several transition choices in how the slides change from one to another, etc. There isn't much variety in the album page designs for example, but you can even do some minor editing. I also have Adobe photoshop and love it more. Photoshop though usually isn't free. If you check Faststone out and decide you don't like it you can always delete it. Hope this is of some help. Faststone is what us college students use alot in our classes in photography.

That's cool! I too have tried that sometimes. You're right! it does work if it is done right. I try that even with my daughter who hates her picture taken. I have had some pretty good candids of her that way too.

I really Am a photography student and I actually have gone to people I don't know and asked them if I could take some shots of say for example their old barns and stuff. I show them my college I.D. card to prove I am a college student and most have been thrilled to let me do so and even offered some history about the barns or themselves. I had someone ask me to shoot their wedding a few months ago and they hadn't even seen any of my work. I didn't want them to go into it without the benefit of seeing what I have done, so I created a few pages of contact sheets and made up a few tri-fold brochures of several types of pictures I have done. I showed them these things and they loved what I did. Most of what I had to show them were of mock senior, mock weddings, mock family, and other portrait work. when I attend people's weddings too I take a few things most couple's would like to have and later after I have tweeked them enough I am happy with them I show these to the couple and they have actually bought some of my work. These are just a few things you might try along with the other's suggestions. Hope this helps abit. I know however that at my college when I want to take somone's picture they all run and hide till the camera is put away. LOL The things is I need them to let me get a few for my assignments many times and they just won't cooperate. hee hee. I can't always get my own family members to let me so I understand what you mean. I do hope these suggestions help a little bit though.