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Dec 27, 2022 16:48:02   #
Hey Jerry, I think the show that you were thinking of with Ted Danson Burried on the beach was Creepshow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiE5PWqmfuM

Steve
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Nov 21, 2021 13:46:32   #
2435marty wrote:
Going on a cruise end of February til mid March of '22. Considering that the photography is going to be of most everything ( people, places and things from near to far). Trying to pack light as possible, no tripod, what lenses should I consider taking (Nikon D7200). Available lenses, Nikon 16-85, 70-200, 50-300, 50mm and Tamron 16-300. I'm going to try to stay off Auto. I recently retired, got into photography to stay busy not quite three years ago, so I have a lot to learn and could use advise to make this bucket list trip memorable. Thanks everyone in advance.
Going on a cruise end of February til mid March of... (show quote)


We have been on more than 25 cruises also. I thought I would mention a couple of other items that I didn’t see brought up. When we were at the ports of call I always had a Circular Polarization filter on. I always put a label tape with our last name and cabin number on the camera body in the event that it gets set down and forgotten when on the ship. Also, electrical outlets are few and far between in the cabin and you are not allowed to bring a power strip or extension on board. We typically take a couple of the devices that turn one outlet into three. I also try to get up about 3am to walk the outside and inside decks to get pictures of the lights, ships name, route maps, etc. without hordes of people around. You would be surprised to see how many photographers are doing the same thing.

Steve
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Dec 2, 2020 07:46:28   #
We received our cards from MPix yesterday. We ordered them the evening of Friday 11/27 and they were on our porch Tuesday 12/2 at noon. We were both impressed with the quality, clarity, contrast and color of the cards compared to other services we have used. Thanks for all the recommendations.

Steve
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Nov 28, 2020 07:35:18   #
Thanks to everyone that provided feedback. I placed an order from MPix last night on their 50% Black Friday special. I elected for free standard shipping so I should have the cards in 3 to 7 business days. I will post my opinion of the product after I receive them.

Thanks again,
Steve
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Nov 26, 2020 18:48:42   #
Lucian wrote:
Bay Photo is very good but take a look at the Pro Lab White House Custom Color or WHCC. They are in Minnesota and a great company with very fair pricing and extremely fast order completion (about 2 days) plus they ship everything to you free via UPS.

It's a Pro Lab but well worth using. I use them every year for consistent excellent quality printing on good stiff double sided print card stock. You can choose to have them coated as well for that gloss look and they come with envelopes and you can have them print your address on the envelope too. This was the front of our card a few years back of my two children (5 and 3) visiting with Father Christmas. I took the photo standing off to the side, while he chatted with them before their official photographer took a "Snapshot" pose of them.

On the back I created a collage of family winter images and a further message from our family to yours.
Bay Photo is very good but take a look at the Pro ... (show quote)


Thanks I will check out WHCC. Also, thanks for including your card image. It looks great!

Steve
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Nov 26, 2020 18:45:31   #
Frida wrote:
Mpix.com best for cards, prints, calendars & books. They work with professionals & I've found them to be top-notch! This is based on many yrs of being their customer. Good luck.


Thanks for the feedback. MPix, Bay Photo and Vista Print are getting multiple recommendations. All sound good and we have not tried any of these yet.

Steve

Steve
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Nov 26, 2020 18:42:23   #
burkphoto wrote:
Do you calibrate and ICC profile your photo-grade monitor monthly? That has the BIGGEST effect on whether or not you like your lab... Printing accurate color requires images adjusted to international standards. JPEG files do not have much latitude for color adjustment. Film negatives and raw files do! But JPEGs processed by the camera are like slides. Getting good ones requires proper camera settings and exposure methods.

In the early 2000s, I ran the digital imaging side of a large analog/digital portrait lab. We made all the greeting cards — about 140,000 orders of 50 cards each — for the 326 Picture People studios that were scattered all over the country. We could always tell when one of their stores' personnel didn't have a clue about digital image color management. Images would be dark and green, pale and cyan, too red... and no amount of post-processing could pull many of them back to neutral.

I spent lots of time on the phone with their operations guy, explaining those issues. Sometimes there was an improvement, but in stores run by bozos who didn't care/would not listen... none!

Folks, I see these posts by folks in search of "a good lab" or "a good printer" all the time. Many don't realize that nearly all labs in existence these days rely on technology to keep them tuned to an international standard. If your images meet that standard, they print well. If they don't, you can pay for SOME color correction, but the irony of that is that the farther off it is to begin with, the less latitude for adjustment there is.
Do you calibrate and ICC profile your photo-grade ... (show quote)


Thanks Bill,

I respect all of your posts based in your lab experience. I do have a colormunki calibrated mid-quality monitor. I have not had problems with color shift with the Christmas cards in the past. My issues have been clarity of the picture and the lack of contrast compared to just printing the picture. I’m sure part of it is the paper and mass production this time of year. Thanks for your professional opinion.

Steve
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Nov 26, 2020 18:36:24   #
Fredrick wrote:
Bay Photo and Minted are excellent for Christmas cards.


Thanks for the recommendation. I will check them out on-line.
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Nov 25, 2020 09:34:02   #
garrickw wrote:
RED RIVER PAPER


Thanks garrickw. We are looking for a printing service for the cards. A quick look at their website only looks like paper and card stock. I will keep them in mind if I ever get to the point of printing my own cards.

Steve
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Nov 25, 2020 09:15:45   #
billnikon wrote:
shutter fly. However, the best prices I have found are from Costco.


Thanks billnikon. We have used Costco for normal printing and have tried them for Christmas cards a couple times in the past. I was just hoping others have had great experiences with some of the other Companies. I don’t mind paying a bit more for a quality product. Mpix looks quite promising of the recommendations so far, but we will need to order to know for sure.
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Nov 24, 2020 08:51:42   #
Thanks. I will look into Mpix. We have not used them before.

Steve
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Nov 24, 2020 08:49:30   #
Thanks for the feedback. Shutterfly is an economical choice that we have used in the past (after all of the discount coupons). I was hoping that there are higher quality printing options available.
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Nov 24, 2020 07:42:28   #
We would like to send quality two sided Picture Christmas cards out this year. We have not been overly impressed with some of the companies we have used in the past. Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

Steve
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Jan 23, 2020 15:56:57   #
After more than 25 cruises one recommendation that I always give is - set your alarm for about 3am and take your camera to get amazing deck pictures with all of the lights. I also shoot some of the common areas that are open without having all of the distracting people moving through the view.

When you are done, go up to one of the top outdoor decks away from the lights and let your eyes adjust to the low light for 10 minutes or so. If it is a clear night, the view of the stars is amazing away from all of the city lights.

Above all - have fun!
Steve
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Apr 27, 2018 07:35:39   #
I would recommend going to Lynda.com and viewing some of Scott Hargis' videos, starting with Learning Real Estate Photography (about 3.5 hrs) and some of the individual room and specific topic videos, like kitchen, basic bedroom, master bedroom or exterior at twilight, each are about 1 to 1.5 hours. If you don't have a subscription I believe you can get a month free trial.
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