I've been a way from this site for months. I encountered too many haters spewing their mean into posts. When I first found this site I was so excited - my husband can attest to the hours I spent pouring over the plethora of information located here. But I learned, as a new user recently did, that this site is full of mean spirited people that lay claim to wanting to help, share, and grow with people less educated in the art and business of photography. After being away for months I started reading the thread on wedding lenses and couldn't believe, it was still happening - it was the first post that I read and I regretted it. I even PM'd her to apologize on your behalf and that of Annie's specifically for the hostility. She can't be expected to know the menstrual cycles of people on a blog?

I noticed there were over 20 pages yesterday, then only 8 today, and now the thread can't be found. As of this morning she hadn't gone to Admin as of yet so I suspect the Admin didn't appreciate your hatefulness either. After all, the forum rules start with "Be Polite".

As for her removing her information and preventing anyone from viewing her online profiles, that is because she became scared - repeated advisements from these sites telling her that she suddenly had a great deal of activity and inquiries being made suggested she should go private. And how was that known by anyone on this site if you weren't the person doing the stalking?

I've removed my own personal info and will ask Admin to remove any pictures that I've posted here. When I first started I felt so secure, part of a community. What I saw in that thread scared me, and I don't scare easily.

I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors and hope that you can reach a place where being helpful and kind bring you feel good moments and where being mean and hateful do not. I will reach out to nice humans for advice from now on.

Christine....a.k.a. Steenowitz

Thank you Paul, that is much appreciated :)

huh?

I just went to the DR for a destination wedding and was asked by the bride to do a "trash the dress" session on the beach. We opted for sunrise and with the beach and the bride being gorgeous, well, it didn't mean I had to be all that talented!

Beautiful! After processing you can see where sunlight was sneaking thru in the back, nice capture!

It's a beautiful shot and will probably be enjoyed more by the pair than the professional posed shots. They were enjoying their wedding, a captured moment of them, that's what they want to remember. The kiss is a great shot too. Inside a church is my toughest challenge! You can even turn that one black & white, up the white balance and blur the edges to reduce the noise. It's gorgeous!

I can chase one forever risking my life at the same time to just catch him sitting long enough but then when I see it on the computer my first thought is "ewwwwww he's such an ugly little bastard". So many lumpy bits to make up a head? I went to the DR thinking I'd encounter spectacular bugs and all I got was a huge dragon fly that was matte army green!

After a fabulous weekend on Fire Island in Kismet, NY - clouds moved in and we could no longer see the mainland - I posted this to facebook to let everyone know that since it was gone, we could not return....we would have to stay in Kismet forever :)

Where Long Island is Supposed to be....

I love my Rebel T4i - but the SX50 holds a very special place in my heart - I can't afford a proper macro lens so this does it for me, time and time again - and when I'm flying....it is far easier to pull out and and use with what is usually just 4 square inches of clear window.....

The Neighbors - Exposure 0.02 sec (1/50) Aperture f/5.0 Focal Length 14.9 mm ISO Speed 80


Heading in to Punta Cana - Settings: 1/1000ƒ/4ISO 1254.3 mm


I Seez You'z - Settings: 1/125ƒ/5ISO 8017.1 mm

I use Lightroom and Snapseed, I am in love with Snapseed but it is for jpeg only and makes the file size smaller. If you decide to shoot in both you'll need something like Lightroom to process the raw files. I don't have the patience for learning Photoshop and there isn't that much work that I want to do to my files. I'm not a fan of removing what makes a person a person. But Lightroom is easy to use, catalogs beautifully, and it is within my budget. There are a lot of free presets that can be gotten for it too. They dumb it down a bit but when you work, clean, do laundry and have a wee person to chase it doesn't leave endless hours in the day for photo editing :)

If your camera uses SD cards a card reader should be all you need. If not, you will probably need the usb cord that came with the camera. If using the usb to connect the camera direct, make sure you have a full battery. You don't want to chance it going dead mid transfer and damaging any files.

I agree with everything stated here, Lightroom to organize (you can try a 30 day trial for free), and delete, delete, delete. If your iffy, or like a pic enough to keep it but don't intend to post process much or at all, nor print it big enough for the side of a bus, keep the jpeg and dump the raw file.

Now more importantly, what is a steam fair and how do I find one?!?

I too take shots of the moon with my SX50 and hand held only. I'm glad to see its the same for everyone. I was afraid I had gotten one meant for Nasa :) The moon and macros, it brings out the best in the SX50!

That's your welcome Mat! These are awesome!

The purests might not like it but..., my wrist strap is actually a key chain strap. I searched for ages and the one I have is the toughest made that I could find. I use my powershot mainly for macro and I need the strap to steady the shot. I can't use a neck strap and already have the rebel on the cross body strap. This is the best alternative;