I've had my best online experience with 42nd Street Photo. They were fast and professional, caught an error in my order and chased me down on the phone to help me correct it, and shipped same day. Also great prices. Incidentally, my purchase was a D7100, with which I am VERY happy.

On these I usually go for trying to make the trees mostly vertical. Straightening the stream often makes the trees tilt weirdly.

I agree about the Epson Artisan. I had used all-in-one printers for years, but when I saw/used the Artisan I changed my opinion completely. I bought a Canon scanner and the Artisan and am very happy with the results. Total investment was less than $450 including spare ink.

(The reason I wanted the scanner was that I have many 75-year old negatives and 100-year old photos and no darkroom.) Many of my old negatives have large areas of plain black, and the Artisan's ability to print those cleanly, without spots or ripples, sold me on the multiple-cartridge approach. Their pico- jet nozzles are super, and are very conservative with ink flow.

Spent a little time in Alaska, at Elmendorf AFB and up later around Fairbanks. You really catch the feel of the place in these photos. I hope to get back there in the Spring, and I'll be doing some camera shooting, but I doubt I'll bring back anything like these (though I'll try!) -- thanks for sharing these beautiful shots. Whereabouts in AK were you?

I've had my SX-50 for a month now and I'm still finding new things about it. Image quality is great, controls are easy and mostly intuitive, stabilization is super. Battery life is very good, and it's lightweight but heavy enough to feel solid. I was concerned about the electronic viewfinder because I wear glasses, but even that has proven to be quite usable. I took it to an airshow two days after I bought it, got some great shots of a B-17 from a little over a mile away and a couple of short HD vids of a P-51 buzzing the field. The zoom is smooth and easy, and that button on the side that zooms back to let you re-find your subject and then zoom back out to where you were before is a great touch. The price is right. It's my first Canon after decades of Nikons, and I'm perfectly pleased with this camera. It won't replace my DSLR for some things, but overall it's a darn fine camera.

Just make it clear who will inherit the camera! Spend the dough, enjoy the equipment, and leave someone a nice camera filled with your memories.

I've spent a lot of time in the Chatham/Orleans area, and I've seen these places. The last shot, though, really stands out for me. OK if I use it for my desktop for a while? Thanks for showing these shots!

Both very nice shots, and I have no preference -- they're different photos with a common element. The first is well-composed with the moon and clouds sharing the stage, and the trees providing a pleasing frame at the side. In the second, the moon is the clear 'star' and the colored clouds give a context and mood that the moon alone wouldn't. Both are effective for me because you've included well-chosen elements aside from the moon that work. Thanks for showing these!

You've made this one a tough decision! They're both effective. The B&W has a classic look and is a beautiful shot (and I don't even know the dog!); but the color shot has that great accent from the collar against the predominantly b&w dog.
If t'were me, I'd mat and frame them both, with a different color mat on each. I realize this is a no-choice choice, but I could happily go back and forth between them without a strong preference.

Rawtherapee is a (free) great program. Not as Photoshoppy as Gimp, but very strong -- reminds me of Lightroom.

I've had mine for 4 months now, and I'm still surprised at how good the prints look. Ink flow is even and smooth, especially noticeable in large areas of even color or black. Ink usage is much less than I had expected, speed is good, and there was (when I bought mine) some decent bundled software. Unbeatable at its price.

Wow! These are all really nice, but number 5 is a true standout. You must be able to stay calm to be able to catch something like that without jerking the shutter open in the excitement of the moment. Make me wanna be there!

I think you've put them in ascending order of impact. The 3rd and 4th have decreased field and seem to pop more than the first 2 (which are also beautiful!), but then that sunflower shows up and just crowns them all. Also, the sunflower being somewhat offcenter and really well balanced with the background adds a bit of drama to the shot as well. Thanks for showing these!

Sorry for the repeat -- I'm still learning the tech side of things....

I think you've put them in ascending order of impact. The 3rd and 4th have decreased field and seem to pop more than the first 2 (which are also beautiful!), but then that sunflower shows up and just crowns them all. Also, the sunflower being somewhat offcenter and really well balanced with the background adds a bit of drama to the shot as well. Thanks for showing these!

Could you give some details on the shot (camera, lens etc). I'd be amazed to be able to get that kind of sharpness in a cropped/enlarged shot. Maybe I've reached an age when I have to bite the bullet and upgrade to an image-stabilized camera/lens? A very nice piece of work!