I have almost exactly the same picture from the same spot. I knew nothing about HDR at the time and managed to get an interesting picture nonetheless. Still, all through that walk through the Hoh Forest, I continually faced the agonizing choice of whether I wanted to clip highlights or close down shadows. If I had the opportunity to do it again, I would bracket everything and HDR the better shots when I got home.

Cabela's (http://www.cabelas.com/) has scads of vests, mostly for hunters and fisherpersons. Good value and tough as old shoe leather, but the pockets tend to be smaller than most photographers like. Big Pockets (http://www.bigpockets.com/) caters to the bird watching crowd, who have many of the same size concerns as photographers. A bit pricey, though.

Like Donwitz, I have been going to the Outer Banks since I was a kid. First time was 1952. My suggestions:

1. Wright Brothers Memorial in Kitty Hawk

2. Buzz straight down into the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Stop at the Bodie Island lighthouse just before reaching Oregon Inlet. (Pronounced "Body." The lighthouse has just been refurbished) Nice visitors center and a boardwalk out to a very nice pond. Lots of opportunities for wildlife and landscape shots.

3. The biggest fishing fleet is at Oregon Inlet, but you will probably be there too late to see the fleet depart and too early to see them return.

4. The Bonner Bridge across Oregon Inlet is good for some architecture shots. There is a restored lifesaving station of the south end that nicely evokes the Banks of a hundred years ago.

5. Stop at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center. Very knowledgeable staff can vector you to the best wildlife concentrations. The gift shop has a great collection of books about the banks. Pick up a map showing where the best wrecks are along the beach. Very photogenic.

6. At Buxton, take the turn off to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. If you are up to it, climb to the top and get a wide angle shot to the north including both the sound and the sea.

7. Hatteras Village is a good place to spend the night. Catch the free ferry to Ocracoke in the morning. Take some bread and throw it up for the gulls for the best flight shots you can imagine.

8. There is a pony pen about halfway down to Ocracoke, but it is sort of dull.

9. Ocracoke Village is delightful, though no longer completely unspoiled. Work your way through the lanes to the old lighthouse. Very old-fashioned and untouristy.

I would take the ferry to Cedar Island and head to Beaufort for the night. BY THE WAY, it is highly advisable to make reservations on the ferry in the high season. You can do this on the NC Ferries website. I would do this at least a week in advance. The fare is about $15.00. The Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry is free.

From Beaufort, there are other great places to visit. Cape Lookout National Seashore is completely wild- no private vehicles or housing, accessible only by private ferries from Harker's Island. Interesting lighthouse and a walk down to the point will put you in a very large shorebird breeding colony, including the endangered Piping Plover.

From Beaufort you can also access Fort Macon (pre-Civil War). Lots of moody photo ideas there.

Have fun. I envy you.

After resisting going big for years, I used a very generous birthday/Christmas gift to get Photoshop CS5. Using it mostly for HDRs and panos, but getting interested in layer masks and content-aware fill, too.

The Adorama blog credits Weegee (Arthur Fellig). Other sources trace it back to an earlier statement by Walker Evans, "F11 and hold it still."

Somehow I thought a Mom with a Camera would look more . . . matronly.

To quote Scott Kelby and the NAPP guys: "There's a reason Bridge is free." Also see Kelby's blog on 100 ways LR kicks Bridge's butt: http://scottkelby.com/2011/100-ways-lightroom-kicks-the-bridge-and-camera-raws-a/

Gave up film in 2000 after burglars made off with a bag full of Nikon gear. All digital since then, working my way up the quality ladder from point & shoots and superzooms. Now shoot with a Canon 5D Mk II with a Canon Xsi backupu and a Panasonic point & shoot for digiscoping. I really don't miss film at all.

Just what I was thinking, Nan. Annie Liebowitz is unique. There are lots of folks that have great vision, but Annie constantly surprises.

I like these, but I think some of the camera-oriented topics might not be well populated. I particularly like the last five.

I would also suggest consideration of a category for post-processing. The rules of the forum would be that any photo posted would automatically be fair game for reworking by forum members. If that is not acceptable to you, post in the Photo Gallery. Responders would be required to explain what they did to it and the steps of their workflow. Too often, folks just say "How's this? It took me only four minutes." Doesn't help us neophytes.

Then there is the opposite: a forum for non-post-processed photos aimed at promoting putting more thought into the picture before you press the shutter button.

Drive up to Wilmington, NC and shoot around the Cape Fear estuary: Orton Plantation, Southport, ferry to Fort Fisher, NC Aquarium, Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Airlie Gardens, Wilmington waterfront and old town, USS North Carolina Memorial.

"Quick and easy" and "learning Photoshop" are mutually exclusive. The program is so big and so protean that it defies easy entry and quick assimilation. Besides, there are usually multiple ways of doing any one thing. My approach (and it has yet to be 100% successful) is to let my workflow be my guide. I started out getting my captures into the computer, then making the basic adjustments. Over the past year, I have been working on using some of the more exotic features of Lightroom (=Adobe Camera Raw) as I have encountered a need for them. Lately, I have branched out into Photoshop CS5 proper, mainly in pursuit of panoramas and high dynamic range shots. I am now contemplating shifting my sharpening routine from LR3 to PS layers.

Your workflow will probably differ. For instance, I don't do much with people, so retouching is not of great interest to me. You may want to investigate that early on. My point is that I think it is not a good idea to try to swallow Photoshop whole.

Trying "Save image as . . ." and selecting that file name with the "Choose file" option under the Reply box. Let's see what I got.

I bought a 5D Mk II shortly after it came out. I have accumulated over 5,000 captures and I must say that the 5D II in combination with Canon's incomparable L-series lenses gives me all the quality I can handle. I am constantly working to raise my game to the level of my equipment. Worth every penny.

I'm getting a lot of stimulation from Google+. I created a photography circle in which I am following a bunch of photographers whose work I like for one reason or another: Scott Kelby, Joe McNally, Moose Peterson, Catherine Hall, Lisa Bettany, Amy Heiden, RC Concepcion, etc. Once a day I page through their latest contributions and, like UHH, I rarely find that I have wasted my time.