Ancient stables - Meknes, Morocco

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Thanks for the heads up! I use Sam's "Scan & Go" every time I'm in the store, and love it...never had a problem. I will be extra diligent from now on to make sure no one else is near when I'm scanning something.

This is the photo for "Feathers in Fez"

Feathers in Fez, Morocco

I use Luminar 2018 on my MacBook Pro (late 2013), with good results. I downloaded the Luminar 3 Installer, selected "Install" and then...it gets to 100% and freezes. See screen shot. Nothing clicks through - any ideas?
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Thanks for the comments, compliments and critiques - all welcome and helpful. I can easily straighten the 3rd photo in Luminar - don't know how I missed that!

Every time we visit the Bosque, we never know what to expect. After a fairly ho-hum day for photo ops, the end of the day was rewarding, with the birds returning to hunker down for the evening. Would appreciate feedback on these pix.

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Yes, it was (and is) a sickening feeling. Thank you all for your prompt and helpful responses. I will be sending it off to Canon this week.

After being so careful for years, I dropped my Canon 100-400 mm lens, on a concrete slab, no less. After my heart stopped beating rapidly, I picked it up and examined it carefully. There are a couple of dents, but the glass appears to be OK. It was not mounted when I dropped it, so I put it on my 70D body. It balked while turning it into position, but ultimately "clicked" in place. I tried a couple of shots and all appears to be OK. My lesson: when attaching the lens to a tripod (which I was doing), be VERY careful. My question: should I have the lens inspected and repaired, and if so, by whom? What's the risk of just using it like it is, with the tighter fit?

I worked for Sunshine Biscuits in the 1970's, when it was owned by American Brands (American Tobacco). The entire line of cookies and crackers had hundreds of items in it, and none of its brands, except CheezIt, were market leaders nationally. Hydrox had quite a different taste than Oreos, the market leader, thought by consumers to have a less "burnt" taste than Oreos. We created the "Drox" cartoon character to appeal to kids, which helped spike sales for a while. Anyone remember "Drox Sox?" Sunshine was sold, spun off, etc. until Keebler purchased it several years later, primarily (it is said) to acquire the CheezIt brand. Keebler later sold to Kellogg. After giving Hydrox (along with Chip-a-Roos, Vienna Fingers, Hi Ho Crackers, and Krispy Crackers) a run, only CheezIt (now with a gazillion variations) and Krispy (in some markets) survived. Glad to see Hydrox is coming back - I always like them better, but then again, I'm biased.

I worked for Sunshine Biscuits in the 1970's, when it was owned by American Brands (American Tobacco). The entire line of cookies and crackers had hundreds of items in it, and none of its brands, except CheezIt, were market leaders nationally. Hydrox had quite a different taste than Oreos, the market leader, thought by consumers to have a less "burnt" taste than Oreos. We created the "Drox" cartoon character to appeal to kids, which helped spike sales for a while. Anyone remember "Drox Sox?" Sunshine was sold, spun off, etc. until Keebler purchased it several years later, primarily (it is said) to acquire the CheezIt brand. After giving Hydrox (along with Chip-a-Roos, Vienna Fingers, Hi Ho Crackers, and Krispy Crackers) a run, only CheezIt (now with a gazillion variations) and Krispy (in some markets) survived. Glad to see Hydrox is coming back - I always like them better, but then again, I'm biased.

Try for 4-5 seconds per slide. To keep it moving and more interesting, use a dissolve transition (the fancier ones tends to be distracting). A soundtrack is essential to keep interest as well. You might also experiment with using the "Ken Burns effect" - it's available on Mac Photo slide shows and others. It can be overdone (too much movement), but can also be effective. Recommend 15-18 minutes max.

Here in Albuquerque, Sam's Club price for regular gasoline this week is $1.42 per gallon.

I'm going to offer a different opinion that those so far in the thread. The EXACT thing happened to me recently...my sister announced she was getting married, and my wife and I agreed to attend (she lives in Florida and we live in New Mexico). Soon thereafter, she asked if I would bring my camera along, which I would have anyway...so I said yes. I told her I'd be glad to fill in with candid shots, etc. above and beyond the wedding photographer. She said, "well, we'd like for you to be the official photographer." Other key data: I am in my 70's and my sister and new husband are both in their 80's. I would consider myself an avid amateur, with a recently renewed interest in photography since my recent retirement.

I was somewhere between "freaked out" (because of many of the reasons cited by other UHH's in this thread) and anxious in a good way for the challenge. My equipment is: Canon 70D with 18-135mm kit lens and 85mm f/1.8 portrait lens + a 600 EX/RT SpeedLite with a Gary Fong diffuser. I did a bit of reading on key shots, and came with gear in hand to the rehearsal the night before the wedding. This was a small wedding, and obviously not the first for these two widowers. My sense is their request was not cost-driven, as much as it was "experience-driven" - have been through many weddings of their children and grandkids.

The first thing I realized is that the sanctuary for the ceremony was extremely dark with a high dark ceiling, and even tho' the wedding planner said flash was OK (the wedding was at dusk), everyone else thought it would be intrusive. So for actual ceremony shots, I used the portrait lens (thank goodness I brought it) without flash. For posed family group shots, I used the zoom with flash. Since the high, dark ceiling was not conducive to bounce, I fashioned a reflector from paper and secured it atop the SpeedLite - this gave me enough light to get adequate shots. I had worked out a shot list with the wedding planner, who was most helpful and supportive. The reception was easier to shoot with bounce flash. In a relatively short time, I shot over 400 pictures - many bracketed clusters for insurance. After culling the selections, about 100 made the final cut.

I've attached three representative pix - they may not professional quality, and I doubt I'll be shooting any weddings in the future. However, everyone seems to be pleased with the results. I did some editing on my Mac using the Photos app editing tools, along with some plug-ins from MacPhun. I posted the pix on Shutterfly for attendees and other family/friends to see, download and print as they desire.

I did not "miss" the festivities because I was working. Actually, it was a great way to meet my new brother-in-law's family. Would I do it again, and would I recommend it to you? My vote would be for "it depends" - I'm certainly glad I played this role in my sister's wedding.

Family picture, post-ceremony


Couple leaving the reception


Priest pronouncing them man & wife

I recently purchased the special MacPhun package for $89+. While I haven't used every tool yet, I'm impressed with Snapheal Pro and Focus 2 Pro. These are both excellent product for Mac photo editing. I don't know if they are comparable with Photos, but I'll experiment.