Thanks everyone !

A decade worth of vacations, multiple cameras, repainting an entire house, and a million plus camera snaps, I finally took the plunge . I actually printed an 11x14 photo , had it framed and made it my very first item to hang on a totally blank slate of pristine painted walls in my home. Why this one? I took some sage advice and let it be of a memorable moment of a fun carefree day . It’s all about the memories 🤗

I love it!

I was glad to have the lady at Hobby Lobby help me with the mat selection. I’m excited to see how they will turn out.

Thanks for the suggestions I will let you know how it goes. The lady at Hobby Lobby was very helpful, especially with choosing the appropriate color of mats to go with my photographs.

Thanks a lot. We repainted our entire home and I am terrified of putting that first nail in the wall , especially if I’ve bought the wrong size frame.

I have 3 18 x 24 frames from Hobby Lobby that I want to put matted landscape photos in for display in my home. I ordered 12 by 18 prints because I wanted the full frame photo. After seeing them and putting them inside the frame, my first instinct is the frame and mat will dwarf the 12 x 18 photographs. Are there any standard recommendations for photo / mat/ frame sizes or is it a matter of personal taste? If not, what is your personal preference for print and mat sizes with this frame size? I realize now, I should have bought the frame after the prints. Hobby Lobby sells so many of this size frames , I feel I’m missing out on what size other than a poster it was intended for.

I am beginning to wrap my head around this a bit better. I am just beginning to print photos to display at home . I used Picasa for several years as my go to photo editor and most likely used a preset 16:9 aspect ratio. I doubt I took this photo that zoomed in and straight originally. Perhaps in looking at the photo properties I have a backup of this photo shot a bit further out. Several of you have sent me really informative messages. Thank you ! Here is a link to a YouTube video that scrambled everything up.At the end of the day, I understood things quite a bit better. The lesson is to shoot photos in the aspect ratio with the main way you intend to use it, whether it is for prints for home, to view on a computer monitor, iPhone, video, Instagram, Ipad. They are all different, and cropping after the fact can mess everything up. https://youtu.be/wQ0m75bGGGg

Thanks everyone. Aspect ratio maybe my undoing. I’ve read a lot today. I suspect if I shot in RAW and didn’t zoom in, it would’ve been more manageable. Found this YouTube video on aspect ratios. The struggle is real, lol . https://youtu.be/wQ0m75bGGGg

Ok, Thanks !

Thanks for the help.

I can't get the standard crop sizes to suit me on this one from a favorite vacation several years ago. I probably am missing out on how to go about fixing it, as I am not a Photoshop expert at all. I had in mind getting something around a 16x20 print. Can I do it easily without losing a lot of the photo? Suggestions please. Thanks.

I saw someone suggest The Tail of the Dragon (aka Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort) That is so much fun if you have an adventurous side. It's Hwy 129 near Robbinsvile , NC. It's one of the worlds most sought after motorcycle and sports car enthusiast stretch of roads in the world. There are 318 curves in 11 miles so be prepared. There is a pro photographer Killboy that has a group working all along the roadside photographing everyone that goes down Dragon and the Cherohala Skyway and sells photos online. I often think that would be my dream job. Great place to watch a lot of great bikes and sportscars , even if you just stop at the store on the road. We were motorcycle enthusiasts several years ago and have ridden down that stretch many times. Too many places to go and to much to do in western NC. https://www.dealsgap.com/

The Blue Ridge Parkway is right there. You definitely want to do sunsets at any of the overlooks going toward Asheville. You won’t be 10 minutes from your lodging Take a good winter coat and toboggan , it gets pretty chilly on the Parkway at dusk especially if you are photographing .Pack your lunch, gas the car up and get your GPS. All the places I am mentioning are close. Go to Chataloochie for elk, Lake Junaluska in the morning, Lake Logan Episcopal Center, Looking Glass Falls at Brevard.(Transylvania County is full of roadside waterfalls.you could spend a couple of days hunting them out . Get your lesson up on photographing waterfalls and take a tripod) Dillsboro is a cute town, where the train tours start , Jarrett House at Dillsboro is absolutely wonderful to have lunch if you are in the area. We typically go once a year for several days and haven’t tired of it yet. Maggie Valley is a place to unwind and enjoy nature. It is very peaceful . Don’t worry about shopping or any tourist trap things .And send us your pictures. Enjoy your trip

Thanks
Hank M[/quote]

I had a nesting robin outside a bedroom window until about an hour or so ago. Three of four eggs had hatched and I had been taking occasional photos from inside and had everything but my camera lens hidden from the mother. The tree the nest was in had been pruned back in the fall to bare limbs. I was surprised a bird would choose that spot to make a nest. The only protection it had from sun or rain was being next to the house. We had some threatening weather approaching and was concerned on how it was going to play out. The mother bird had hunkered down and shifted directions to how she was sitting on the nest. There was some rain, but we had one very strong gust of wind, to the point I was expecting a tree to be down. Upon inspection of the nest , it was still intact and the mother was still on the nest. A few minutes later, I heard the male squawking and went to check on the nest. It looked undisturbed but all the baby birds and mom were gone. I am hoping none of my photography caused her to abandon the nest. The only thing different I did was to learn how to use the video feature before the storm and had taken maybe a 3 minute video. I am aware from photographing hummingbirds that they dodge the red AF assist in low light. I had never used my flash with these birds. It would be very rare for a cat or squirrel to be in the area this nest was in. Just wanting to be assured it was nothing I was doing, and if it was, I would like to put that knowledge out there for everyone else. See my photos @ http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-457645-1.html#7693151