I love those pictures, I'm not sure which one I like best. I still like the bottom one though, it just has competitors now :) May I have your permission to use the top and middle pictures? Just as my desktop background, nothing else.
Your grandfather sounds really nice. Is he a professional photographer? My grandfather took me to the University he was a professor at and let me check out several of the photography books there.
I am willing to get a used camera as long as it is in good condition. I would prefer if it came with a owner's manual, but that isn't absolutely necessary since you can usually find the manuals online. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer. It helps a lot.
Thank you, Riah. :) Certainly you may! As I am not currently selling prints, I'm fine with you or anyone else downloading my photos for personal use (i.e. desktop backgrounds or other use on your computer, mobile device, etc.) I'm glad you think my photos are good enough for you to want to use them as wallpapers. :)
Feel free to look through some more of my photo on my blog: http://fightforthelight.blogspot.com/ (but you've got to become a follower then - no you don't, I'm just kidding ;-) or on my Flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fightforthelight/ if you'd like as well; I don't put as many photos on this blog or my WordPress blog (http://fightforthelight.wordpress.com/) or update them as often as the other two places.
I have some suggestions for buying a camera, so I'll give some of them here. (this is going to be long, so if you don't have the time to read it all or justn't feel like doing so, skip to where "Lastly" is in bold) First, check Craigslist! There are sometimes awesome deals on there (as well as scams), but if you can see the items in person, you should be ok. One deal I didn't get (I've yet to get any good Craigslist deals, unfortunately) was a Canon EOS 10D, EF 24-70 f/2.8, Tokina 12-24, Speedlite 580EX, and more, for only $650. The 24-70 alone sells for upwards of $900 used! The guy who showed me that listing and got it buys good camera deals and resells for a profit, and he's upgraded cameras without taking a loss and made money in the process. He also got a nearly-new Canon EOS 40D with 18-135 IS, battery grip, and bag for $300, and the 40D body alone in good condition usually sells for around $600.
I'm still hoping I can get an awesome steal like that soon. I live in the Fayetteville, NC, area, so I have Google Chrome set to Fayetteville, Firefox set to Charlotte Craigslist (there are quite a few over there - that's where the awesome deal I mentioned was at, but it's a multiple hour drive for me so it would have to be a really good deal like that for me to go) and Safari set to Raleigh. I then search for "Canon", "Canon EOS", etc.
Also, if you check Adorama.com's used section, you can occasionally find decent deals on cameras, such as a Rebel XSi with 18-55 IS for $400. http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=category&cat1=Used Some people like Pentax for good features at a low price, such as the weather-resistant body of the K10D. I like Canon simply partly because of my familiarity with the brand and also because the "L" lenses are really nice. (have you ever seen the long, off-white lenses many photographers use? Those are Canon "L" lenses - that's a sure way to tell the photographer has a Canon since only Canon has lenses of that color). Amazon.com will occasionally have a used Rebel XSi kit for $400 as well.
Lastly, here's how you may be able to get a Rebel T2i for around $550 - some people have said they've gotten their T2i's for that much by using the following method (Canon customer loyalty program): Send in your broken Canon camera and get a discount off a refurbished Canon camera. One guy said he bought a broken Canon p&s off eBay for $6 and Canon took it, so he got his refurb T2i for about $540. :D Right now you should be able to find an inexpensive broken Canon on eBay as well - I saw one for $19 buy-it-now, and there might be cheaper ones. Here's a page with more info on this: http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=1143662&t=212129&highlight=Canon+Customer+loyalty+program
Unless you can find a stellar deal on Craigslist like the ones I mentioned, this may be your best bet at getting a good price on a non-entry-level DSLR. You really don't want to get a Rebel XS like mine, since even though the more important thing is the lenses, the XS has a small screen, isn't very ergonomic (actually, I don't think any of the Rebels will feel good in my hands since I have larger hands - but you should be fine if your hands aren't as big as mine - or even if not, you can just deal with it and wait to get a 60D, 7D or something), doesn't shoot video, etc.
My grandfather isn't a professional photographer; just a hobbyist with a bunch of old 35mm film SLRs who decided to get started with digital photography recently. He wanted a full-frame DSLR, so he got the cheapest new FF Canon DSLR, the 5D MkII.
I just saw on your profile that you're a fianceé; congratulations on your engagement! I have a feeling my congratulations might be a bit belated, though.
Sorry for making this so very long (and probably not very coherent, like much of my writing...I ramble a lot)...I hope it helped a little. If you have any more questions, I'll be happy to try to answer. :)
Oops, I'm sorry the links don't appear to be clickable; in Google Chrome (which I'm using), if you highlight the URL text and right click it, there should be a "Go to [URL]" option that pops up...
Wow! That is a really long reply :) I've gotta say, I was pretty intimidated looking at it.
Thanks for letting me use the pictures. I have looked at several of your other pictures already, on picasa, flickr and your other blog as well (oops, I didn't follow that one :) I really love your Macro pictures!
I have really, REALLY small hands. My hands are smaller than most women's I know. I don't think I'll have any trouble with that, for all I know the camera I pick may very well be too big :)
The only DSLR camera I have ever used is my best friend's Nikon D90 (which I like). My current camera is a Nikon as well, but since it's only a point-n-shoot I don't have any bias for Nikons in general. I was looking at the Canon Rebel T3i last night and I really liked that one. Have you seen it? What is your favorite camera?
Yes, I've seen the white telephoto lenses. I was actually looking at lenses last night too. I think I could go conpletely broke getting cameras and accessories if I had no self control at all - ok, scratch that, I'd go broke if I had any money to begin with. I guess I might as well be honest about it.
My grandfather was a hobbyist as well, but it wasn't his main hobby. He did help me a lot though. I like to think I'm keeping his memory alive through my pitures, although no one knows it but me :)
Thank you so much for the advice. The guy who bought the pre-broken camera, they didn't make him show proof of purchase or have a warranty to trade it in? To do that with a Nikon I believe you have to have a warrenty.
I have looked at Craigslist before and I haven't found any really good deals, except on lenses and such and there isn't much point in getting lenses right now since I don't know what camera I'm getting. I check every now and again, but not often. I should probably check more.
Thanks for the congratulations. They aren't really late since I've only been engaged a few months.
Its ok that its long, mine is getting pretty long too.
It's ok that the links aren't "clickable". In order to make them "clickable" in Blogger comments you have to use a small HTML code. Highlighting the URL text and right clicking doesn't pull up "Go to [URL]" on my computer, but I just copy and pasted it to my browser.
Sorry if my ridiculously long reply was hard to read; one problem I have is the fact that I can fill up a page with words without really saying anything, but being concise is often difficult for me.
You're welcome. :) I'm glad you like my macros...I don't have a real macro lens right now and might not for a long time; I've just used a cheap screw-on diopter on my kit lens and the 55-250 IS telephoto zoom lens (which I use for most things since I don't like the quality of the other thing) for macros.
If you've got really small hands, you should be fine with the Rebels.
Hm, my favorite camera? Well, I've only used 5 DSLRs, I think, and if I had to choose out of those (Canon EOS Rebel XS, T1i, 40D, 60D, 5D MkII), it would most definitely be the 5D MkII. However, if I could choose a camera body only with no lenses included, the Canon 7D would probably make the most sense since it will work with both my EF lens and EF-S lenses, whereas if I got something like a 5D MkII, 1Ds Mk III, etc. only my EF 35 f/2 would be compatible with it, and my beloved EF-S 10-22mm would be useless. The roughly-$38,000 Hasselbad H4D-60 medium-format camera would probably be awesome, but I'm thinking its practicality would be fairly limited for me at the moment, especially since there don't appear to be any "cheap" lenses for it. And while 60-megapixel photos would be great, there would be a bunch of problems with filling up my 2TB external hard drive a lot faster and having to crop images because their file sizes are too large, etc.
I've seen the T3i...as a matter of fact, I know at least a little bit about every Canon DSLR in the current lineup and some older ones as well, but I don't know a whole lot about Nikons. That's probably because knowing about Canon DSLRs and lenses can be beneficial to me if I want to buy some since I'm a Canon guy now, although I'll never be getting the ultra-rare $120,000+ 1200mm or any of the other $10,000+ long primes. I'm not biased against Nikons, and in fact I've heard that Nikons are often a bit better than the equivalent Canons, but at a premium, and aren't always worth the increase in price over Canons. From what I've read, the T3i doesn't appear to be worth the extra cost over the T2i, although certain features such as the articulating screen (which I tested out on a 60D) is pretty neat.
Oh yes, photography can be a very expensive hobby, especially if you get the dreaded disease called "lens lust", where you keep having to get more and better lenses...
From the page I linked to, it doesn't appear that a warranty is needed to use the Canon loyalty program. Admittedly, this is one area I don't know very much about since I've only started looking into it more recently.
One good Craigslist deal was a 70-200 L lens for $200, which even if it was only the lowest-model f/4 (non-IS) version, that's still $300-400 cheaper than how much they usually sell for. Unfortunately, the poster replied to me and said the lens had been sold that morning - I was too late.
I know how to make links clickable by using the HTML code, but on the computer and browser I'm using at the moment, the links are already clickable...
Hopefully I haven't left anything out; if I have, just tell me. At least this reply wasn't as long as my last ones. :)
The reply wasn't hard to understand, it made perfect sense to me. I don't think you have a problem being concise (based on the comments, that is). Your comments are just filled with information, which is a good thing - espcially for me :)
Macro lenses are really expensive, I understand why you don't have one. Many lenses appear to be at least as expensive as many of the cameras and more than some. My fianceé likes to say that the only thing he knows about cameras is that they are really expensive. I think he goes pale every time I tell him how much a certain camera or accessory cost. I think you are doing a good job improvising on a Macro lense.
I do have teeny hands, not always a good thing... I get teased about it a lot. Plus, they aren't good for opening cans :)
I used to want the Nikon D300S, but it is rediculously expensive for what is offers. It's priced online at about $1,700. The better Canons are much cheeper. The 5D MkII is a really nice camera from what I can tell, it would definitely be good to have.
The T3i I saw (online) was the same price as the T2i, although I have yet to look at any of the dealers around here. Actually, I'd have to go into the city to find a dealer since I live in a small town outside of Winston in NC. We don't have a grocery store closer then 15 minutes away, let alone a camera dealer :)
I didn't mean to imply that you are biased against Nikon or any other camera company, only that since I have limited experience with DSLRs I wouldn't have a preference. I suppose I didn't make myself clear. I hope you aren't offended.
I don't suppose I have complete lens lust quite yet, although I already know that I want EF-S 10-22mm and perhaps the EF 100mm f2.8 Macro...
I can never remember the HTML code for making the links clickable. I have it somewhere in my computer, I just don't know where it is exactly. It's slightly annoying to me, since I work with HTML a bit and I can't remember such a simple code.
I don't mind the long replies, it's nice to talk to someone about photography again (besides my best friend). No one in my family does anything with photography, so it's refreshing to talk about it without having to explain aperture or what certain lenses do.
Are you working your way up through cameras or saving up for the perfect one? Or are you content with your Rebel XS?
Well, I'm sure my reply is plently long enough now.. plus my older sister just came in with a bowl of popcorn which I believe I'm going to focus my attention on that now :)
Haha, my hands aren't huge, but they're not small either.
You're right: the most expensive Canon DSLR body, the 1Ds MkIII, sells for around $5000. However, there are multiple Canon super telephoto lenses than cost more than $10,000. Some people get a cheap DSLR, good lenses, and eventually upgrade the body, but I met someone at the Family Economics Conference I went to last month who did the opposite and bought himself a 5D MkII and the $100 50 1.8 II. It does look and seem kind of funny, but I guess it works. He's now saving for the 70-200 f/2.8L IS II, which costs at least a few hundred dollars more than the MkII body. (like most people, I'd love to have that lens)
I think Nikons are generally more expensive than the equivalent Canons, and while they sometimes have more or better features, the increased cost is not always worth the difference. For instance, the D3x is almost certainly not worth paying The D7000 is said to be considerably better than the 60D but also quite a bit more pricey, but I think the D300s and 7D are fairly close in specs, although I haven't compared them, so don't quote me on that. Anyway, the 7D is less expensive.
I didn't/don't think you implied I was biased against Nikons; I didn't, so don't worry. :)
The T3i you saw may have had the same list price as the T2i, but I have a feeling the T2i wasn't a very good deal. I've seen brand new T2i's on Craigslist for $725, and you can get refurbs or used models for quite a bit cheaper than that.
I live in the Fayetteville area between Spring Lake and Sanford (but am moving to a city near Memphis in June), so it unfortunately takes an hour to get to Raleigh and multiple hours to get to Charlotte. The reason that's not helpful is because there's a camera store in Raleigh called Peace Camera which sometimes has good deals, and many good Craigslist camera deals are from Raleigh or Charlotte...it has to be a very good deal for me to spend the time and gas to go all the way to Charlotte. But I'm trying to find excuses to do so now (come on, camera deals!) so I can go to a Cars & Coffee car show before we leave...
After seeing and using the URL code in Flickr comments, I've memorized it (although I did just copy and paste this): link text
Although it's not an L lens, I really like my 10-22, and I haven't even gotten ND filters so I can start experimenting with long exposure photography yet.
I'm hoping I'll be able to gradually upgrade cameras; my next DSLR might be a T2i, although I would really like a 7D or 5D MkII...or a 1Ds MkIII. :) No, even it does the job, I am definitely not going to stick with my XS if I can upgrade...my camera really felt like a toy after using the MkII for a week
It's nice to have other people who share some of my interests such as photography to talk to (and who actually know what I'm talking about). :)
I am now probably sounding strange or something since it's past midnight and I'm kind of tired, so I'll end yet another incredibly long reply here.
Thanks for you all your help.. I feel like I'm taking up your time and I apologize if I am. I really apreciate all the advice and help you are giving me.
I always thought about getting a relatively good camera, a bunch of lenses and eventually get an even better camera (one that would work with all my lenses). I didn't really think about getting the really expensive camera first, although that may work for some people. But I will never be able to afford a super expensive camera, so the one I get will probably have to keep me content for quite awhile.
The Nikon my friend has is nice... I love using it - but that may be because I'm not used to having a good camera. I do have two older Canon film SLRs, but I don't like to use them. I hate wasting perfectly good money and film on a picture I wont like. I don't have enough experience with SLRs to feel comfortable doing that. I probably wont get a Nikon, because I don't want to spend the money, plus I seem to be more drawn to Canons for some odd reason.
I glad you didn't take offense, I certainly didn't mean any. Sometimes I stick my foot in my mouth...
I only saw the T2i and T3i on the actual Canon site, so the chances of them being a good deal aren't good :)
I live about two hours from Raleigh, so I'm not sure the deal would be worth the drive and gas, sadly. Charlotte would be closer to me and easier to get to. I have a friend who live down there in Charlotte, so I go often to visit her. A Cars and Coffee show... lol (personally, I might be more interested in the coffee)! Those cars are pretty awesome, but if I went I'd have to take someone with me. I'd probably be lonely since I'm used to being around a bunch of people all the time (there's 7 in my family: me and my four sisters and our parents). Owning one of those cars would be pretty sweet though! Personally I like Lamborghinis. Way expensive though. I hope you get to go to a Cars and Coffee show.
You didn't sound strange, although I feel fairly certain I would have had I been writing it. I didn't respond to your comment/reply this morning, because I'm not a morning person and I know for a fact the answer wouldn't be coherent. I am practically a zombie in the mornings, particularly on Spring mornings when my allergies are bad.
I bet your camera did seem almost insufficient compared to a higher end camera. I firmly believe I should quit taking pictures with Lyssa's camera until I get a nicer one, it makes me really frustrated with my point-n-shoot. Which, I suppose any aspiring photographer would be frustrated with it. But, then again, I think my camera hates me. It sees me coming and just thinks "oh no! The crazy woman is back". I can't really blame it I guess. I have put it through a lot, more than can be expected of it.
I hope this reply wasn't as long as my other ones and I certainly hope I'm not taking up too much of your time. Feel free to ignore me if you wish :) it wouldn't bother me in the least.
Noooo!!! I wrote a reply to your comment, and it's not here...I'm about to go to work and will be closing (so it'll be 10:30 or later when I get off), so I'll probably be finishing my reply late at night once again. Anyway, I'll start my reply/comment right now.
Last "night" I got off work at about 12:35am, but I'll try to write my reply now.
Ignore you, seriously?! Nice comments really make my day. :) Besides, not only do I like giving buying advice on things I like such as knives/guns/other weapons, cars, and cameras, I just like talking about photography and my other interests with people who share those interests.
Well, once again it's past midnight, so I'll have to finish this later; hopefully tomorrow.
OK, I'm back. I guess you're taking up my time, but in a way I like; like I said, I love nice comments and questions. :)
Ah, I see; you can do quite a bit with an entry-level DSLR if you have good lenses and are good with lighting and other things.
I feel kind of the same way about film; film can create great images but would cost way too much for me and I'd have to go through the hassle of developing, scanning, etc.
I actually think Nikons with their lenses (at least the entry-level DSLRs with their kit lenses) are more cool-looking than their Canon equivalents, and the Nikons I've held (D3000 and D5000) actually feel better in my hand than my camera and the other Rebels I've tried out. However, I like the feel of the 5D MkII and 40D, which I've tried out.
I've stuck my foot in my mouth so many times it's ridiculous, so you're not alone. :)
Wow, there are only girls in your family? I have four brothers and three sisters, all younger than I am. Thanks; I hope I can get to go and maybe get a ride in a Ferrari, although that's probably not likely...at least I can get some photos (which probably won't turn out great, but I can always try). Oh yes, having a car like that would be awesome - if I had a lot of money, since insurance would be incredibly high.
Like Cold Steel, the knife company, Canon makes quite a few good products but generally charges unreasonably high prices unless there's a sale, you're buying a refurb, etc.
Using a pocket point & shoot after being used to a DSLR would be quite a bummer, and it would be very hard if the p&s didn't have manual controls for aperture, shutter speed, etc.
"oh no! The crazy woman is back" That's pretty funny. :)
It is really annoying to write a comment and then not have it appear. I'm sorry you had to write it twice.
Well, I didn't expect you to ignore me (I didn't think you'd be that rude), but I thought I'd let you know that it wouldn't bother me if you didn't feel like responding. I'm glad you don't mind though. Like I said before, it's nice to talk to someone who knows what your talking about. Although I don't mind talking to other people about it when they ask.
Nice comments make my day too! We (me and Lys) don't get many though. BTW: did you ever finish the Red Dot game? By the end of playing it, I felt a little silly :)
So you are interested in guns and knives? My gandfather is a gunsmith. He collects and makes both guns and knives. I'm going to have him teach me how to shoot one day, hopefully. I wasn't originally going to learn, but Momma wants me to know how, so I might as well.
Well, I'm not sure if I'm good with lighting or not. I hope I am, but it's hard for me to judge my own pictures. I'm really hard on myself.
I'll finish this reply later tonight. I'm going to go eat dinner now and wash dishes (yay - not).
I had almost finished my continued comment when my page refreshed itself and lost everything.
Ok, um... Now I'm having a hard time getting my thoughts together and articulating, great. Um... AGH! Let's see...
Alright, I'm going to start with something that isn't camera related: Yes, there are only us girls. No brothers, sadly. It would have been nice to have a brother to do the heavy lifting and the weed eating. I don't mind mowing, it's the weed eating I don't like. But, it did make sharing clothes easier. We could just pass them down, it sure cut down on shopping, which is good :) So there are eight children in your family? Not that your a child, but.. well... oh you get my point. That must be great! I love having a larg-ish family.
A ride in a Farrari would be so awesome! I wonder what the odds are of that ever happening? It'd be even better to own one! Of course, the insurance on a Farrari would be horrible. I certainly wouldn't want to pay that bill. Your pictures are amazing, I'm sure any you took of the cars would be good.
Nikons are more cool looking? I never really thought about that myself. I guess they are. Lyssa's looks pretty cool, but then I think most DSLR's look pretty cool. That may just be the photographer in me talking :) Nikons do feel good when you hold them, but I like the feel of Canons as well.
I tend to both stick my foot in my mouth and over explain myself and at times I manage to do both :)
My camera does not have any of those manual controls. I can change the exposure, flash and I believe I can set the ISO, maybe. I am often disappointed in my pictures since I am so restricted in what I can do.
I would love to have a REALLY good camera one day, but right now settling will be fine. I have actually decided to wait a little longer and invest about $900 in a camera. I kind of feel like it would serve me better to wait and get a nice camera, then get impatient and buy a cheaper one simply to have it sooner.
Well, that is what my camera thinks. That is the only explination for why it acts up the way it does. But I guess I would be scared of me too if I were a little camera. I really work that thing near about to death.
How did you first get interested in photography? What was your first camera? Are you planning on going to college for photography? If so, where?
That's ok; I generally try to copy and paste (and often save) my long comments into a notepad document as backup.
I don't get many comments either when I haven't entered a photo challenge or other linkup; Elizabeth and Ara are the only people who comment regularly. Well, you now have one new follower who's been leaving comments on your blog. :) I got to where I figured out the red dot was being circular, so I stopped rather than go on forever. I didn't get that bit about the white dot and white rabbit, though.
Yes, I like lots of different kinds of weapons. :) You don't? Learning how to shoot well can be good for self-defense, hunting (not that that's something I like to do, though) or just for fun. :) Unfortunately, I'm not a very good shot because I don't have steady hands...which incidentally also affects me being able to shoot well with a camera at times.
Ouch; perhaps you should try the Notepad method as well. Losing my work has happened repeatedly and yet I still don't always use it...
Being in a large family can be...interesting. And quite chaotic at times as well. Incidentally, I'm turning 19 on Friday (a very boring age, I think)...but you didn't ask.
Well, don't go and get yourself the late-'70s Ferrari 208 GTB; it had only 155 horsepower..."performance was underwhelming, especially for a Ferrari." And I think it doesn't look beautiful like many Ferraris do, either. The mid-to-late 1970's and 1980s were not good years for most cars. Even now, the styling on some of the new Ferraris such as the FF is questionable, but there are also great-looking ones such as the 599 (my first favorite), 458, F430, and old ones like the 365 GTB/4 Daytona (it could do something like 70 mph in reverse!). I agree; having a car like Ferrari would be awesome; however, although there are some cars like Koenigseggs and others are really cool, from what I've read, the Ferrari 599 GTB combines performance with comfort and everyday drivability better than many other exotic cars - some, like the Dodge Viper, are infamous for not being good daily drivers. I'd better stop; there are a few topics that I can keep rambling on and on about, and bore my reader/listener unless they share the same interest to a similar degree.
I'm hoping I really can get some photos I can be happy with, but so far I've only gotten one car photo I'm happy to show people; many of the other photos here are mediocre at best.
Yes, with a camera like yours, you are severely limited by both the image quality and the lack of manual controls.
$900 for the camera body alone or for a body and lens? I think it kind of depends; if there are things you really want to take photos of now, you're kind of missing out, and you could always upgrade later, but on the other hand, if you wait and get a better camera like a 60D, you'd be less likely to get tired of it quickly and want a better camera. Well, until you use something like the 5D MkII, that is. ;-)
I've "taken pictures" for years but only really got into photography after I received my first DSLR, the Rebel XS I have now, last July as a late birthday present. I'm not planning on going to college for photography; I'm hoping I'll be able to learn everything I want on my own, although it'll take quite a while.
If I haven't answered all of your questions yet, I'll try to do so tomorrow; I'm tired, it's past midnight, and I have to wake up at 5:30 tomorrow.
I'm going to have to try that. I completely lost my train of thought when the comment disapeared. I bet the rest of my comment seemed a little disjointed, I'm sorry if it was hard to follow.
I try to comment on blogs I follow, but I'm not always good at keeping up. Half the time I start to comment and re-think myself, start over, re-think again and then give up. I guess I over think things sometimes. I really shouldn't, but I do. I'm a perfectionist, I beat myself to death if I mess up, so I guess I even want my comments to be perfect and they don't have to be.
I didn't get the dot or rabbit either... I think that maybe that was the point? I felt so ridiculous at the "end" of that red dot. I kind of expected it to actually end.
Well, I'm interested in weapons to a certain extent. I couldn't grow up with a gunsmith for a grandfather and not be. It's just that I'd rather have a photo shoot with a deer then shoot one with a bullet. Not that I don't like eating deer (Venison roast is really good), but I'd be more likely to pull out a camera and take multiple pictures and then maybe shoot it for supper, if it stayed in one place long enough :)I would like to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow though, just for the fun of it. When I was younger I thought it was more interesting and somewhat more artisic - does that make sense? I'm hoping I'll be a good shot... I don't know if I will be though. I've hurt my right wrist quite a bit and it isn't as strong as it once was (I'm right handed). Sometimes it hurts and/or goes numb while I'm doing just every day stuff, so I'm not sure how well I'll be able to shoot.
I know with only the five of us it can get a bit chaotic, so I bet it's more so in your family. I still wonder how girls can make so much noise? Was I ever that loud? Hum... Are y'all homeschooled?
Happy Birthday, a bit early. Boring age? How so? I haven't gotten around to thinking about 19 yet, sometimes I accidentally tell people I'm 17. I get really weird looks for that one. Apparently being engaged at 17 is somehow worse then being engaged at 18, because people end up looking a tad relieved when I correct myself and tell them I'm 18. I'm going to be 19 this year too, in June.
Wow, a little over my head with the cars there :) I don't mind hearing about it though. I wish I knew more about cars and such, but I've spent most of my time on history, photography and HTML - although I am still soooo lost on HTML most of the time. I shouldn't be though. My grandma was a computer programmer and I should go ask her, but I forget I can ask her sometimes. 70 mph in reverse?! Woah! I do share an interest in cars, I'm just not as well informed. Ok, so I'm no where near as well informed :) And I agree, I don't much care for the look of the Ferrari FF. I love the look of the 458. I actually like the look of it better then the look of the 599 (wow over 208 mph!), but I honestly don't know which car would be a better choice if I were to buy one. Can you tell I don't know much?
I like that one picture of the GT-R 3. It's really good! You are very talented.
$900 for body and lens. I had been thinking the same thing. I am missing out on oportunities to take some amazing pictures while I'm waiting, but then again, if I wait the pictures I'll eventually take will be better. It was kind of a hard decision for me, because I'm not exactly a patient person and I'd love to be able to just get out there now and start taking pictures with a DSLR. But, practicality beats patience I guess.
Did you want a DSLR or was it more of a surprise? So photography is more like a hobby then a career? You have really learned a lot about photography in such a short period of time. What are your favorite subjects to photograph?
Ouch! That's not much sleep. Hasn't anyone told you that you're supposed to get 8 hours of sleep :) I believe you answered all of my questions. Or at least the ones I asked you, I asked plenty more in this comment.
I guess I'll end another record long comment here. I talk too much when I'm on a subject I like :)
Sorry for taking this long to reply, Riah; I'm going to hurry and reply before I run out of time and have to go to work again.
I don't like messing up with comments or whatever either; often I'll go back and leave another comment stating what a typo was supposed to be.
I never was a good shot with a bow, just like I'm not a good shot with a gun...but I hope I'll be able to change the latter. Some people like guns and that sort of thing; others don't - to each his own, as they say.
Ouch, having a problem like that with your hand must not be nice at all... The only physical problem like that I have is that when I get too hot (every time I go running, which I haven't done in a long time) or something, my skin has a prickling feeling that ranges from slightly uncomfortable to "my head is one fire!" Bleh, here I am rambling about myself again.
The only one who wasn't homeschooled from, well, birth was me - I went to kindergarten.
I think 19 is boring since at 18 you can do things like own a rifle or shotgun (or be given a handgun), vote, etc.; at 21 you can own a handgun and do a few other things, depending on the state; at 20 you can't do anything you couldn't before, but you're no longer a teenager (doesn't count for much); at 19... Thanks. :) At least I don't have to close at work tomorrow...but I don't think it'll be a particularly special day otherwise. It seems you're around a month younger than I am...I'll just wait until mid-June to say happy birthday since I don't know what day your birthday is on. Out of curiosity, what is the age gap between you and your fiancée? One of the biggest age gaps between couples I've heard of recently (especially where the bride is older) was when Taylor Tsantles married Blair Brown, Scott Brown's daughter (perhaps you've heard of him?). Blair was 23 and Taylor was 17, so he actually had to ask his parents for permission to get married. :)
Sorry about using so many parentheses...it's really hard not to.
Well, the F430 and 458 are mid-engined cars, which are very well-balanced, but they don't have much trunk space (for obvious reasons, the trunk is in the front); the 599 is a GT (gran turismo or grand tourer) so it might not be quite as fast on the track but it has a V12 and sounds great (they all do). The 599 GTO is very impressive indeed, and I have a feeling that even though it's good on a track, it's probably much better of a daily driver than a Koenigsegg (the CCX was really hard to drive, but I suppose they've gotten better)...but Koenigseggs are really cool, and I like how their doors open. I'd better stop talking about cars now. :)
Continued (i had to break mine into two parts as well):
Not that you are, but if you're expecting a camera to give you better photos than another just because it's a better model, you might be disappointed. With that being said, there are things that having a better camera can help with that can actually produce better images. For instance, better high ISO performance and higher resolution (although the number of megapixels doesn't matter all that much unless you zoom in and crop photos a lot). Some of the other things like a larger viewfinder with 100% coverage and more are nice but might not actually affect the quality of your photos all that much. I probably just told you a bunch of stuff you already know...
My grandfather got my brother his DSLR before my parents got me mine, but I don't think I really wanted one at the time; my interest in photography developed after getting my camera. I have learned quite a bit, but there is still so very much I need to learn...I don't know if I have a favorite kind of thing to photograph; if I was more skilled and maybe had a studio, I'd like to do portraits (if I had the kind of models I want), and I really want to create fantasy-style photo manipulations eventually. I want to have at least some of my photos tell a story or visualize a theme...and I want to write a book...and now I'm rambling again.
Recently I've been getting to sleep really late (1:30-ish) and waking up quite late as well (around 9)...although it probably doesn't help that I have to work late at times like tonight, I'd still probably find it hard to stop doing anything and go to bed.
Once again I have to get ready for work so I won't be late... :P
That's ok. I meant to respond last night, but my wrist hurt, so I quickly gave up. It didn't take you that long to reply.
Messing up comments is the worst. I notice when I messed up in a comment to you. I had copied and pasted the name of a camera and accidentally added EF-S to it. I considered commenting that I made a mistake, but figured you knew what I was talking about.
You've shot a bow? Well, what haven't you done? :) You play piano, violin, shoot, write... etc.
It's not that bad an injury. I've never actually broken it, but I did get it smashed between two 2 by 4's. That wasn't exactly fun :) The main problem is that it hurts when I type, wash dishes, chop veggitables. Sometimes it gets numb too. Sorry, too much information, right? Do you know why it feels like that when you get hot? That doesn't sound at all like something that should happen. And don't worry, I ramble about myself too. It doesn't bother me. At least when your talking about yourself I don't feel like I'm the only one who does that.
We were all homeschooled as well. None of us have gone to school at all. Did you enjoy being homschooled (I'm assuming you've graduated)? I did, I loved it.
I guess I've never looked at 19 that way :) It just felt another year, now I guess it is boring, thanks Max :) Happy birthday... again! Now you're the boring old age of 19. Sorry!
My birthday is the 28th of June. My fiance is roughly two and a half years older than me. So, he turned 21 in January and I turn 19 in June. It sounded like a big age gap when I was 17 and he had turned 20 (I turned 18 later that year). Some of my family members said he was too old, but I think they forgot I was going to turn 18 or something.
Scott Brown the senator? That's probably not who your talking about, but that is the only Scott Brown I've heard of (to my knowledge). That would be a little weird, at least for me. I can't imagine marrying a guy that much younger then me. The biggest difference I heard of recently was a couple in a church we went to who were about 14 years apart (the guy was older in this case though).
I use parentheses a lot too. Somehow they are almost necessary for me. I'm not sure why :)
I have to admit, I'm having to look up some of the cars your talking about so I can stay on the same page. But, it interests me, so no worries. The Koenigsegg CCX looks amazing. You're right, the doors are pretty cool. The Agera looks kinda cool, but I don't think I'd want to own it. It looks almost Star Trek-ish. We had a 15 passenger van with a V10 and boy did that thing go for such a large vehicle. I can't imagine what it'd be like to drive a V12 in a small sports car. I didn't like driving our 15 passenger though, it was too big. I prefer our mini van.
Just thought I'd let you know that I didn't get to finish my reply because I had to run errands. I'm getting ready to go out again, but I'll try to finish my reply tonight. (I replied to your comment on my post - the one about piano)
No, I'm not expecting it to give me better photos. I'm hoping it will give me better control over my photos. It would take a miracle camera to make take good pictures if the photographer knew nothing about photography. And yes, I knew that... but you meant well :)
Your brother is a photographer also? I don't really care for taking portraits, as I said before I like nature. But I like to photograph abstract.. um.. things (I'm not sure what to call it) and landscapes.
What kind of book do you want to write? Have you always liked writing?
Wow, you should definitely get to sleep earlier. But I guess I'm one to talk. I don't go to sleep until around 12:30 or so every night (sometimes later). I don't have to, but my fiance works second sift and that's about the time he gets home. I generally wait for him to text me that he's home and goodnight before I go to sleep.
I'm going to go eat my dessert now (I just got home, so I barely finished dinner before I got on here to reply).
I just wanted to let you know that I have been reading your comments/questions and am going to reply to them when I can, but I've been busy with work and don't have anywhere near as much time as I'd like to be able to do everything...thank you for the happy birthday wishes and everything. :)
OK, I'm going to try to reply as fast as possible since I don't have a lot of time and don't want to make you wait any longer.
Yes, I knew what you were talking about with the "EF-S" things. To tell the truth, I wasn't entirely sure you knew what you were talking about, but now I know you do.
Ha, and I'm not good at any of those things. I also am not an artist in the drawing/painting sense - I've never been any good at drawing, but maybe because I never knew how?
I think being homeschooled was pretty good.
Three years or less is not that big of an age gap, especially when it's the husband-to-be who is older; when it's reversed it's more uncommon but that's not to say it can't or shouldn't happen. The Scott Brown I was talking about is the president (or some other position like that) of the National Center for Family-Integrated Churches and the pastor of a church in Wake Forest, Hope Baptist. Taylor, the guy who got married, is very mature from what I've heard (I've met him but don't know him very well), and apparently his bride wasn't bothered by the age difference. :)
I was going to link to somewhere with photos of a Koenigsegg, such as www.seriouswheels.com, but I forgot to...sorry about that. As far as I know, the CCX, CCXR, and Agera (and even the CCR) are all quite similar; although Koenigsegg wants people to believe the Agera is all-new, I believe it's just a modified, more track-ready CCXR with twin-turbos instead of twin-superchargers...but it does look a bit different. Although there are the cars I mentioned and a bunch of others I really like as well, my real dream "car" is Batman's Tumbler. :D But since it's not in production, the Shadow Hawk might be the next best thing you can buy...but it doesn't have guns, can't jump really far, and doesn't look anywhere near as cool.
Ah, more control over your photos. I have a feeling that I could turn out at least slightly better images than I do now if I used a Hasselblad H4D (with the higher dynamic range and everything), but to really get breathtaking photos with one, I'd have to be a much better photographer and have the editing skills I want to have right now.
I like to think that my brother takes pictures but I'm the serious photographer, since I have more of an interest (or at least show more of an interest) in photography and know more about it...
Abstract...um...things? I'm not sure what those are... ;-) I might be able to tell you if you give me a description of what you're talking about.
I'd like to write an action/adventure/thriller novel that has Christian themes in it but that weaves those themes into the storyline well and isn't "preachy" or of lesser quality because of that. I like writing in some ways (I don't know if I always have), but poems rarely turn out when when I try writing them, and my stories have always been, as Ara said, "blackmail material" and I never finished because I could never figure out the plots...
I'm going to try to go to sleep in a couple of minutes; 12-8:30 is better than 1:30-9 or 9:30...hopefully it'll be something like 11-7:30 in the future.
Sorry it took me so long to reply, I've been busy.
Now I wish I had corrected that sooner! At least you wouldn't have thought I was a wanna-be-photographer who knew absolutely nothing... Ugh!
I'm not artistic either. I can't paint or draw, never have been able to. I don't think I can qualify as artistic in any sense :)
Oh ok, I've never heard of that Scott Brown, but Mom probably has since she has looked up lots of things about Family-Integrated churches. We actually attend a Family-Intergrated church. Apparently she wasn't :) I'm glad their happy! I guess I just (for some reason) have this pre-conceived notion that the guy should be older?
Batman's Tumbler?! Wow, interesting choice :) But I guess having guns on your car could come in handy somehow? Perhaps when someone steals your parking space :) Or, my personal pet-peeve, doesn't know how to merge onto a highway properly!
Abstract things are like... a Bible with a flower on it, cups of coffee or tea, shop fronts, book shelves, those sorts of things.
Um, like a Ted Dekker book? Is that the kind of book you'd like to write? But maybe less horrific? I was never really good a poems either, but then I never cared much for poetry.
I think that's it, if it isn't I'll answer tomorrow. It's 1:00am and I'm pretty tired!
Well, I didn't think you knew absolutely nothing, just that you might not be all that familiar with Canon DSLRs.
Did I mention I don't have a good singing voice either?
Ah, so do we. That's how it is usually, partly because girls are said to mature more quickly than guys.
Guns are cool. :) Having something that's basically a tank with four wheels might come in handy...not that I've ever been shot at before (to my knowledge, anyway), but it's cool all the same. I don't suppose something like that would be very fuel-efficient, though...like an old model of the M1 Abrams tank, its fuel economy might be measured in gallons-per-mile. :)
People driving slowly in front of me is another annoying thing, but I think the worst I've seen is when my dad was trying to pass a slow driver and the other guy switched lanes and blocked him (perhaps unintentionally, but it was still a nuisance).
Ah, I see: random objects. :) It can be nice to take photos of everyday objects and make them look interesting by the choice of framing, editing, etc. A friend of a friend, Jordan likes to do the "everyday object photography" thing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/treeclimber/
In a word, yes. I think many of Dekker's books are pretty interesting and well-written, and not all of them are creepy like Skin, House, and some newer ones such as Boneman's Daughters. At least some of those are the "mainstream serial-killer novels" instead of those geared toward a Christian audience. Some of the novels in the latter category don't have the Christian themes as apparent as in others and I don't like them as much, but there are some I've thought had very good messages. One mistake I will not make, even if I become a prolific writer like him (highly unlikely, to say the least), is having storylines that don't make sense with other elements in the storyline or that are just bizarre, such as the ending in Green.
Now I've got to get off to bed as well since I'll only be getting around five hours of sleep or less and will probably be falling asleep during the Bible study.
Well there's a relief! At least you didn't think I knew nothing... I still wished I had corrected it sooner. I do atually know a little bit about DSLRs, but not as much as you know. Did you find out what you know just by researching?
I don't have a good singing voice either. Mine is very mediocre. But, if you don't have a good singing voice like you don't take very good pictures then I'm not sure I believe you, because you take wonderful pictures :)
Hum, I think you'd know if you got shot at, but I may be wrong! Now, driving a tank would be something else, that's for sure. It might actually be fun :) Gallons-per-mile? That is pretty funny, but almost true sometimes.
People driving slowly does annoy me too, but for some reason the merging is what frustrates me the most. The driving switching lanes when you're trying to get around them has happened to Mom, but it hasn't happened to me yet - thankfully. I have had an older man get mad at me for not speeding through a caution light and coming to a stop. I'm not sure why he was mad. He wouldn't have made the light anyway, it would have turned red first. So when the light turned green (we were in the turn lane) he sped around me and then made a point of driving slowly and turning into his drive way even slower. It was seriously frustrating and I had to fight my temper ;)
YES! Random objects, exactly! Her pictures are pretty good, especially the White House rose garden photo.
I liked House, I haven't read Skin yet and I didn't care much for Boneman's Daughter. I didn't even finish it. It was a bit to gorey and dark for my taste. I like Showdown, Saint and Sinner though. I haven't read Green yet. I do own it but I just recently finished Sinner and haven't began reading the Circle Trilogy yet. Have you began writing yet? Like serious writing or is it just a vague story line?
I am headed to bed now, its past midnight again and I'm pretty tired. Goodnight!
Ok, time to answer a few of your questions, Riah (although I will have to be packing for the trip to TN tomorrow in a couple of minutes - phase one of our move): If you saw some of the graduation photos I got for a friend from church last Saturday, you might agree that I often take mediocre photos, although it certainly didn't help that the lighting wasn't very good outside (it was dark and cloudy) and inside it wasn't very bright everywhere and I don't have an external flash and my camera doesn't have good ISO performance...so I have some really noisy photos...I wish I had a better camera, better lenses, a flash...but wishing doesn't help...I wonder how I'm going to be able to make anbusiness of photography with my skills as they are. So few of the graduation shoot photos are ones I think are acceptable. :( And as for my voice, I'm fairly certain I don't have vocal talent, and I have basically no tonal range at all; I can't sing either semi-low or high notes, and don't sound good at the mid-range notes either.
You need to get a spring-loaded boxing glove that shoots at at the press of a button to hit obnoxious drivers' cars. ;-)
No, I haven't written in such a long time; when I did, I only got partway through chapter one and didn't know where to go from there - my plot was basically non-existent. I had an idea for a storyline the other day, but I doubt that would get very far either...
Well, I've got to go pack now...I'll have to wake up at 4:30 and drive for hours and hours, so infant to try to get some sleep as well.
So how did your trip go? I'm glad you found a house. You're no longer going to be a North Carolinian :( Are you originally from NC? Most of my pictures don't turn out well either (you've seen some of them), but I think your pictures are very nice. I'm sorry you don't have a better camera. I'm sure it must be frustrating sometimes. I actually looked at the lenses I already have. I have three different lenses, one of which is no longer being made. It's pretty old, but I am looking forward to trying it out and seeing what I can do. I'll have to look at it later and let you know which lens it is, I can't remember it off the top of my head and I can't get to it right now to check. Well, not having a large vocal range doesn't necessarily mean you don't sing well, although it probably means you don't have a major singing career in your future. Of course, with what passes as talent these days who knows? If you can keep on key when you sing, then that is better than some people. I have a range somewhere between a high alto and low soprano - although I think it's closer to high alto now. I can hold a tune, but I don't have an amazing voice - as wonderful as that would be.
Hum, I wonder if insurance would cover damage from a spring-loaded boxing glove? Probably not, although that would be really great! :)
Have you thought about plotting out your storyline? Each part and idea lined out in detail? That never worked well for me, because my story inevitably ended up changing anyway, but it may work for you if you don't tend to get an idea in your head and change the story just to add it in.
Well, I have to run. It's 11:40pm and I still have to email someone about some babysitting I'm doing this weekend :)
The trip was long, but not bad, I guess - my dad didn't tip over in the truck, which was good.
I'm originally from...well, if you mean where was I born, I was born in Glendale, CA. I've lived in California, Japan, Hawaii (O'ahu), Guam, and here, though, so I ask people what they mean when they ask where I'm from.
The lenses you have...so you got a DSLR or are those screw-on lenses for your p&s?
I'll try getting a mic and recording myself singing sometime and see what I think; I have a feeling I will not be impressed whatsoever. Haha, all you need nowadays is AutoTune. ;-) But seriously, people with good taste in music know that trashy, pathetic attempts at "artists" such as Ke$ha have no talent compared to a real singer like Josh Groban.
Or I guess you could have Inspector Gadget-style paintball cannons. ;-)
I tried to work on a plot but never got very far - I had bits and pieces but always drew a blank before I'd gone very far at all; it was pretty frustrating knowing the result I wanted but not being able to do much in the way of achieving it.
Well that is good :) I hope you can settle soon so you wont have to travel as much.
Ahh, so you're originally a Californian. It must have been wonderful to live in so many places! Well, except the having to move a lot. Which was your favorite place?
No, I don't have a DSLR. I have two Film SLR cameras with EF lenses. I originally thought that two of them were 18-55mm lenses, but when I checked the other day I found out that they are not. One is a 35-70mm, one is a 75-300mm and one is a 35-80mm. The Film SLR cameras are the Canon 650 and the Canon Rebel K2. I particularly can't wait to try out the 35-70mm lens, but I'm pretty excited to try the others as well. Oh, and I don't have any screw-on lenses for my p&s, honestly that camera doesn't deserve any special attention! When it starts doing it's job then I'll give it treats! :)
I'm not inpressed with my singing either! I am curious to hear what you sound like... :) I can't stand Ke$ha! Or the Black Eyed Peas which I'm curretly having to suffer through since they're preforming on the show I'm watching. I like Fred Astaire, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Glen Miller, Bing Crosby and such like. I'm sure your seeing a theme here :) I like Josh Groban too, particularly the song You Raise Me Up (which is playing now because he is preforming now - such an improvment from the Black Eyed Peas)
Ohhhh, I love the idea of paintball cannons!!! I am really going to see about having those installed on my car. Oh, and if anyone gets mad I'll direct them to you :)
I'm sorry you've had such trouble writing. I'm curious about what your writing style is like. Do you prefer sounding simple, using simplicity to get your point across or do you like lacing your writing with huge words and deep psychological meanings?
Hm, yes. Yes, but I don't talk like a SoCal surfer dude. ;-) My favorite place? I'm not sure...here has been good because it's not always really warm. Guam had
Ah. I don't mean to disappoint you, but unfortunately, I know the 75-300 isn't a good lens (at least the MkIII model isn't, and I doubt the older ones would be much better), and I have a feeling the other two aren't either...but it does have one advantge over the EF-S 55-250 f/4-5.6 IS: it's focal length on a APS-C DSLR is the equivalent of 120-480 (if I got the math right - multiply by 1.6), and 480 is a lot longer than 250mm, so if you're shooting the moon or other faraway objects, it'll be helpful for that fact alone. But other than that...it doesn't have IS or USM and isn't said to produce very good images.
I'm going to try to get a microphone and record myself singing something; I have a very strong feeling the results will not be pretty. You were watching some kind of music show, I take it?
All inquiries will be directed to my public relations manager. ;-)
Thank you...hm, it' somewhere in between I guess. I sometimes use larger words, but don't want to have so many of them that my writing is too formal, hard to understand, or simply makes me seem like a smart aleck/show-off. Perhaps after I move I'll have a bit of time to try writing as well as get back to photography.
Ah.
P.S. Two things I was wondering (feel free not to answer if they're too personal if you just don't feel like telling me) are 1) is Riah your real name, and 2) do you have a date set for your wedding already or have you not gotten to that part yet? I'm just curious, but like I said, I totally understand if you don't want to answer.
Aww, and there I was thinking you sounded like one.. :) Actually, I didn't think you would sound like a SoCal Sufer dude, your writing just doesn't give me that impression. Does that make sense? Like, sometimes you almost imagine what a person sounds like when you read what they've written? Just so you know, I'm a born North Carolinian with a slight southern accent.. just enough to leave G's off of anything ending in "ing", say "y'all" all the time, over pronounce I's, end words like "yellow" with an A ending up with "yella" and say "naw" (hopefully I don't do the last a lot). Ok, there I go rambling on again... It isn't warm in NC?! Wow, I need to seriously rethink before I complain of heat next time :)
Well I know they aren't good lenses (sadly), but I'm still curious to see what they'll do... No it's not the MkIII model (thankfully). I know they could be much better and I wish they were, but it should be interesting to try them out and see what they are and aren't capable of. I like to experiment a lot, being a naturally curious person. Well, curious to a certain extent anyway :)
We were watching Dancing With The Stars... I hate that show now, all it is just a popularity contest, it apparently doesn't matter how good the dancer is. Of course, I should have known that, but it irritated me nonetheless :) Sorry, small rant. I'm too scared to record myself singing, I really don't want to know just exactly how horrible I actually sound.
Wow, I want a public relations manager! Where can I get one?! Maybe then I can just send all frustrated parties to him :)
So your books would end up similar to Ted Dekker's but a little more simple? Not so hard to read and not quite so psychological? Or every bit as psychological, but with simpler words and meaning?
Not too personal at all :) No my name is not Riah, it's Mariah. I go by Riah a lot of the time though so I chose it for going online. Actually, I go by my nicknames 9 times out of 10. We have set a tentative date of next June. We haven't picked the actual day yet, but we're pretty certain we'll be married next June. I really hope it will be in June because our photographer will be going out of town that August and I don't really want to have to search for a replacement. I would ask Lys, except she is the Maid of Honor :) Don't worry about asking questions, it doens't bother me a bit.
It never occured to me to ask before now, but do you prefer to go by Max or Maximillian? I don't care which name I go by, but I know several people don't like to be called by nicknames.
Oh I completely understand that your busy! We once moved our entire house hold in one week and that was stressful even though we only moved 30 minutes away from where we lived before. I can only imagine that moving so far away, plus work, plus all your normal stuff is just hectic! I can't say I'd want to trade places with you :)
Ha, what would give you that impression? Ah. At my church there are multiple people with very pronounced southern accents, so I'm guessing yours isn't quite like that.
No, it's quite warm over here, and I think the times when it's gotten to be 100+ degrees a few of the summers here were probably the hottest temperatures I've experienced. I meant to talk about Guam being 80-90 degrees all year long with 90%+ humidity, whereas it's much less humid here and gets cooler in the non-summer seasons, but forgot about it when copying and pasting from a Wordpad document. O'ahu wasn't as humid as Guam, but it was still warm all year long. O'ahu also had frequent typhoons which resulted in power and water outages, lots of mosquitoes, and other unpleasantness. At least I haven't been in scorching, 120-degree+ heat in the desert...one officer told me he was out in 140-degree heat wearing armor and when he went to another place and took off his armor, he thought, “Wow, it's nice and cool in here!” and he was surprised to find that the temperature was still above 100 degrees.
Lenses are lenses, I guess...I'm tempted to say something is better than nothing, but it some cases something might not be any better than nothing. However, unimpressive lenses might be bad, but they'll still work and as long as you don't need professional-quality results, you might be satisfied with what you get sometimes. I take it your 70-300 (Mk I or II?) is better than a MkIII then? I'm familiar with Canon's newer lenses, but not with some of the older ones without a good reputation. However, I know that in Canon's case, newer is not always better, since the 50 1.8 MkI is better than the MkII, the 28-105 f/3.5-5.6 is much better than the pathetic 28-105 f/4-5.6 (I think I got their names right), etc.
Ah; I've never watched the show, so I can't give much of an opinion on it. There's no need to apologize about rambling or rants; I don't mind. :) I'm sure I sound horrible when I sing, but I'm going to record myself after I get a mic anyway; perhaps I won't sound quite as bad as I believe I do.
Um, maybe a best friend will do? ;) (but I don't have a best friend, so that won't work for me...)
Maybe something like his...Dekker's books are hard to read? Perhaps someday I'll be able to state exactly what I want to have my book/s turn out to be like, but something like some of Dekker's novels or Frank Peretti's Veritas series or some other books that weave Christian themes into the story well without making it feel disjointed is what I'd like to achieve. Ara (I don't remember if you know who she is...her blog is called Shilah) wants to do something along the same lines, but she actually has a book that's somewhat near to completion, whereas I don't have more than part of a first chapter and various ideas but nothing concrete. I might actually get to meet Ara in person later this year at the NCFIC Marriage conference, but that's not really related; it's just kind of interesting that it'll be the first time I meet a friend in person I previously only knew online in the blog world or elsewhere.
I see; I figured your name was something like that, and like Ara, your nickname was taken out of your real name. Hm, so your wedding date might be close to your birthday then? Haha, that is a difficulty; perhaps she could wear her camera and take photos while being the Maid of Honor, although she couldn't get herself in the pictures and it might disrupt things a bit. ;) That's good. :)
I don't really care whether people call me Maximillian or Max; I often introduce myself as “Maximillian, Max, or whatever else you want to call me, as long as it's not derogatory.” As can be expected, most call me Max, but I don't mind.
I don't know if there's a reason you do it, but I don't have both word verification and comment moderation turned on since comment moderation is already one step toward blocking spam and other unwanted comments, and it's just an extra step for someone who tries to leave a comment and kind kind of be a pain...I don't mean to be rude or anything, I was just wondering about that.
Thank you for your understanding. :) Even though I don't have a job anymore, it's been quite busy with packing, painting, and other stuff related to moving and getting the house ready to show and sell. After we move, it'll be somewhat busy unpacking and getting everything situated, and I'm going to have to look for a full-time job as well, so I'll be busy then too, but hopefully not quite as busy and with more time to work on photography, writing, etc.
Once in Guam we moved from an awful house with holes in the backyard that filled with water and bred hordes of mosquitoes (which gave me literally fifty bites or more at various times...I don't think I got much sleep during that time) to a house just up the street, but we just used a pick-up truck and a minivan and even though it wasn't far, there was still quite a bit of labor involved.
I hope mine isn't way too pronounced. I'm proud of being southern, but I don't want to sound like I'm completely incapable of pronouncing words correctly :)
Well then, I guess there is no winning... It's just hot :) I'm pretty glad that I don't live in Guam or O'ahu, I wouldn't mind visiting sometime, but living there doesn't sound too fun. I feel really sorry for that officer! He must have been burning up in that armor. I can't imagine... The worst for me would have had to been when our AC died and it went up to 90+ degrees in the house. It rained and cooled down to 80-something and I felt like I walked in a fridge :) That doesn't even begin to compare to that poor guy!
I can't remember which model it is exactly. It took me forever to track it down one night because the markings on the lens is faded. I had to find it in the Canon Camera Museum and I am just too tired to look it up right now. I'm not planning on using these lenses for professional pictures, just to experiment with. I didn't buy them, they were given to me, so I plan on seeing what they are capable of. They may not be capable of too much, but it will be fun to try :) I plan on having as much fun with my future camera and lenses as I can, testing and trying new things. I figure that it isn't much of a hobbie (or even a career) if you don't enjoy it as much as possible.
Well I don't plan on watching it again :) And I'm glad you don't mind rants and rambles - especially since they slip in sometimes. I need to learn to keep my opinions to myself. You think I would have learned it after 18 years, but I haven't quite mastered it yet. I am better though.
Oh I'll have to tell Lys she's my new public relations manager... I'm sure she'll be completely thrilled. Not :) You don't have a best frind?! Wow, that's kinda sad. I can't imagine not having Lys. Don't you have ANYONE that's sort of kind of like a best friend? Or just a close-ish friend?
I don't think his books are hard to read, but I have read reviews that claimed they were difficult to understand. I think I get the idea... Yes, I read Ara's blog. Well I did read it, as you probably already know, she isn't posting currently. I'm really curious about her book. It's not the type of book I usually read, but it sounds pretty good. Plus she is a really good writer from what I can tell and good writers are hard to come by these days. You're going to a Marriage conference? Why? What is it exactly? It would be pretty cool to meet someone you're friends with, but have never actually met in person. I have several friends I'd love to meet in person, but I don't know if I'll get the chance.
Yep, you can call me whatever.. I don't care really. Well, except if it's derogatory, like you said. Of course by now you're probably used to calling me Riah :) Yeah... June wasn't the optimal month to get married in, but July is too hot and my uncle is getting married in May. That left me with June. I feel like telling my uncle that I got engaged first so I get to pick the month first, but I have a feeling that wont go over well :) Particularly since he'd just counter with "well you had 3 (or so) months to pick a month before I got engaged, so you ran out of time" :) Yeah, I think she was going for that idea, but I shot that one down. If I have to be in the pictures, so does she. I hate pictures of myself by the way. If I could live my entire life without having a picture taken of me I would be a happy camper:) And yes, the camera would disrupt things a little!
Continued... There is no reason for it. When Lys set up the blog she just left the original settings on it and even though I have designed that blog a million times I never thought to change it, because when I leave a response on it I don't have to have to do the word varification thing. I turned it off yesterday, so that should make commenting easier. I didn't think you were being rude, so no problem.
Busy, busy busy... After your done you should just sit and rest for about a week - maybe two :)
Ugh, that does not sound good! I do not like mosquitoes at all! I think the most annoying thing about moving it was that after the men who helped us move that weekend had left, we had to go back and get a mattress. Sadly this was a queen sized, pillowtop mattress and those things are not only, but they are awkward too! I vowed then and there to make a guy do it next time! :)
Well I have to go. It's midnight and I'm pretty tired - plus Lys is IMing me telling me not to eat all the croutons before she gets here this weekend. I need to handle this before she talks me out of all the croutons and my piece of milky way cake to boot!
Night!
p.s I responded to your question on my post with all the pictures.
Some people think Hawaii is paradise, but I doubt many (if any) people think the same thing about Guam. :)
Yeah, I'm glad I haven't had that happen to me.
That's ok; it's not really important. I agree; a hobby should be something you enjoy a lot.
You don't necessarily have to keep your opinions to yourself, you just need to know how the person you're talking with will take them.
Hehe, you never know...she might really be thrilled that you've become famous. ;)
I have some few close friends, but I don't see any of them very often – I don't have any close friends at church, I don't do any other weekly things where I'd see any of them, and I've never had a close friend who lived in my neighborhood. Unlike what some people may think, I
That's good; I think I often am not able to make myself understood very well because I'm often not able to be concise and state my thoughts clearly.
Yes, I saw that Shilah has gone into a temporary stasis. Her book does sound interesting; I'm hoping to be able to read it sometime after it's finished...sitting in Barnes & Noble with an absorbing novel is one of my favorite things to do...I like books in various genres: action/adventure, thriller, fantasy, and more – sometimes it depends on the book itself, although there are some genres (the aforementioned) that I like more than others. Ah yes, I've noticed that she does indeed write very well.
Who? What? Why? When? Where? How? Haha, my whole family is going to be going to the NCFIC conference this October in Asheville, NC; I think it's official title is something like “Preparing Your Sons and Daughters for Godly Marriages”, but everyone just calls it “The Marriage Conference”. If I remember what the website said correctly, it's for parents and their marriage-age children and will be on various topics relating to biblical marriages. We're going because...well, it's conference that at least some people from our church will be at, and it'll be a place to seem them again after we've moved, the previous conferences we've gone to have been good, and the theme is relevant for my family. Well, at least for me it is, since I'm technically marriage-age and hope to get a full-time job so I can sustain a family, and then hopefully find the perfect girl for me and get married before too long. Some people I know at my church and its sister church are 26-ish, 29, etc. and still single; I doubt I've been called to be single so I hope I don't have to wait quite that long.
Yes, that would be very cool; I may have been able to meet one online/blogger friend at the recent NCHE conference had I gone, but we didn't go. It will be unfortunate if Ara's family is unable to make it to the conference, although it will probably be much worse for her than for me; I just won't be able to meet her, whereas her family is going through a difficult time right now, from what I've heard.
That's interesting...why is June not the optimal month to get married in? I'd say “because it's too hot”, but that's my opinion.
Well, you at least have to have wedding portraits, right? After that, you can just take pictures of everyone else, and people will wonder what you look like, and you can just have a photo from your wedding to refer them to. :-)
Something I was wondering about is, is Lys close to your age, and is she planning on getting married soon, now that her best friend is about to? (in case you're wondering, I'm just curious; I don't have any ulterior motives behind this question)
I hope to be able to take a break and relax...although I won't be able to be doing photo stuff, on the 22nd I'm going to be staying overnight at the new Chick-Fil-A opening in Sanford, in an attempt to win a CFA entree a week for a year, and I should just be sitting all day with now work, although I may be sleepy from having gotten up early. :-)
I'm not very strong, so if you want heavy lifting done, you'll probably have to ask someone else. :~/
Thanks for following Dec. Roses :) I'm going to try and respond to your reply sometime later this week. We have been going since Friday and wont be at home for a full day until Saturday. Sorry it is taking me so long! Lyssa came to our house Friday and was supposed to go home to day, but we arranged to have her stay until Thursday instead (yay).
I am sooooo sorry about how long it has taken me to respond. I have been crazy busy lately. Today is the first day I haven't gone somewhere since May 31st - at least I think that was the last day I was home all day... I apologize for taking so long.
My fiance thinks Hawaii is paradise (for some strange reason :), I prefer Australia! I'm sure that there is someone somewhere who thinks Guam is paradise. Of course the next logical quesion would be have they ever been there or maybe do they actually know much about it? :)
I have taken so many pictures now that I think I'm running out of creative ideas that are actually doable right now. I actually opened a shutterfly account to hold some of the pictures because my laptop is going to slow down if keep adding pictures, plus many of the pictures are on our main computer and I want to be able to get them easily, so I'm just uploading them to the site. And there I go rambling on about random things that you probably don't care about :) Here is the link to the shutterfly if you want to see some of the pictures. Some of them are of my family, you can just ignore them if you want. I didn't take all of those, just some of them. I was looking through some of them and I'm in a lot of the pictures, I can't believe it! I was tempted to delete them. (Wow, I used "them" a lot in that statement.) heret
Very good way to put that, although sometimes you think you know how someone will take something and they end up taking it another way. I hope I haven't ever offended you!
True, but then again she'd probably just beg me to take her to Australia and fuss that I made her the public relations manager :) I don't think there will be any winning with her :)
I'm sorry you don't have many close friends. I don't have a lot either, it's mostly Lys, but she's the best so I don't really need a whole lot of close friends. I think I have about 3 close friends and two good friends, but none are as close as Lys is. "Unlike what some people may think, I"? I think you cut yourself off there... I only see Lys about every other week, although we stay in constant contact. Two of my close friends I've never met in person, and the other two I see at church. The last two aren't quite as close as the first three, but I do count them as good friends.
I think I can usually make myself clear, but I think that is because I over explain myself. It annoys me and I'm sure it annoys other people as well.
I hope to read her book too. I love going to Barnes and Noble and reading. Last time I went I got some coffee and just sat and read the first 5 chapters of one of Ted Dekker's books.
Hum, I think I many have heard of the Marriage Conference, but I hesitate to say I absolutely have. If I heard of it, I probably heard at church. We go to church in Asheville NC and everyone there goes to conferences, so they probably mentioned it sometime.
It seems as though Ara has been going through some troubles lately and I hope that her family will be brought through to be stronger on the other side. I don't know the nature of the problems though, just what she has mentioned on Shilah.
Well June is a really busy month for us. We joke that in our family that if you weren't born in February you were born in June or the two "M" months and that is just about true. Besides a few sprinkled through the fall and early winter, we are basically all in those months. To make things easier we and our extended family throw one big party in June and one big party in February. It keeps us from having to go to mulitple parties in those months and we can just all exchange gifts at one time. So, as you can see, June will be busy by defult due to the birthdays and the party to plan. Sticking a Wedding in should make it interesting.
Yeah... I have to have wedding protraits, fun. The last time I had my picture "professionally" taken was by Lys at Christmas. I asked her to take them since Chad wanted a picture of me and I didn't have a professional one that was recent. She did an amazing job. The picture of me in the middle on the front page of the Shutterfly was taken by her. Oh I am going to have a camera with me after the wedding :) If I have the camera with me, maybe they'll be less likely to take pictures of me :) Although, Mom wants Danielle (my photographer)to get some portraits before the wedding, so I'm not sure if that strategy is going to work well :)
Oh I see how it is.. Lys huh? :) Just kidding :)Lys is two months older than me, so she is already 19. I like to tell her she is old, but that backfires when she tells me I have to obey my elders :) She wouldn't mind being in a relationship, so she tells me. When we were little we said we'd have a double wedding and she jokes that her deadline is getting closer and closer. She isn't in a rush to get married though. I think there are a few things she'd like to do first, although I'm positive that once she meets the right guy she'll change her plans like I did :)
Have you been able to slow down yet? I certainly hope so.
Ugh, there I was hoping I could get you and my fiance to double up and do all the heavy lifting :) I guess I'll have to stick with him then. Good thing he used to be a football player!!
Lys lives in Charlotte, thats why we were there the Friday before you were there. We were picking her up. It is a bummer that we weren't there Saturday. It's always cool to meet people you've never met before. Although, we'd have an adavtage since we know each other through blogger.
Well, I'm pretty sure I've rambled enough. I was hoping to get these comments shorter, but they seemed to have gotten longer again.
I'm going to go fuss at Lys for watching True Grit without me! Goodnight!
Riah, I'll try to reply to your comments soon; I just decided to reply right now to say I tried to look at your Shutterfly page and got this: "Private site The owner has password protected this site. You must enter the password the owner gave you (not your Shutterfly account password) to gain access."
Finally, I've gotten around to finishing my reply.
No problem, no problem at all; I'm just glad you think I'm worth your time to talk to. I completely understand about being busy and not having the time to do what you'd like to be able to do.
Australia - your and Lyssa's fascination/obsession, eh? Lots of people think Hawaii is paradise on earth, so that's no surprise. I don't know how many people are familiar with Guam, and of those who have heard of it and like it, I'd definitely want to know if they've lived there.
You might want to do what we did and buy a 2TB external hard drive for photos; ours cost less than $100, I think, and I've already filled up quite a bit of it...I'm going to have to comb through all my photos sometime and delete a whole bunch of them.
You don't have to worry about rambling about various things - I do it all the time. As for me not caring about whatever it is, don't not care about what you said...to be honest, crocheting/knitting, Victorian-era fashion, books, etc., and actually a multitude of other things (quite too many, probably) are subjects I'm not particularly interested in, to say the least, and I wouldn't really care about them, but if somebody was nice enough to talk to me and talked about their interest/s that happened to be something I'm not really interested in, I will try to talk about that topic as well as I know how.
Nope, you've never offended me. :)
Haha, nice; what's with you two and Australia? I must admit that I like the Kiwi accent better - it sounds cute when a girl has it (at least that I've heard), such as Hayley Westenra, and actually sort of cute even when a guy has it, like Ray Comfort. I may have already have said this, but if a guy wants a "cool guy" accent, the Kiwi accent isn't it - a British accent like Clive Owen has (or I suspect Daniel Craig has also) is what I'd have in mind in that case.
Well, if you get to see your best friend once every two weeks, that's pretty good right? Oh yes, I did cut myself off there; thanks for pointing that out. Sometimes (like I'm doing right now), I write my reply in Wordpad, sometimes save it and come back to it, and finally copy & paste into the comment box, but I often continue on to another thought and forget to finish an earlier one or something like that, where I didn't look back over what I'd written to see if I hadn't finished with it or had made some errors. What I was going to say was this: Some people might think that you must know someone in person to have a meaningful friendship, but I'd disagree with that view – I enjoy having online friends, and my closer online friends are very important to me. While I wish I could meet all of them, that's rarely an option, unfortunately...
Yes, Barnes & Noble is great!
Ah. On a slightly unrelated note, I'm hoping we're going to be able to find a good church near Millington or Memphis – there are some in Nashville, but that's very far away. Having a close friend or two at our new church (something I'm afraid I don't have at our current one) would be nice as well...but I'm just being selfish; I talk about myself way too much, I'm afraid.
From what she told me, she and her family have been going through some rough times...I would go into detail, but I don't think I'm at liberty to do so – I think you understand. She could certainly use lots of prayers, as she's said.
Interesting; well, that works, although it'll be particularly interesting/unique/odd that your own birthday will be around your wedding day, right?
Ah, so that's what you look like. As a Flickr friend of mine, Kari Elaine said, "It's weird that you can be friends with someone online for a while and feel like you know them to a certain extent, but not know what they look like." (or something to that effect) Why don't you like photos of yourself? You may have already told me, but I am not very good at remembering things. I agree; Lys did a pretty good job with that portrait. Now that will be something to see - the bride walking around with a camera, taking photos of everyone else. :D
Did you forget that I still don't even really know what Lys looks like? :) So I'm between you two in age, it seems (the month in the middle). Ha, so she has about a week or two to prepare her wedding arrangements? That's how it usually happens, right, a special someone enters your life and then your plans often tend to change? That reminds me of at least one friend from years ago who said he wanted to be a bachelor...I have a feeling he may have changed his mind about that by now. :)
Well, we were cleaning and packing like crazy today and then the realtor came and took some pictures while I and my siblings were at Taco Bell, and the house is going to be listed tomorrow or the day after or something like that, so we have to have it ready to show...but we move around July 5, I think. There's a Fourth of July celebration we're going to at Scott Brown's (the pastor of one of our church's sister churches I told you about before) farm in Wake Forest on the fourth where all three sister churches are going to get together...I'm not sure why I just said that, since it's not very important, but we'll obviously still be here on the fourth of July.
And did I mention that I don't have any stamina to speak of either? Even when I excercised a fair amount when I played soccer, I always got tired quickly and while I may have not been the most exhausted, I always looked like I was. And now that I haven't been exercising often...you get the idea.
Yeah, that would have been cool. Something I've thought about is this: when I get to know somebody online and found out that I was at the same place at the same time or at around the same time, I wish I could have met them then*, but even though I sometimes like meeting new people, I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way to meet them at the time I could have, unless I traveled back in time since I know them now. So if I see someone now I might know later, they might just be like everyone else passing by unless I talk to them for a while and get to know them a little bit, whereas if I had met them online, I'd be like "Hey! I finally get to meet you in person..." I think I just repeated what I was saying there, didn't I? Ouch, I am really not being concise and easy to understand; I should probably spend more time on getting better at that.
I'm afraid I have not helped any in making these comments any shorter (but if you don't mind the fact yours are long, I don't either), and I probably ramble more than you do.
Good night; was True Grit a pretty good movie?
* For instance, one friend of mine, Kristan played volleyball with the corresponding team to my soccer team and was at the award ceremony, but I don't remember seeing her, probably because I didn't know her then, and then there's Ara, who says she was at the Creation Museum during one of the days the Sufficiency of Scripture conference we went to was going on, and we went to the Creation Museum one day while we were there.
I'm sorry I have replied yet, I have been really busy. I'll try to reply soon, but it maybe Wednesday or after since I'm going to be pretty busy this week.
Alright! Finally! :) First off, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to reply. June is just so busy for us.
Oh yes, Lys and I love Australia! I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe it's the Webb Bridge in Melbourne or the Sydney Opera House or the interesting history. Maybe it's just the adorable accent :) I keep trying to convince Chad - my fiance - that Australia is better than Hawaii, but I don't think he can get over the numerous poisonous animals, including the type of spider that eats birds. Where would you go if you could go anywhere?
I need to comb through my photos too. There are so many I don't really like. I don't know why I don't delete them as soon as I decide I don't like them, but I don't. I ought to though.
Well, I'm not into crocheting or knitting :) I do like Victorian fashion, but I'm not familiar enough with the subject to get into a deep conversation about it :) I love to talk about books, but mainly with Mom, my sisters, Chad and Lys. Chad hasn't read many of the books I have, but he is kind enough to listen :) I try to talk to people about what they are interested in too. First off because you almost invariably learn something new and because it's fun to hear of other people intrests. Of course, it's just good manners to listen, or so I've been told :)
Well good, I'm glad I haven't.
Hum, I don't know what's with us. Surprisingly we both adored Australia before we knew the other one did. We went awhile not talking to each other when we were younger because her family moved when we were five and five year olds don't stay in contact very well. It wasn't until we were 14 that we got really close again. I think we posted about it once earlier this year...
Yeah, it's pretty good to see her that often. We used to only see each other every few years - quite a bummer, we weren't that close then though. Getting to see her this often is a rather new development. We didn't even see each other that much when we first started getting close again. We just emailed and talked on the phone so much it drove my parents crazy :) I agree about not having to know someone in person. I am very close friends with Amber (you may have heard me mention her before, I can't remember). I wish I could meet some though :)I think everyone wants to have a close friend they can see, even though it is nice to have online friends. I know I enjoy having Lyssa around me more than I enjoy talking to her on the phone, and I like talking to her on the phone more than IMing her. It's something to do with the personal contact and being able to hear each other. If I'm upset/crying I'll call her instead of IM or text her if I can. You don't talk about yourself too much, you stop yourself before you can :)
It's ok, I understand. What friends tell you in confidence is to remain confident until they give you leave to tell.
Yeah, it will be interesting for the wedding to be around my birthday, although Chad was pulling for us to get married on my birthday so he would only have to remember one date :) That won't work since it will be a Thursday next year, but it might have made it one interesting and memorable birthday :)
Do I look anything like you expected me too? I always end up with a preconceived idea of what I think a person looks like just to have the idea completely smashed when I see what the person really does look like. Bree (my sister) says I look sorta bookworm-y/beachy/bubbly. Not sure how that works, particularly since I'm not blonde :) I don't know why I don't like pictures of me. Maybe because I always end up looking short and dumpy when I'm really just short and skinny-ish. Maybe I'm just not overly satisfied with the way I look in general. Oh well, pretty is as pretty does :) I'll have to tell Lys you think her portraits are good. Like me, she prefers nature photography. Maybe if I've got the camera there wont be as many pictures of me :) Plus, I don't think anyone who knows me very well will be overly suprised if I have a camera with me. Then again, who knows, they might think it's absolutely horrible that I'd be taking pictures when I ought to be mingling with guests and making small talk. His family particularly since they don't know me well.
Well, you'll probably know what Lyssa looks like eventually, since I'll most likely upload them to my shutterfly. :) Yeah, you are. I never really thought about it. You are roughly a month younger than Lys and a month older than me :) Yep, she doesn't have much time. I tease her about setting her up with one of our friends, but she inevitably objects to my choice :) I keep telling her she doesn't have much time to be chosey! My plans certainly changed. I wasn't really thinking about getting married, at least not until I was in my mid-to-late twenties. Now I'll be married shortly before my 20th birthday or something like that.
Thats great. I'm glad everything is going smoothly for y'alls move. Why are you moving anyway? Wait, have I already asked you that? I can't remember. I have no idea what we're doing for the 4th. I think we maybe seeing a second cousin - or some relation - that day. We used to do fireworks, but we can't where we live now. I'm ok with that, because I never was much too keen on fireworks.
No stamina? Huh. I sometimes have a couple of weeks where I feel sapped on energy, usually in the spring. It probably stems from the allergies or some such thing. I usually try drinking green tea, but I'm not sure what you're supposed to do to increase stamina.
I don't think I've ever been somewhere that someone I knew/know was at around the same time. Except you that is. But that was on different days, so I'm not sure that counts. I don't really go out of my way to make friends or talk to people either. I do if the person looks lonely or upset, or if they are new to our church, but often times I make more of an effort to include them rather than seek them out for friendship. I'm not the most out-going person. I get told that I'm out-going though, not sure why.
I think we're both contributing to the length. Surprisingly it isn't super late as I write this. It's only 7:00pm. So good evening!
P.S I haven't gotten to see True Grit yet. I hope to this weekend.
Finally, I'm getting around to writing a reply; I'm usually faster at getting back to people but this has taken me longer than was usual. I completely understand about being busy and finding it hard to find the time to write a lengthy reply; I've been quite busy as well, as you know...I want this whole moving business to be over already! At least July 6th is not too far away...
Haha, those are pretty good reasons. :) I think my favorite places like that are New Zealand (Kiwiland) and Ireland, since the people in both of those places (well, really just the girls) have cute accents, and the scenery is said to be very pretty. Hawaii doesn't have snakes anymore, as you may have heard, since the mongooses (mongeese?) were brought it to control the snake population, and they did their job a bit too well and ate them all up. Now there are lots of mongooses and no snakes there, at least in O'ahu. If I could go anywhere, I'd probably want to go to a bunch of countries in Europe, such as the UK, Iceland and other Scandinavian countries, Germany and some other places. And New Zealand, of course.
I think the reason I don't delete my bad photos right away is I don't always go through the photos I take after I upload them to my computer, and other times I think I might be able to slightly improve a mediocre photo if I edit it, and still other times I edit a few photos from a day but forget about the others for the time.
Ah. I like reading as well, and although there are some books that I don't find interesting, writing is writing, so I'll talk with writers to be nice, and perhaps I'll learn something – I'd like to write at least one novel eventually.
Hm, I don't think I read about that – I haven't been following your blog for all that long, actually. In fact, I forgot if you told me how you found mine, but it was probably from Ara's, Hannah Nicole's, or some other writer's or “bloggertographer's” blog, right?
I don't think I remember you mentioning Amber...but then, I'm infamous for forgetting things. Hearing someone's voice is definitely better than texting or e-mailing them, if you have the time and opportunity. Of course, my voice sounds strange and I don't know why anybody would want to hear it...
Ah, I didn't get the whole “next year” thing – I was thinking your wedding was going to be this month. :) Why won't a Thursday work? Nevermind, of course a wedding has to be on a Saturday so everyone can go to it. It would be funny for your birthday and wedding/anniversary to be on the same day; too bad that can't happen.
Hm, no, not really. :) I didn't know you wear glasses either. (I do as well, although I prefer contacts in most situations) Did I look like what you expected? Seeing photos of me is probably quite a letdown for many people who didn't know what I looked like until then but knew who I was. :D Bookworm-y, possibly. Beachy? I'm not sure what that entails. As for bubbly, probably somewhat. Well, the most important thing is that your fiancée thinks you're pretty, right? You and Chad look nice in those photos. :)
Nature photography, like basically every kind of photography, can be “bleh” or amazing; I could show you some who create the amazing nature photos if you're ever interested. Speaking of which, if you ever want to join Flickr, I'd be glad to show you some of my favorite contacts and others, depending on what you like.
The wedding photographer is the bride, hehe. Fie on small talk if it doesn't do anything helpful, say I. I don't know why I was thinking you were getting married this month (and I should have paid attention to the “20th birthday thing here), Lys has a little bit of time, eh? ;)
I don't remember if you asked me or not; we're moving since my dad's in the Navy – this is going to be his last or next-to-last duty station.
That's quite alright. A random person from the blogger world isn't exactly first priority, I'm sure :) I'm sure you are thrilled to have the final move so close.
Well, I'm glad someone besides Lys thinks those are good reasons. I'm not a big fan of the New Zealand accent, although it isn't very different then the Aussie accent. I love the Irish accent! Ok, I hadn't heard about the snakes... Please don't tell my fiancé that. He'll want to go there for sure then. He hates snakes and that is one of his main reasons for not wanting to go to Australia. I would love to travel all over Europe, but I also want to go to Maine, Colorado, Nova Scotia, any beach... well, almost any. I would LOVE to go to Germany, almost as much as Australia. Yes, I know when I said Europe it included Germany :) I love WWII history and I love to see all the places I read about.
I almost always look at my mediocre pictures and think "I can do something with that, I know I can". I almost never do anything with them, so they just stay taking up room in my computer. I almost always look through my pictures, but I rarely delete them.
Yeah, I didn't think you had read about that. Um... How did I find your blog..? I'm trying to remember. I know I had seen your profile picture and (of course) just had to see what lens and camera it was. I just can't remember which blog I came from. I know it wasn't Hannah Nicole, since I don't read her blog. It was most likely Ara. Good guess.
Well, theoretically I could have the wedding on a Thursday, but most people wouldn't want to take off work. Saturday would be a better day. Yeah, too bad. Chad teasingly accused me of planning it near my birthday for the fun of it, but honestly I would have preferred May.
I knew it - I was probably a bit of a letdown, of course you may not have thought much about it either. I do not like glasses at all, not one bit. I've only been wearing them for about a year and I don't have a strong enough proscription contacts yet. I don't wear glasses in pictures and I don't much care for wearing them at all. Um, well I - surprisingly - didn't have much of a picture of you in my head. Dark hair and intelligent looking was about the extent of what I had in mind, so it wasn't a letdown since you do have dark hair and you do look intelligent. I'm not exactly sure what Beachy entails either; you'd have to ask Bree :) I'm sure the Bookworm-y effect is heightened by the glasses and as for Bubbly, that is usually only around close friends and family. I’m not sure how I’d describe myself… I usually rely on other people’s descriptions. Yes, lucky me, he seems to think I'm pretty :) Aww thanks. Our preacher's wife took those pictures with her phone at church. We're wearing plain ol' clothes too... Our church is pretty relaxed; I guess you have to be that way when you worship in an elementary school :)
Of course I want to see amazing nature photos! I might think about joining flikr. I don't know yet. I've never really thought about it before.
Yep, a bride photographer! A new one, but hey, all pioneers were thought to be crazy! Lys has a teeny bit more time and she is still vetoing all of my suggestions. I guess I'll have to give up and let her pick for herself, but I'm not going to let her know that. I'll just go on tormenting her a little longer :)
My dad was in the Navy, he is retired now though. He retired before my parents were married though (therefore, before I was born), so I've never had to travel around.
Ok, a couple of photography questions. What is your favorite time of day to get nature shots? Do you change your aperture a lot, or do you tend to keep it on a favorite setting. And what do you do to get good shot indoors with florescent lighting?
True Grit was alright. Not the best, not the worst. Parts were funny and the end was kind of sad. I probably won’t be watching it again anytime in the near future.
You're not just a random person from the blogger world now; you're one of my online friends and I know a little bit about you...I guess Lys is an online friend as well, but she hasn't talked to me very much like you have. People ask me if I'm looking forward to moving...I'm looking forward to all this packing and painting and other stuff coming to an end, although once we're settled in, I'll have a fresh set of challenges and anxieties, such as establishing a career and other things concerning my future and getting married, etc.
Yes, the Kiwi accent sounds somewhat similar to the Aussie accent, but I prefer the Kiwi sound. :) I'm not a big fan of the beach or swimming (I find them rather boring, although I might make an exception if I'm with a good friend – but that would be to spend time on the beach; I still won't want to swim). Ah, WWII history...it is neat to go somewhere a big event in history happened and to know “I'm standing where this happened many years ago...”
Hehe, my profile pic might be lame since I was only using the MkII and 70-200 f/4L and don't actually own them, but I wanted that photo to signify that I have aspirations of becoming a professional photographer and am serious about photography, not just “Hey, I've got a big camera and lens.” Someday I hope to have some nice DSLRs and lenses, but that might be a while...I guess I want people to know that although I have a cheap, entry-entry-level DSLR, I'm not just one of those people who buys a camera kit and simply “takes pictures” (cheesy self-portraits and other stuff); I am actually trying to get somewhere with photography, like I've told you. Still, I guess it did catch someone's attention. ;) And I think that while I'm not as skilled in photography as I'd like to be, the photos I upload aren't that bad and are gradually improving; I'd rather be a photographer with a cheap camera and mad photography skills than a guy with several-thousand-dollar cameras, lenses, and more who doesn't know anything about the technical aspects of photography and how to take good photos.
Ah, from Ara's blog; ok. Another of my online friends, Elizabeth couldn't remember how she found my blog. I have 17 public followers (and I'm pretty sure at least a few anonymous followers), but I'm fairly certain at least a few of it don't read it anymore, others comment only rarely, and there are a few new followers who I have no idea who they are (I doubt that's correct grammar, but I'm not sure how to say it). Only a few leave comments with any regularity, and v The fact that all of my public followers are girls doesn't bother me; I like making online friends like in the blogger world...although I wish I could meet all my online friends and talk in person, talking online is nice too.
I forget; which is the month with the most weddings, is it April?
Well, I did kind of wonder what you looked like, as I did/do with all of my online friends who I know through what they write but am in the dark as to what they look like. I've been wearing glasses recently since the right contact lens of the trial pair of contacts I got recently has been blurry and irritates my right eye. I don't like them (having good eyesight would be nice), but it could be worse. Intelligent-looking; haha, thanks. I think glasses might make some people look less intelligent and others look smarter; I think the latter might be the case with me, but I'm not really smart to begin with, and my glasses certainly don't boost my IQ. :)
Well, if you do join Flickr, I'll be glad to help you out with figuring it out and showing you some contacts you might like. Are you only interested in nature photography?
Let me see...my favorite time of day for nature photos...maybe the "golden hour" which I think is shortly before sunset, but sunrise (not that I like to wake up early for it) and just whenever also work usually.
I don't usually take nature photos anymore, but when I do, I sometimes experiment with various apertures...if I'm taking a landscape shot, I often use a tripod and a small aperture (f/16, f/22, f/10, etc.), and if I'm doing other nature shots such as a photo of a flower, I usually use a large aperture such as wide open on my 35 f/2, or whatever aperture gets a depth-of-field just deep enough so the entire flower or other subject is in focus but has the rest of the background blurred. You should get a fast prime...the “nifty fifty” (a.k.a. “plastic fantastic”) $100 50 1.8 is one many recommend since it's fast, sharp, cheap, is a big upgrade over the kit lens in some ways (in terms of low-light performance and shallow dof at least, and sharpess as well, I think)...I actually don't like that lens due to the build quality (plastic and plastic mount), noise, slow autofocus, etc. My 35 f/2 is also noisy and focuses slowly, but it has a different sound (sounds better to me) and the build quality is much better. Granted, it does cost 3-4 times as much... The focal length is a big thing to consider; if you want to mostly do headshot portraits, a 50mm (1.8, 1.4, 1.2, 1.0), 85mm (1.8 or 1.2 – keep in mind the 1.2 models are L lenses and are very expensive), 100mm (f/2 – the macro versions are said to be too sharp for portraiture), 135mm (2.8 or 2.0), and more. And then there is the 35 1.4 as well as many others...you can always simply move your feet to fit as much or as little of your subject into the frame, although you don't always have that option, such as when indoors, in which case it's a good idea to have a wider focal length (say, a 28, 35, or maybe even 50mm). But wait, you're not interesting in taking portraits. What kind of nature photos do you like the best, macros, landscapes, etc.? I just want to know since certain lenses are designed for certain applications, as you know. Don't forget to multiply the focal length of EF lenses by 1.6 to get the equivalent on your APS-C sensor DSLR...
For other kinds of subjects, I might keep the aperture at a certain f-stop and simply adjust the shutter speed (when shooting in manual, which I do 99.9% of the time); for instance, when taking action photos of a frisbee game or other stuff like that, I often have my 55-250 wide open at f/4, and when taking car photos, I usually use my 10-22 at f/5. So I think it all depends on what I'm doing.
As for indoor shots with fluorescent lighting, that's kind of tricky. To tell the truth, I'm still trying to figure out how some photographers get great photos indoors with regular lights without using flashes and other stuff. However, if you have the correct white balance setting and tweak the photo in Photoshop, you might be able to get something that looks good. I think fluorescent lighting is just hard to work with, as is the lighting in certain other situations such as bright, direct sunlight in the late morning or noon. By the way, your camera came with the 18-55mm IS kit lens, right?
I'm sorry if I didn't do a very good job of answering your questions; if you want clarification, I'll be glad to try again and give better answers.
Hm, ok. I guess I won't bother about watching it then.
Hey! Sorry it's taking me so long to reply. I have been uploading pictures, editing, posting and answering emails ever since I got home. I hope to be able to reply soon.
Hi Riah, I totally understand; I've been wanting to reply to e-mails and such as well, but all our stuff needs to get unpacked first, and our wifi isn't up yet, and I'll need that. BTW, I saw the photos if you and Lys; I'll admit, she didn't look like what I had in mind either.
Hey, I know your currently offline, but I figured I'd let you know that I'd reply when your back! What did you think Lys would look like? - btw: her hair isn't that long anymore. Sadly she cut it :(
Hi Riah, I'm sort of online again (using my iPhone; we only have dial-up right now), so I'll try to answer your question right now. Well, it's kind of hard to explain what I thought Lys looked like, but I had a different picture in mind from the profile pic on your blog. Although I wasn't sure what you looked like at the time, I think you look like how you do in the photo.
Yeah, I guess she doesn't really look like that profile picture... Of course the point is to distort, but that profile picture doesn't do her justice. How's job search going? Are you keeping up with your photography?
Aw, you're no bum. I'm sure you're plenty of help around the house. I do you hope you get a job soon though. I liked your nature photos - as you know since I posted a comment there first. And again, I think you are a good photographer... but of course, that is just my humble opinion :)
Bleh. I do not care for living in the country and the farm life, even though it's not as much of a farm as other places. I've yet to milk the cow, but I'll probably do so soon.
Why don't you like country living? Any reason in particular? I've milked a cow before... I was in South Carolina really early in the morning one time and a farmer we know let me milk the cow. I wasn't very good at it, I was better at what he called "stripping" which is what they do to get the last drops of milk out... But you probably already know that. Oh well.
And you are welcome.
Oh, your link on your comment on my post didn't come through right. What was it you were trying to show me?
Well, I don't like farm work, the look and smell of farms, and a whole bunch of things that are associated with it, I guess. No offense intended if you live on a farm, of course.
Hm, try this link: http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/iphone-slr-mount/ Maybe I messed up the HTML code.
Nope, I don't live on a farm and no offense taken, to each his own :)
That does look interesting I suppose, but you would most likely need a tripod to suport those lenses, since it'd be awkward to hold the camera/phone and lens. It might be fun to play around with though! Where on earth do you find out about such random things?
You're probably right; big lenses like any of Canon's 70-200 models are usually pretty heavy. I find out about things like that from here there and everywhere: GizMag's (from Gizmodo) e-mail newsletter, various websites and more, I guess; I'm not sure exactly.
I love those pictures, I'm not sure which one I like best. I still like the bottom one though, it just has competitors now :) May I have your permission to use the top and middle pictures? Just as my desktop background, nothing else.
ReplyDeleteYour grandfather sounds really nice. Is he a professional photographer? My grandfather took me to the University he was a professor at and let me check out several of the photography books there.
I am willing to get a used camera as long as it is in good condition. I would prefer if it came with a owner's manual, but that isn't absolutely necessary since you can usually find the manuals online. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer. It helps a lot.
Thank you, Riah. :)
ReplyDeleteCertainly you may! As I am not currently selling prints, I'm fine with you or anyone else downloading my photos for personal use (i.e. desktop backgrounds or other use on your computer, mobile device, etc.)
I'm glad you think my photos are good enough for you to want to use them as wallpapers. :)
Feel free to look through some more of my photo on my blog:
http://fightforthelight.blogspot.com/ (but you've got to become a follower then - no you don't, I'm just kidding ;-)
or on my Flickr photostream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fightforthelight/
if you'd like as well; I don't put as many photos on this blog or my WordPress blog (http://fightforthelight.wordpress.com/) or update them as often as the other two places.
I have some suggestions for buying a camera, so I'll give some of them here. (this is going to be long, so if you don't have the time to read it all or justn't feel like doing so, skip to where "Lastly" is in bold)
First, check Craigslist!
There are sometimes awesome deals on there (as well as scams), but if you can see the items in person, you should be ok. One deal I didn't get (I've yet to get any good Craigslist deals, unfortunately) was a Canon EOS 10D, EF 24-70 f/2.8, Tokina 12-24, Speedlite 580EX, and more, for only $650. The 24-70 alone sells for upwards of $900 used! The guy who showed me that listing and got it buys good camera deals and resells for a profit, and he's upgraded cameras without taking a loss and made money in the process.
He also got a nearly-new Canon EOS 40D with 18-135 IS, battery grip, and bag for $300, and the 40D body alone in good condition usually sells for around $600.
I'm still hoping I can get an awesome steal like that soon. I live in the Fayetteville, NC, area, so I have Google Chrome set to Fayetteville, Firefox set to Charlotte Craigslist (there are quite a few over there - that's where the awesome deal I mentioned was at, but it's a multiple hour drive for me so it would have to be a really good deal like that for me to go) and Safari set to Raleigh. I then search for "Canon", "Canon EOS", etc.
Also, if you check Adorama.com's used section, you can occasionally find decent deals on cameras, such as a Rebel XSi with 18-55 IS for $400.
http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=category&cat1=Used
Some people like Pentax for good features at a low price, such as the weather-resistant body of the K10D. I like Canon simply partly because of my familiarity with the brand and also because the "L" lenses are really nice. (have you ever seen the long, off-white lenses many photographers use? Those are Canon "L" lenses - that's a sure way to tell the photographer has a Canon since only Canon has lenses of that color). Amazon.com will occasionally have a used Rebel XSi kit for $400 as well.
Lastly, here's how you may be able to get a Rebel T2i for around $550 - some people have said they've gotten their T2i's for that much by using the following method (Canon customer loyalty program):
Send in your broken Canon camera and get a discount off a refurbished Canon camera.
One guy said he bought a broken Canon p&s off eBay for $6 and Canon took it, so he got his refurb T2i for about $540. :D Right now you should be able to find an inexpensive broken Canon on eBay as well - I saw one for $19 buy-it-now, and there might be cheaper ones.
Here's a page with more info on this:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=1143662&t=212129&highlight=Canon+Customer+loyalty+program
Continued from last comment
ReplyDeleteUnless you can find a stellar deal on Craigslist like the ones I mentioned, this may be your best bet at getting a good price on a non-entry-level DSLR. You really don't want to get a Rebel XS like mine, since even though the more important thing is the lenses, the XS has a small screen, isn't very ergonomic (actually, I don't think any of the Rebels will feel good in my hands since I have larger hands - but you should be fine if your hands aren't as big as mine - or even if not, you can just deal with it and wait to get a 60D, 7D or something), doesn't shoot video, etc.
My grandfather isn't a professional photographer; just a hobbyist with a bunch of old 35mm film SLRs who decided to get started with digital photography recently. He wanted a full-frame DSLR, so he got the cheapest new FF Canon DSLR, the 5D MkII.
I just saw on your profile that you're a fianceé; congratulations on your engagement! I have a feeling my congratulations might be a bit belated, though.
Sorry for making this so very long (and probably not very coherent, like much of my writing...I ramble a lot)...I hope it helped a little.
If you have any more questions, I'll be happy to try to answer. :)
Oops, I'm sorry the links don't appear to be clickable; in Google Chrome (which I'm using), if you highlight the URL text and right click it, there should be a "Go to [URL]" option that pops up...
ReplyDeleteWow! That is a really long reply :) I've gotta say, I was pretty intimidated looking at it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me use the pictures. I have looked at several of your other pictures already, on picasa, flickr and your other blog as well (oops, I didn't follow that one :) I really love your Macro pictures!
I have really, REALLY small hands. My hands are smaller than most women's I know. I don't think I'll have any trouble with that, for all I know the camera I pick may very well be too big :)
The only DSLR camera I have ever used is my best friend's Nikon D90 (which I like). My current camera is a Nikon as well, but since it's only a point-n-shoot I don't have any bias for Nikons in general. I was looking at the Canon Rebel T3i last night and I really liked that one. Have you seen it? What is your favorite camera?
Yes, I've seen the white telephoto lenses. I was actually looking at lenses last night too. I think I could go conpletely broke getting cameras and accessories if I had no self control at all - ok, scratch that, I'd go broke if I had any money to begin with. I guess I might as well be honest about it.
My grandfather was a hobbyist as well, but it wasn't his main hobby. He did help me a lot though. I like to think I'm keeping his memory alive through my pitures, although no one knows it but me :)
Thank you so much for the advice. The guy who bought the pre-broken camera, they didn't make him show proof of purchase or have a warranty to trade it in? To do that with a Nikon I believe you have to have a warrenty.
I have looked at Craigslist before and I haven't found any really good deals, except on lenses and such and there isn't much point in getting lenses right now since I don't know what camera I'm getting. I check every now and again, but not often. I should probably check more.
Thanks for the congratulations. They aren't really late since I've only been engaged a few months.
Its ok that its long, mine is getting pretty long too.
It's ok that the links aren't "clickable". In order to make them "clickable" in Blogger comments you have to use a small HTML code. Highlighting the URL text and right clicking doesn't pull up "Go to [URL]" on my computer, but I just copy and pasted it to my browser.
Again, thanks. Gosh, I say that a lot.
Sorry if my ridiculously long reply was hard to read; one problem I have is the fact that I can fill up a page with words without really saying anything, but being concise is often difficult for me.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. :) I'm glad you like my macros...I don't have a real macro lens right now and might not for a long time; I've just used a cheap screw-on diopter on my kit lens and the 55-250 IS telephoto zoom lens (which I use for most things since I don't like the quality of the other thing) for macros.
If you've got really small hands, you should be fine with the Rebels.
Hm, my favorite camera? Well, I've only used 5 DSLRs, I think, and if I had to choose out of those (Canon EOS Rebel XS, T1i, 40D, 60D, 5D MkII), it would most definitely be the 5D MkII.
However, if I could choose a camera body only with no lenses included, the Canon 7D would probably make the most sense since it will work with both my EF lens and EF-S lenses, whereas if I got something like a 5D MkII, 1Ds Mk III, etc. only my EF 35 f/2 would be compatible with it, and my beloved EF-S 10-22mm would be useless. The roughly-$38,000 Hasselbad H4D-60 medium-format camera would probably be awesome, but I'm thinking its practicality would be fairly limited for me at the moment, especially since there don't appear to be any "cheap" lenses for it. And while 60-megapixel photos would be great, there would be a bunch of problems with filling up my 2TB external hard drive a lot faster and having to crop images because their file sizes are too large, etc.
I've seen the T3i...as a matter of fact, I know at least a little bit about every Canon DSLR in the current lineup and some older ones as well, but I don't know a whole lot about Nikons. That's probably because knowing about Canon DSLRs and lenses can be beneficial to me if I want to buy some since I'm a Canon guy now, although I'll never be getting the ultra-rare $120,000+ 1200mm or any of the other $10,000+ long primes. I'm not biased against Nikons, and in fact I've heard that Nikons are often a bit better than the equivalent Canons, but at a premium, and aren't always worth the increase in price over Canons.
From what I've read, the T3i doesn't appear to be worth the extra cost over the T2i, although certain features such as the articulating screen (which I tested out on a 60D) is pretty neat.
Oh yes, photography can be a very expensive hobby, especially if you get the dreaded disease called "lens lust", where you keep having to get more and better lenses...
From the page I linked to, it doesn't appear that a warranty is needed to use the Canon loyalty program. Admittedly, this is one area I don't know very much about since I've only started looking into it more recently.
One good Craigslist deal was a 70-200 L lens for $200, which even if it was only the lowest-model f/4 (non-IS) version, that's still $300-400 cheaper than how much they usually sell for. Unfortunately, the poster replied to me and said the lens had been sold that morning - I was too late.
I know how to make links clickable by using the HTML code, but on the computer and browser I'm using at the moment, the links are already clickable...
Hopefully I haven't left anything out; if I have, just tell me.
At least this reply wasn't as long as my last ones. :)
Then again, it does appear to be as long as its predecessors. :~\
ReplyDeleteThe reply wasn't hard to understand, it made perfect sense to me. I don't think you have a problem being concise (based on the comments, that is). Your comments are just filled with information, which is a good thing - espcially for me :)
ReplyDeleteMacro lenses are really expensive, I understand why you don't have one. Many lenses appear to be at least as expensive as many of the cameras and more than some. My fianceé likes to say that the only thing he knows about cameras is that they are really expensive. I think he goes pale every time I tell him how much a certain camera or accessory cost. I think you are doing a good job improvising on a Macro lense.
I do have teeny hands, not always a good thing... I get teased about it a lot. Plus, they aren't good for opening cans :)
I used to want the Nikon D300S, but it is rediculously expensive for what is offers. It's priced online at about $1,700. The better Canons are much cheeper. The 5D MkII is a really nice camera from what I can tell, it would definitely be good to have.
The T3i I saw (online) was the same price as the T2i, although I have yet to look at any of the dealers around here. Actually, I'd have to go into the city to find a dealer since I live in a small town outside of Winston in NC. We don't have a grocery store closer then 15 minutes away, let alone a camera dealer :)
I didn't mean to imply that you are biased against Nikon or any other camera company, only that since I have limited experience with DSLRs I wouldn't have a preference. I suppose I didn't make myself clear. I hope you aren't offended.
I don't suppose I have complete lens lust quite yet, although I already know that I want EF-S 10-22mm and perhaps the EF 100mm f2.8 Macro...
I can never remember the HTML code for making the links clickable. I have it somewhere in my computer, I just don't know where it is exactly. It's slightly annoying to me, since I work with HTML a bit and I can't remember such a simple code.
I don't mind the long replies, it's nice to talk to someone about photography again (besides my best friend). No one in my family does anything with photography, so it's refreshing to talk about it without having to explain aperture or what certain lenses do.
Are you working your way up through cameras or saving up for the perfect one? Or are you content with your Rebel XS?
Well, I'm sure my reply is plently long enough now.. plus my older sister just came in with a bowl of popcorn which I believe I'm going to focus my attention on that now :)
Great!
ReplyDeleteHaha, my hands aren't huge, but they're not small either.
You're right: the most expensive Canon DSLR body, the 1Ds MkIII, sells for around $5000. However, there are multiple Canon super telephoto lenses than cost more than $10,000.
Some people get a cheap DSLR, good lenses, and eventually upgrade the body, but I met someone at the Family Economics Conference I went to last month who did the opposite and bought himself a 5D MkII and the $100 50 1.8 II. It does look and seem kind of funny, but I guess it works. He's now saving for the 70-200 f/2.8L IS II, which costs at least a few hundred dollars more than the MkII body. (like most people, I'd love to have that lens)
I think Nikons are generally more expensive than the equivalent Canons, and while they sometimes have more or better features, the increased cost is not always worth the difference. For instance, the D3x is almost certainly not worth paying
The D7000 is said to be considerably better than the 60D but also quite a bit more pricey, but I think the D300s and 7D are fairly close in specs, although I haven't compared them, so don't quote me on that. Anyway, the 7D is less expensive.
I didn't/don't think you implied I was biased against Nikons; I didn't, so don't worry. :)
The T3i you saw may have had the same list price as the T2i, but I have a feeling the T2i wasn't a very good deal. I've seen brand new T2i's on Craigslist for $725, and you can get refurbs or used models for quite a bit cheaper than that.
I live in the Fayetteville area between Spring Lake and Sanford (but am moving to a city near Memphis in June), so it unfortunately takes an hour to get to Raleigh and multiple hours to get to Charlotte. The reason that's not helpful is because there's a camera store in Raleigh called Peace Camera which sometimes has good deals, and many good Craigslist camera deals are from Raleigh or Charlotte...it has to be a very good deal for me to spend the time and gas to go all the way to Charlotte. But I'm trying to find excuses to do so now (come on, camera deals!) so I can go to a Cars & Coffee car show before we leave...
After seeing and using the URL code in Flickr comments, I've memorized it (although I did just copy and paste this): link text
Although it's not an L lens, I really like my 10-22, and I haven't even gotten ND filters so I can start experimenting with long exposure photography yet.
I'm hoping I'll be able to gradually upgrade cameras; my next DSLR might be a T2i, although I would really like a 7D or 5D MkII...or a 1Ds MkIII. :) No, even it does the job, I am definitely not going to stick with my XS if I can upgrade...my camera really felt like a toy after using the MkII for a week
It's nice to have other people who share some of my interests such as photography to talk to (and who actually know what I'm talking about). :)
I am now probably sounding strange or something since it's past midnight and I'm kind of tired, so I'll end yet another incredibly long reply here.
The "link text" thing was supposed to be the following URL code with "<" in the front and ">" in the end:
ReplyDeletea href="URL">link text</a
Thanks for you all your help.. I feel like I'm taking up your time and I apologize if I am. I really apreciate all the advice and help you are giving me.
ReplyDeleteI always thought about getting a relatively good camera, a bunch of lenses and eventually get an even better camera (one that would work with all my lenses). I didn't really think about getting the really expensive camera first, although that may work for some people. But I will never be able to afford a super expensive camera, so the one I get will probably have to keep me content for quite awhile.
The Nikon my friend has is nice... I love using it - but that may be because I'm not used to having a good camera. I do have two older Canon film SLRs, but I don't like to use them. I hate wasting perfectly good money and film on a picture I wont like. I don't have enough experience with SLRs to feel comfortable doing that. I probably wont get a Nikon, because I don't want to spend the money, plus I seem to be more drawn to Canons for some odd reason.
I glad you didn't take offense, I certainly didn't mean any. Sometimes I stick my foot in my mouth...
I only saw the T2i and T3i on the actual Canon site, so the chances of them being a good deal aren't good :)
I live about two hours from Raleigh, so I'm not sure the deal would be worth the drive and gas, sadly. Charlotte would be closer to me and easier to get to. I have a friend who live down there in Charlotte, so I go often to visit her. A Cars and Coffee show... lol (personally, I might be more interested in the coffee)! Those cars are pretty awesome, but if I went I'd have to take someone with me. I'd probably be lonely since I'm used to being around a bunch of people all the time (there's 7 in my family: me and my four sisters and our parents). Owning one of those cars would be pretty sweet though! Personally I like Lamborghinis. Way expensive though. I hope you get to go to a Cars and Coffee show.
You didn't sound strange, although I feel fairly certain I would have had I been writing it. I didn't respond to your comment/reply this morning, because I'm not a morning person and I know for a fact the answer wouldn't be coherent. I am practically a zombie in the mornings, particularly on Spring mornings when my allergies are bad.
I bet your camera did seem almost insufficient compared to a higher end camera. I firmly believe I should quit taking pictures with Lyssa's camera until I get a nicer one, it makes me really frustrated with my point-n-shoot. Which, I suppose any aspiring photographer would be frustrated with it. But, then again, I think my camera hates me. It sees me coming and just thinks "oh no! The crazy woman is back". I can't really blame it I guess. I have put it through a lot, more than can be expected of it.
I hope this reply wasn't as long as my other ones and I certainly hope I'm not taking up too much of your time. Feel free to ignore me if you wish :) it wouldn't bother me in the least.
Noooo!!! I wrote a reply to your comment, and it's not here...I'm about to go to work and will be closing (so it'll be 10:30 or later when I get off), so I'll probably be finishing my reply late at night once again. Anyway, I'll start my reply/comment right now.
ReplyDeleteLast "night" I got off work at about 12:35am, but I'll try to write my reply now.
ReplyDeleteIgnore you, seriously?! Nice comments really make my day. :) Besides, not only do I like giving buying advice on things I like such as knives/guns/other weapons, cars, and cameras, I just like talking about photography and my other interests with people who share those interests.
Well, once again it's past midnight, so I'll have to finish this later; hopefully tomorrow.
OK, I'm back.
ReplyDeleteI guess you're taking up my time, but in a way I like; like I said, I love nice comments and questions. :)
Ah, I see; you can do quite a bit with an entry-level DSLR if you have good lenses and are good with lighting and other things.
I feel kind of the same way about film; film can create great images but would cost way too much for me and I'd have to go through the hassle of developing, scanning, etc.
I actually think Nikons with their lenses (at least the entry-level DSLRs with their kit lenses) are more cool-looking than their Canon equivalents, and the Nikons I've held (D3000 and D5000) actually feel better in my hand than my camera and the other Rebels I've tried out. However, I like the feel of the 5D MkII and 40D, which I've tried out.
I've stuck my foot in my mouth so many times it's ridiculous, so you're not alone. :)
Wow, there are only girls in your family? I have four brothers and three sisters, all younger than I am. Thanks; I hope I can get to go and maybe get a ride in a Ferrari, although that's probably not likely...at least I can get some photos (which probably won't turn out great, but I can always try). Oh yes, having a car like that would be awesome - if I had a lot of money, since insurance would be incredibly high.
Like Cold Steel, the knife company, Canon makes quite a few good products but generally charges unreasonably high prices unless there's a sale, you're buying a refurb, etc.
Using a pocket point & shoot after being used to a DSLR would be quite a bummer, and it would be very hard if the p&s didn't have manual controls for aperture, shutter speed, etc.
"oh no! The crazy woman is back"
That's pretty funny. :)
It is really annoying to write a comment and then not have it appear. I'm sorry you had to write it twice.
ReplyDeleteWell, I didn't expect you to ignore me (I didn't think you'd be that rude), but I thought I'd let you know that it wouldn't bother me if you didn't feel like responding. I'm glad you don't mind though. Like I said before, it's nice to talk to someone who knows what your talking about. Although I don't mind talking to other people about it when they ask.
Nice comments make my day too! We (me and Lys) don't get many though. BTW: did you ever finish the Red Dot game? By the end of playing it, I felt a little silly :)
So you are interested in guns and knives? My gandfather is a gunsmith. He collects and makes both guns and knives. I'm going to have him teach me how to shoot one day, hopefully. I wasn't originally going to learn, but Momma wants me to know how, so I might as well.
Well, I'm not sure if I'm good with lighting or not. I hope I am, but it's hard for me to judge my own pictures. I'm really hard on myself.
I'll finish this reply later tonight. I'm going to go eat dinner now and wash dishes (yay - not).
I had almost finished my continued comment when my page refreshed itself and lost everything.
ReplyDeleteOk, um... Now I'm having a hard time getting my thoughts together and articulating, great. Um... AGH! Let's see...
Alright, I'm going to start with something that isn't camera related: Yes, there are only us girls. No brothers, sadly. It would have been nice to have a brother to do the heavy lifting and the weed eating. I don't mind mowing, it's the weed eating I don't like. But, it did make sharing clothes easier. We could just pass them down, it sure cut down on shopping, which is good :) So there are eight children in your family? Not that your a child, but.. well... oh you get my point. That must be great! I love having a larg-ish family.
A ride in a Farrari would be so awesome! I wonder what the odds are of that ever happening? It'd be even better to own one! Of course, the insurance on a Farrari would be horrible. I certainly wouldn't want to pay that bill. Your pictures are amazing, I'm sure any you took of the cars would be good.
Nikons are more cool looking? I never really thought about that myself. I guess they are. Lyssa's looks pretty cool, but then I think most DSLR's look pretty cool. That may just be the photographer in me talking :) Nikons do feel good when you hold them, but I like the feel of Canons as well.
I tend to both stick my foot in my mouth and over explain myself and at times I manage to do both :)
My camera does not have any of those manual controls. I can change the exposure, flash and I believe I can set the ISO, maybe. I am often disappointed in my pictures since I am so restricted in what I can do.
I would love to have a REALLY good camera one day, but right now settling will be fine. I have actually decided to wait a little longer and invest about $900 in a camera. I kind of feel like it would serve me better to wait and get a nice camera, then get impatient and buy a cheaper one simply to have it sooner.
Well, that is what my camera thinks. That is the only explination for why it acts up the way it does. But I guess I would be scared of me too if I were a little camera. I really work that thing near about to death.
How did you first get interested in photography? What was your first camera? Are you planning on going to college for photography? If so, where?
That's ok; I generally try to copy and paste (and often save) my long comments into a notepad document as backup.
ReplyDeleteI don't get many comments either when I haven't entered a photo challenge or other linkup; Elizabeth and Ara are the only people who comment regularly. Well, you now have one new follower who's been leaving comments on your blog. :)
I got to where I figured out the red dot was being circular, so I stopped rather than go on forever. I didn't get that bit about the white dot and white rabbit, though.
Yes, I like lots of different kinds of weapons.
:) You don't?
Learning how to shoot well can be good for self-defense, hunting (not that that's something I like to do, though) or just for fun. :) Unfortunately, I'm not a very good shot because I don't have steady hands...which incidentally also affects me being able to shoot well with a camera at times.
Ouch; perhaps you should try the Notepad method as well. Losing my work has happened repeatedly and yet I still don't always use it...
ReplyDeleteBeing in a large family can be...interesting.
And quite chaotic at times as well.
Incidentally, I'm turning 19 on Friday (a very boring age, I think)...but you didn't ask.
Well, don't go and get yourself the late-'70s Ferrari 208 GTB; it had only 155 horsepower..."performance was underwhelming, especially for a Ferrari." And I think it doesn't look beautiful like many Ferraris do, either. The mid-to-late 1970's and 1980s were not good years for most cars. Even now, the styling on some of the new Ferraris such as the FF is questionable, but there are also great-looking ones such as the 599 (my first favorite), 458, F430, and old ones like the 365 GTB/4 Daytona (it could do something like 70 mph in reverse!). I agree; having a car like Ferrari would be awesome; however, although there are some cars like Koenigseggs and others are really cool, from what I've read, the Ferrari 599 GTB combines performance with comfort and everyday drivability better than many other exotic cars - some, like the Dodge Viper, are infamous for not being good daily drivers.
I'd better stop; there are a few topics that I can keep rambling on and on about, and bore my reader/listener unless they share the same interest to a similar degree.
I'm hoping I really can get some photos I can be happy with, but so far I've only gotten one car photo I'm happy to show people; many of the other photos here are mediocre at best.
Yes, with a camera like yours, you are severely limited by both the image quality and the lack of manual controls.
$900 for the camera body alone or for a body and lens?
I think it kind of depends; if there are things you really want to take photos of now, you're kind of missing out, and you could always upgrade later, but on the other hand, if you wait and get a better camera like a 60D, you'd be less likely to get tired of it quickly and want a better camera. Well, until you use something like the 5D MkII, that is. ;-)
I've "taken pictures" for years but only really got into photography after I received my first DSLR, the Rebel XS I have now, last July as a late birthday present. I'm not planning on going to college for photography; I'm hoping I'll be able to learn everything I want on my own, although it'll take quite a while.
If I haven't answered all of your questions yet, I'll try to do so tomorrow; I'm tired, it's past midnight, and I have to wake up at 5:30 tomorrow.
I'm going to have to try that. I completely lost my train of thought when the comment disapeared. I bet the rest of my comment seemed a little disjointed, I'm sorry if it was hard to follow.
ReplyDeleteI try to comment on blogs I follow, but I'm not always good at keeping up. Half the time I start to comment and re-think myself, start over, re-think again and then give up. I guess I over think things sometimes. I really shouldn't, but I do. I'm a perfectionist, I beat myself to death if I mess up, so I guess I even want my comments to be perfect and they don't have to be.
I didn't get the dot or rabbit either... I think that maybe that was the point? I felt so ridiculous at the "end" of that red dot. I kind of expected it to actually end.
Well, I'm interested in weapons to a certain extent. I couldn't grow up with a gunsmith for a grandfather and not be. It's just that I'd rather have a photo shoot with a deer then shoot one with a bullet. Not that I don't like eating deer (Venison roast is really good), but I'd be more likely to pull out a camera and take multiple pictures and then maybe shoot it for supper, if it stayed in one place long enough :)I would like to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow though, just for the fun of it. When I was younger I thought it was more interesting and somewhat more artisic - does that make sense? I'm hoping I'll be a good shot... I don't know if I will be though. I've hurt my right wrist quite a bit and it isn't as strong as it once was (I'm right handed). Sometimes it hurts and/or goes numb while I'm doing just every day stuff, so I'm not sure how well I'll be able to shoot.
I know with only the five of us it can get a bit chaotic, so I bet it's more so in your family. I still wonder how girls can make so much noise? Was I ever that loud? Hum... Are y'all homeschooled?
Happy Birthday, a bit early. Boring age? How so? I haven't gotten around to thinking about 19 yet, sometimes I accidentally tell people I'm 17. I get really weird looks for that one. Apparently being engaged at 17 is somehow worse then being engaged at 18, because people end up looking a tad relieved when I correct myself and tell them I'm 18. I'm going to be 19 this year too, in June.
Wow, a little over my head with the cars there :) I don't mind hearing about it though. I wish I knew more about cars and such, but I've spent most of my time on history, photography and HTML - although I am still soooo lost on HTML most of the time. I shouldn't be though. My grandma was a computer programmer and I should go ask her, but I forget I can ask her sometimes. 70 mph in reverse?! Woah! I do share an interest in cars, I'm just not as well informed. Ok, so I'm no where near as well informed :) And I agree, I don't much care for the look of the Ferrari FF. I love the look of the 458. I actually like the look of it better then the look of the 599 (wow over 208 mph!), but I honestly don't know which car would be a better choice if I were to buy one. Can you tell I don't know much?
I like that one picture of the GT-R 3. It's really good! You are very talented.
$900 for body and lens. I had been thinking the same thing. I am missing out on oportunities to take some amazing pictures while I'm waiting, but then again, if I wait the pictures I'll eventually take will be better. It was kind of a hard decision for me, because I'm not exactly a patient person and I'd love to be able to just get out there now and start taking pictures with a DSLR. But, practicality beats patience I guess.
Continued: (it told me my comment was too long)
ReplyDeleteDid you want a DSLR or was it more of a surprise? So photography is more like a hobby then a career? You have really learned a lot about photography in such a short period of time. What are your favorite subjects to photograph?
Ouch! That's not much sleep. Hasn't anyone told you that you're supposed to get 8 hours of
sleep :) I believe you answered all of my questions. Or at least the ones I asked you, I asked plenty more in this comment.
I guess I'll end another record long comment here. I talk too much when I'm on a subject I
like :)
Sorry for taking this long to reply, Riah; I'm going to hurry and reply before I run out of time and have to go to work again.
ReplyDeleteI don't like messing up with comments or whatever either; often I'll go back and leave another comment stating what a typo was supposed to be.
I never was a good shot with a bow, just like I'm not a good shot with a gun...but I hope I'll be able to change the latter.
Some people like guns and that sort of thing; others don't - to each his own, as they say.
Ouch, having a problem like that with your hand must not be nice at all...
The only physical problem like that I have is that when I get too hot (every time I go running, which I haven't done in a long time) or something, my skin has a prickling feeling that ranges from slightly uncomfortable to "my head is one fire!" Bleh, here I am rambling about myself again.
The only one who wasn't homeschooled from, well, birth was me - I went to kindergarten.
I think 19 is boring since at 18 you can do things like own a rifle or shotgun (or be given a handgun), vote, etc.; at 21 you can own a handgun and do a few other things, depending on the state; at 20 you can't do anything you couldn't before, but you're no longer a teenager (doesn't count for much); at 19...
Thanks. :) At least I don't have to close at work tomorrow...but I don't think it'll be a particularly special day otherwise.
It seems you're around a month younger than I am...I'll just wait until mid-June to say happy birthday since I don't know what day your birthday is on. Out of curiosity, what is the age gap between you and your fiancée? One of the biggest age gaps between couples I've heard of recently (especially where the bride is older) was when Taylor Tsantles married Blair Brown, Scott Brown's daughter (perhaps you've heard of him?). Blair was 23 and Taylor was 17, so he actually had to ask his parents for permission to get married. :)
Sorry about using so many parentheses...it's really hard not to.
Well, the F430 and 458 are mid-engined cars, which are very well-balanced, but they don't have much trunk space (for obvious reasons, the trunk is in the front); the 599 is a GT (gran turismo or grand tourer) so it might not be quite as fast on the track but it has a V12 and sounds great (they all do). The 599 GTO is very impressive indeed, and I have a feeling that even though it's good on a track, it's probably much better of a daily driver than a Koenigsegg (the CCX was really hard to drive, but I suppose they've gotten better)...but Koenigseggs are really cool, and I like how their doors open.
I'd better stop talking about cars now. :)
Thank you for the compliment. :)
Continued (i had to break mine into two parts as well):
ReplyDeleteNot that you are, but if you're expecting a camera to give you better photos than another just because it's a better model, you might be disappointed. With that being said, there are things that having a better camera can help with that can actually produce better images. For instance, better high ISO performance and higher resolution (although the number of megapixels doesn't matter all that much unless you zoom in and crop photos a lot). Some of the other things like a larger viewfinder with 100% coverage and more are nice but might not actually affect the quality of your photos all that much.
I probably just told you a bunch of stuff you already know...
My grandfather got my brother his DSLR before my parents got me mine, but I don't think I really wanted one at the time; my interest in photography developed after getting my camera. I have learned quite a bit, but there is still so very much I need to learn...I don't know if I have a favorite kind of thing to photograph; if I was more skilled and maybe had a studio, I'd like to do portraits (if I had the kind of models I want), and I really want to create fantasy-style photo manipulations eventually. I want to have at least some of my photos tell a story or visualize a theme...and I want to write a book...and now I'm rambling again.
Recently I've been getting to sleep really late (1:30-ish) and waking up quite late as well (around 9)...although it probably doesn't help that I have to work late at times like tonight, I'd still probably find it hard to stop doing anything and go to bed.
Once again I have to get ready for work so I won't be late... :P
Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteThat's ok. I meant to respond last night, but my wrist hurt, so I quickly gave up. It didn't take you that long to reply.
Messing up comments is the worst. I notice when I messed up in a comment to you. I had copied and pasted the name of a camera and accidentally added EF-S to it. I considered commenting that I made a mistake, but figured you knew what I was talking about.
You've shot a bow? Well, what haven't you done? :) You play piano, violin, shoot, write... etc.
It's not that bad an injury. I've never actually broken it, but I did get it smashed between two 2 by 4's. That wasn't exactly fun :) The main problem is that it hurts when I type, wash dishes, chop veggitables. Sometimes it gets numb too. Sorry, too much information, right?
Do you know why it feels like that when you get hot? That doesn't sound at all like something that should happen. And don't worry, I ramble about myself too. It doesn't bother me. At least when your talking about yourself I don't feel like I'm the only one who does that.
We were all homeschooled as well. None of us have gone to school at all. Did you enjoy being homschooled (I'm assuming you've graduated)? I did, I loved it.
I guess I've never looked at 19 that way :) It just felt another year, now I guess it is boring, thanks Max :) Happy birthday... again! Now you're the boring old age of 19. Sorry!
My birthday is the 28th of June. My fiance is roughly two and a half years older than me. So, he turned 21 in January and I turn 19 in June. It sounded like a big age gap when I was 17 and he had turned 20 (I turned 18 later that year). Some of my family members said he was too old, but I think they forgot I was going to turn 18 or something.
Scott Brown the senator? That's probably not who your talking about, but that is the only Scott Brown I've heard of (to my knowledge). That would be a little weird, at least for me. I can't imagine marrying a guy that much younger then me. The biggest difference I heard of recently was a couple in a church we went to who were about 14 years apart (the guy was older in this case though).
I use parentheses a lot too. Somehow they are almost necessary for me. I'm not sure why :)
I have to admit, I'm having to look up some of the cars your talking about so I can stay on the same page. But, it interests me, so no worries.
The Koenigsegg CCX looks amazing. You're right, the doors are pretty cool. The Agera looks kinda cool, but I don't think I'd want to own it. It looks almost Star Trek-ish.
We had a 15 passenger van with a V10 and boy did that thing go for such a large vehicle. I can't imagine what it'd be like to drive a V12 in a small sports car. I didn't like driving our 15 passenger though, it was too big. I prefer our mini van.
Just thought I'd let you know that I didn't get to finish my reply because I had to run errands. I'm getting ready to go out again, but I'll try to finish my reply tonight.
ReplyDelete(I replied to your comment on my post - the one about piano)
Continued:
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm not expecting it to give me better photos. I'm hoping it will give me better control over my photos. It would take a miracle camera to make take good pictures if the
photographer knew nothing about photography. And yes, I knew that... but you meant well :)
Your brother is a photographer also? I don't really care for taking portraits, as I said
before I like nature. But I like to photograph abstract.. um.. things (I'm not sure what to call it) and landscapes.
What kind of book do you want to write? Have you always liked writing?
Wow, you should definitely get to sleep earlier. But I guess I'm one to talk. I don't go to sleep until around 12:30 or so every night (sometimes later). I don't have to, but my fiance works second sift and that's about the time he gets home. I generally wait for him to text me that he's home and goodnight before I go to sleep.
I'm going to go eat my dessert now (I just got home, so I barely finished dinner before I got on here to reply).
I just wanted to let you know that I have been reading your comments/questions and am going to reply to them when I can, but I've been busy with work and don't have anywhere near as much time as I'd like to be able to do everything...thank you for the happy birthday wishes and everything. :)
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm going to try to reply as fast as possible since I don't have a lot of time and don't want to make you wait any longer.
ReplyDeleteYes, I knew what you were talking about with the "EF-S" things. To tell the truth, I wasn't entirely sure you knew what you were talking about, but now I know you do.
Ha, and I'm not good at any of those things. I also am not an artist in the drawing/painting sense - I've never been any good at drawing, but maybe because I never knew how?
I think being homeschooled was pretty good.
Three years or less is not that big of an age gap, especially when it's the husband-to-be who is older; when it's reversed it's more uncommon but that's not to say it can't or shouldn't happen. The Scott Brown I was talking about is the president (or some other position like that) of the National Center for Family-Integrated Churches and the pastor of a church in Wake Forest, Hope Baptist. Taylor, the guy who got married, is very mature from what I've heard (I've met him but don't know him very well), and apparently his bride wasn't bothered by the age difference. :)
I was going to link to somewhere with photos of a Koenigsegg, such as www.seriouswheels.com, but I forgot to...sorry about that. As far as I know, the CCX, CCXR, and Agera (and even the CCR) are all quite similar; although Koenigsegg wants people to believe the Agera is all-new, I believe it's just a modified, more track-ready CCXR with twin-turbos instead of twin-superchargers...but it does look a bit different. Although there are the cars I mentioned and a bunch of others I really like as well, my real dream "car" is Batman's Tumbler. :D But since it's not in production, the Shadow Hawk might be the next best thing you can buy...but it doesn't have guns, can't jump really far, and doesn't look anywhere near as cool.
Ah, more control over your photos.
I have a feeling that I could turn out at least slightly better images than I do now if I used a Hasselblad H4D (with the higher dynamic range and everything), but to really get breathtaking photos with one, I'd have to be a much better photographer and have the editing skills I want to have right now.
I like to think that my brother takes pictures but I'm the serious photographer, since I have more of an interest (or at least show more of an interest) in photography and know more about it...
Abstract...um...things? I'm not sure what those are... ;-) I might be able to tell you if you give me a description of what you're talking about.
I'd like to write an action/adventure/thriller novel that has Christian themes in it but that weaves those themes into the storyline well and isn't "preachy" or of lesser quality because of that. I like writing in some ways (I don't know if I always have), but poems rarely turn out when when I try writing them, and my stories have always been, as Ara said, "blackmail material" and I never finished because I could never figure out the plots...
I'm going to try to go to sleep in a couple of minutes; 12-8:30 is better than 1:30-9 or 9:30...hopefully it'll be something like 11-7:30 in the future.
Sorry it took me so long to reply, I've been busy.
ReplyDeleteNow I wish I had corrected that sooner! At least you wouldn't have thought I was a wanna-be-photographer who knew absolutely nothing... Ugh!
I'm not artistic either. I can't paint or draw, never have been able to. I don't think I can qualify as artistic in any sense :)
Oh ok, I've never heard of that Scott Brown, but Mom probably has since she has looked up lots of things about Family-Integrated churches. We actually attend a Family-Intergrated church.
Apparently she wasn't :) I'm glad their happy! I guess I just (for some reason) have this pre-conceived notion that the guy should be older?
Batman's Tumbler?! Wow, interesting choice :) But I guess having guns on your car could come in handy somehow? Perhaps when someone steals your parking space :) Or, my personal pet-peeve, doesn't know how to merge onto a highway properly!
Abstract things are like... a Bible with a flower on it, cups of coffee or tea, shop fronts, book shelves, those sorts of things.
Um, like a Ted Dekker book? Is that the kind of book you'd like to write? But maybe less horrific? I was never really good a poems either, but then I never cared much for poetry.
I think that's it, if it isn't I'll answer tomorrow. It's 1:00am and I'm pretty tired!
That's quite all right; I've been busy as well.
ReplyDeleteWell, I didn't think you knew absolutely nothing, just that you might not be all that familiar with Canon DSLRs.
Did I mention I don't have a good singing voice either?
Ah, so do we.
That's how it is usually, partly because girls are said to mature more quickly than guys.
Guns are cool. :) Having something that's basically a tank with four wheels might come in handy...not that I've ever been shot at before (to my knowledge, anyway), but it's cool all the same. I don't suppose something like that would be very fuel-efficient, though...like an old model of the M1 Abrams tank, its fuel economy might be measured in gallons-per-mile. :)
People driving slowly in front of me is another annoying thing, but I think the worst I've seen is when my dad was trying to pass a slow driver and the other guy switched lanes and blocked him (perhaps unintentionally, but it was still a nuisance).
Ah, I see: random objects. :) It can be nice to take photos of everyday objects and make them look interesting by the choice of framing, editing, etc. A friend of a friend, Jordan likes to do the "everyday object photography" thing:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/treeclimber/
In a word, yes.
I think many of Dekker's books are pretty interesting and well-written, and not all of them are creepy like Skin, House, and some newer ones such as Boneman's Daughters. At least some of those are the "mainstream serial-killer novels" instead of those geared toward a Christian audience. Some of the novels in the latter category don't have the Christian themes as apparent as in others and I don't like them as much, but there are some I've thought had very good messages. One mistake I will not make, even if I become a prolific writer like him (highly unlikely, to say the least), is having storylines that don't make sense with other elements in the storyline or that are just bizarre, such as the ending in Green.
Now I've got to get off to bed as well since I'll only be getting around five hours of sleep or less and will probably be falling asleep during the Bible study.
Well there's a relief! At least you didn't think I knew nothing... I still wished I had corrected it sooner. I do atually know a little bit about DSLRs, but not as much as you know. Did you find out what you know just by researching?
ReplyDeleteI don't have a good singing voice either. Mine is very mediocre. But, if you don't have a good singing voice like you don't take very good pictures then I'm not sure I believe you, because you take wonderful pictures :)
Hum, I think you'd know if you got shot at, but I may be wrong! Now, driving a tank would be something else, that's for sure. It might actually be fun :) Gallons-per-mile? That is pretty funny, but almost true sometimes.
People driving slowly does annoy me too, but for some reason the merging is what frustrates me the most. The driving switching lanes when you're trying to get around them has happened to Mom, but it hasn't happened to me yet - thankfully. I have had an older man get mad at me for not speeding through a caution light and coming to a stop. I'm not sure why he was mad. He wouldn't have made the light anyway, it would have turned red first. So when the light turned green (we were in the turn lane) he sped around me and then made a point of driving slowly and turning into his drive way even slower. It was seriously frustrating and I had to fight my temper ;)
YES! Random objects, exactly! Her pictures are pretty good, especially the White House rose garden photo.
I liked House, I haven't read Skin yet and I didn't care much for Boneman's Daughter. I didn't even finish it. It was a bit to gorey and dark for my taste. I like Showdown, Saint and Sinner though. I haven't read Green yet. I do own it but I just recently finished Sinner and haven't began reading the Circle Trilogy yet.
Have you began writing yet? Like serious writing or is it just a vague story line?
I am headed to bed now, its past midnight again and I'm pretty tired. Goodnight!
Riah, I just wanted to let you know that I might not be on the Internet for a while, so I'm not ignoring you - I'll reply when I can.
ReplyDeleteOk, time to answer a few of your questions, Riah (although I will have to be packing for the trip to TN tomorrow in a couple of minutes - phase one of our move):
ReplyDeleteIf you saw some of the graduation photos I got for a friend from church last Saturday, you might agree that I often take mediocre photos, although it certainly didn't help that the lighting wasn't very good outside (it was dark and cloudy) and inside it wasn't very bright everywhere and I don't have an external flash and my camera doesn't have good ISO performance...so I have
some really noisy photos...I wish I had a better camera, better lenses, a flash...but wishing doesn't help...I wonder how I'm going to be able to make anbusiness of photography with my skills as they are. So few of the graduation shoot photos are ones I think are acceptable. :(
And as for my voice, I'm fairly certain I don't have vocal talent, and I have basically no tonal range at all; I can't sing either semi-low or high notes, and don't sound good at the mid-range notes either.
You need to get a spring-loaded boxing glove that shoots at at the press of a button to hit obnoxious drivers' cars. ;-)
No, I haven't written in such a long time; when I did, I only got partway through chapter one and didn't know where to go from there - my plot was basically non-existent. I had an idea for a storyline the other day, but I doubt that would get very far either...
Well, I've got to go pack now...I'll have to wake up at 4:30 and drive for hours and hours, so infant to try to get some sleep as well.
So how did your trip go? I'm glad you found a house. You're no longer going to be a North Carolinian :( Are you originally from NC?
ReplyDeleteMost of my pictures don't turn out well either (you've seen some of them), but I think your pictures are very nice. I'm sorry you don't have a better camera. I'm sure it must be frustrating sometimes.
I actually looked at the lenses I already have. I have three different lenses, one of which is no longer being made. It's pretty old, but I am looking forward to trying it out and seeing what I can do. I'll have to look at it later and let you know which lens it is, I can't remember it off the top of my head and I can't get to it right now to check.
Well, not having a large vocal range doesn't necessarily mean you don't sing well, although it probably means you don't have a major singing career in your future. Of course, with what passes as talent these days who knows? If you can keep on key when you sing, then that is better than some people. I have a range somewhere between a high alto and low soprano - although I think it's closer to high alto now. I can hold a tune, but I don't have an amazing voice - as wonderful as that would be.
Hum, I wonder if insurance would cover damage from a spring-loaded boxing glove? Probably not, although that would be really great! :)
Have you thought about plotting out your storyline? Each part and idea lined out in detail? That never worked well for me, because my story inevitably ended up changing anyway, but it may work for you if you don't tend to get an idea in your head and change the story just to add it in.
Well, I have to run. It's 11:40pm and I still have to email someone about some babysitting I'm doing this weekend :)
Good night!
The trip was long, but not bad, I guess - my dad didn't tip over in the truck, which was good.
ReplyDeleteI'm originally from...well, if you mean where was I born, I was born in Glendale, CA. I've lived in California, Japan, Hawaii (O'ahu), Guam, and here, though, so I ask people what they mean when they ask where I'm from.
The lenses you have...so you got a DSLR or are those screw-on lenses for your p&s?
I'll try getting a mic and recording myself singing sometime and see what I think; I have a feeling I will not be impressed whatsoever.
Haha, all you need nowadays is AutoTune. ;-) But seriously, people with good taste in music know that trashy, pathetic attempts at "artists" such as Ke$ha have no talent compared to a real singer like Josh Groban.
Or I guess you could have Inspector Gadget-style paintball cannons. ;-)
I tried to work on a plot but never got very far - I had bits and pieces but always drew a blank before I'd gone very far at all; it was pretty frustrating knowing the result I wanted but not being able to do much in the way of achieving it.
Well that is good :) I hope you can settle soon so you wont have to travel as much.
ReplyDeleteAhh, so you're originally a Californian. It must have been wonderful to live in so many places! Well, except the having to move a lot. Which was your favorite place?
No, I don't have a DSLR. I have two Film SLR cameras with EF lenses. I originally thought that two of them were 18-55mm lenses, but when I checked the other day I found out that they are not. One is a 35-70mm, one is a 75-300mm and one is a 35-80mm. The Film SLR cameras are the Canon 650 and the Canon Rebel K2. I particularly can't wait to try out the 35-70mm lens, but I'm pretty excited to try the others as well. Oh, and I don't have any screw-on lenses for my p&s, honestly that camera doesn't deserve any special attention! When it starts doing it's job then I'll give it treats! :)
I'm not inpressed with my singing either! I am curious to hear what you sound like... :)
I can't stand Ke$ha! Or the Black Eyed Peas which I'm curretly having to suffer through since they're preforming on the show I'm watching. I like Fred Astaire, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Glen Miller, Bing Crosby and such like. I'm sure your seeing a theme here :) I like Josh Groban too, particularly the song You Raise Me Up (which is playing now because he is preforming now - such an improvment from the Black Eyed Peas)
Ohhhh, I love the idea of paintball cannons!!! I am really going to see about having those installed on my car. Oh, and if anyone gets mad I'll direct them to you :)
I'm sorry you've had such trouble writing. I'm curious about what your writing style is like. Do you prefer sounding simple, using simplicity to get your point across or do you like lacing your writing with huge words and deep psychological meanings?
Well I'm going to go now. Goodnight!
p.s. on my post I meant cutest baby! :)
Hm, yes.
ReplyDeleteYes, but I don't talk like a SoCal surfer dude. ;-) My favorite place? I'm not sure...here has been good because it's not always really warm. Guam had
Ah. I don't mean to disappoint you, but unfortunately, I know the 75-300 isn't a good lens (at least the MkIII model isn't, and I doubt the older ones would be much better), and I have a feeling the other two aren't either...but it does have one advantge over the EF-S 55-250 f/4-5.6 IS: it's focal length on a APS-C DSLR is the equivalent of 120-480 (if I got the math right - multiply by 1.6), and 480 is a lot longer than 250mm, so if you're shooting the moon or other faraway objects, it'll be helpful for that fact alone. But other than that...it doesn't have IS or USM and isn't said to produce very good images.
I'm going to try to get a microphone and record myself singing something; I have a very strong feeling the results will not be pretty.
You were watching some kind of music show, I take it?
All inquiries will be directed to my public relations manager. ;-)
Thank you...hm, it' somewhere in between I guess. I sometimes use larger words, but don't want to have so many of them that my writing is too formal, hard to understand, or simply makes me seem like a smart aleck/show-off.
Perhaps after I move I'll have a bit of time to try writing as well as get back to photography.
Ah.
P.S. Two things I was wondering (feel free not to answer if they're too personal if you just don't feel like telling me) are 1) is Riah your real name, and 2) do you have a date set for your wedding already or have you not gotten to that part yet?
I'm just curious, but like I said, I totally understand if you don't want to answer.
P.P.S. Taking around a week to reply each time isn't preferable, but I think you understand that I've been busy and not on the computer much recently.
ReplyDeleteAww, and there I was thinking you sounded like one.. :) Actually, I didn't think you would sound like a SoCal Sufer dude, your writing just doesn't give me that impression. Does that make sense? Like, sometimes you almost imagine what a person sounds like when you read what they've written? Just so you know, I'm a born North Carolinian with a slight southern accent.. just enough to leave G's off of anything ending in "ing", say "y'all" all the time, over pronounce I's, end words like "yellow" with an A ending up with "yella" and say "naw" (hopefully I don't do the last a lot). Ok, there I go rambling on again... It isn't warm in NC?! Wow, I need to seriously rethink before I complain of heat next time :)
ReplyDeleteWell I know they aren't good lenses (sadly), but I'm still curious to see what they'll do... No it's not the MkIII model (thankfully). I know they could be much better and I wish they were, but it should be interesting to try them out and see what they are and aren't capable of. I like to experiment a lot, being a naturally curious person. Well, curious to a certain extent anyway :)
We were watching Dancing With The Stars... I hate that show now, all it is just a popularity contest, it apparently doesn't matter how good the dancer is. Of course, I should have known that, but it irritated me nonetheless :) Sorry, small rant. I'm too scared to record myself singing, I really don't want to know just exactly how horrible I actually sound.
Wow, I want a public relations manager! Where can I get one?! Maybe then I can just send all frustrated parties to him :)
So your books would end up similar to Ted Dekker's but a little more simple? Not so hard to read and not quite so psychological? Or every bit as psychological, but with simpler words and meaning?
Not too personal at all :) No my name is not Riah, it's Mariah. I go by Riah a lot of the time though so I chose it for going online. Actually, I go by my nicknames 9 times out of 10.
We have set a tentative date of next June. We haven't picked the actual day yet, but we're pretty certain we'll be married next June. I really hope it will be in June because our photographer will be going out of town that August and I don't really want to have to search for a replacement. I would ask Lys, except she is the Maid of Honor :) Don't worry about asking questions, it doens't bother me a bit.
It never occured to me to ask before now, but do you prefer to go by Max or Maximillian? I don't care which name I go by, but I know several people don't like to be called by nicknames.
Oh I completely understand that your busy! We once moved our entire house hold in one week and that was stressful even though we only moved 30 minutes away from where we lived before. I can only imagine that moving so far away, plus work, plus all your normal stuff is just hectic! I can't say I'd want to trade places with you :)
ReplyDeleteHa, what would give you that impression?
ReplyDeleteAh. At my church there are multiple people with very pronounced southern accents, so I'm guessing yours isn't quite like that.
No, it's quite warm over here, and I think the times when it's gotten to be 100+ degrees a few of the summers here were probably the hottest temperatures I've experienced.
I meant to talk about Guam being 80-90 degrees all year long with 90%+ humidity, whereas it's much less humid here and gets cooler in the non-summer seasons, but forgot about it when copying and pasting from a Wordpad document. O'ahu wasn't as humid as Guam, but it was still warm all year long. O'ahu also had frequent typhoons which resulted in power and water outages, lots of mosquitoes, and other unpleasantness. At least I haven't been in scorching, 120-degree+ heat in the desert...one officer told me he was out in 140-degree heat wearing armor and when he went to another place and took off his armor, he thought, “Wow, it's nice and cool in here!” and he was surprised to find that the temperature was still above 100 degrees.
Lenses are lenses, I guess...I'm tempted to say something is better than nothing, but it some cases something might not be any better than nothing. However, unimpressive lenses might be bad, but they'll still work and as long as you don't need professional-quality results, you might be satisfied with what you get sometimes.
I take it your 70-300 (Mk I or II?) is better than a MkIII then? I'm familiar with Canon's newer lenses, but not with some of the older ones without a good reputation. However, I know that in Canon's case, newer is not always better, since the 50 1.8 MkI is better than the MkII, the 28-105 f/3.5-5.6 is much better than the pathetic 28-105 f/4-5.6 (I think I got their names right), etc.
Ah; I've never watched the show, so I can't give much of an opinion on it.
There's no need to apologize about rambling or rants; I don't mind. :)
I'm sure I sound horrible when I sing, but I'm going to record myself after I get a mic anyway; perhaps I won't sound quite as bad as I believe I do.
Um, maybe a best friend will do? ;) (but I don't have a best friend, so that won't work for me...)
Continued...
ReplyDeleteMaybe something like his...Dekker's books are hard to read?
Perhaps someday I'll be able to state exactly what I want to have my book/s turn out to be like, but something like some of Dekker's novels or Frank Peretti's Veritas series or some other books that weave Christian themes into the story well without making it feel disjointed is what I'd like to achieve. Ara (I don't remember if you know who she is...her blog is called Shilah) wants to do something along the same lines, but she actually has a book that's somewhat near to completion, whereas I don't have more than part of a first chapter and various ideas but nothing concrete.
I might actually get to meet Ara in person later this year at the NCFIC Marriage conference, but that's not really related; it's just kind of interesting that it'll be the first time I meet a friend in person I previously only knew online in the blog world or elsewhere.
I see; I figured your name was something like that, and like Ara, your nickname was taken out of your real name. Hm, so your wedding date might be close to your birthday then?
Haha, that is a difficulty; perhaps she could wear her camera and take photos while being the Maid of Honor, although she couldn't get herself in the pictures and it might disrupt things a bit. ;)
That's good. :)
I don't really care whether people call me Maximillian or Max; I often introduce myself as “Maximillian, Max, or whatever else you want to call me, as long as it's not derogatory.”
As can be expected, most call me Max, but I don't mind.
I don't know if there's a reason you do it, but I don't have both word verification and comment moderation turned on since comment moderation is already one step toward blocking spam and other unwanted comments, and it's just an extra step for someone who tries to leave a comment and kind kind of be a pain...I don't mean to be rude or anything, I was just wondering about that.
Thank you for your understanding. :) Even though I don't have a job anymore, it's been quite busy with packing, painting, and other stuff related to moving and getting the house ready to show and sell. After we move, it'll be somewhat busy unpacking and getting everything situated, and I'm going to have to look for a full-time job as well, so I'll be busy then too, but hopefully not quite as busy and with more time to work on photography, writing, etc.
Once in Guam we moved from an awful house with holes in the backyard that filled with water and bred hordes of mosquitoes (which gave me literally fifty bites or more at various times...I don't think I got much sleep during that time) to a house just up the street, but we just used a pick-up truck and a minivan and even though it wasn't far, there was still quite a bit of labor involved.
I hope mine isn't way too pronounced. I'm proud of being southern, but I don't want to sound like I'm completely incapable of pronouncing words correctly :)
ReplyDeleteWell then, I guess there is no winning... It's just hot :) I'm pretty glad that I don't live in Guam or O'ahu, I wouldn't mind visiting sometime, but living there doesn't sound too fun.
I feel really sorry for that officer! He must have been burning up in that armor. I can't imagine... The worst for me would have had to been when our AC died and it went up to 90+ degrees in the house. It rained and cooled down to 80-something and I felt like I walked in a fridge :) That doesn't even begin to compare to that poor guy!
I can't remember which model it is exactly. It took me forever to track it down one night because the markings on the lens is faded. I had to find it in the Canon Camera Museum and I am just too tired to look it up right now.
I'm not planning on using these lenses for professional pictures, just to experiment with. I didn't buy them, they were given to me, so I plan on seeing what they are capable of. They may not be capable of too much, but it will be fun to try :) I plan on having as much fun with my future camera and lenses as I can, testing and trying new things. I figure that it isn't much of a hobbie (or even a career) if you don't enjoy it as much as possible.
Well I don't plan on watching it again :) And I'm glad you don't mind rants and rambles - especially since they slip in sometimes. I need to learn to keep my opinions to myself. You think I would have learned it after 18 years, but I haven't quite mastered it yet. I am better though.
Oh I'll have to tell Lys she's my new public relations manager... I'm sure she'll be completely thrilled. Not :)
You don't have a best frind?! Wow, that's kinda sad. I can't imagine not having Lys. Don't you have ANYONE that's sort of kind of like a best friend? Or just a close-ish friend?
I don't think his books are hard to read, but I have read reviews that claimed they were difficult to understand.
I think I get the idea...
Yes, I read Ara's blog. Well I did read it, as you probably already know, she isn't posting currently. I'm really curious about her book. It's not the type of book I usually read, but it sounds pretty good. Plus she is a really good writer from what I can tell and good writers are hard to come by these days.
You're going to a Marriage conference? Why? What is it exactly? It would be pretty cool to meet someone you're friends with, but have never actually met in person. I have several friends I'd love to meet in person, but I don't know if I'll get the chance.
Yep, you can call me whatever.. I don't care really. Well, except if it's derogatory, like you said. Of course by now you're probably used to calling me Riah :)
Yeah... June wasn't the optimal month to get married in, but July is too hot and my uncle is getting married in May. That left me with June. I feel like telling my uncle that I got engaged first so I get to pick the month first, but I have a feeling that wont go over well :) Particularly since he'd just counter with "well you had 3 (or so) months to pick a month before I got engaged, so you ran out of time" :)
Yeah, I think she was going for that idea, but I shot that one down. If I have to be in the pictures, so does she. I hate pictures of myself by the way. If I could live my entire life without having a picture taken of me I would be a happy camper:) And yes, the camera would disrupt things a little!
Continued...
ReplyDeleteThere is no reason for it. When Lys set up the blog she just left the original settings on it and even though I have designed that blog a million times I never thought to change it, because when I leave a response on it I don't have to have to do the word varification thing. I turned it off yesterday, so that should make commenting easier. I didn't think you were being rude, so no problem.
Busy, busy busy... After your done you should just sit and rest for about a week - maybe two :)
Ugh, that does not sound good! I do not like mosquitoes at all!
I think the most annoying thing about moving it was that after the men who helped us move that weekend had left, we had to go back and get a mattress. Sadly this was a queen sized, pillowtop mattress and those things are not only, but they are awkward too! I vowed then and there to make a guy do it next time! :)
Well I have to go. It's midnight and I'm pretty tired - plus Lys is IMing me telling me not to eat all the croutons before she gets here this weekend. I need to handle this before she talks me out of all the croutons and my piece of milky way cake to boot!
Night!
p.s I responded to your question on my post with all the pictures.
Wow! I didn't realize how long that was! There I was thinking the replies were getting shorter... Oh well!
ReplyDeleteSome people think Hawaii is paradise, but I doubt many (if any) people think the same thing about Guam. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm glad I haven't had that happen to me.
That's ok; it's not really important.
I agree; a hobby should be something you enjoy a lot.
You don't necessarily have to keep your opinions to yourself, you just need to know how the person you're talking with will take them.
Hehe, you never know...she might really be thrilled that you've become famous. ;)
I have some few close friends, but I don't see any of them very often – I don't have any close friends at church, I don't do any other weekly things where I'd see any of them, and I've never had a close friend who lived in my neighborhood. Unlike what some people may think, I
That's good; I think I often am not able to make myself understood very well because I'm often not able to be concise and state my thoughts clearly.
Yes, I saw that Shilah has gone into a temporary stasis.
Her book does sound interesting; I'm hoping to be able to read it sometime after it's finished...sitting in Barnes & Noble with an absorbing novel is one of my favorite things to do...I like books in various genres: action/adventure, thriller, fantasy, and more – sometimes it depends on the book itself, although there are some genres (the aforementioned) that I like more than others.
Ah yes, I've noticed that she does indeed write very well.
Who? What? Why? When? Where? How?
Haha, my whole family is going to be going to the NCFIC conference this October in Asheville, NC; I think it's official title is something like “Preparing Your Sons and Daughters for Godly Marriages”, but everyone just calls it “The Marriage Conference”.
If I remember what the website said correctly, it's for parents and their marriage-age children and will be on various topics relating to biblical marriages.
We're going because...well, it's conference that at least some people from our church will be at, and it'll be a place to seem them again after we've moved, the previous conferences we've gone to have been good, and the theme is relevant for my family.
Well, at least for me it is, since I'm technically marriage-age and hope to get a full-time job so I can sustain a family, and then hopefully find the perfect girl for me and get married before too long. Some people I know at my church and its sister church are 26-ish, 29, etc. and still single; I doubt I've been called to be single so I hope I don't have to wait quite that long.
Yes, that would be very cool; I may have been able to meet one online/blogger friend at the recent NCHE conference had I gone, but we didn't go.
It will be unfortunate if Ara's family is unable to make it to the conference, although it will probably be much worse for her than for me; I just won't be able to meet her, whereas her family is going through a difficult time right now, from what I've heard.
That's interesting...why is June not the optimal month to get married in? I'd say “because it's too hot”, but that's my opinion.
Well, you at least have to have wedding portraits, right? After that, you can just take pictures of everyone else, and people will wonder what you look like, and you can just have a photo from your wedding to refer them to. :-)
Continued:
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you.
Something I was wondering about is, is Lys close to your age, and is she planning on getting married soon, now that her best friend is about to? (in case you're wondering, I'm just curious; I don't have any ulterior motives behind this question)
I hope to be able to take a break and relax...although I won't be able to be doing photo stuff, on the 22nd I'm going to be staying overnight at the new Chick-Fil-A opening in Sanford, in an attempt to win a CFA entree a week for a year, and I should just be sitting all day with now work, although I may be sleepy from having gotten up early. :-)
I'm not very strong, so if you want heavy lifting done, you'll probably have to ask someone else. :~/
Have a good night. :)
Thanks for following Dec. Roses :)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try and respond to your reply sometime later this week. We have been going since Friday and wont be at home for a full day until Saturday. Sorry it is taking me so long! Lyssa came to our house Friday and was supposed to go home to day, but we arranged to have her stay until Thursday instead (yay).
Talk to you later.
You're welcome. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, that's ok.
Hooray for Lys being able to stay with you for a couple more days! How far does she live away from you?
Hasta la vista, or as I like to say, hasta la pasta. ;)
I am sooooo sorry about how long it has taken me to respond. I have been crazy busy lately. Today is the first day I haven't gone somewhere since May 31st - at least I think that was the last day I was home all day... I apologize for taking so long.
ReplyDeleteMy fiance thinks Hawaii is paradise (for some strange reason :), I prefer Australia! I'm sure that there is someone somewhere who thinks Guam
is paradise. Of course the next logical quesion would be have they ever been there or maybe do they actually know much about it? :)
I have taken so many pictures now that I think I'm running out of creative ideas that are actually doable right now. I actually opened a shutterfly account to hold some of the pictures because my laptop is going to slow down if keep adding pictures, plus many of the pictures are
on our main computer and I want to be able to get them easily, so I'm just uploading them to the site. And there I go rambling on about
random things that you probably don't care about :)
Here is the link to the shutterfly if you want to see some of the pictures. Some of them are of my family, you can just ignore them if you want. I didn't take all of those, just some of them. I was looking through some of them and I'm in a lot of the pictures, I can't believe it! I was tempted to delete them. (Wow, I used "them" a
lot in that statement.)
heret
Very good way to put that, although sometimes you think you know how someone will take something and they end up taking it another way. I hope I haven't ever offended you!
True, but then again she'd probably just beg me to take her to Australia and fuss that I made her the public relations manager :) I don't think there will be any winning with her :)
I'm sorry you don't have many close friends. I don't have a lot either, it's mostly Lys, but she's the best so I don't really need a whole lot of close friends. I think I have about 3 close friends and two good friends, but none are as close as Lys is.
"Unlike what some people may think, I"? I think you cut yourself off there...
I only see Lys about every other week, although we stay in constant contact. Two of my close friends I've never met in person, and the other two I see at church. The last two aren't quite as close as the first three, but I do count them as good friends.
I think I can usually make myself clear, but I think that is because I over explain myself. It annoys me and I'm sure it annoys other people as well.
I hope to read her book too. I love going to Barnes and Noble and reading. Last time I went I got some coffee and just sat and read the first 5 chapters of one of Ted Dekker's books.
Hum, I think I many have heard of the Marriage Conference, but I hesitate to say I absolutely have. If I heard of it, I probably heard at church. We go to church in Asheville NC and everyone there goes to conferences, so they probably mentioned it sometime.
It seems as though Ara has been going through some troubles lately and I hope that her family will be brought through to be stronger on the other side. I don't know the nature of the problems though, just what she has mentioned on Shilah.
Continued:
ReplyDeleteWell June is a really busy month for us. We joke that in our family that if you weren't born in February you were born in June or the two "M" months and that is just about true. Besides a few sprinkled through the fall and early winter, we are basically all in those months. To make things easier we and our extended family throw one big party in June and one big party in February. It keeps us from having to go to mulitple parties in those months and we can just all exchange gifts at one time. So, as you can see, June will be busy by defult due to the birthdays and the party to plan. Sticking a Wedding in should make it interesting.
Yeah... I have to have wedding protraits, fun. The last time I had my picture "professionally" taken was by Lys at Christmas. I asked her to take them since Chad wanted a picture of me and
I didn't have a professional one that was recent. She did an amazing job. The picture of me in the middle on the front page of the Shutterfly was taken by her.
Oh I am going to have a camera with me after the wedding :) If I have the camera with me, maybe they'll be less likely to take pictures of me :) Although, Mom wants Danielle (my photographer)to get some portraits before the wedding, so I'm not sure if that strategy is going to work well :)
Oh I see how it is.. Lys huh? :) Just kidding :)Lys is two months older than me, so she is already 19. I like to tell her she is old, but that backfires when she tells me I have to obey my elders :)
She wouldn't mind being in a relationship, so she tells me. When we were little we said we'd have a double wedding and she jokes that her deadline is getting closer and closer. She isn't in a rush to get married though. I think there are a few things she'd like to do first, although I'm positive that once she meets the right guy she'll change her plans like I did :)
Have you been able to slow down yet? I certainly hope so.
Ugh, there I was hoping I could get you and my fiance to double up and do all the heavy lifting :) I guess I'll have to stick with him then. Good thing he used to be a football player!!
Lys lives in Charlotte, thats why we were there the Friday before you were there. We were picking her up. It is a bummer that we weren't there Saturday. It's always cool to meet people you've never met before. Although, we'd have an adavtage since we know each other through blogger.
Well, I'm pretty sure I've rambled enough. I was hoping to get these comments shorter, but they seemed to have gotten longer again.
I'm going to go fuss at Lys for watching True Grit without me! Goodnight!
Ugh, that link is supposed to say "here it is". I told you I had the hardest time with those links! :)
ReplyDeleteRiah, I'll try to reply to your comments soon; I just decided to reply right now to say I tried to look at your Shutterfly page and got this:
ReplyDelete"Private site
The owner has password protected this site. You must enter the password the owner gave you
(not your Shutterfly account password) to gain access."
Oh sorry! The password is RiahChelle. Not original :)
ReplyDeleteFinally, I've gotten around to finishing my reply.
ReplyDeleteNo problem, no problem at all; I'm just glad you think I'm worth your time to talk to. I completely understand about being busy and not having the time to do what you'd like to be able to do.
Australia - your and Lyssa's fascination/obsession, eh?
Lots of people think Hawaii is paradise on earth, so that's no surprise. I don't know how many people are familiar with Guam, and of those who have heard of it and like it, I'd definitely want to know if they've lived there.
You might want to do what we did and buy a 2TB external hard drive for photos; ours cost less than $100, I think, and I've already filled up quite a bit of it...I'm going to have to comb through all my photos sometime and delete a whole bunch of them.
You don't have to worry about rambling about various things - I do it all the time. As for me not caring about whatever it is, don't not care about what you said...to be honest, crocheting/knitting, Victorian-era fashion, books, etc., and actually a multitude of other things (quite too many, probably) are subjects I'm not particularly interested in, to say the least, and I wouldn't really care about them, but if somebody was nice enough to talk to me and talked about their interest/s that happened to be something I'm not really interested in, I will try to talk about that topic as well as I know how.
Nope, you've never offended me. :)
Haha, nice; what's with you two and Australia? I must admit that I like the Kiwi accent better - it sounds cute when a girl has it (at least that I've heard), such as Hayley Westenra, and actually sort of cute even when a guy has it, like Ray Comfort. I may have already have said this, but if a guy wants a "cool guy" accent, the Kiwi accent isn't it - a British accent like Clive Owen has (or I suspect Daniel Craig has also) is what I'd have in mind in that case.
Well, if you get to see your best friend once every two weeks, that's pretty good right?
Oh yes, I did cut myself off there; thanks for pointing that out. Sometimes (like I'm doing right now), I write my reply in Wordpad, sometimes save it and come back to it, and finally copy & paste into the comment box, but I often continue on to another thought and forget to finish an earlier one or something like that, where I didn't look back over what I'd written to see if I hadn't finished with it or had made some errors.
What I was going to say was this:
Some people might think that you must know someone in person to have a meaningful friendship, but I'd disagree with that view – I enjoy having online friends, and my closer online friends are very important to me. While I wish I could meet all of them, that's rarely an option, unfortunately...
Yes, Barnes & Noble is great!
Ah. On a slightly unrelated note, I'm hoping we're going to be able to find a good church near Millington or Memphis – there are some in Nashville, but that's very far away. Having a close friend or two at our new church (something I'm afraid I don't have at our current one) would be nice as well...but I'm just being selfish; I talk about myself way too much, I'm afraid.
From what she told me, she and her family have been going through some rough times...I would go into detail, but I don't think I'm at liberty to do so – I think you understand. She could certainly use lots of prayers, as she's said.
- To be continued
Continued:
ReplyDeleteInteresting; well, that works, although it'll be particularly interesting/unique/odd that your own birthday will be around your wedding day, right?
Ah, so that's what you look like. As a Flickr friend of mine, Kari Elaine said, "It's weird that you can be friends with someone online for a while and feel like you know them to a certain extent, but not know what they look like." (or something to that effect)
Why don't you like photos of yourself? You may have already told me, but I am not very good at remembering things.
I agree; Lys did a pretty good job with that portrait. Now that will be something to see - the bride walking around with a camera, taking photos of everyone else. :D
Did you forget that I still don't even really know what Lys looks like? :)
So I'm between you two in age, it seems (the month in the middle).
Ha, so she has about a week or two to prepare her wedding arrangements?
That's how it usually happens, right, a special someone enters your life and then your plans often tend to change?
That reminds me of at least one friend from years ago who said he wanted to be a bachelor...I have a feeling he may have changed his mind about that by now. :)
Well, we were cleaning and packing like crazy today and then the realtor came and took some pictures while I and my siblings were at Taco Bell, and the house is going to be listed tomorrow or the day after or something like that, so we have to have it ready to show...but we move around July 5, I think.
There's a Fourth of July celebration we're going to at Scott Brown's (the pastor of one of our church's sister churches I told you about before) farm in Wake Forest on the fourth where all three sister churches are going to get together...I'm not sure why I just said that, since it's not very important, but we'll obviously still be here on the fourth of July.
And did I mention that I don't have any stamina to speak of either? Even when I excercised a fair amount when I played soccer, I always got tired quickly and while I may have not been the most exhausted, I always looked like I was. And now that I haven't been exercising often...you get the idea.
Yeah, that would have been cool. Something I've thought about is this: when I get to know somebody online and found out that I was at the same place at the same time or at around the same time, I wish I could have met them then*, but even though I sometimes like meeting new people, I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way to meet them at the time I could have, unless I traveled back in time since I know them now. So if I see someone now I might know later, they might just be like everyone else passing by unless I talk to them for a while and get to know them a little bit, whereas if I had met them online, I'd be like "Hey! I finally get to meet you in person..." I think I just repeated what I was saying there, didn't I? Ouch, I am really not being concise and easy to understand; I should probably spend more time on getting better at that.
I'm afraid I have not helped any in making these comments any shorter (but if you don't mind the fact yours are long, I don't either), and I probably ramble more than you do.
Good night; was True Grit a pretty good movie?
* For instance, one friend of mine, Kristan played volleyball with the corresponding team to my soccer team and was at the award ceremony, but I don't remember seeing her, probably because I didn't know her then, and then there's Ara, who says she was at the Creation Museum during one of the days the Sufficiency of Scripture conference we went to was going on, and we went to the Creation Museum one day while we were there.
I'm sorry I have replied yet, I have been really busy. I'll try to reply soon, but it maybe Wednesday or after since I'm going to be pretty busy this week.
ReplyDeleteNight!
That's ok. :) You obviously don't have any obligation to talk to me, but I appreciate the fact that you do.
ReplyDeleteGood night!
Alright! Finally! :) First off, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to reply. June is just so busy for us.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Lys and I love Australia! I'm not sure
exactly why. Maybe it's the Webb Bridge in Melbourne or the Sydney Opera House or the interesting history. Maybe it's just the adorable accent :)
I keep trying to convince Chad - my fiance - that Australia is better than Hawaii, but I don't think he can get over the numerous poisonous animals, including the type of spider that eats birds.
Where would you go if you could go anywhere?
I need to comb through my photos too. There are so many I don't really like. I don't know why I don't delete them as soon as I decide I don't like them, but I don't. I ought to though.
Well, I'm not into crocheting or knitting :) I do like Victorian fashion, but I'm not familiar enough with the subject to get into a deep conversation about it :) I love to talk about books, but mainly with Mom, my sisters, Chad and Lys. Chad hasn't read many of the books I have, but he is kind enough to listen :) I try to talk to people about what they are interested in too. First off because you almost invariably learn something new and because it's fun to hear of other people intrests. Of course, it's just good manners to listen, or so I've been told :)
Well good, I'm glad I haven't.
Hum, I don't know what's with us. Surprisingly we both adored Australia before we knew the other one did. We went awhile not talking to each other when we were younger because her family moved when we were five and five year olds don't stay in contact very well. It wasn't until we were 14 that we got really close again. I think we posted about it once earlier this year...
Yeah, it's pretty good to see her that often. We used to only see each other every few years - quite a bummer, we weren't that close then though. Getting to see her this often is a rather new development. We didn't even see each other that much when we first started getting close again. We just emailed and talked on the phone so much it drove my parents crazy :)
I agree about not having to know someone in person. I am very close friends with Amber (you may have heard me mention her before, I can't remember). I wish I could meet some though :)I think everyone wants to have a close friend they can see, even though it is nice to have online friends. I know I enjoy having Lyssa around me more than I enjoy talking to her on the phone, and I like talking to her on the phone more than IMing her. It's something to do with the personal contact and being able to hear each other. If I'm upset/crying I'll call her instead of IM or text her if I can.
You don't talk about yourself too much, you stop yourself before you can :)
It's ok, I understand. What friends tell you in confidence is to remain confident until they give you leave to tell.
Yeah, it will be interesting for the wedding to
be around my birthday, although Chad was pulling
for us to get married on my birthday so he would
only have to remember one date :) That won't work since it will be a Thursday next year, but it might have made it one interesting and memorable birthday :)
Do I look anything like you expected me too? I always end up with a preconceived idea of what I think a person looks like just to have the idea completely smashed when I see what the person really does look like.
ReplyDeleteBree (my sister) says I look sorta bookworm-y/beachy/bubbly. Not sure how that works, particularly since I'm not blonde :)
I don't know why I don't like pictures of me. Maybe because I always end up looking short and dumpy when I'm really just short and skinny-ish. Maybe I'm just not overly satisfied with the way I look in general. Oh well, pretty is as pretty does :)
I'll have to tell Lys you think her portraits are good. Like me, she prefers nature photography.
Maybe if I've got the camera there wont be as
many pictures of me :) Plus, I don't think anyone who knows me very well will be overly suprised if I have a camera with me. Then again, who knows, they might think it's absolutely horrible that I'd be taking pictures when I ought to be mingling with guests and making small talk. His family particularly since they don't know me well.
Well, you'll probably know what Lyssa looks like eventually, since I'll most likely upload them to my shutterfly. :)
Yeah, you are. I never really thought about it. You are roughly a month younger than Lys and a month older than me :)
Yep, she doesn't have much time. I tease her about setting her up with one of our friends, but she inevitably objects to my choice :) I keep telling her she doesn't have much time to be chosey!
My plans certainly changed. I wasn't really thinking about getting married, at least not until I was in my mid-to-late twenties. Now I'll be married shortly before my 20th birthday or something like that.
Thats great. I'm glad everything is going smoothly for y'alls move. Why are you moving anyway? Wait, have I already asked you that? I can't remember.
I have no idea what we're doing for the 4th. I think we maybe seeing a second cousin - or some relation - that day. We used to do fireworks, but we can't where we live now. I'm ok with that, because I never was much too keen on fireworks.
No stamina? Huh. I sometimes have a couple of weeks where I feel sapped on energy, usually in
the spring. It probably stems from the allergies or some such thing. I usually try drinking green tea, but I'm not sure what you're supposed to do to increase stamina.
I don't think I've ever been somewhere that someone I knew/know was at around the same time. Except you that is. But that was on different days, so I'm not sure that counts.
I don't really go out of my way to make friends or talk to people either. I do if the person looks lonely or upset, or if they are new to our church, but often times I make more of an effort to include them rather than seek them out for friendship. I'm not the most out-going person. I get told that I'm out-going though, not sure why.
I think we're both contributing to the length.
Surprisingly it isn't super late as I write this. It's only 7:00pm. So good evening!
P.S I haven't gotten to see True Grit yet. I hope to this weekend.
Finally, I'm getting around to writing a reply; I'm usually faster at getting back to people but this has taken me longer than was usual.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand about being busy and finding it hard to find the time to write a lengthy reply; I've been quite busy as well, as you know...I want this whole moving business to be over already! At least July 6th is not too far away...
Haha, those are pretty good reasons. :) I think my favorite places like that are New Zealand (Kiwiland) and Ireland, since the people in both of those places (well, really just the girls) have cute accents, and the scenery is said to be very pretty. Hawaii doesn't have snakes anymore, as you may have heard, since the mongooses (mongeese?) were brought it to control the snake population, and they did their job a bit too well and ate them all up. Now there are lots of mongooses and no snakes there, at least in O'ahu.
If I could go anywhere, I'd probably want to go to a bunch of countries in Europe, such as the UK, Iceland and other Scandinavian countries, Germany and some other places. And New Zealand, of course.
I think the reason I don't delete my bad photos right away is I don't always go through the photos I take after I upload them to my computer, and other times I think I might be able to slightly improve a mediocre photo if I edit it, and still other times I edit a few photos from a day but forget about the others for the time.
Ah. I like reading as well, and although there are some books that I don't find interesting, writing is writing, so I'll talk with writers to be nice, and perhaps I'll learn something – I'd like to write at least one novel eventually.
Hm, I don't think I read about that – I haven't been following your blog for all that long, actually.
In fact, I forgot if you told me how you found mine, but it was probably from Ara's, Hannah Nicole's, or some other writer's or “bloggertographer's” blog, right?
I don't think I remember you mentioning Amber...but then, I'm infamous for forgetting things.
Hearing someone's voice is definitely better than texting or e-mailing them, if you have the time and opportunity. Of course, my voice sounds strange and I don't know why anybody would want to hear it...
Ah, I didn't get the whole “next year” thing – I was thinking your wedding was going to be this month. :) Why won't a Thursday work? Nevermind, of course a wedding has to be on a Saturday so everyone can go to it. It would be funny for your birthday and wedding/anniversary to be on the same day; too bad that can't happen.
Hm, no, not really. :) I didn't know you wear glasses either. (I do as well, although I prefer contacts in most situations) Did I look like what you expected? Seeing photos of me is probably quite a letdown for many people who didn't know what I looked like until then but knew who I was. :D
ReplyDeleteBookworm-y, possibly. Beachy? I'm not sure what that entails. As for bubbly, probably somewhat.
Well, the most important thing is that your fiancée thinks you're pretty, right?
You and Chad look nice in those photos. :)
Nature photography, like basically every kind of photography, can be “bleh” or amazing; I could show you some who create the amazing nature photos if you're ever interested. Speaking of which, if you ever want to join Flickr, I'd be glad to show you some of my favorite contacts and others, depending on what you like.
The wedding photographer is the bride, hehe.
Fie on small talk if it doesn't do anything helpful, say I.
I don't know why I was thinking you were getting married this month (and I should have paid attention to the “20th birthday thing here), Lys has a little bit of time, eh? ;)
I don't remember if you asked me or not; we're moving since my dad's in the Navy – this is going to be his last or next-to-last duty station.
That's quite alright. A random person from the blogger world isn't exactly first priority, I'm sure :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you are thrilled to have the final move so close.
Well, I'm glad someone besides Lys thinks those are good reasons.
I'm not a big fan of the New Zealand accent, although it isn't very different then the Aussie accent. I love the Irish accent!
Ok, I hadn't heard about the snakes... Please don't tell my fiancé that. He'll want to go there for sure then. He hates snakes and that is one of his main reasons for not wanting to go to Australia.
I would love to travel all over Europe, but I also want to go to Maine, Colorado, Nova Scotia, any beach... well, almost any. I would LOVE to go to Germany, almost as much as Australia. Yes, I know when I said Europe it included Germany :) I love WWII history and I love to see all the places I read about.
I almost always look at my mediocre pictures and think "I can do something with that, I know I can". I almost never do anything with them, so they just stay taking up room in my computer. I almost always look through my pictures, but I rarely delete them.
Yeah, I didn't think you had read about that.
Um... How did I find your blog..? I'm trying to remember. I know I had seen your profile picture and (of course) just had to see what lens and camera it was. I just can't remember which blog I came from. I know it wasn't Hannah Nicole, since I don't read her blog. It was most likely Ara. Good guess.
Well, theoretically I could have the wedding on a Thursday, but most people wouldn't want to take off work. Saturday would be a better day. Yeah, too bad. Chad teasingly accused me of planning it near my birthday for the fun of it, but honestly I would have preferred May.
I knew it - I was probably a bit of a letdown, of course you may not have thought much about it either. I do not like glasses at all, not one bit. I've only been wearing them for about a year and I don't have a strong enough proscription contacts yet. I don't wear glasses in pictures and I don't much care for wearing them at all.
ReplyDeleteUm, well I - surprisingly - didn't have much of a picture of you in my head. Dark hair and intelligent looking was about the extent of what I had in mind, so it wasn't a letdown since you do have dark hair and you do look intelligent.
I'm not exactly sure what Beachy entails either; you'd have to ask Bree :) I'm sure the Bookworm-y effect is heightened by the glasses and as for Bubbly, that is usually only around close friends and family. I’m not sure how I’d describe myself… I usually rely on other people’s descriptions.
Yes, lucky me, he seems to think I'm pretty :)
Aww thanks. Our preacher's wife took those pictures with her phone at church. We're wearing plain ol' clothes too... Our church is pretty relaxed; I guess you have to be that way when you worship in an elementary school :)
Of course I want to see amazing nature photos! I might think about joining flikr. I don't know yet. I've never really thought about it before.
Yep, a bride photographer! A new one, but hey, all pioneers were thought to be crazy!
Lys has a teeny bit more time and she is still vetoing all of my suggestions. I guess I'll have to give up and let her pick for herself, but I'm not going to let her know that. I'll just go on tormenting her a little longer :)
My dad was in the Navy, he is retired now though. He retired before my parents were married though (therefore, before I was born), so I've never had to travel around.
Ok, a couple of photography questions. What is your favorite time of day to get nature shots? Do you change your aperture a lot, or do you tend to keep it on a favorite setting. And what do you do to get good shot indoors with florescent lighting?
True Grit was alright. Not the best, not the worst. Parts were funny and the end was kind of sad. I probably won’t be watching it again anytime in the near future.
You're not just a random person from the blogger world now; you're one of my online friends and I know a little bit about you...I guess Lys is an online friend as well, but she hasn't talked to me very much like you have.
ReplyDeletePeople ask me if I'm looking forward to moving...I'm looking forward to all this packing and painting and other stuff coming to an end, although once we're settled in, I'll have a fresh set of challenges and anxieties, such as establishing a career and other things concerning my future and getting married, etc.
Yes, the Kiwi accent sounds somewhat similar to the Aussie accent, but I prefer the Kiwi sound. :)
I'm not a big fan of the beach or swimming (I find them rather boring, although I might make an exception if I'm with a good friend – but that would be to spend time on the beach; I still won't want to swim). Ah, WWII history...it is neat to go somewhere a big event in history happened and to know “I'm standing where this happened many years ago...”
Hehe, my profile pic might be lame since I was only using the MkII and 70-200 f/4L and don't actually own them, but I wanted that photo to signify that I have aspirations of becoming a professional photographer and am serious about photography, not just “Hey, I've got a big camera and lens.” Someday I hope to have some nice DSLRs and lenses, but that might be a while...I guess I want people to know that although I have a cheap, entry-entry-level DSLR, I'm not just one of those people who buys a camera kit and simply “takes pictures” (cheesy self-portraits and other stuff); I am actually trying to get somewhere with photography, like I've told you. Still, I guess it did catch someone's attention. ;) And I think that while I'm not as skilled in photography as I'd like to be, the photos I upload aren't that bad and are gradually improving; I'd rather be a photographer with a cheap camera and mad photography skills than a guy with several-thousand-dollar cameras, lenses, and more who doesn't know anything about the technical aspects of photography and how to take good photos.
Ah, from Ara's blog; ok. Another of my online friends, Elizabeth couldn't remember how she found my blog. I have 17 public followers (and I'm pretty sure at least a few anonymous followers), but I'm fairly certain at least a few of it don't read it anymore, others comment only rarely, and there are a few new followers who I have no idea who they are (I doubt that's correct grammar, but I'm not sure how to say it). Only a few leave comments with any regularity, and v
The fact that all of my public followers are girls doesn't bother me; I like making online friends like in the blogger world...although I wish I could meet all my online friends and talk in person, talking online is nice too.
I forget; which is the month with the most weddings, is it April?
Well, I did kind of wonder what you looked like, as I did/do with all of my online friends who I know through what they write but am in the dark as to what they look like.
ReplyDeleteI've been wearing glasses recently since the right contact lens of the trial pair of contacts I got recently has been blurry and irritates my right eye. I don't like them (having good eyesight would be nice), but it could be worse.
Intelligent-looking; haha, thanks. I think glasses might make some people look less intelligent and others look smarter; I think the latter might be the case with me, but I'm not really smart to begin with, and my glasses certainly don't boost my IQ. :)
Well, if you do join Flickr, I'll be glad to help you out with figuring it out and showing you some contacts you might like. Are you only interested in nature photography?
Let me see...my favorite time of day for nature photos...maybe the "golden hour" which I think is shortly before sunset, but sunrise (not that I like to wake up early for it) and just whenever also work usually.
ReplyDeleteI don't usually take nature photos anymore, but when I do, I sometimes experiment with various apertures...if I'm taking a landscape shot, I often use a tripod and a small aperture (f/16, f/22, f/10, etc.), and if I'm doing other nature shots such as a photo of a flower, I usually use a large aperture such as wide open on my 35 f/2, or whatever aperture gets a depth-of-field just deep enough so the entire flower or other subject is in focus but has the rest of the background blurred. You should get a fast prime...the “nifty fifty” (a.k.a. “plastic fantastic”) $100 50 1.8 is one many recommend since it's fast, sharp, cheap, is a big upgrade over the kit lens in some ways (in terms of low-light performance and shallow dof at least, and sharpess as well, I think)...I actually don't like that lens due to the build quality (plastic and plastic mount), noise, slow autofocus, etc. My 35 f/2 is also noisy and focuses slowly, but it has a different sound (sounds better to me) and the build quality is much better. Granted, it does cost 3-4 times as much...
The focal length is a big thing to consider; if you want to mostly do headshot portraits, a 50mm (1.8, 1.4, 1.2, 1.0), 85mm (1.8 or 1.2 – keep in mind the 1.2 models are L lenses and are very expensive), 100mm (f/2 – the macro versions are said to be too sharp for portraiture), 135mm (2.8 or 2.0), and more. And then there is the 35 1.4 as well as many others...you can always simply move your feet to fit as much or as little of your subject into the frame, although you don't always have that option, such as when indoors, in which case it's a good idea to have a wider focal length (say, a 28, 35, or maybe even 50mm). But wait, you're not interesting in taking portraits. What kind of nature photos do you like the best, macros, landscapes, etc.? I just want to know since certain lenses are designed for certain applications, as you know.
Don't forget to multiply the focal length of EF lenses by 1.6 to get the equivalent on your APS-C sensor DSLR...
For other kinds of subjects, I might keep the aperture at a certain f-stop and simply adjust the shutter speed (when shooting in manual, which I do 99.9% of the time); for instance, when taking action photos of a frisbee game or other stuff like that, I often have my 55-250 wide open at f/4, and when taking car photos, I usually use my 10-22 at f/5.
So I think it all depends on what I'm doing.
As for indoor shots with fluorescent lighting, that's kind of tricky. To tell the truth, I'm still trying to figure out how some photographers get great photos indoors with regular lights without using flashes and other stuff. However, if you have the correct white balance setting and tweak the photo in Photoshop, you might be able to get something that looks good. I think fluorescent lighting is just hard to work with, as is the lighting in certain other situations such as bright, direct sunlight in the late morning or noon. By the way, your camera came with the 18-55mm IS kit lens, right?
I'm sorry if I didn't do a very good job of answering your questions; if you want clarification, I'll be glad to try again and give better answers.
Hm, ok. I guess I won't bother about watching it then.
Hey! Sorry it's taking me so long to reply. I have been uploading pictures, editing, posting and answering emails ever since I got home. I hope to be able to reply soon.
ReplyDeleteNight!
Hi Riah,
ReplyDeleteI totally understand; I've been wanting to reply to e-mails and such as well, but all our stuff needs to get unpacked first, and our wifi isn't up yet, and I'll need that. BTW, I saw the photos if you and Lys; I'll admit, she didn't look like what I had in mind either.
Hey,
ReplyDeleteI know your currently offline, but I figured I'd let you know that I'd reply when your back!
What did you think Lys would look like? - btw: her hair isn't that long anymore. Sadly she cut it :(
Hi Riah,
ReplyDeleteI'm sort of online again (using my iPhone; we only have dial-up right now), so I'll try to answer your question right now.
Well, it's kind of hard to explain what I thought Lys looked like, but I had a different picture in mind from the profile pic on your blog.
Although I wasn't sure what you looked like at the time, I think you look like how you do in the photo.
Yeah, I guess she doesn't really look like that profile picture... Of course the point is to distort, but that profile picture doesn't do her justice. How's job search going? Are you keeping up with your photography?
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm still a bum - no job.
ReplyDeleteAs for photography, I wish I was so much better...but I'll post some nature photos soon.
Aw, you're no bum. I'm sure you're plenty of help around the house. I do you hope you get a job soon though.
ReplyDeleteI liked your nature photos - as you know since I posted a comment there first. And again, I think you are a good photographer... but of course, that is just my humble opinion :)
Bleh. I do not care for living in the country and the farm life, even though it's not as much of a farm as other places. I've yet to milk the cow, but I'll probably do so soon.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you like country living? Any reason in particular?
ReplyDeleteI've milked a cow before... I was in South Carolina really early in the morning one time and a farmer we know let me milk the cow. I wasn't very good at it, I was better at what he called "stripping" which is what they do to get the last drops of milk out... But you probably already know that. Oh well.
And you are welcome.
Oh, your link on your comment on my post didn't come through right. What was it you were trying to show me?
Well, I don't like farm work, the look and smell of farms, and a whole bunch of things that are associated with it, I guess.
ReplyDeleteNo offense intended if you live on a farm, of course.
Hm, try this link: http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/iphone-slr-mount/
Maybe I messed up the HTML code.
Nope, I don't live on a farm and no offense taken, to each his own :)
ReplyDeleteThat does look interesting I suppose, but you would most likely need a tripod to suport those lenses, since it'd be awkward to hold the camera/phone and lens. It might be fun to play around with though! Where on earth do you find out about such random things?
Oh, good.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right; big lenses like any of Canon's 70-200 models are usually pretty heavy.
I find out about things like that from here there and everywhere: GizMag's (from Gizmodo) e-mail newsletter, various websites and more, I guess; I'm not sure exactly.
You are just an endless fountain of interesting bit of information, aren't you? :) It's pretty cool. How's the job search and photography going now?
ReplyDeleteHm, no, not quite.
ReplyDeleteThe job search is at a standstill, and as for photography, I'm learning a few things, but progress is very slow, to say the least.