MikkiStreak

If there's a wall somewhere across from a building with reflective glass, it would be cool to set up the camera on the wall (or tripod if you have access to one) at an angle that slightly distorts the things being reflected---- then make faces/strike funny poses and set your camera on a timer.... you could even keep the camera in the same place, and move around in 3-4 different shots (each with a different face/pose) and then use PS to super-impose all the "you" images into one photo.... call it "the three faces of morgan".

Amy, those pictures are amazing! And you were so beautiful - your hair, makeup and dress just have that "timeless" elegence that never goes out of style....

Crap, I totally missed you putting decor photos on here!! They've been sitting here for almost 2 months, totally unnoticed by me, when I was itching to see pics after the conversations we had about your purchases!!! The bedroom set is awesome! I really love the dark "mahogany" color that's coming back now! And that bed looks so comfy! Nice plush pillow top!! Now your guests won't want to leave!

I'll continue with Martha and Kate's idea.... We think our neighbors are either terrorists or wife-beaters. It's absolutely silent once the guy to go work and his wife, MIL, kid is home all day.... but once the office closes, it sounds like he's using machinery to build something, and half the time it sounds like someone is getting body-slammed on the floor. The building next door to us has been surrounded by cops with their guns drawn twice now; and a serial rapist was found being harbored here a few months ago. We're surrounded by half million dollar homes (bear in mind, average home prices around DFW are about $160ish) and a golf course, and the neighborhood is going ghetto; which I'm sure pisses off the half million dollar home owners!!! hehehe Fortunately, we're putting a bid in on a house tomorrow and if accepted, we'll be getting the fuck out of here, and moving to a "rural" feeling neighborhood across from Lake Lavon with a half acre yard and wooded creekbed in the backyard.

Laura, your photos are beautiful.... You looked so beautiful and absolutely happy!!! And Rayden---- my God, that was adorable to see him in his outfit... totally reminds me of Angus Young, and now it makes me want a ring bearer to dress like that!!! And Julie's cake was amazing!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by melwru Well we definitely dont look our real age, and when there is alcohol involved we DEFINITELY dont act our age either! HA! And with the group we are taking there will certainly be mayhem and drama aplenty!! Maybe we should apply. I love MTV:True Life , how much fun would it be to actually be on it! But if we dont qualify I know they will find awesome couples right here in this forum . I cant wait to watch the episode!! Ditto. He's 40 and I'm 37, but we both get estimated around 26-30 for our ages.... and 50% of our guests will be punk/metal musicians, club owners, booking agents and artists. The other 50% are bank executives, professional business people or work for the Catholic dioceses. Now that is going to cause some drama... hehe...

Jamy, are you looking to just do this quickly? Or do you have a little time to try a few things to see if you can find him on your own? The reason I ask is because I used to help adoption agencies locate people, and there's a few tips/resources I could email you.... Let me know if you're interested.... otherwise, I'll go thru my list of paid search databases and send you some recommendations...

Christa--- I was wondering when I'd see some shots of the decor! Especially after the sofa purchase. I love that round coffee table, especially with the flowers/candle. Really adds a nice "soft" touch to the contemporary feel... the blue accents look awesome too!

The last time I went on the Zipper, I screamed so loud the ride operator stopped after 2 minutes and kicked me off. Everyone was so pissed to have the ride stop that we had to leave the carnival to avoid any lynchings.

We went to a horse ranch last weekend and when I started working on these shots, I thought of our Sarah --- so I thought I'd post them. Nothing too impressive with these, but it was an absolutely gorgeous sunset that night!

On our way home last night, we noticed a traveling carnival set up in the parking lot across the freeway by our place. It's that time of year where these are a dime a dozen down here, but usually it's the small kiddo rides (merry-go-round, train rides, food vendor, gallery games, etc..). This was the first one I've seen this year that had rides for the small kiddos, but also for teens/adults. We stopped and had some fun.... and in the last 20 minutes while they were slowing down and closing up for the night, I set up the camera and took some shots....

Got that beat. Life Through The Lens: Search results for harptallica Metallica done on Harps. Watch the video... the chick starts "head-banging" on the last song they do....

Quote: Originally Posted by LuvGrand I just moved from Des Moines last week! I second all of the things that MikkiStreak said about the Des Moines area. You should really check out the state fair...it's a really big deal and there's tons to do there. Also, if you want to go for a nice, peaceful walk (and if the area is open and isn't under water still), you should go to Gray's lake. There's a nice 2 mile long walk around the lake. It's normally a lot prettier but the floods killed a lot of the plants around that area. If you want to go shopping, movie theater or go out to eat, you should go to Jordan Creek Mall which is in West Des Moines (that's actually the name of the city). Billy Joes Picture Show is a fun theater where you can eat while you watch a movie. billyjoes.com is the website I think. If you are taking a bike, there are tons of bike trails in the area and around downtown. My FI and I are from Texas but moved to Des Moines for me to go to school and we LOVE IT! It's taking all of the nice things out of Texas minus the heat and driving distances and adding the snow. It has the conveniences of a big city and nice people without the traffic. You can PM me if you have any more questions. I hope you enjoy your time there! Nice to see more Iowa folks on here! I'm going to be working up there for a week or two in August/Sept so I can spend some time with my folks for awhile. Cannot wait to get back up there!

Morgan, before deciding on which lens to get, determine what type of photos you'd take most. The lens equivalent of the human eye interpreting the world around us, is about 35mm. So if you look around at things around you that you would photograph, pay attention to how close/far away you are from that subject. For example, if you're 20ft from a beautiful flower- think about how small/large that flower appears to your human eye--- then ask yourself, do I need to be closer to the flower, or farther away from the flower to take the kind of picture I want? This can help you determine if a 50mm is a good choice for your needs, to start with. If you want a 50mm lens, the 1.8 aperature is going to come in handy and would be a good choice. If, you could see yourself taking pictures of people and maybe buildings/architecture too, then maybe a wide angle would work better (like 18-55mm range, so you aren't limited by a single framework lens). Also, be careful where you buy the SLR kit from---- there's a couple sites out there that are 'questionable' businesses--- as in, they change their names every couple months because they've pissed off too many people doing things like selling a "kit" that actually has stuff missing in it. I think you said something about using an ebay vendor.... might be worth it to compare the price they've given you to a place like B&H Photo Video... B&H is usually comparable, and they have a "bill me later" option that would defer payments/interest for 6 months on a purchase this size... I buy most of my stuff using that program because I can keep my money for 6 months earning interest, and then pay it off before payments kick in. Oh yea, there's an ebay vendor I used for buying batteries that is dirt cheap and has been reliable... a lot of camera suppliers will charge say, $40 for a battery that can actually be purchased from a battery supplier for $15. And, there were some really good deals at Office Depot a few weeks ago on a large, fast compact flash card--- like, about half the price found at electronics/PC stores....

Oh yea, the timeframe you'll be there is during the state fair. Definitely check it out if you can. Always fun. My brother's band was always the opening act for bands like Cheap Trick, Huey Lewis, etc... it was a lot of fun. I think they have a Blues Festival right around that time of year also. But, again, not sure how much stuff is available because of the floods this year. DM was on the far edge of the flood range, so their downtown area might now be that damaged. Places like Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, where my family is located--- those will take a couple years to rebuild from the damage...

Take your floaties and a canoe.... hopefully the water levels have receded. I'm from Iowa... cow-tipping is a myth... there's no way a human can push over a 1500lb animal... and even if a group of people tried it, the cow is going to wake up before they can do it... and there's one thing you don't want to piss off--- and it's a cow or bull. They move a lot faster than you think! First, for water fun--- head to Saylorville lake.... not sure what the water levels are up there right now.... the lakes and rivers between Des Moines and the Illinois border have been flooded for the last several weeks. (and by flooded, I mean, picture New Orleans after Katrina, and this is what it's been like.) So I'm not sure if the lakes are open yet or not.... There's a small indoor aboretum right off the interstate, just east of downtown... beautiful flowers and blooms in there.... they also have a pretty decent modern art museum, if I remember correctly.... I haven't visited it in about 10 years, but at the time, their photography display was good. There's also an amusement park (Adventureland) and a horse racing track & casino in Altoona... To the southeast of Des Moines, is Pella---- a dutch community that is kinda cool to experience. (windmills, traditional dutch heritage, etc...) Be prepared for down-to-earth friendliness.... "fear" of people/things is not a common attitude up there---- it's the kind of place where people will wave as you drive past (in small communities), and they'll stop to chat and help you. If you like history, the capitol building is a cool piece of architecture.... complete with real gold gilding and dome... If you like nature... drive outside of the city after dark... just to see the open skies.... you'll see the milky way, and stars that city people can't even believe exist anymore. It's not flat like most people think.... it's actually rolling hill country... with traditional working farms... and in the countryside, it's really beautiful and just peaceful. Also, about an hour south of DM on 35S, is Madison County. Remember the movie "The Bridges of Madison County"? It was filmed there, and that is a really beautiful part of the state.... gorgeous rolling hillside, 100-150 year old covered bridges, golden sunsets that can only be experienced in the countryside (where city pollution and light pollution don't exist).... Let me know if you have any questions.... just be prepared for life to slow down while you're there. It's actually a nice feeling for a change.

Curious, what photography forums are you a member of? There's a crapload of them out there, and rather than sign up, monitor them for awhile, and then decide which ones I would frequently read.... I thought I'd ask you guys! I'd like to find ones that has a good mix of photographers (fine arts, portraits, wedding, commercial, stock, etc...)--- where there's good discussion of equipment, technical content, and most importantly- where there's a good amount of responsiveness and willingness to help people develop their abilities. I've been on a couple now where the competition was strong enough that pros don't really like to critique/comment because they view it as helping a competitor take future business from them... Anyways, feel free to PM any input, if you'd like. I appreciate any help I can get!

I had a Cathedral setting for almost a year for a round diamond. After 10 months, I switched to a different band. Even tho I was very cautious because it was set higher, each time I accidentally banged it against something (like brushing against a doorframe once, and one other time when I hit it on the kitchen counter)--- both times, it loosened the prong and the head had to be replaced. From my understanding, there were a couple things that could have contributed to this effect: 1) the band was white gold, and gold is more flexible than some other metals, 2) each time a metal is melted down and re-used, it affects the strength of the metal--- so if the gold had been melted down from some other ring, then used to make the head of my ring, it could have broken down the metal and made it more susceptible to damage. Either way, I wound up replacing either prongs or the head 3 times total in that 10 month timeframe and that was about enough for me to realize I should change my band.

Quote: Originally Posted by TammyB Nikki, I took my camera to the fireworks on Thursday night, it was the first time I tired to take pictures of fireworks and my only regret is that I wasn't further away. The fireworks were going off right in front of the house we were at so they were right above our head, so all my pictures were close ups. This was my first time shooting fireworks too, with my DSLR. I'd only done it once before with a little HP point and shoot several years ago. We were pretty close to the fireworks, about 300' away from the launch site. I used my wide angle lens, somewhere around 18-25mm, and even with that- I still had to set up the tripod so the camera was about 2' from the ground. We went to fireworks the last two nights too, but had really crappy seats, with lots of power lines in our line of view. I took a bunch of shots last night, but only have maybe 1-2 that I could do something 'abstract' with, and that's pretty much what I expected when I realized what all was between the camera and the fireworks. I swear that next year I'm going to go downtown and scope out the entire area to find the perfect place to get a nice skyline view with the fireworks going off!

We went to a small community fireworks show last weekend at Providence. It was muddy as hell from the rain, and after almost going camera first into the mud, I decided it wasn't worth messing up the camera. So I watched for 10 minutes, constantly thinking of the pictures I could be taking. In the last 2 minutes of the show, I yanked the camera out of the bag, threw it onto the tripod, and got 3 shots before it was over.

I work for a computer software company and have the flexibility to work in the office or at home whenever I want/need. Martha, with a teaching background, you might want to look at training jobs--- a lot of companies will hire trainers (who train their clients on their product lines) and allow them to work from home. Also, if you're not as comfortable with sales positions, something like a sales engineer position might be worth exploring.... they usually get to work from home and do things from sales support, to conducting product demo's for the sales reps, or do the research behind RFP's for the sales reps.

I think most people who are superficial like this girl is; where they make their decisions based on what they get out of it, and constantly want their partner to jump thru monetary hoops; all of them are doing it because that's the only way the measure "love" from people. My daughter's former "mother" was like this lady. The only time Audrey received any affection or praise from this monster was when she dressed Audrey up in "perfect little outfits" and treated her like a clothes-horse. When I first met this woman, she talked more about the way she dressed Audrey in, than about Audrey herself. To this day, Audrey associates money with love. She doesn't like to do anything that doesn't involve spending money. She simply can't understand the joy of just DOING something, like going to free concerts in the park, or window-shopping, etc.... it takes a lot of effort to 'undo' these damages. It's really sad.... I really don't understand people like this and it takes a lot of patience to not be a bitch to them; but coming across people like this really makes me want to shit-kick their parents for raising them that way....

It probably dropped off the forum during one of the upgrades last year. A lot of photos that were directly uploaded to the forum (instead of linking to a Photobucket account, etc...) were lost during one of the upgrades. Unfortunately, I don't have the spreadsheet on my laptop, so I can't reload it...

First, let me say, that I totally agree that these girls have no clue what they are in for. They THINK they know, but the reality is so different from what they originally wanted. THUMBS DOWN to those parents for protesting about birth control distribution at school. Just because it's available as a resource doesn't mean the kids are going to jump in and get them unless they already have wanted to. I just don't get parents like this. Just because you take away a viable resource doesn't mean it prevents these kids from having sex anyways! And what really chaps my ass about this kind of mentality, is that they protest about how it invades their rights as parents; but what about the rights of the parents who would WANT resources like this available to their kids and now can't have it! It's like the aethist/christian arguments: don't force your God on me, but by taking God away, it invades the other religions right to practice their beliefs---- NO ONE WINS with this kind of attitude!!! BRAVO to that school for providing resources to these girls who are trying to raise their children! There is a really sad mentality in the US (and I'm sure in other countries too) that goes something like this: you don't do what I think you should do, so I'm going to punish you by not helping! How fucked up is that? Let's see... so you screwed up... you PLANNED your screwup.... and when you realize it and need some help to try and do the best you can for your kid.... you have no help because that's the PUNISHMENT of not doing what the world thinks you should do. These kids made a piss-poor decision, yes. But the reality is that to get ANY job these days when you're older than 18, is to have a high school diploma. So, I think it's awesome that this school is trying to help these kids by providing a daycare so the girls can finish their education and have somewhat of a chance of getting a job after they graduate. In my opinion, we need MORE resources available to help these kids be the kind of parents they should be. But the reality is, when all avenues are shut off to these kids as "consequences" for their actions, the only thing that happens is the continuity of bad parenting and raising children who become bad adults. And I totally back Christine on the Bush educational policies... I hope they get chucked out the window the moment that douchebag leaves office.

Quote: Originally Posted by JessicaLovesBrian I share Glenda's hatred for Myspace personally. But no way in hell would my kid at 7 have a myspace page. No offense to your friend because I'm sure she's a great mom, but just because a kid whines for something doesn't mean they should get it. I'd personally love it if Myspace and all similiar sites lost their popularity before Aiden becomes old enough to navigate the interent. DITTO! Any site that allows the pages to be "private" unless invited is asking for parental problems... I understand why MySpace created that because in theory it should be used to PROTECT... but the reality is that when you give kids that ability, it's giving them license to keep secrets from their parents, and can put them in jeopardy. Audrey has one, and I've told her that she has to give me her login to keep on record. I signed up for a page just so I can see her page layout. she knows that in order to keep her MySpace, she has to always have me on her friends list and that if I'm online and see anything questionable on her site, that I'll log in as her and go thru everything top to bottom. I also keep her in line with her page by going on and leaving "embarassing" comments under the photos I want her to take down, etc... If her situation weren't what it is, I wouldn't even let her have a site. But everything else in her life is so damn controlled that if I can give her 1-2 "normal" experiences like internet, iPod and being able to call friends on the phone; then I'll try to make it work for her sake. But personally, i HATE mySpace and think it's pointless and a big waste of the internet.