Picture This!!
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I rarely use the macro lens for flowers. I just use the optical zoom on the camera..I tend to stand back and let the lens move closer.
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Umm. What about your butterfly shots? When do you use it?
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same with the butterflies. I have used it for teeny tiny things
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Ladies, it has been a frustrating day. My desktop computer which I paid around $2300 only three years ago when it started having serious issues is now deemed worthless because the motherboard has died. It was a Dell. Now that I am getting into photography more I am interested in what computers you use and what type of monitors when you are using photo editing software. I was dealing with Best Buy and they had suggested Asus which I thought was an offbrand but after reading up they have some good reviews. I don't think I want to learn a Mac at this point even though it sounds like that is what many photographers prefer.
Any input would be appreciated. I still have an HP laptop which I really like.
Nancy
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You can probably still use your monitor...I think you can plug your laptop into it...
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Just looking at some poppy photos for remembering Veterans' Day
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Beautiful poppies. I ended up buying an Asus computer. It is ready for pickup already after transferring files. I am keeping my large Dell monitor. I am looking into buying the Adobe Premier Elements 12 but it only has one download for one license. I actually have been doing most of my pictures on my laptop because I can watch TV and edit at the same time. I had Elements 8 which I never used much when I was not that much into photography. So not sure if I will buy the software for the new computer. We'll see.
I just got my swan photo after having it framed. The young gal helping me made some really good suggestions. I love the matt colors and the frame. However the actual photo has an orange peel sort of texture and I have no idea why it looks like that because it was a glossy picture to start with.
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the Costco version let's more than one user.
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LLooks like fun.
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Lisa, That DOES look like fun and I love, love ,love the poppies, one of my favorite flowers. My grandfather loved gardening and there was one big red poppy in the yard where I grew up.
Nancy, I have missed a couple of days due to work and fatigue but I think ASUS have a good reputation. Maybe they would offer to give Elements to you as part of the deal. I used to use a dell laptop but it was 17" and I wanted something a little smaller to travel with so I got an 15" HP touchsmart from QVC as it had lifetime anti virus and Elements 12 with it. My dell had Elements 10 or 11 that I bought and downloaded from Amazon. I Also have a tablet that I have not used in ages but the photo editing software is a VERY stripped down version of PS, not very good at all.
I have always liked Dell but my HP has a persistent problem that seems to be getting better, a screen that flickers and that is SUCH a pain when editing or reading. I do have a separate monitor that I got when my company laptop broke its screen but I would have to get yet another cable to connect it to the HP. Dropping the HP on the floor probably did not help!! I do like the touch screen option and I have gotten used to the Windows 8. I would probably go back to dell in the future if i needed a computer, but with a touch screen, although the Microsoft Tablet has a keyboard and will run full photoshop apparently. Hopefully this HP will last for a while.
When you say the photo has an orange peel texture do you mean that the paper is bumpy like when they transfer a photo onto a board or fabric sometimes to make it look more like a print or painting?
I have been so fatigued and have been sleeping so badly in spite of exercise that I cracked and rang the doctors office asking for heavy duty sleeping pills that would not interact with the tamoxifen today. I went and picked them up expecting real ambien and a large bill but they gave me an ambien generic that cost virtually nothing. I was excited at the prospect of a good nights sleep, not so much now after reading that for at least some people the generics seem to do nothing. Tonight I will find out.
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I have had Toshiba laptops. Love them. I just got a new Windows 7. I had an HP. A new one with Windows8.1.No good. It sits unused.
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Lizzysmom, Sorry to hear about all the fatigue. I had to take some meds for night too as I was having such trouble sleeping and that was a whole year before bc. I take the generic and it is different that the brand name I had taken years ago. Not as effective and I have to take it way before going to bed or it just doesn't do much. I hope it will work so you can get some sleep.
Lisa and Lizzysmom, thank you for all your input about computers and software. I am sooooooooooooo frustrated. I just a few minutes gave up on the setting up the new computer. I had it all plugged in. I was disappointed that there was not enough usb ports in the back for all the stuff I have. I got it all plugged in and nothing. It turns on but no working monitor. This did not come with a monitor and I didn't want one anyway. I have a nice Dell monitor which is supposed to work with it. So I will see if I can find some online help. It is so frustrating. Then I have a rash on my back that is itching like crazy. I sure hope it is not poison ivy from hiking last week. I would have thought it would show up by now so who knows. It has been a crazy few days. My credit card thought there was fraud activity on my card and put a hold on it. That was ME spending a fortune on this computer. I bought three years of software and hardware protection so I won't have to deal with this whole thing again very soon anyway.
Well off to searching for some helpful videos. Have a nice weekend.
Nancy
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This was Waterton the lake was so clear this is the bottom rocks..
seeing this guy was a little scary, but I kept the car between him and me.
Sheep were nearby too, not quite so scary
I want to go back
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Beautiful, Lisa! I don't know how I would cope with Bears! people think everything can kill you, here in Aus, but we don't have any of those!
The stones through that crystal water are just so beautiful!
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I am trying to remember just where we did see the bear...I think along side the road as we were driving. The places we stayed were safe as long as we didn't take hikes where we shouldn't. Of course, I didn't hike anywhere...
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Lisa, Beautiful lake. Whoa a bear. I have never seen one in person. That would be scary.
I stayed up till 2 am bound and determined I was going to get this new computer up and running. I think there possibly might be a defective monitor jack because I changed it to another one and it worked. However I have no sound but I am getting there. Windows 8 is daunting. I never planned on getting it but it was a trade off for other things that were too good to pass up. I will have plenty to keep me busy for sure.
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Lisa, what a fabulous set of photos and a gorgeous place. I want to go there too!!. I hope you had a zoom on that bear pic. I have never seen one in reality either! The portrait of the sheep is lovely too
Nancy, Computers are such a pain. I have been a programmer for nearly 35 years. Oh boy! We used to have a guy my husband knew to help set up new things at home but I found sometimes it turned out better if I did it myself although I am not a PC or network expert at all. The cable company sent us a new modem/router a couple of months back but I have not had the energy to read the instructions and install it yet and the old one works ok. We got a new TV about a year ago. Its supposed to be smart but its the stupidest TV ever. It keeps thinking the cable is not on so if it does that I have to switch the cable box off and on again and then it thinks its ok .Sometimes the TV gets confused if I switch from a non HD to an HD channel....
Well I tried the new sleeping pill last night and ...nothing much. I slept maybe 5 hours. It was a low dose 5mg and the regular pills are 10mg so I think I will try that tonight. My bird feeder gets nice light for part of the day but I went to the gym this morning then just vegged out this afternoon until I had lost it. I did manage a few high ISO shots yesterday but that was about it. The regulars seem to be enjoying it although the woodpecker was also on the deck pecking at the remains of the brick that the squirrel ate the other day. I could not get a shot as I was sitting in my recliner with the dog on my lap snoring!
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Lizzysmom, I hope you can find something that will work for sleeping. I had a beautiful combo of herbal stuff but I am afraid to use that with the AI drug. The problem is that many of these kind of things haven't been tested for reactions and my pharmacist said it could cause the drug to work more than it is supposed to. I am sure I am wording this in an awkward way but the bottom line is it could translate into more SE's which is not a good thing.
I still do take some melatonin as I am trying not to depend on the prescription stuff as I did during rads.
I am finally home for enough time to deal with the computer again. There are things that are beyond my knowledge like setting up my outlook email. I have always had a geek do that for me. I have the Geek squad for 24/7 support I believe so it is just having time to deal with it. I volunteer at an assisted living facility and we minister to the Alzheimer's unit. I love seeing the people and singing old hymns with them.
I didn't get much sleep tonight so I shouldn't be around any humans at all today! This was the day I ran into a bunch or rude drivers. I can't figure out why I am not getting any sound on my computer. I am finding one little rounded plug that has an adapter plugged into the wall going nowhere. I have no idea where this thing goes but it is not attached to my speakers. They seem to be plugged in correctly. At least I have a working monitor but this Windows 8 is going to take some getting used to.
Well good luck with your sleep tonight.
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Nancy, I think Geek Squad is a good idea! I would be very tempted to try them if we have a serious problem at home now. I am getting too old for dealing with computers that don't want to behave and my concentration since Dx is not good.
I was watching something on the TV a week or so ago about Alzheimer's and music. There were people who never spoke or responded but when they heard music from their past it affected them dramatically. It was very moving, the power of music to invoke memory.
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They use music therapy with the veterans who have PTSD.
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Yes, music is a very powerful force. Lizzysmom, I might have seen the same documentary. I saw it a long time ago so maybe it is not the same one but the premise is probably the same. I am not surprised that veterans with PTSD benefit from music.
This place that I entered the recent photo contest is having a special luminary display on Veteran's Day evening. If it is not too cold and I might check this out. Lisa, you have probably heard of the Healing Fields where they have many flags on display. For a couple of years in a row they have had this in our town and the first time I saw it it was quite moving. My Dad was a Marine in WW11. He never talked about it but my mom still has a Japanese flag and a sabre in her attic that he brought back. I never did hear the story of how he got those things but when I was growing up he would have nightmares about the war which I imagine was a very terrible thing to be a part of for an 18 year old which I think was his age when he was in the service. Where did you serve? I believe you have said you were in the Navy?
Have a nice weekend
I wonder how Nancy C is doing? I know she was having real issues with fatigue.
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I saw Nancy C posting on the fall rads thread in the last day. I think she finishes rads next week.
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Nancy, I was a Navy Line Officer...I served from 1963-1968..first as a Public Information Officer in San Diego and then as
a Congressional Liaison Officer in the US Senate...I resigned when the Navy couldn't seem to station my husband and me
together...He did 21 years.
My father was drafted into the Army before WWII and ended up in Europe and the Battle of the Bulge and opened some of the
concentration camps...he rarely talked about it but did to me before I left home .
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Lisa, I was told growing up that my aunts first husband was also one of the people who opened up the concentration camps at the end of WWII. It was never discussed but there was a story that when he returned his hair had turned to white. Whatever the case it must have been a devastating experience, beyond words. My in-laws here are all Jewish but fortunately the family had been in the US for years before WWII. It is just unimaginable, such insanity.
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On a completely different note ladies, I tried 10mg of generic ambien last night, which is the max dose and went to sleep ok but yes I was awake after about 4 hours again, albeit feeling a little more tired. I think I may try taking the tamox. in the a.m. again to see if that helps or if it makes me grumpy like I think it did last time. LOL.
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Lisa, is seems to me that you have had a very interesting life. I think you mentioned you grew up in a military family too. At the time you were in the Navy I bet there were very few females then.
Yes the horrors of war are unbelievable.
Lizzysmom, Years ago I was on Ambien CR. My fibromyalgia causes many sleep issues. I remember looking that up when I was having trouble sleeping after retirement and my doctor had given me a generic of Ambien but it was not the CR version. It could be that the 10mg is the CR version but you might check into that. It was supposed to be longer lasting I think. I am finding myself these last few days feeling not quite myself. Is it my AI, the time change or my computer woes. Who knows. I did call the Geek Squad last night and I have my outlook email up and running. Now the only problem is the magnification is at 10% and it is hard to read. The zoom slider never did work on it. Before my old computer died IE was at 150% and I would change it and it would keep popping back to 150%. With might eyesight problems this 10% is really a challenge. I have sound which I figured out on my own but I am getting interference on one of the speakers and I am not sure if I have this one cord plugged into the correct place. Geez, computers are wonderful when they are working and a major pain when something goes wrong. I was able to get my old flatbed scanner up and running. At first it looked like Windows 8.1 would not support it. I have so many extra devices that there were not enough usb ports in the back of this tower which was unusual I thought. So I have to have my extension hard drive plugged in the front. Looks great!
Windows 8 is a challenge and there seems to be no emanual or anything. One of the Geek Squad guys at Best Buy told me it is the same as Windows 7 it just looks different. What a gross understatement!Have a nice Sunday.
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I took an extended release Ambien, fell out of bed, hit my head on my nightstand and ended up with a black eye..didn't remember it at all the next morning..
Nancy, I bought a Windows 8 for dummies
remember, I still refuse to use 8 or 8.l...waiting for Windows 10 next year..
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Lisa, beautiful picture. I have heard stories about people on Ambien. Yours sounds frightening. I have heard about sleep walking etc. I had no intention of buying Windows 8. I have an HP laptop and had it built with Windows 7 even though Windows 8 had been out and I had heard such awful things about it. Since I bought this one off the shelf (first time ever) I was going to get much more memory for less money than a similar computer with Windows 7 because it was on sale. Even in the short time I have had it I am picking up on things pretty quickly. I noticed in the data transfer I lost much of my documents. Fortunately I had an extension hard drive that backs up my computer and I was able to restore some of my files that way and get them back on my new computer. I love my computers but I hate to get a new one just because of all the stress of the stuff that crops up that you hadn't counted on. Maybe I should get the Windows 8 for dummies.
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I think my generic is not time release so maybe I will look into that. On the othet hand, that is a scary story Lisa!! That photo is stunning, the way the sun is on the mountains
I have the 8.1 but I actually think having a touch screen option on this PC made it easier to learn as I could just touch the box I wanted, typically the one that says desktop, once in desktop it behaves a bit more like window 7 until you go back to the menu.
Nancy, this is a tip I learned fairly recently. You may know it but if not it is worth a try. It does not work when in every application but does in a lot. Funnily enough it stopped working on BC.org just today for me. I think they have made a few changes to the website as uploading a bird photo was different today.
Anyway here goes.
Hold down the ctrl button and hit the + or - sign to increase or decrease the size of what you see. I try it when font is too small to read.
.Actually I just tried it again on BC.org and it worked when I used the +- on the keyboard, NOT the number pad. I had to hold shift at the same time for the + sign as its upper case
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I finally got my studio lighting half set up in the basement but it was too much to iron the backdrops so I may get some colored board as I only want to do still life that are small and I can use the coffee table for a base. I tried a couple of the exercises that they want us to practice for the course. It was funny. One was to use an apple but I didn't have any so I used a plastic tomato container. Lol. Another was a loaf of bread but I only had sliced. Its actually really tough getting all the shadows and highlights the way you want them and I never did work out what to do with the plastic tomato but I kind of had fun with the bread. I ended up putting it on an old black cushion. The idea was to take a photo of the different textures as the light fell on it from particular angles, not very inspiring but I have to practice if I am to make any progress.
It IS very tasty bread!
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