There always seems to be some type of a bird or animal sitting on top of this birdhouse in the middle of the marsh. I finally was able to focus in on what appears to be a big brown heron. All of the white birds seem to have flown the coop over the last few days, and what I’m left with are the very large birds, like this one, and some blue herons. Well…at least I know what the brown moving thing IS, now I have to wait for the other camera to get some detail on shots like this one in the future.

So while I’m on the subject of taking pictures, I’ve been searching the web for easy ways to get my photographs out there, and there is a steep learning curve for someone like me, who has an interest, but not many resources or much experience. But that’s never been something to stand in my way when I want to do something, LOL.

Interestingly enough, digital photography has opened up a whole new opportunity for the regular guy.

There are numerous places where you can attempt to sell your pictures. How successful people have been at it, though, remains to be seen. They do a lot of selling the photographer, but there don’t seem to be a lot of testimonials out there - other than the fantastic system that Express Digital has for event photography. That’s something I’m thinking about doing, but in the meantime I’m going to have to become very good at taking pictures. Just the idea of event photography - whether it’s seniors, grade schoolers, reunions, cruises, cheerleading events, sports events, weddings, or whatever - that Express Digital system looks like a fantastic way to compete with the big guys and deliver fantastic products and service to build a good client base. Not to mention the fact that Express Digital also offers a website to photographers using their Darkroom Software, which enables them to continue making sales long after the event has ended.

One thing that I found reassuring was…no matter how much equipment you have with you, you’re going to miss some shots.

So in essence, you have to figure out what the equipment helps you take fantastic images, and settle on a small collection of cameras and lenses so you’re not left with a bad back from carrying a big sack of stuff that you can’t organize or select from when you’re ready.

Online companies such as istock have opened up a new world to the advanced amateur photographer, enabling you to upload your digital images and sell them right away. istock has some surprising successes. Their photographers have catapulted that website to one of the formost stock photograph sellers of all the online outfits.

Here is a short list of some others I’ve been looking at.

Shutterstock - here is where to find out about signing up as a photographer.

Shutterpoint

Photostockplus

bigstockphoto.com

Citizen Image even takes images from your mobile phone.

How successful are any of these websites at helping the photographers do something with their images? That is the bigger question, which I can’t seem to find an answer for.

smugmug is a huge site with no advertising that caters to the amateur and professional alike. For a small annual fee, the professional photographer can sell photographs from their website as a member of smug mug.

And another one that I was looking at is Picture Stock. Although there are some strange things about picture stock - like - you have to send in a CD with your pictures on it, and pay for a press pass; at least you’re able to get one and gain access to events as someone other than a local yokel.

Now there are some things I’m relatively confused about; such as the size of an image. I don’t have software that will enable me to photoshop stuff out of my images, or make them look prettier, or change the size to meet size requirements. And from what I gather at smug mug, those images need to be a certain size in order for people to order products like mugs, t-shirts, etc.-or even photographs 4×6 and larger. Still, it would be interesting to put some of the better stuff up and see what happens.

I’m still starting out and have a lot to learn; and a new/old camera is on its way that has more zoom capability; so even though it’s not the best of the best of SLRs, I’ll still be able to focus in closer on birds and other subjects which up to this point have flown away while I’m searching for them in my viewfinder.

LOL

My main reason for not including people in my photographs thus far - is the fact that you must have a model’s release with any photo submission. Some websites encourage you to use friends and family and have them sign releases for you, but I’m not inclined to do that. I’m still in the experimenting stage and simply trying to improve my pictures. Better tools, of course, will help immensely.

Stock photography looks to be an interesting area, but with stock photography, understanding how to use photoshop would be a great thing, and I don’t have that at the moment.

In essence, I’m still scoping all of this out, while dreaming of the possibilities and snapping a lot of photos.

This weekend will give me an opportunity to take more candid photos of people as Streamwood is having a fest for the next few days at Hoosier Grove. So I’ll see what I end up with on that score.

Any way you look at it, summer fests are always fun to go to.

The trip to the zoo is going to be postponed for a bit. Hopefully the new/old camera will be in my possession by the time I make the trek to Brookfield zoo. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve been there, but what I’m particularly interested in is the butterfly exhibit.

I’ve never seen such a broad array of colors in lilies. These are kind of a red or rust color. Red seems to be a difficult color to record correctly.

I watched this video today and then found out that Professor Pausch has passed after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.

I finally watched it because I remembered Michelle Malkin’s post about having read his book and bawling her eyes out on a plane.

What was inspiring to me –where I am in my life right now…was “fun” - how everything must be fun…what you do must be fun…and how he inspired the virtual reality students; something I’ve always been searching for a way to do (blend art with science and take on a big challenge).

Very bright, funny, witty, brilliant.

I’ve always thought that helping others to achieve their dreams are what adult people do, rather than spend their time tearing people apart because they’re afraid or threatened. Hopefully I’ve played a part in helping people to do that in their lives; during a time when I could lent a hand, say a kind word, given encouragement, etc.

His message deserves hearing over and over again; there is so much in there that we’re bound to pick up different points at different times in our lives.

May God bless his wife and children and everyone else who loved him and whose lives he touched.

Interestingly enough, the tracks that I’ve had on my blog for my trackback party happen to be those of a cougar. Recently, there was a cougar running around in Chicago that was eventually cornered and killed by the Chicago police. And there was a sighting recently here in Streamwood of a cougar. All evidence points to the fact that they are moving eastward, and there are active breeding populations. We will be seeing more and more of them as time wears on.

However, if you are in Illinois and want to see one in a zoo, there isn’t one at Lincoln Park, at Brookfield, or any zoo - unless you travel to Springfield Illinois to the zoo there. I think that should change; we should have the opportunity to observe them in captivity to understand what we’re facing in our own neighborhoods. Surely the local zoos could come up with a few cougars to add to their killer cat collections.

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