At one time in my life the place I was working just flat closed up and every one there was without a job. We had a job placement guy come in to give a speech to all of us, and one thing he said has always stuck with me.

He asked everyone to think of the three top things they really enjoy doing. After that he asked what a few of them were.

He then said guess what, somebody is doing that for a living. Any thing you can think of somebody is getting paid for it.

The second step is to find somebody that does what you like and become a friend. Just by talking and looking you can't help but learn about it. It's very much like the blogs. It's where a lot of people are doing what we want. Every time I read one I learn something. I get closer to gathering knowledge.

Don't copy anyones style, but ...

I'm very curious how many photo's people take before they have a keeper?

O.K. Here's the thought. Years ago in the film world an instructor once told me for every keeper you can shoot thirty photos.

Now with programs like photoshop I wonder how many get changed now into a keeper?

Like every other mildly obsessed photographer I find myself taking my camera every where I go.

Being that I live in the country side even the next small town is an hour away. I just can't get from A to B without seeing something I want to get a picture of. Sometimes it's an eagle in a tree, or a newborn calf or horse but it's always something.

So to keep peace in the family and not be thirty minutes late for everything, when I add the camera, I add thirty minutes to the trip.

Dave

I think one of the best shots I never got was of an Eagle that came swooping by me while I was on a walk through a woods.

The Eagle grabbed a rabbit and was just taking off when a huge hawk who apparently thought it was his territory tried to get it away from him.

I had left the camera home because it looked like rain, but during the battle that was very close to me I kept thinking I'll never get this view again.

So, what's the best shot you never got?

Sometimes when people get together they share blunders they have had over the years and we all laugh and share some of our own. So I thought I'd start with one and perhaps you can share one of yours. We all have a few ya know.

I went on a dive boat trip and was anxious to try out my underwater housing on the dive. I made sure I had a fresh battery and that the the ring was sealed good so it wouldn't leak and thought I was ready. We got to the reef and every body got in the water, descended to the reef and right away I got a shot of a nice Moray eel. I went to ended up with one picture on that dive.

But a lesson well learned.

Dave

I have an engineer friend who is very good at what he does. Every time we go into a building he automatically starts looking around. He doesn't even realize he does, it but he checks out the structure, heating ducts, everything you can see. Sometimes he makes comments like, isn't that strange the way they built that?

But then I think how many times I look at something and in my head take a photo of it. Or I imagine adding a little side lighting or moving something around just a bit.

So how about you? Do you have that camera in your head?

It can't be just me. Remember it's o.k. to be obsessed with it as long as your not on meds for it.

I believe a lot of phtographers love the great nature shot when they see one. The problem is when you see a great shot,

and get so involved in it that you forget this isn't a nice little puppy. This Iguana is a good example. I didn't have my telephoto on so I just eased myself down to take the photo. When the shot was taken the Iguans tried taking my hand off but hit my camera instead.

After I gathered myself I thought twice about trying to get a few more photo's. I try to be respectful of animals but think I don't always give them the space I should.

Dave

I'm starting to realize how far away I am from where I want to be as a digital photographer. When I read a lot of the other blogs I am amazed at all the knowledge people have with programs like photoshop, and how much is done with a photo after it is taken. But I will get there because the two things that I love and hate about myself is my thirst for knowledge, and mt stubbornness.

Dave

I spent the weekend at a camping family reunion, and took the opportunity to capture several moments in time. There was the innocence of the young children, the seriousness of the older folks, the fun activities of the young adults and the nature of the campground.

I feel very lucky to have a time machine.

Dave

I am very proud to say I have my first sale

. It came at a good time because I was looking at all the other blog writers and was thinking I may never get one. It said it sold on the 24th.

Happy camper.

Dave

Underwater photography has it's own challenges just because it's a fluid world and things are always moving, including light.

But the biggest secret to good underwater photos is custom white balancing.

The ocean looks blue from the surface because the deeper you go the more colors fade away. Red is gone in as little as ten feet. By the time you get down to twenty feet , blue is about all that's left. But if you white balance every five feet, you can take pictures at fifty feet

and have the colors return. A lot of divers use a white slate to balance off of but I prefer to use the sand bottom.

Dave