I get email updates on the topics happening over at OpenSourcePhoto Forum and I just read the FUNNIEST post that someone put up!!

Read this: (from Lizzie on OSP)

I’m selling a lens on Craigslist and got an inquiry from a self-professed “amateur photographer” asking me why I was selling it. We ended up corresponding, and his last email was so funny! I thought I’d post it for you guys:

Lizz -
I greatly admire any photographer with the self confidence and courage to do a wedding. It would have to be photography hell. My first dread would be lighting and then shooting constantly moving subjects and being blocked by constantly moving non-subjects with constantly changing lighting. I shiver just thinking about it. Your camera skills must be totally instinctual like a race car driver, I would pull my hair out or somebody else’s hair. My second dread would be suddenly all the bridesmaids, friends and in-laws would become photography critics. That’s to dark or, that’s too light, why weren’t you closer, or that’s not my good side. And then you have the ‘duckers’, do you get them at weddings? I have done our employee Christmas party, you frame a nice candid group shot and suddenly two people see the camera pointed their direction and duck under the table, ruining the memory for everybody. No Lizz, you couldn’t make me do a wedding at gunpoint. But you have my admiration and best wishes. Do have a web site? Hoping you a wonderful and prosperous New Year, ***

LOL!!! Isn’t that HILARIOUS!! What I LOVE is that she really doesn’t even state the MAIN things that make wedding photography CRAZY….SUCH AS….. working as fast as you can, with tons of people surrounding you, while staying on a strict time line, while being organized, friendly, staying in charge but not TOO in charge, keeping people where they need to be and all the while, actually being CREATIVE, finding GREAT light and locations and taking LIFE CHANGING photographs that will remind these people of the happiest day of their lives, FOREVER!!! And…while that is happening, kids are crying, people are asking 50 questions, you are competing with 5 “photographer” uncles wanting to shoot every shot you are taking, the Mom’s are asking you to do 10 extra breakdowns that aren’t on the list and you DON’T have time for, your assisting is staring at you wondering when dinner is, the wedding coordinator is staring you down reminding you that you have exactly 4 minutes and 28 seconds until you HAVE to be out of the Church and all the while, your feet are KILLING YOU because they just DO NOT make cute shoes that are comfy… and you haven’t eaten since 8am and you are on the verge of passing out!!! PHEW!!!! But…call me crazy….after just finishing my 40th wedding this year…I still LOVE THEM and probably will forever!!

CLICK HERE to read the OSP post!! SOOO FUNNNY!!!!

Susan Stripling just did an incredible review on the Nikon D3!! CLICK HERE TO READ IT!!! I won’t lie…i’m really jealous and I’m honestly praying that

Canon is working some kind of magic on a new camera that rivals the D3!! They would be FOOLISH not to!! It genuinely sounds like the D3 is the most incredible digital camera to date….as much as I hate to say that! I almost can’t believe how incredible her out of camera image files are….the low noise level, the incredible exposure, the white balance…it’s really amazing!! Would you believe that the image to the right is STRAIGHT out of the camera, with a slight cooling in the raw conversion and THAT IS IT?? I have to hand it to Nikon…they put out some good cameras…but nothing really touched the Canon line, in my personal opinion…and all the while, their magic Nikon elves were whipping up this little guy that would take the photo world by storm!! Like I said before, if I weren’t a really strong believer in Canon, I would switch!! HURRY UP and GET WITH IT ALREADY CANON, your faithful people are dying here!! In the meantime, check out Susan’s review….you won’t believe it either!

After a CRAZY series of events set off by an upgrade to Leopard on my MAC, I’m finding myself FRUSTRATED with my external backup system!! I currently use Seagate push button back up drives. I have 6 of them total and they conveniently stack one on top of another when turned on their side and are all stacked up on my desk!! I have them daisychained so they connect to one another and only one has to connect to the computer, saving use of the FIREWIRE hubs on my G5! For about 5 years, I was happy with them and their stackable factor made them really handy! Well, after having two of those fail AND the leopard upgrade causing them to go haywire…and only allow for ONE to connect at a time and not allowing me to access my data all the time, I’m about DONE with them!! They are moody, as well….and always cause me to wonder how secure they really are! THEN….when I just went to buy another, which I do about ONCE a year, I learned that they stopped making the stackable ones and now make ones that don’t really “connect” at all and will basically require alot of desk space!! WHY would they make LESS convenient products?? DUH!!! So, I’m just curious…WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO for external storage and backing up of events once they are edited and finished??????? HELP!!!! Tell me in the comments!! Thanks!

I’m putting my FAVORITE LENS up for SALE!!!! Only because I upgraded to the Mark II version of the lens!!! However, this is my absolute favorite and MOST used lens…I could NOT have lived without for the past several years!!! 80% of all of my work has been shot on this lens!!

I take very good care of my equipment so it is nearly in PERFECT condition!!! The only thing is that there is a small amount of dust on the inside of the rear element (visible in the image)! It does NOT effect the image quality in any way and would be an easy fix if you are used to taking the rear element off for cleaning! I am not so I was planning to send it to Canon for a quick cleaning once my season ends in January! Again, it has been VERY well taken care of and is an AMAZING LENS…the BEST Canon has ever made, in my person opinion!!!!

I have the caps, box, paperwork…the whole nine yards!!

I am asking $1000 for the lens and $25 for shipping…and for the lens to go to a good home!!

Please email me at jessica@jessicastrickland.com if you are interested!

THANKS!!!!

I am a CANON FAN, through and through…BUT…if I were a NIKON fan…I would be JUMPING UP AND DOWN over THIS:

These tests are really close to being unbelievable!!! Nikon really made a HUGE improvement with this camera!! I hope CANON is WATCHING CLOSELY!!! (more like I’m PRAYING they are!!!!) I would DIG the auto ISO and the AMAZINGLY low noise levels at CRAZY ISO’s such as 5000 and 6400!!! This is amazing….

CLICK HERE to VIEW THE D3 TESTS:

http://www.opensourcephoto.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=22156