DavidCBaker

That might be tough to get through security. Actually, it kind of grossed me out just taking it!

Landed in Bolivia late a couple of days ago. It should have been early in the day, but the pilot-in-command got food poisoning on the overnight flight and the first officer wasn't comfortable landing the 757 on the highest commercial runway in the world without someone more experienced (yes, he actually said that). It's 13,300+ ft. Anyway, I walked around near the huge public cemetery in the city center. This first picture is pretty lame technically, but it sure is meaningful. I shot it from my waist as I walked by, without looking at him. Getting a shoe shine. There's sufficient stigma associated with this work that most of the boys cover their faces. A hat maker working on boleros for women: Like this indian woman is wearing. Too many stickers for me. The colors are amazing, as is the weather. Want good luck? Bury a llama fetus under your home: Getting a little "bus help" up the steep street. Lunch time. What electricians have nightmares about: Here's a little kid (upper right) I was playing with. I like how his mother's dress blends into what she is selling. Many years of walking together: A young jaywalker: Finally, here's a fun three-shot sequence of an ancient photographer. First, he's asleep. Then his client primps in the mirror. Then, presto--an image frozen on film against a ready-made background. Headed home in the morning.

I have both, and like them both. The PM9 was reliable out of the box--the 380 was not. I stripped the latter one down and found a rough spot on the slide. After I fixed that, it's been 100% reliable. My PM9 is my every day carry, and it's what I've done classes with. I really, really like it. The 380 is definitely smaller, but the trigger on that thing is really "long"--I mean you think something is broken before it breaks. If you're ever in the Nashville area, you're welcome to shoot both of mine.

My Facebook page says: Rescuing faith from religion. I hate religion. Kind don't have much respect for "spiritual" either. But faith, yes. My parents were medical missionaries, I grew up in the church, even have a four-year graduate degree in theology and ancient languages. All that is pretty disgusting, but my faith--it's a very private matter and it impacts my life in many ways.

This is a hoot of a Twitter feed to follow: http://twitter.com/****mydadsays This guy, who lives with his Dad, just tweets stuff his Dad says off the cuff. [The filter here edits out s-h-i-t, so replace the four asterisks with that four-letter word.]

Daniel, you probably remember me. I've bought quite a few things from you guys. The prices are a tad high, but you've all treated me very well and you have a great inventory.

I'm glad you don't have a water bed.

I thought about that as I was wandering the place: wish I'd not left the gun in the truck. That one you liked was interesting because there was a hole in the roof, and the light was streaming down on the bench.

Yeah, unfortunately. It's about $700, I think. Not terrible, but twice what a terrific Canon ELPH costs (also a great camera). This has quite a few more features than the Canon, and essentially you're buying the lens and the JPEG conversion filter. These were all shot in RAW, or rather own proprietary RAW format. It's a good camera, though. I was very pleased.

I was driving around Warsaw, IN today, and came across an old abandoned asbestos plant. I wanted to test a new point and shoot Leica just came out with (D Lux 4), and figured this might have some interesting stuff in it. The light was very low (a good test for sensor noise) and I had no tripod (a good test for the IS), so the first thing I photographed was the No Trespassing sign on my way by it. :grin: Here are a few of the shots:

I used to be, but that was 15 years ago. I got tired of clients. So now it's a hobby. The lens is Canon's newest in the L line. It took me a bit to decide to pull the trigger on getting it, so to speak. So far: GOOD Fast focus acquisition. Sharp. very sharp. Unbelievable bokeh. Obviously fast (I have their 85mm 1.2, which is faster, but it's slower focusing). No light fall off at the edges. Great contrast. BAD Heavy futhermucker. Expensive futhermucker.

Canon EF 200mm f/2.0L IS USM.

I like the look the one on the right is giving the other one. Like he wants to be interested but isn't quite there.

The rest of them: This guy could have been a model: The ultimate urban cowboy. Notice the cowboy hat insignia on the bag. I wish I'd seen him earlier so that I could catch his face better. No need for political comments, here. The color was breathtaking. Another one that I decided to take directly. Check out the rouge…and the ring. Love the yellow and green matching. Check out this guy's hand. I caught him above the bricks, as he's spinning around on one hand.

I was breaking in a new lens and decided to use NYC as a backdrop. If you can't find interesting people shots in Manhattan, it's best to hang up the spurs and call it a day! But this time, I gave myself the creative assignment of 60 minutes (no less or more), all within the confines of Union Square (14th and Park Ave). That sort of assignment makes things interesting for me because I have to concentrate and look at everything through a camera. I don't know exactly what the actual proportion is, but i've always felt it's close to one-fourth equipment, one-fourth technical understanding, one-fourth vision, and one-fourth guts. Yes, on that latter point, two folks screamed at me. I'll point that out later. With this first one, I like the movement: where his left foot is pointing, how his arms are parallel to each other, and the funny contortion of his mouth. This may be my favorite. I took a shot of him from the side, and it was missing some interest factor. So I decided to shoot him from far away and flatten the perspective. Just nice framing on this one. The fact that he's wearing gloves and that "dog collar" makes it more complex. I wonder what he's thinking about. This is the woman who screamed at me. I think she was a Gypsy with some mental issues. Anyway, two people then ran over and separately told me to keep shooting all I wanted and that if she didn't want to be in a picture then she shouldn't be in a park. How could I not get this beard. The contrast between his attire and his "luggage" was a little striking. This girl was just standing in one place and singing. Kids, kids, kids. This one was joining every group having fun, under the watchful eye of her mother. She looks very happy. Unlike all the other subjects, I couldn't choose between the two. I blew this one technically, and it's a shame. It could have been one of the best. When I "saw" this picture, the first thing I wanted to do was to frame it without his head. It's so much more interesting with the arms/hands sprawled the way they are, her on his lap, and her arm peeking out on the left side. I don't have an angled viewfinder for this camera so I have to be sneaky. She caught me being sneaky, so I decided just to point it right at her and quit pretending I wasn't taking her picture. She has an interesting, smug little look on her face, accented by the crossed arms. I really like this one. The big patches of black, light brown, and burgundy are nearly covering him up. It's like he's a hanger and everything is draped across him. Colorful woman eating colorful sushi. All black with a yellow contrasting book.

That's pretty good. Don't worry, folks. I'm not cashing it.

I can't cash this IRS refund check, because it ain't mine. But me thinks it's darn cruel to send me a 941 refund check of $66,038.42. I'm not kidding. That's exactly what I received in the mail yesterday. These meat heads kept saying I owed them money. We kept sending copies of canceled checks and duplicate forms to said meat heads. So finally the notices that I owed the money stopped and I figured we were done with it. Then I get this check from the IRS yesterday, including $2,641.24 in interest for the 156 days that we sorted out the paperwork (all this time they said I owed THEM money). I'm going to sue them for mental anguish. Anybody sending me a check like that and then saying "just kidding" is just downright cruel. This is not the IRS' best hour.

It was to earn a 4-year Th.M. It took 6 because I was working full time. And actually, I probably should have spent LESS time, not more. I've never yet found it terribly useful to be able to read/write Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Aramaic, Greek, and Hebrew. Those were the days. I guess my point in all this is that it's pretty lame indeed to defend ANY religion. Jesus had no use for religion and he saved his most seething anger for religious leaders. That's where I am on it all, too, whether that's Muslim or Christian. Religious leaders of most any persuasion are building a system and then protecting it. It's about power, money, and influence. Faith, on the other hand, is very dear to me. As I say on my Facebook page, my own personal journey is "rescuing faith from religion."

I think you probably meant Exit #89, SE of Murfreesboro, off I-24. It's called Outpost Armory, and is on the NE corner of that intersection. It's a good store with friendly people and a nice selection: The Outpost Armory

Read the Old Testament and you'll see all sorts of violence in the name of religion. The Old Testament is no less violent than the violence espoused by Allah. Yes, I spent six years in graduate school studying theology, ancient languages, and history. And I am a missionary kid (parents were medical missionaries Latin America, where--oddly enough--Christians of the modern era murdered and pillaged in the name of their God during the colonial wars). What happens is that individual people of faith see what they want to see in their own religion.

Substitute Baptists for Muslims on that page and we wouldn't necessarily think twice. One organized religion isn't all that different from another. It's the extremist who MIX religion and politics that terrify me, whether that's in Iran or the US.

Very cool! I had to be in the woods by myself late one night this week, in Grundy County, and it sure felt a little different knowing that I was legally prepared.

Yeah, I wasn't sure on the black trigger. We'll have to see how well it holds up. I'm guessing the finish will wear after a 1,000 rounds or whatever.

The workmanship is nothing short of outstanding. I hope it shoots as good as it looks.

Not sure what grips I'll go with. Below are the Rosewood grips that came with it and an alternate. I think I'll go with the deep black, as shown above: