Mike_tn's photostream  

God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father. As it was in the beginning. Alleluia.
(formal)

"God help me."
(concise)

Flickr can be a great place to grow in photography.

About my photostream. All shots are original size and there are no physical download restrictions. I like to share. To download you click on a photo, do so even though it looks big already. You need to get to the page style of it where the photo sits alone and you can add comments. Then up above the photo go to "Actions" then "View All Sizes" then "large" or "original" are good choices. "Large" is good just to view. Better than web page enlargements. "Original" has higher resolution for whatever you want to do with it, like print. If you do download, I use Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 copyright setting.

This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, allowing redistribution. This license is often called the “free advertising” license because it allows others to download your works and share them with others as long as they mention you and link back to you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.

Click the link at bottom of this profile, near the Creative Commons icon, for more details about this license.

Enjoy and hope to see you on flickr.

Because I am sometimes asked about these two,
gear and post-processing
and it tells what you might do with some entry level basics,
here is my list:

Gear

Current Camera: D40 Nikon
Previous Camera: Kodak Z740

Lens: AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
Lens: AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6
Lens: AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8
Lens: 250D Canon screw on Close-Up for 50-135mm use
All lenses are 52mm filter size and f-numbers are maximums

SB-700 Nikon strobe (new June 2011)
Circular Polarizing, ND2 and B&W color Filters.
Manfrotto Tripod, Monopod & Ball Head.
Lowepro Flipside 200 backpack


Software

Dual boot systems

Linux Operating System - Debian6.0
digiKam - photo management application on Linux, KDE platform.
Gwenview - photo view, organize, convert, KDE platform
GIMP2 - GNU Image Manipulation Program
UFRaw - Unidentified Flying Raw

And

Windows Operating System, W7 & XP
XnView - photo view, organize, convert
Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 - EDITOR only
(recommend avoiding the PSE Organizer)
View NX2 & Adobe Camera Raw - editors
Corel Paint Shop Pro X2
Corel Painter Essentials 4

Using a Dual-Boot PC meaning when the computer turns on the user picks between running Linux or Windows for that session.


Digital Aside

Getting involved in digital photos and flickr, leads to the inevitable learning of computing. I enjoy learning about computing and software for fun as much as running around the woods or urban jungles with my camera. A computing extra:

A Dual-Boot Linux & Windows system is very easy to install and use if you use a Linux version designed for new users. Debian or Ubuntu Linux Operating Systems are about the easiest and best supported distribution (version) types. Both are great but I prefer Debian if the latest stable release is compatible with my hardware, otherwise I use Ubuntu, and actually I have Ubuntu still installed but rarely need it with Debian around. Debian has more stable software and a default install lacks all proprietary software, though this type can be easily added after install. Debian is a globally supported group project made of volunteers, no corporate backing. Ubuntu is more bleeding edge in philosophy, makes minor proprietary software exceptions, has corporate support, is hierarchical internally, and has the best online forum support for any Linux I found. Ubuntu is derived from the Debian system. Because the systems are so similar you can use Ubuntu online discussion forums to help you run a Debian system also which I do a lot! Thanks Ubuntu forums! I first learned Linux for home & photo use with Ubuntu then switched to Debian when Squeeze 6.0 arrived. Another nice thing with Debian is the downloading of DVD ISO files to get the complete OS, no need to be online with the machine. Since I have one online and one offline unit, Debian was much more convenient that way. I have an old offline hp desktop shipped with XP and a new dell W7 laptop that gets online, however both run the exact same latest and greatest Debian Linux distribution obtained for the low low price of free. I'm amazed by them. There are other good ones, hundreds even. I'm avoiding the Linux brand flame wars now... anyway,
If you never tried, in a nutshell it's this way:
Get your free GNU/Linux OS downloaded to a CD or DVD. You get it from their website. Like debian.org, ubuntu.com, or find more links at distrowatch.com. At your PC desktop or laptop,If not set up already, make a hard disk partition, I make at least three partitions. If possible, always make a backup of your partitions or critical data before partitioning a hard drive. The first partition for Windows, you give it a chunk. That part may be done already. Use Windows Computer Management or Linux Live CD tool GParted to do this. I prefer GParted. Install that Linux distribution next in the third partition using the install tools that come with it. Empty space is between the two for storage or whatever. The Linux installer will recognize and preserve Windows OS unless you tell it not to. Don't tell it to use the entire drive. You can usually back-out of the install during this setup period at anytime before a final installation warning is given. The distributions I use work out the kinks automatically for dual booting. Once installed there can be hitches running the software regarding hardware recognition that need working out. There is a ton of helpful support on their forums, go there first. Or just delete what you installed and try a different Linux distribution. Most important to get right are your graphics drivers and wireless drivers (if needed).

You should pre-test the Linux brand with a "Live CD" and see how it runs on your machine. A Live CD is the entire system downloaded as an ISO file at no cost and burned to CD. It runs from your CD-DVD tray loading what it needs to the RAM without touching the hard drive. You boot from the CD when you turn on the PC. That disk which can also be put on a Live USB will also become a primary computer rescue tool for you. Free and rescue just seem to always go together. This can be done with Mac hardware too, I just haven't, no offense intended to Apple lovers.

Good things about Linux are, lots of support, community help like we have on flickr, tons of updated software at your fingertips all the time. All at no cost though support and sharing with others is encouraged. A richly endowed command-line terminal. The option most times to use either a Graphical Interface or command line terminal to do tasks. High stability. Highly configurable to your liking. No Anti-Virus required. No planned obsolescence.


Other

I post-process life with the Bible, Catholic teaching, Alcoholics Anonymous text and the readers of these. Success is not guaranteed by membership alone.

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Playing on the computer and getting out with the camera are my diversions. The rest of the days I work, grocery shop, cook, do laundry, walk for exercise, pay bills, run errands, just like everyone else. Faith and Morals are important, and that has an overarching presence for me especially since I quit drinking when I was...37. So I try to get to weekly mass and a weekly AA meeting and "say my prayers" as they say. A set minimum of religious piety has more importance than moderns admit, though it guarantees nothing if done rote.

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All praise to you Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

All work in the photostream is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License



Click any of the icon images left & above for source credits and descriptions.