Calling All Photographers

So I seem to have fallen into yet another 'career' of sorts. Photography. Which, don't get me wrong, I LOVE.

It appears that if you take nice pictures for someone, everyone they know will then ask you to do the same. Go figure, right?

So my question is this: for those of you who take pictures for people, what do you use as your photo host? Flickr? Smug Mug? Nothing at all?

I'm all ears for recommendations...

In Which I Beg For Opinions

image credit: blogit.realwire.com

I am not particularly known for my decision making skills. I know, I know - somewhat shocking, and yet, somewhat not. I can make big decisions at the drop of a hat. Decisions about patients and work? In a split second. But everyday choices? You'd think I never made a choice in my life!

So, dear friends, here are the things I am currently in desperate need of your assistance with:

1. Embroidery Machines
I've always wanted one. Why? No idea. Probably because I need another hobby like I need a hole in my head, but whatever. So what say you, interwebs? Worth it to get a combo embroidery/sewing machine? Or is machine embroidery terribly difficult and likely to force me to tear my hair out? Please keep in mind, while bald may be beautiful, it won't be a good look for me.


2. Speedlights
Clearly I want one simply because I don't have one. And because I love my camera. And because you never know when I flash might come in handy (and I refuse to use the built in one). So, what does everyone know about speedlights? Or should I stick to just keeping the aperature wide open learn to hold my damn hands more still?

3. Mac vs. PC
The time is coming in which I will need a new computer. Mine still runs just fine, but the memory is just about full. I keep pulling things off (I have an external drive too) but I never seem to free up much space. And I need more battery life -- even fully charged, I can usually only get about 90 minutes of use before I have to plug in or the whole thing shuts down. So, which is better - Mac or PC? I've always had a PC, but now that I've discovered that you can install windows on a Mac and use a bridge program to run PC based things like my versions of lightroom and photoshop, I am open to the idea of a Mac. I think...


Alright -- on your mark, get set, tell me what to do!

Wordless Wednesday: Dirty Feet!

For more Wordless Wednesday, check out here and here!


And in the non-wordless portion of Wednesday, I need a few volunteers to help me with my homework. I need you to answer the question: What is happiness/what does it mean to be happy? If you are so inclined to assist me (which I would greatly appreciate) you can leave your answer in the comments, or email me at andtheducksaid at gmail dot com Thanks!

A Plea for Help

As I have mentioned on occasion, Photoshop is totally my boyfriend. But I have a problem that even my boyfriend Photoshop can't help me with.



Do you see the lines in the middle of the shot where the color just isn't quite right?

Or how about in this shot?



I'm not sure what is causing them. They don't show up on the LCD screen, when I review my shots on the camera. But somewhere between the camera and the computer, some of my shots are being destroyed by these annoying lines.

If anyone has any suggestions to fix this, I am all ears. Help!