They filmed parts of this movie right outside where I worked at the time. Managed to meet Martin Sheen one day after work.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll probably try and tackle one this year.

I'm really new to whips and have a burning desire to try and make my own, but I just have to say that that is freaking gorgeous.

Just recently sold mine, but I agree, he is a spectacular fig.

The one and only song I would pay folding money to hear Rob cover would be "Riverbottom Nightmare Band" from Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas.

Two come immediately to mind:

On vacation in South Africa out on a boat and watching a great white between us and another boat. Its head broke the surface with a wide-mouthed, toothy maw. I caught the shot but was off by a fraction of a second, so I didn't get the open mouth. Photographer standing right next to me did and it's such the better shoot.

Next one was I was driving home from work past Walden Pond in Massachusetts. The road past it is significantly elevated in comparison, so you have a really lovely view down onto the water. On this particular day, there was a lovely sunset behind it, but more intriguingly, the surface was covered in these large, perfectly circular discs of ice. It was cold and I wanted to get home, so I thought, "I'll make plans to stop tomorrow." But as you might well imagine, neither a comparable sunset appeared that day, nor were the strange ice discs present anymore. Roughly 8 years of near-daily driving past that spot and that was the one and only day I've ever seen them.

l used to collect autographs and would frequent a local strip club that regularly hosted feature dancers, so in some capacity or other I have rubbed elbows (and other parts) with many a porn star, including one who during her day was the top porn star in the country. Obviously, that's not knowing them on a personal level, but many of them wouldn't maintain any of their professional persona and would converse on a very normal, conversational level. Some maintained that buffer. One big name in the industry, of whom I am a particular fan, actually started to recognize me after awhile. She was very nice. What I remember most about the top level performer I mentioned is what a titanic bitch she was, and how much she just looked like she was on coke. Really struck me as someone who was used to people taking advantage of her and wasn't having any of it, even if that wasn't the case. And yes, there were a couple weirdos in the bunch. They used to take Polaroids with people for a couple bucks, and I remember one who just did this big, open leg, here's a view of every below-the-waist hole I've got, sitting in the customer's lap pose for their assistant to take a pic of... only to find out that their assistant was their mother.

These days, I am a photographer who works with many models, most of them of the nude variety. And I I would say more than 90% of them have an OF or are full blown porn stars who make a little money on the side modeling. I have certainly worked with several recognizable names. There's one that I am still semi-chatty with, and she's great. She recommends other models to reach out to me specifically when they're traveling through the area as someone safe and talented to work with. Another liked one of my shots so much that she requested a print for herself to hang in her condo in Vegas and told me if I'm ever in town we can get together and I can go see it, which is really nice of her. And just last year I shot with someone who I consider to be another really well known name in the industry who was just a big goofball. She's a sweet kid who I really liked.

All of which to say, "they're" just like "us" and the interactions run the wide gamut of the human experience just like everyone else.

A friend was assisting a TV celebrity with a seminar he would be running at a pop culture convention. The celeb and his organization had a photographer they usually worked with, but he wasn't available that day or something like that. They asked my friend if he knew anyone and he tossed them my name.

And that, kids, is not only the story of how I got my first paid photo gig, but also how I wound up giving camera placement advice and filming footage to be used in a video presentation for a guy who had actually directed things seen on TV.

This is actually a part of my head canon that links three completely unrelated movies.

Macready and Childs are left alone together at the end of The Thing, each wondering if the other is the aforementioned thing. Eventually it is revealed that Childs is, and they have one last final battle, with Mac triumphant, but at the cost of one of his eyes (and a bit of his sanity).

Miraculously, he is rescued before freezing to death and after recuperating he decides he is never going to live anyplace cold again and basically runs off to the Caribbean to live out the remainder of his days in the sun and sand, and parlays his pilot skills into becoming a boat captain. To separate himself from his reputation and past, R.J. Macready starts going by his first name: Captain Ron.

After the events of Captain Ron, the world descends into chaos and Ron, already a part time criminal with ties to guerilla fighters and shady deals, finds the only way to survive is to lean even more heavily into crime. But he now needs a better alias to leave everything else that's come before behind him and try to make his way in this new world. Call him... Snake.

This happened too my mother's Rene today and by luck I was able to find this post. Saved me a tow and a service. Thanks!

Those three were lighting in a bottle on this title. Not an act I'd want to follow.

I last flew to and in South Africa in 2018, so consider that in how much you depend on this information.

I have flown on large international jumbos, mid sized domestic jets, and 12-seaters while in country. I have never once been asked to with a bag with the exception of my large checked bags which miraculously made it under weight. They have been far more interested in bag size than weight.

I get more scrutiny from the amount of electronics and batteries stuffed into my carry ons. And I have to open them up repeatedly for inspection. So bear in mind the more you have, the more you need to essentially announce to everyone around you that you're carrying. It can be quite uncomfortable to unzip a bag with $25k worth of gear for the world to see.

The only problem I have ever had with any item was a single (possibly a pair) of allen wrenches I had while checking in for a small jet flight. There is a hard "no" for carryon of any kind of tool. I'll add that it was about my third connecting flight so I was for airports drop at this point. Was it particular to this airline or airport or was he just the first guy to look? No idea. But just be ready with backup plans for when something goes wrong.

My go to for concerts where I'm not credentialed was recently upgraded to a Lumix ZS80D, but are more than twice your budget.

For years prior, I used a Sony Cybershot HX20V which is right around 300 Euro and can be bought used on ebay for almost half that.

The questions you need to answer for yourself are what you prioritize in functions. I'm not a front row guy so I'm often shooting from a ways back. For me and my style, optical zoom is a priority. I can more or less get by with the other compromises I had to make.

It's a lot of work keeping two up and running. Trying to keep track of conversations going on in both, trying to decide which one (or both) you'll post an image to. If you're making a story to post too you clients, gotta double up on that.

I wish I only had the one, tbh.

I got up that morning and drove about 30-45 minutes to work. The first attack happened mid-commute.

I went inside and turned the radio on to continue listening. When the second plane hit, I remember wondering if I needed to go back home to be with my family. I don't remember if I left early or not. I don't think I did, but the day felt... hollow.

I had plans to meet a friend for dinner that night. By that time, things are were under control, in the sense that there didn't seem to be any attacks still going on, but there was obviously still a deep sense of unease because ultimately no one knew what was going on. But people were still going about their lives as normally as they could.

The restaurant had a decent crowd for a Tuesday night. Couples and families, some work groups. People dotting the bar as they do on a weeknight. The TV overhead flickering whatever was showing. Then, president Bush came on to address the nation.

The bartender turned on the sound, and when Bush's distinctive voice was heard, every, single person stopped and every head turned. I imagine the entire nation knew that the world was changing. Had already changed.

Waiters and waitresses stopped moving in place. The bartender ignored everyone and craned his neck to see the screen. Conversation stopped. Silverware and plates stopped clanking. For however long he spoke, our immediate world paused. I tell you this, I have used the phrase "eerily silent" in my life many times, and every time I've used it outside of this situation, I have been wrong. To be in a public place, among that many people, and not a one was moving out making a sound? Utterly unnerving.

The Kurgan in his medieval armor from Highlander. Full stop. Collection complete.

Verizon reps have been coming to my house in Belvidere about once a year for the last decade or so, each time telling me that their techs are working on installing Fios in the area and would I like to sign up. If you've been working on simply getting it up and running for ten years, what is to make me believe you're even capable of finishing the job or supporting me after the fact?

Personally, I think they're doing market research to see where it's worth their time and manpower to actually install lines, and if they don't have X number of signups, they just move to another area and plan to canvass in another year or two and see if interest has picked up.

I don't remember for the miles on the first one. I've still got the second one, we're coming up on two years, and I'm between 9 and 10K miles.

Me!

I am entirely an indoors person, but I like the extra vertical visibility of an SUV. At the same time, I don't like driving a huge tank of a car. Nor do I enjoy massive car payments.

I bought a 2018 Trailhawk and absolutely loved that car to death. Wrecked it in 2023 and needed a new car. I went right back to the Renegade. Unfortunately, Jeep seems to have phased out the trim packages and combinations of what I actually want, so I like this one much less. But it still fulfills its main purpose.

Yep, it's a shame, but that's nature for you. I've been a visitor to Seal Island off and on for 10 years now, and even at my very sporadic rate, it was obvious they were dropping off in size and number. And once the orcas started feeding there, that was it. But that's nature for you.

I, too, had heard they had a sighting or two last year, and people were very hopeful that they were coming back, but I haven't been keeping up with the news on that front. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not paying close attention or if there was no additional news to report, but I suspect there would've been a much bigger splash (pardon the pun) if they had made the return that everyone had been hoping for.

Hopefully someday.

Seconding the recommendation of Australia (or New Zealand). I would have suggested South Africa, but since the great whites scattered from False Bay, that's just not a reliable spot anymore. Always hoping it rebounds because the country is a lovely vacation destination, but it's not currently the spot.

As for diving certifications, it's generally not required, but once you decide upon your destination, you should book your charter(s) in advance and see what the operator requires. In some cases, you may be able to get into the cage but there may be other activities that necessitate a diving license. If you're fine without the extras, then it's up to you if you get certified. (For example, there was a company in Guadeloupe that in addition to the cages, which anyone could use, also offered rides in a submersible and that required the cert. I've no idea what's available in Australia/New Zealand.)

Sure do. I reached that point a bunch of years ago and did, indeed, fire sale everything. I kept my HCs, TPBs, anything I had that was autographed, and my Iron Fist comics. I figured that last one would be the only thing I kept going with. That went on for a year or two and slowly petered out. And now I look on that box with both nostalgia and disdain. I love that I have them. I like knowing that they're there. But I haven't touched them other than to move that box out of the way in something like 20 years. I contemplate just throwing them out, but at the same time I also know they're worth... something... to someone... But I don't even know of any stores around me anymore that would even buy a collection like that.

If you're into photographing small objects, toys, etc. and you don't have lighting, my first set of lights were a set of clamp-on shop lights.

If you work with models and shoot pinup styled stuff, the Halloween and Christmas seasonal sections are great for props and set dressing.

Between sessions, I keep all of my camera gear and assorted bibs and bobs stored in a locking Husky tool chest. When I load up my backpack to go out, it's a one-stop shop.

I bought it straight from Hasbro, so I got it for retail.

Not for no reason.