Tonight, I found this tip at http://dailyphototips.blogspot.com/ to pass on to you. Personally, I have never bought CF cards on Ebay. but, for those of you who might think of shopping there. Here is some valuable advice. Buyer, beware, indeed.

Cleaning Digital Closets

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From yet another box in the bottom one of the closets.

Rummaging

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Each of the external drives lined up on my desk contains a somewhat orderly collection of files—all sorted and labeled in what seemed at the time to be a quite logical hierarchy of file storage. However, with the passage of time, my system (even basic philosophy) of organization has shifted multiple times. Fitting all those folders and files into the new system continues. The image above is another from that crowded and rather messy “closet” I have been rummaging around in lately.

The Day After

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I hope you will enjoy this latest image from the "Outside My Window" collection.

Closet Cleaning

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Cleaning out closets is no one’s idea of entertainment. On the other hand, occasionally that usually dreaded process produces a forgotten treasure or a long-lost item once the subject of a long and arduous search (of course, you may no longer need it—but that’s another issue). Sometimes the payoff for the unpleasant task is the sweetness of memories evoked by the unexpected encounter with pieces of the past. Sorting through my image files is a similar experience—but without that nasty dust that collects in closets. During the last couple of weeks, I have encountered surprises, disappointments, nostalgia, and the inevitable frustrations of any sorting and organizing project. On the whole, it has, thus far, been satisfying. Over the next week or two, you are likely to see here some images that were shot in the past—some quite recently, some a year or two ago. Several were already processed; others had been set aside for some vague and open-ended “later”. I hope you will enjoy with me some of the rewards from the ongoing clean-up mission.

A camera review

At least once a day, I drop by my favorite photography-related websites for the essential dose of information and inspiration. Michael Reichmann’s The Luminous Landscape is one of the top-rated sources for just such appetites as mine.
On August 1, I noticed this hands-on review of the Canon Powershot S5 IS, written by Tim Penner. Of course, out of all the reviews I have seen lately, this one in particular caught my eye mostly because I am an unabashed Canon enthusiast. If you’re in a hurry and want the short and sweet version of his comments, he gives it an enthusiastic thumbs-up especially for anyone who is flirting with jumping into the DSLR categagory, but not quite ready to make that leap. You will find the review here:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/Powershot%20S5.shtml. I checked the price at B&H, for a rough estimate, and found it there for $469.95. It’s an 8 megapixel camera with a number of very nice features. Sounds like fun.

Hearing Voices

In terms of photography, I haven't been all that productive the last couple of days. I was determined to keep my focus on my backup project. "Tedious work, but essential", the serious side of me kept repeating.

This evening, I couldn't stay with the file work and wandered outside to take photos of something—frankly, anything. There was that familiar brief flash of doubt, since I had no idea what I planned to photograph. Then, of course, as soon as I stepped out the door I found more than enough to fill my eye and soon lost track of time. Once I am looking through the lens, I find the process so relaxing and satisfying that I always kick myself for allowing my camera to gather dust even for a couple of days. I chose these shots to share with you since these tiny white blossoms had, after all, beckoned to me on another day when I thought I was much too busy. On that day, I had listened to the adult voice and focused on the back-up work. Today, I heeded a different voice.

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Digital Housekeeping Chores

I am immersed in the massive task of backing up files—not exactly exciting and creative, but part of life with computers. No one likes to back up files. You do it because you're terrified you will wait until it's too late. I run across this phrase constantly: "It's not a matter of 'if' your hard drive will fail, but 'when it will fail'." Comforting, right?

At least this time around, I ran into some super bargains when picking up external hard drives. Best Buy had Western Digital and Seagate drives on sale. Both those sales are over, or I would recommend them to you. Unfortunately, I caught them late in the cycle. But, not to worry. The prices on storage are plummeting. For example, I got a 500GB Seagate for $129.00. And, I remember how steep prices were when I bought my first 200GB drive a few years ago. With these low prices, it has now reached a point where external drives offer a far superior backup system, in my opinion. I would never go back to that laborious procedure of burning DVDs.

I saw this video of the famous horse rescue in the Netherlands quite some time ago, but wanted to see if it was still available. I found it and have posted it for you. It's a little over 7 minutes of inspiration. Either have a hanky nearby, or don't say I didn't warn you.

This video has been out for some time and I don't know how much longer it will be posted, so I hope you will see it.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7208904950568913763&q=horse+rescue+in+the+Netherlands

Moving Down the Highway

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Once again, I ran across this shot in the Colorado folder and couldn't seem to move away from it. At first, I thought the pickup waiting at the intersection was distracting and I had to remove it from this beautiful view. That appeared to be a daunting and frustrating task, but mostly I just couldn't get motivated to start the job. Ultimately, I couldn't bring myself to clone out the vehicle. It's not just that the object adds scale. The more I looked at the image, the more I realized that the pickup is a vital part of the original story that caught my attention. To begin with, this was a grab shot—taken on the road through the windshield (you can relax—my husband was driving), and I had never been fully certain why I was compelled to trip the shutter while moving down the highway. Revisiting that moment yesterday, I began to realize why I couldn't get it out of my mind. The moment really speaks to me about what we saw over and over throughout our road trip: The stamp of mankind is all around us and, to avoid it completely , one would have to strap on the serious hiking gear and trek deep into the wilderness. Still, in spite of that constant intrusion, what my eye repeatedly frames is an image that resembles the one above: an image that has as it's subject matter approximately one-third man and two-thirds God. There was a time when with each landscape shot, I felt compelled to eliminate every telephone wire along with any other trace of man's intrusion on this beautiful planet. I know this is a common pattern with anyone who enjoys shooting landscapes. Lately, I am coming to peace with those intrusions on the pristine nature around me. Rather than being frustrated by them, I have begun to feel that, in some instances, the man-made marks provide instructive contrast. For me, they are so mundane they serve to emphasize the grandeur of my natural surroundings. Moreover, the marks are so dwarfed by the earth and sky, they actually enhance my appreciation for the stunning glory of our planet. The image speaks to me, so I wanted to share it with others.