I agree and what an awesome camera too. Nice to see another New Hampshire gardener here!

LOL! I got my first little Brownie box camera when I was 11. I played with B/W film all during junior high. In high school, I worked on the yearbook and school newspaper--we did only B/W, but all our own processing and developing. Lots of experimenting and talking to other photographers...some workshops. Got the job as a photographer/darkroom tech at the college I went to...met my husband in the darkroom. GRIN (Yep, we've heard ALL the jokes.) By that time, my dad saw the potential of photography. He'd always wanted to own his own business, so he apprenticed with a local pro, then went into business. So...I was a photographer first, but he made it a business while I was in college. After college, and marrying my guy...someone from our church asked us to do some wedding photos...her maid of honor asked and so on...before long I was 24 and doing 50 weddings a summer. Whew. We joined local, regional, and national professional photographer organizations. LOTS of great educational opportunities there...I studied and learned and studied some more. Yes, I learned a lot about lighting. Photography IS lighting...then composition and feeling. It was a fun career. I closed my studio in my early 40's when we had an opportunity to move overseas for a while. By the time we came back, digital photography had swept in...I've learned just enough to do family photos for us. I keep my hand in doing portraits for a few select past clients from time to time. Remember...it isn't the camera, it's the person behind the camera who creates the art. Cameras can make it easier...but the artsy stuff comes from within you. Enjoy it!

I think it is both. I grew up in a house where my parents utilized an interior designer and both of my parents were clothes horses. Of all the siblings I had the most innate artistic ability and since I was the youngest, after a 5 year gap, I think they allowed me free reign with that. I was being asked my opinion about stuff like this by the time I was 12 or so. So I have one sibling who cares neither about clothes(in a bad way) nor the inside of her house much (although she has innately good taste when she actually buys a piece of furniture) I have another sibling who is very into clothes (good taste here) and decorating (questionable and fickle taste here). Interestingly, they each have a clothes horse and one is going to go to interior design school now that she has a business degree.

Pool safety: The first thing you should do when you enter a pool area is locate the hook, and if there's no hook, the leaf skimmer. Unless you're certified in lifesaving and power swim regularly, one of the most dangerous things you can do is get in the water to help someone in distress. Use the hook to catch the swimmer under the arms or around the waist, or else get the swimmer to catch hold of the skimmer, and pull to the side of the pool. If there's no pole, throw a life ring, but if there's no rope have the swimmer hanging onto it before you get in the water, and pull the ring, not the swimmer, to the side. Any kind of floaty toy or noodle will work in a pinch, though something big like an inner tube or lounge float can be too hard for a panicked, stressed and tiring swimmer to hang onto, so if you can, choose a kickboard or beach ball instead, or even a throw pillow or small cushion off a chair. No matter what, remember you're much stronger on the ground, and in better position to call for help. I get the appeal of private beaches, but I wouldn't go into moving water deeper than just covering my feet without a lifeguard.