keener

I've noticed that I've lost some clients this year (through no fault of mine I might add - some have closed down etc) but orders from my remaining clients are up on last year. I've just expanded the options of what I supply which gives me a little more work but not massively and we're doing a 3 for the price of 2 special offer. The majority of the cost is in producing the first one so if they order 2 it more than covers the cost of printing the 3rd given the volume I'm printing at the moment. My gf has a theory that in this recession people aren't spending money on the big things like cars, tv's, kitchens etc but are still willing to grab a bargain on the smaller items. It seems to be working for me - I'm flat out at the moment.

The photos you've linked to as examples are all professionally shot. Any pro photographer will protect their copyright rigorously and would come after you if they found out. You don't need a copyright symbol visible for the image to be protected. Basically every image is protected by copyright laws and a repro fee could be demanded/negotiated. The copyright is owned by whoever pressed the button on the camera to take the shot unless the commissioning client has purchased the copyright from the photographer. In either case they could sue you for a repro fee or breach of copyright. The only way round this is to use pictures you've comissioned yourself or bought from a picture library or that you know are free for anyone to use. Anything other than this could be a minefield for you legally. See items 1 and 3 at http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/protect/p16_photography_copyright for more info.

Wow, those bridesmaids are HOT! NOT!!!!!!!

This is basically called 'short selling' and is part of the reason the stock market went so badly wrong recently. Quite a few fund managers lost a lot of money 'cos they were doing this with Volkswagen shares not knowing that Porsche had been quietly buying up a big stake in Volkswagen. As soon as the news came out the share price went up rather than the down they were expecting and the bugger$ short selling lost loads! Ha ha! I must admit that I don't know much about the stock market but, from the questions you're asking it seems like you don't know too much either. The stock market is sooo volatile at the moment I don't reckon it's a good time to have anything to do with it unless you really know what you're doing and can keep a very close eye on it - oh yeah, and be prepared to lose what you invest if you don't get it right. With regards to brokers there's loads of online ones for small sales but make sure you know their charges and most wont offer any advice for small trades so it's up to you to do your homework on whatever you're buying. If in doubt though go with someone you've heard of - I think Barclays have a stockbroker section, for example.

Parked up in layby on A34 northbound between Didcot and Abingdon with bonet up. I think it had a body kit and aftermarket wheels but I was past too quick to register details or stop to help. Sorry. Hope it wasn't a major problem and you got it sorted.

I use http://www.ampmtechnicalservices.com/index.htm for all my canvases. Top quality and very reasonable prices. Give them a buzz and talk to Pierre and he'll let you know all about resolution, what size you could go up to, etc. I highly recommend them!

Ryan, do you live in Kidlington then?

Could have been me. Gunmetal but stock wheels. There's another gunmetal just round the corner from me (which is what made me decide on the colour for mine!) and it's got Lexus wheels and stock body. Could be that one - not sure if the owners on here though.

I don't know much about specific models at that end of the market but def go for Canon or Nikon. I've used Canon top end stuff for years but if I was buying a new kit bag of stuff now I'd go for Nikon. Their latest pro cameras are amazing.

Bit of a blatant request for votes but I've entered some images into a photo competition and am after votes! Check out http://www.lgloop.com/images and do a search for 'keener' and if you like any of my image please vote for them! Many thanks!!

Someones got to loan money now the banks are as tight as sharks ar$eh0le$. Stupid to go for it though! 182% APR - I'm surprised they even advertise that!

Just renewed my 97 TT j-spec with Aplan for £480 fully comp.

Hilton was nice.

Even though you clearly ran them at too low pressure it might be worth taking them back to who ever fitted them to see if they'll replace them for you at no cost. Both faults could be manufacturing faults on cheapo tyres? Worth an ask anyway!

About 5.15 p.m. Not keen on the spoiler but a damn nice car otherwise. Sounded v good too! Anyone here?

tbh the main shot might be taken with a wide angle which might make them look further away than they really are and the close up with a decent zoom lens which would indeed be good enough to read the paper. I have a couple of L series lenses from Canon which are astonishing. I love using them for portraits but often have to blur out the skin detail a bit or you could see every pore when blown up. Simply amazing resolution when used with a pro camera body. For SLR cameras go Canon or Nikon but for just down from that level the Panasonic Lumix range are all very good.

Caress it gently and play it soft music just like everything else. Seriously though, what did you get in the end?

Cheers for the props! Image now changed to bigger size and copyright removed as requested but no downloading for your own use, ok! Yup he survived. This is an everyday occurance in wakeboarding and wakeskating and doesn't hurt too much. In 4 years of riding I've only heard of a couple of broken limbs. Lots of whiplash, muscle strains and bruises mind you - but it wouldn't be called extreme sport if it was easy!

Totally chuffed that I've just been made the UK Press & PR Photographer of the Year by the British Institute of Professional Photography and the Master Photographers Association. One of my wakeboarding images won it for me. I've won merits before but not the whole thing so I'm made up! This is the winning image: Just firing off press releases to try to turn the prestige into cash!

I shoot lots of portfolio stuff for models with Elliott Brown based in Oxford. Good agency with good reputation. Not sure if they do the sort of stuff you're after but might be worth giving them a call to chat through. http://www.elliottbrownagency.co.uk/ Whatever you do don't pay shed loads on a folio before talking to an agency. Just go and see a few and they'll tell you what you need or may even do the shots themselves for free if they see potential.

Of course at the end of the day it's not what you've got but how you use it.

I use http://www.flickr.com/. Always works fine.

The white caused the camera to underexpose the image which made the black wheels darker - oh no, I'm boring myself again, apologies!

I'm a pro photog and have always used Canon gear. However, if I was to buy new now I would get Nikon. Their latest stuff is phenomenal. For your budget I would suggest finding out what the latest model is from Canon and Nikon and then shop around for the previous model as lots of suppliers will be getting rid of old stock and you might get a bargain. At that level Canon and Nikon are much the same so have a look at a couple and see which one you like. Try to get one with auto dust removal if you can - saves loads of computer time getting rid of dust bunnies (those out-of-focus blobs common on digital images caused by dust on the sensor) later!

Just tried it for my sister and brother in law who have 2 girls already and the mutant offspring looks nothing like any of the family! Based on that I'm not too worried about the wierdo made by the girlfriend and I!