Found a new online photo effects site. Dumpr.net has several fun effects easily applied to any photo.
The mother of all telephotos…
The Canon 1200/5.6L USM has been built on a special-order basis since 1993, and the �official word� is there are “more than twelve, less than twenty” of them in existence. With a price tag equivalent to a pair of his-and-her sports coupes, they were produced at the rate of about 2-per-year and a delivery time of about 18 months. National Geographic magazine, Sports Illustrated, Canon Professional Services, and a few well-heeled enthusiasts are counted among the fortunate few who own these unique optics. A box of donuts says the Feds probably have a few squirreled away somewhere, but this is something we can neither confirm nor deny. What you get for your money is a monster lens with an angle of view of about 2° on a full-frame 35 mm camera.
Lots of interest in Digital SLR cameras recently as the throngs of digital point and shoot users look to get into something a little better. I have had my Nikon D50 for a couple of years now and absolutely love it. This Rookie Guide To Digital SLR Cameras is a good read for anyone looking to make the jump to a Digital SLR.
First and foremost, will you use it?
We all love toys. We all love expensive toys. But nobody loves an expensive toy they never use. If you think you’re going to buy a DSLR and carry it around everywhere with you, you’re probably wrong. It’s heavy around your neck, it’s easily lost or stolen if you put it down in a public place, and it will never blend into the fabric of your life like a pocket camera will. In other words, be prepared to take it with you when you know you will be using it (e.g. sightseeing, stormwatching, portrait-taking, etc), but at all other times, it will probably stay at home. For this reason, even after you buy a DSLR, it’s probably good to keep your ultracompact point-and-shoot as your standard carry-along camera. Even on vacations, there will be plenty of times when the smaller camera is the only one on you at any given time. Again, I recommend the Casio EX-V8 as a fantastic ultracompact choice here. For the last few years, Casio has made the best all-around point-and-shoots, in my opinion.
See the full article here.
Fall in the Smokies, how can you not love it! A great time to check out these Smoky Mountain National Park weather cams: Look Rock and Purchase Knob. Other National Park Service weather cams are viewable here.
Scene snapped from the Purchase Knob cam at 2:45PM today.
From Shorpy Vintage Photos: Dam Workers by Arthur Rothstein taken June 1942. Workers on the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar Dam hydro- electric project.
Other TVA Photos from Arthur Rothstein available here, here, here, and here.
Looking for a fun way to kill some time. Google / Blogger has introduced Play Blogger, a never-ending stream of images that were just uploaded to public Blogger blogs. You can click the image to be taken directly to the blog post it was uploaded to, or click “show info” to see an overlay with the post title, a snippet of the body, and some profile information about the blogger who uploaded it.
A caveat: Blogger attempts to screen the images. However, occasionally an image of adult nature will sneak through. Be sure to turn your head when that happens.. 
Welcome to my little corner of the web. Sit back, relax and, enjoy the show.