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Nah, not really directed at you  but just wondering why people are feeling threatend. People are always going to steal ideas. I guess it depends on the individual and whether or not they can stand to look at themselves in the mirror or not. Yuri's port was just an example of market trend, obviously there are many others. Getty site might be another good source of info, ya think? Or take a trip to the bookstore and check out the thousands of magazines that are available.

 Problem is a lot of the pro stuff is very hard to shoot, at least for the type of stuff I would like to do. Elaborate sets, professional models, wardrobe, difficult to get to locations. All costs money, money, money.. So, most of us are probably limited in that respect.

From what I'm reading and seeing, I think these Olympics have been some of the most tarnished.

From stupid fireworks that didn't actually happen to the ridiculous amount of talk about pollution to the consistently bad judging/refereeing

however its nice to see records fall despite the potential "engineering" the chinese did to have that happen in the pool (I've heard that the pool was built to be deeper and with more air bubbles to have swimmers go faster so that these games would be remembered for some sort of greatness)

And my favourite:  14 year old girls who are allowed to compete because the government forged their birth certificates

Way too many scandals - and I really hope the IOC learns their lesson that its not their job to be political and to give the games to places that can be responsible

Totally agree something is up with that pool. Seems a bit of stretch that world records are broken in every race. The new skins they are wearing might have something to do with it as well, but that pool is either short or rigged.

I think the truth will come out after the games as far as the young gymnasts. Its such a high profile event and I would hope people would not accept a 12 hour bogus investigation. The way I understand it, the birth certificates were new models, not originals.

This whole thing almost makes ME what to leave this board.  Can't we ALL do away with the name calling and just get back to sharing and helping each other?  Isn't that what this board is all about?  Or do I have it entirely wrong?

amen!

Wanted to share some thoughts.

I have an Aquatica housing for 5d
X2 Ikellite ds 125 strobes
X2 16 inch arms
extension tube
Dome port
canon 16-35L II

I've only done a handful of dives on the reef with it. I was living in the Florida Keys at the time so with all that water around it made sense to try it. Found out real quick that a big rig like that is tough to handle in the current. could not swim back with it against a tough current first time out. Note to self: Make sure to get good fins next time and swim against the current in the beginning of dive

I got the aquatica housing on the recommendation from a pro underwater photographer/teacher in the keys(not a salesman). He told me I had a far less chance of losing my camera due to leakage with the aquatica then with the Ikellite housing. He also mentioned: its not a matter of "if" your housing leaks but a matter of "when" it leaks. That kind of freaked me out a little.

biggest problem I've had is dealing with "backscatter" you have to get your strobes positioned just right as to not light up the out of focus particles in front of your lens. Any type of "on camera" flash would make back scatter a serious problem. Macro stuff is not as bad as wide angle because there are less particles between you and the subject. So far my best selling underwater pics were taken in a swimming pool  fun stuff anyway.. trying to look through the viewfinder is kind of joke if the current is moving. I remember after one dive I looked like I had been in a knife fight, I must have brushed up against the fire coral about a dozen times..painful nasty stuff!! 

Here is few shots I managed to upload if anyone is interested http://www.istockphoto.com/file_search.php?action=file&lightboxID=2605741

Thanks  I'll check out the free program and go from there.

8-12 here to. Lucky guessing  pretty hard to tell the difference 

I have a couple stupid questions:

I know nothing about 3d but find it interesting.  it looks difficult? does it take years to learn or something that you can learn in your spare time?

Are the images created out of thin air or does the computer use an image for reference?

Me 3, your positive energy is much needed around here 

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They are probably still updating? I found a bunch of stuff I recognize that didn't have to bad of search placement.
The site looks a little like Alamy to me with a mix of really good material and really bad material.

Selling subs at smaller sizes won't seem so bad if its mixed in with $25.00-$50.00 commissions. Kind of excited to see how this plays out! I think this model would be good for everyone if all sites that sell subs use it. Keep the high res files priced high 

XL's pay $5.00 and XXL"s pay $7.50 on StockXpert..

I don't think sales play a big factor for relevant search on dreamstime. If this was true the search would look a lot different. Being a niche guy I follow pretty closely people that submit similar material to myself. In this case I'm not seeing it. Its got to be other factors like what you mentioned about title and how many times keywords appear etc.. That would also explain the grouping of images in a series..must be keywords only. Editors choice selections plays a factor also I'm guessing.