It's been a long time since I logged into dA and even longer since I submitted anything. I don't like having been away from the community for so long, but I've gotten to caught up in a lot of work (namely a huge PHP site project I undertook myself in April and continue to work on now...) I hope to get back into dA starting in these next few months, which *might* mean a new username...

- J.A.

It is a shame Canon discontinued the EF 200mm f/1.8L USM lens (yes I know they discontinued it 3 years ago but thats not the point) This is probably the greatest telephoto prime ever made. The only other telephoto lens with a 1.8 aperture is the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM and that is no where near comparable in focal length. There is the EF 135mm f/2.0L USM but that has a wider aperture and shorter focal length. The discontinuation of this lens is no doubt a shame to indoor or low-light outdoor sports. Unfortunately even if I do find this lens for sale used I'd never be able to afford the $3500+ price tag.

Also, after looking further into the Canon discount I've learned that it's only available on select items, unfortunately none are pro-grade lenses or bodies etc.

I wish lenses didn't cost so much....

Installed Windows Vista RC2 last night.

I repartitioned my hard drive, eliminating an old Linux partition that wasn't working anyways; so I'm currently dual-booting XP and Vista.

Main reason I decided to install Vista: My Windows XP Pro install had died after a repartition about three-four months ago, and a month ago I installed XP Home (I didn't have the Pro install CD I used originally), but it wouldn't activate (probably because I was running the same CD on the Dell downstairs) so it was about to expire a day or two ago. So I figured: Vista is free and could be better, might as well install tat.

To actually install it I had to migrate my DVD burner from downstairs to the computer in here (Vista installs from a DVD only).

It's officially 100% running now, although a bit slow, which is a result of my lack of graphics card on this computer; I think I might migrate the GeForce 4 Ti4600 (when I bought it it was the best card available ).

Be aware that Vista can run on an slightly above average computer, but the 'above' needs to be all in the RAM, I'm running with 768MB and use a lot of it all the time, which XP never did unless I was running PS and Firefox at the same time.

Personally, I kinda like it, it's a lot better than the first beta releases, which had deleting a shortcut from the desktop needing seven steps through numerous dialogs; it seems they worked out some of the kinks. Although the little "Windows needs your permission" dialog can get annoying and at times seems pointless, but you have to realize that a program might be trying to do something without your permission, and that's what it's for.

And of course I'm running the Office 2007 Beta as well, which is, by the way, an absolutely AMAZING piece of software, at first it's weird, but once you get used to the new UI everything is much much more streamlined.

If you haven't noticed, I love beta software (I run all the Firefox betas too, I used it back when it was called Firebird)

Hope you all decide to run Vista if your computer is up to it.

Just found out a few days ago that one of my friend's sisters works for Canon. She said I could make use of her employee discount.

I almost fainted when she told me. Literally, she kept telling me just to breath, I stopped myself from actually fainting because I was holding my camera at the time.

I'm going to save so much money it is amazing, and now I'll actually be able to buy all L-series lenses


UPDATE: Apparently Canon is currently getting there stock up for the holiday season so I won't be able to take advantage of the discount for about a month. Which is no problem because I was going to have my parents use it to buy me some stuff for Christmas

UPDATE 2: Canon store opens in November and fyi I am not greedy, even if it sounds like it.

I am now back on deviantART after an all to long break that unfortunately spanned the entire school year for the most part. After all that time I have recently uploaded a few pictures that I took with my recently purchased Canon Digital Rebel XT (a.k.a. Canon 350D) which is, by the way, an incredible camera and anyone looking for a digital SLR should definitely consider it, especially if you don't have over a thousand dollars to spend on a 20D.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get back into DA and re-become the addict I was last summer. I would greatly appreciate any and all comments on my submissions and my DA homepage and also if you would tell others about me.

Oh yes, I would also like to announce happily that this summer I have been working as a paid photographer for my town's recreation department, which is the explanation for most sport photographs I submit.

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