Linda K

no intention of signing, as many others have said, I would far rather my vet had learned on a living breathing animal - far different from practicing on cadavers that have no bleeding issues for starters.

would love to get one

doesn't explain why they want it for cats then, esp since the post linked refers to frozen semen, which is not used for cat breeding - all breeding is live matings, not AI. Might be jumping at shadows, but given the attempts that seem to be going on Aus wide with cracking down on legitimate breeders under the guise of taking on puppy farms, would think that getting figures out their publicly might not be in the best interest (gives the councils etc something to target if they know, and start chasing them down), but since noone else obviously thinks it is a possibility I will leave it be.

hmmm - same person going after both cat and dog stats on the same thing - registered breeders and registered animals, and in the case on catworld, was their only post they have made on that - makes me wonder why they want this information as no reasoning given why they want it, and what they intend to do with it.

it is one of my main lens I use, I just love it

lovely, they are certainly not suffering any PKS (photographers kid syndrome) - bribery works a treat!!!!

been around for quite a while, have been to one of her workshops, she is such a natural with kids I just wish I could bottle a little of Jinky

if you are wanting a zoom, and don;t want to foot zoom (ie walk closer), then a 70-200 might be a good choice. The 5DII is a great camera, but does have one heck of a learning curve, esp if it is your very first SLR, but would definitely suggest you red the manual cover to cover, and if you are not up with shooting on manual (ie you let the camera still make all the choices for you re shutter speed, aperture etc, and all you are doing is pressing the buttons), then a great way to jump into shooting manual and taking control (and with a camera like that, it would be a crime not to) is to get the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson, and do the exercises included.

do you intend to use natural light setup with the studio type background, or are you intending on using lights - if you are using natural light, and wanting to include multiple subjects that will potentially be on different planes, you most definitely will need a lens that wil let in lots of light. Your 1.8 would be ideal for this, but depends on the amount of space you have to wok with, and whether you are also after being able to do full body length shots, or just head / shoulders type stuff. If you are using studio lights, then as they are providing all the lighting, the maximum aperture is not quite as important IMO, as you could shoot at F8 to ensure all bodies are in the focal plane, and not worry about how much natural light is coming in, here you just need to keep the ISO at 100, set the aperture to what you desire, ensure the shutter speed is suitable to work with lights (mine needs to be less than 1/250 otherwise I have problems synchronising with the lights, and the shutter curtain will appear in the photo), and then adjust the flash power to ensure perfect exposure. A lot also depends on what ISO you can work up to and still have little noise - generally the cheaper bodies will not work as well as a pro body over about ISO 800, so you will need to bear that in mind too if using natural light. Are you intending on trying to get to this being a business for you - if so, would certainly do what others have said about looking first of all at what you are doing now, and what focal lengths you mostly use, and then consider if the aperture your current lens delivers suits your needs or not, and then look from there. Maybe also look at some other sites to see what others whose work you admire are doing, and study that t see how you could break that sown and put your own twist onto it (afterall, no one wants to simply be a copy cat) If you have no intention of doing this for anymore than just taking these shots now for fun, then would personally not really be buying anything further, as what you have would be sufficient for a hobbyist, and anything much more might be overkill, and expensive on the wallet. As to what I use myself, in my business setup - for kids and animals, I have 2 bodies that can work in low light (Nikon D700, in conjunction with 50 1.4G and 85 1.4G & Canon 5DII with a 50 1.4, 24-70 2.8L. 70-200 2.8L, and 135 2L , and also have both studio lights and flashes that I can use off camera if natural light is not sufficient for me, as well as a backdrop stand with a variety of backdrops (both paper rolls and muslin and you do not want to know what all of that cost, but I have used the business to fund it over time, did not start with all that in one hit)

they did also say that these dogs have been a problem in his area and have attacked before, not to mention been loose on the streets before too. Feel for the poor dogs that did not have a chance at a loving life, and what a a**hle owner they had

would go with the 50D myself too - lot easier to get service and parts, and both Canon (and Nikon) lenses whilst thye may be a dear outlay initally will hold their value, and have a great resale value, unlike 3rd party lenses

there are very good reasons that people are distrustful of the RSPCA, and this just proves it

Kirty, it never becomes any easier, but you made the right decision for her, a life filled with terror like that would not have been a happy one. The fact that you care so much about having to make this decision shows just how hard it was for you

absolutely, it is enough to have me vote against Labor for the first time in my life

even worse though is this bit that was also announced

awesome, still at 29.90, so a great bargain there!!!

guess that dogs are very lucky that the whole process like that even occurs in the first place - in the cat world, if a cat shows aggression or bit a judge, it will be declared unable to be handled (UTH), and banned for 3 months - no need for a committee to convene on this decision, it is part of the overall show rules that all our GCCFV shows run under.. For a second offence, it is then disqualified for life - no chances of appeal at all there. If they merely unable to be safely carried to the table or be handled sufficiently for judging, they may be declared unable to be judged (UTJ), this does not carry a suspension. Whilst I am not a dog shower, I do show cats, and feel that the owner who showed such an appalling lack of judgment on showing a dog that was clearly sick just to get some points has taken his "hobby" that he does for "fun" way too far - nothing worse than someone forcing a sick animal onto the showbench and risking everyone else's cats or dogs then coming down with that illness too (and have seen it too in local and National shows), despite animals being vetted in (and also know of a fellow competitor who brought home ringworm from another exhibitors animal, who then had a horrible time for the next several months clearing up her own animals, quarantining them (so could not attend any shows herself or have her own cats on the bench) and trying to make her home spore free) Common sense at times does really seem to take a back seat to a title, or the idea that we might miss out since we have paid that entry fee anyway, but really, it is not worth it to risk a suspension if the animal lets the judge know in no uncertain terms that it does not want to be there.

traditionally with full frame cameras, the 85 mm was considered the portrait lens of choice, any longer and you tend to get a telephoto compression effect, too much wider and you get a wide angle distortion, however if you have a cropped frame sensor (which I am guessing this one has), then you would be best off with a 50mm lens. You do also though, as others have said, need to consider the shooting space - if you are intending to shoot full length body shots indoors, then you mat=y even need to go to 35mm, and just take care in placing people so they are not near the edges of the frame. if you have the space though, would go with the 50mm 1.4G - love that lens

exactly - I have bought almost all my different cameras from overseas - the 10D when I had it, the 5D and the D700, and although they had the NTSC set as default, in the menu setting I was able to change that back to pal. Methinks they might just be spinning a bit of a porky there. Would also note that the D700 came from DWI, and was also setup with Japanese as the default language, as did the 10D (which came from a USA online shop), but going through the menu, was easy to change that to english.

just so cute

yes, and it is a cumulative poison too, incredibly toxic, and also is very invasive - the annoying thing around here is we all get reminded each year by the council on needing to have weed prevention stuff for the farm, and submit our plans each year for weed eradication etc to get the farm rebate, and yet on council land around town, the amounts of the weed growing just get bigger each year - they do not seem to do any eradication at all themselves, but expect us to fork out thousand each year taking care of that plus various other noxious weeds.

awesome stuff Ruth, so deserved too!!!!

must admit, I love both my Canon 50 1.4, and the Nikon 50 1.4, they are one of my main working lenses

depends on whether you get a good copy of the 1.8 or not, as that can be a bit hit and miss. I have heard of others on a photography forum that have had the 1.8 fall apart on them, just because it is not quite as robust as the 1.4. For the average man on the street though, agree with the others that they would probably not even be able to tell the difference between the 2.

so cute, and another who loves the butt shot - is it wrong to love those little swirls on the butt - he is just so gorgeous, and what a brave guy to bounce up and want to keep going!!!!