Meteornotes

OK, I have to ask: why? dt

OK, it's been awhile since we've had a photoshop contest here, and I have wisely (I hope!) volunteered to run one. But first, we need a theme for the contest. That's where the rest of you come in. Post your ideas to this thread, and we'll pick one and then get the contest going. For those that have never witnessed one of these, you can review one of the past contests here. These are always great fun, provide us with entertainment, and the winner gets a Bag Of Crap! But no crap can be handed out until we have a theme, so let's see if we can come up with a good one! Thanks! dt

Symphorce - In The Hopes Of A Dream dt

Ratt - Enough Is Enough dt

Pat Travers - New Age Music dt

Devin Townsend - Bastard dt

Evergrey - I'm Sorry dt

Riverside - Ultimate Trip dt

The Playland coaster is one of those rides that I have never heard a bad thing about. I really need to visit that park some day. Thanks for the pics! dt

Hi, There's already a fairly large topic about stand up coasters here. Always remember to do a search for a topic before starting a new one, especially for a popular one like this. Thanks! dt

Fear Factory - Cars dt

Moongarden - It's You dt

Oceansize - Trail Of Fire dt

Edguy - Hallowed dt

As someone that lives with a professional photographer (she mostly does weddings and concert photography), I'll add what I can. 1 - You should definitely go to a school with a good photography program and work at it. Take advantage of as many classes and workshops as you can. And take pictures. LOTS of pictures. There's an old saying that every photographer has about 10,000 bad photographs in them, and it's good to get those out of the way. What this means is you need to practice with pro gear (get a good camera, you'll need it) as much as you can. You should also take art classes, computer classes (knowledge of Photoshop is a MUST), design courses, anything that will give you a better sense of composition and lighting. Again, practice! You also want to take business classes if you think you're ever going to work freelance. Being a great photographer but having no idea how to run a business is a sure path to failure. Plus taking classes in something that will allow you to get a job that pays the bills while you're looking for a photography job is a good thing. 2 - I highly doubt there's any sort of job out there where you could take photos of coasters and make a living. Doing some sort of advertising/marketing/industrial photography where coasters might be a part of it? Sure. But not coasters 24/7. I'd really look at a more open-ended career path. 3 - Again, a great school with a good program should help you with job placement. This is a tough field, like anything related to the arts, because there are tons of people out there that want to be a photographer because they think it's "cool", and will often work for almost nothing. It will be a cutthroat business to get into especially at the beginning. Most people want the "sexy" jobs, like working at a high-profile magazine, but there is a lot of work out there that might not be as exciting, but pays well. I used to know a guy who specialized in photographing food, and another who did nothing but extreme close-up work, mostly of machine parts. Yeah, not as exciting as photographing swimsuit models on the beach in Hawaii, but it's a much more likely career path. If you want to freelance, you need to have an awesome portfolio. Again, your school program should help with this. And freelancing is all about contacts, so again, take advantage of every opportunity you can while studying. People you meet then might lead you to a job in the future. Hope this helps. If you have any specific questions, ask away. If I can't answer them, my wife probably can (she doesn't post here, but I can forward them on to her). dt

Circus Maximus - Zero dt

People being arrested/harassed for taking pictures is an ongoing problem around the world. I've been reading a lot of articles about this happening in the UK, where there seems to be a capaign against almost any public photography. Locally, I know that taking any sort of pictures/video of the Bay bridge will get you police attention very quickly. A few years ago, a good number of people were harassed by security guards at Six Flags Ohio, where they claimed copyright to everything in the park, and you needed permission to take pictures (an excpetionally stupid policy that no one could ever get a straight answer about). I haven't heard of any other parks cracking down on photography, but given how the news media has convinced the dumber members of our society that terrorists are hiding behind every rock in their town, I'm sure we're going to be seeing more of this. dt

I haven't read the article (Jim Hill's writing makes my face hurt), but isn't "bad acoustics" a somewhat valid complaint? If ride audio is bad, that does negatively impact the experience, no matter how often someone visits the parks. I think some complaining is valid, some is nitpicking. I do often think that this industry needs a bit more well thought out criticism, as not everything is the greatest attraction ever just because it's at a Disney park (see: Stitch). dt

Would not most of these be against the TOS, not to mention violating many international and galactic laws? I'm guessing so. And I vote against people being able to change their member title. It's another thing that would need to be policed. This way there is some control over it. I'm not sure I'd go full force into making some sort of social networking site, at least right away. If that's what you're intereested in, why not just use Facebook? I'd certainly go with more personal profiles iwth a picture area and such. And I would agree to NOT let people add their own backgrounds and colors. Myspace is unreadable at this point because of this very feature. dt

Dimension - The Next In Line dt

You are very wise. And yes, they should totally consult me. The results would be memorable. Likely resulting in the breaking of nine billion different national and international laws, but it would be memorable combination of death metal, explosions, and fire-breathing dinosaurs. And that's just the lift hill... dt

I am shocked that Chris said something that made no sense. dt

Robb is wise. And I agree with this. There is no reason to cut in line. Get your act together before you get in line. Again, Robb is wise. I don't understand why parks don't make this a bigger priority. This is a huge customer satisfaction issue, and something that really annoys people. And I have been shocked that there has not been a death related to a line jumping incident. Only a matter of time, I suppose, unless parks take their customers' safety seriously, and really start cracking down on this crap. dt

Dreamscape - Fearing The Daylight dt

You're right, fish attacking that bird would have been awesome, especially if they had been using catapults. This looks like a cool little park that I'll have to visit some day. dt