Thanks, Cynthia!! I'm a bit nervous and feeling sort of sad that I'm going to be leaving my family now that it's happening, but I'm also really excited. It's going to be a big change in my life, and I'm looking forward to what the west coast has in store for me.

In the beginning, my parents weren't too thrilled with it. They never approached me about it or anything. The topic really only ever came up whenever I mentioned it, and then they would just express a little bit of concern and wariness about it. It was understandable, because I was 16/17 at the time. I did it anyway, because I didn't want to feel limited by what anyone else thought or said about my art. They don't say anything about it anymore, even though I make jokes about my nudes all the time.

That's so flattering, thank you! I definitely plan to host workshops in California at some point. I plan to start offering one-on-one workshops during the summer and gain more experience that way before I take on group workshops. Brian and I also have plans to host a few 'shooting experiences' throughout the summer, which I think will be a ton of fun and a great way to connect with other like-minded artists.

I usually work with what I have for the most part. Of course there are ideas that I'd love to shoot but lack the necessary props and outfits. Those I save for the future. For the time being, I take what I have in front of me at my disposal and do my best to build a concept around it.

A week from tomorrow!

Nope, never gotten that one before!

Greece, India, Iceland, Italy, Scotland

I'd love it. Granted, I know little of Russia, but I'd love to experience other cultures and places.

I'm fine, thanks for asking. Today is devoted to editing client photos and getting some last end-of-the-year school projects out of the way before I fly out to Idaho on Thursday for a special photography project.

Thank you. I feel a lot more confident when Brian's around, and it will be nice to have someone there to help whenever needed, and of course a gorgeous boy to model for me. Not to mention someone to bounce ideas back and forth with and get honest critiques.

I feel like moving away from home in general will be good for me. It will force me to get out and shoot a lot more often, take jobs, start contacting other professionals in the industry and just push myself to improve. I'm not going to be able to just sit around and shoot casually whenever I feel like it anymore, because I'll be out in the work force, not just a high school boy living at home. I'll miss the naps, but I'm willing to give them up for this.

I started making money through selling prints of my photographs. Then I gradually began to take on commissioned jobs. My first was for a manager at my work, who wanted photos of him and his girlfriend. I charged them $50. Coincidentally, that was the first (and only) time the clients wanted nude photos as well. It was.. kind of awkward.

Sure, it will do the job. I used a D3000 + 50mm f/1.8 for half my 365, and it allowed me to get some good fire and water shots. Night's a little harder, because the photos will tend to get a little grainier, but you should be alright as long as you're not shooting in complete darkness.

Selectively editing each part of the photo by using layers and erasing away parts that you want to stay unaffected. Some people use layer masks. It all works the same way basically.

The water already had the blue-ish tint to it, whether it be from the water itself or the glass of the aquarium, I'm not really sure. I actually brought the colors down a bit and made them more subtle in the final product.

I always had the shutter speed really high, naturally. I think around 1/4000 or higher. With a shutter speed that high, you're going to want to have your aperture as wide as you can get it. And you're going to have to bump your ISO up pretty high as well. That will probably cause some intense grain if you're shooting with a cropped-sensor camera. Any tips? Uh, just put your camera somewhere that it will stay dry.. I always just put it on my deck, where the roof covered it and then stepped out into the rain. Shoot against a dark background so that the rain droplets are visible.

I purchased it through Canon's website -- not sure if that's the best idea -- you could probably find it somewhere cheaper, I would imagine. I never bought insurance for it. And I sold my D3000 to put that money toward the camera too. That's really exciting that you're finally upgrading. You're going to love it.

I have something a little better than an answer video coming soon.

I only ever use the silver side.

I've found that, as of late, I don't do much color work to my photos. I spend the majority of time changing the tones and contrast and lightness/darkness selectively and tend to only enhance the colors that are already there or tweak them just a bit. That being said, I use curves and color balance and selective color. I don't do any color work ever in levels, but I do use that tool sometimes for tones and contrast.

Yes, but only because my life is so far from interesting. I go to school for three hours and nap the rest of the day (every day). And occasionally take a photo or two.