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Might I add....the Marines were a great deterrence! Bring them back!!!!
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<p>Preach it, Brother.</p>
<p>No offense intended to my Navy brethren who currently man the gates, but I felt a lot better with the Marines there.</p>
<p>Amen. Bring back the Marines!</p>
<p>FYI.. Lola asked me if I had seen her Photo everywhere. I told her I had found two. She said that there are constant cameras on them and in their faces with everything they do.</p>
<p>"... She said that there are constant cameras on them and in their faces with everything they do." M2L</p>
<p>First, let me say that I'm glad you heard from your daughter, those plebe summer phone calls are special. Maybe Lola is moving too fast for the photographers! :) Hope she's doing well. </p>
<p>On the other hand, how can this unrelenting picture-taking enhance the plebe's experience? Sure it's great for the parents who are lucky enough to find their plebes in the photos. I remember being downright ecstatic to find pictures of my plebe on Thornton's or the USNA sites. Again, it sounds like having 'constant cameras on them and in their faces' is a distraction and not in the best interests of the plebes.</p>
<p>I certainly think there are some places that should be viewed as a "sanctuary" from photographers, professional or amateurs, starting with the chapel. Meals are another time where I think they should be left alone. Outside of those circumstances I think the level of attention they attract from photographers as well as onlookers will hopefully convey a very important message, one that I hope they take to heart. It may not be at all fun to feel like you are under a microscope but the fact remains, once you put on a uniform, you represent much more than yourself. Your actions, your conduct, from this day forward will be carefully scrutinized by a host of people, some of which may not have your interests, or those of you service or nation in mind. If you are fortunate to rise in rank and responsibility, the level of scrutiny rises with you. At some point the actions of your family and friends can become fodder for the evening news, just because they can tack your name on the end of the story. It stinks, it’s not at all fair but sadly, that’s the way it is. If what our plebes are experiencing with cameras all around, raises their level of awareness, all the better.</p>
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<p>Exactly, and as such, instead of learning how to live in a fishbowl, they should be taught to constantly guard their privacy and not allow their photos and biographies be plastered all over the internet. SEALs have always been like this but, with the war on terrrorism, it has spread into other communities, especially aviation. Our POWs in Vietnam learned the hard results of personal information being used against them. Therefore our Naval Aviators, especially those flying in harm's way, are being briefed to be more private, to give less interviews, to stay out of the public eye.</p>
<p>So picture yourself or your son or daughter getting shot down over Iraq and becoming a POW. The captors do a quick Google and come up with fifty hits, including the one on I-Day, the three of you sobbing gently (very far reach, I know). It WILL be used to break that POW. </p>
<p>Additionally, anything that can tie a deployed Aviator back to a spouse or parents stateside may be used as a very effective tool to destroy morale. I don't think we have a clue how, when, and where the next terrorist attack will come from. Let's not help them in any way, shape, or form. So don't learn to live in a fish bowl. Learn to guard your privacy.</p>
<p>^^^^^^^
Excellent points; something many probably haven't considered. Personally, I'm always mindful of privacy issues, thus appreciated your earlier posting regarding the issue.</p>
<p>Moreover, in the course of plebe summer most of these young people, notwithstanding the handful of combat veterans and priors, will be faced with the greatest emotional and physical stress they've ever known. Moms, what was the most physical, if not emotional stress you've ever experienced? Childbirth? How would you like someone chronicling the saga of you giving childbirth and posting these photos on the Internet?</p>
<p>Plebe summer is demanding and stressful enough. Having cameras constantly stuck in their faces only magnifies the demands of the summer training.</p>
<p>This thread has really taken a lot of twists and turns!!</p>
<p>I have just been browsing the USAFA threads and checked out some of the pictures they are receiving. At the 'Association Of Graduates' (AOG) website (<a href="http://www.printroom.com/pro/aog/%5B/url%5D">www.printroom.com/pro/aog/</a>) they have two 'Galleries' to view.."Web Guy Photos" & "Main Photo Galleries". The pictures are excellent and the prices are MUCH better than what we have to pay for the pictures from Thorton!! For Example: Thorton AOG
3.5x5 $18 4X6 $ 3
5x7 $25 5x7 $ 5
8x10 $35 8x10 $12
8 wallets $28 4 wallets $ 6</p>
<p>I am grateful for the service that Thorton Studios is providing (and even more grateful to those providing the free photos to us Plebe parents on 'Dropshots'!!--Thanks again!!), but why such high prices?! USNA should take notes from USAFA!!</p>
<p>Opps....I had the prices listed in columns under Thorton and AOG, but it didn't post that way....hope you can decipher it!!</p>
<p>RGRMEBB! It is a crime for sure! I am going to use my credit of $34.95 and I think that is all ole Thornton will get from me. Not Impressed! AND TO TOP IT OFF... if you do order photos from them.. it is not an actual photo you receive in the mail.. they make a .jpg file available to you under your member name to download and take to your local CVS/WALMART to print yourself. The $$ is only to have the jpg file. I was astonished to learn that last night.</p>
<p>I didn't know you didn't even get the pictures for that price!!
But I have to say I am a sucker for pictures, so I don't know what I am going to do!!(At the price over at USAFA, I know I would be buying a bundle!!). I would really like to purchase the DVD set (I guess it would be my Christmas present!!). Has anyone from previous years gotton the DVDs??
I'd like to know what you thought of them. Thanks.</p>
<p>I have to say that I did get a couple of JPEG files from Thornton during my Mid's Plebe summer. They were particularly good photos.....such as a squad group shot following the squad combat course and one during the challenge. These were great photos that would have been very difficult to get any other way. I liked getting the JPEG since I was able to print it as many times as I wanted to and in the format that I wanted. To each his own I guess. I do like to work with digital files on my computer so I actually prefer to get the photo in that type of format. We also bought a couple of the videos and they were quite enjoyable to watch. One of the videos of I-Day had many shots of my son's friends in his company and himself going through the processing in Alumni Hall. They were worth some good laughs and he has enjoyed looking back now that all of that is behind him!</p>
<p>Well, I'm a sucker for anything that may have my kid in it. I bought the 3 DVD set. I kind of like having the file also. If i want to run 5-6 copies of the picture I can. With the other I guess you would have to scan and copy then print.</p>
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These were great photos that would have been very difficult to get any other way.
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<p>That's what you're paying for. ;)</p>
<p>I, too, would prefer to receive an original JPG. Print as many as you want for as long as you want.</p>
<p>I do hope, however, that they are delivering them in a HIGH-resolution format....</p>
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I do hope, however, that they are delivering them in a HIGH-resolution format....
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<p>I've just purchased one photo to date and the cost is directly tied to the resolution you get with your download. I bought a "5x7" 's worth, which translated into a file of about 350k....not exactly high res. I looked at the 8"x10" level, the next choice up that bumped the price up to $30.00 and from what I recall roughly doubled the file size, but again, far from high resolution. I believe they gave you one more image size to choose from above that level, assuming you wanted to pay the additional premium above the $30.00 per shot. Given the shot of my son that I was buying, the 5x7 format was ok. You may find the smaller file sizes adequate if you just want to print the image as is, (basically what I did with the shot I purchased) but if you want to crop the shot for example to increase the detail around your son/daughter or bring up the size of your childs face, the image quality is really going to suffer.<br>
I typically shoot at about half the maximun resolution of the camera to balance image quality with file size. If the camera I'm using is a compact point and shoot the images are in the 1.5 meg range. If I drag along the digitcal SLR, the images are about twice that size. At those resolutions I have at least some flexibility with the photo compostion after the fact. </p>
<p>We'll probalby buy some more photos from them, for the reasons mentioned, how else are you going to get them...I just hope the contribution they say they make from the proceeds of photo sales is something more than 1%, at least then you can say some of what you are buying is going back to the brigade</p>
<p>You might find this index easier to work with, shows several pictures on one page and easier to navigate around:</p>
<p>much easier, thanks, and thanks to GreatAmerican for the pictures!!!</p>
<p>I took pictures at the Yard today hope you find yours!!!!
(I'm uploading via my wireless card so it's slow, should be all done by 14:50ish)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/navydad09%5B/url%5D">http://www.dropshots.com/navydad09</a></p>
