Winter Wedding Photography Tips
Best article this month. “Winter bridals can be even more important than summer bridals. Bring your groom along, find a location that will really highlight the winter, and have fun. By taking your bridals with the groom, this will give you the opportunity to have a little more control and less stress than on your actual wedding day.”
Twelve Important Rules for Photography
There are no “rules” in photography but these guidelines are worth to follow.
Mounting your own Photography Art Exhibition
This article touches a subject about which I wanted to write myself something a little while ago. Now I’m glad Jeremy talked about his experience.
Better Photography, Part III: Landscapes
This article is very useful, easy to understand and pretty basic, but it covers allot.
A few tips to improve your photography“nothing technical mind you, just general stuff.” But this kind of stuff is a must remember for any of us.
Online Photography Classes
My-eConsultant.com offers online photography classes which are more unique than going to a campus class or even a college based online class. Students to connect to the applications through their desktop. It’s like being in a chatroom, but with real-time assistance on their applications.
Digital Photography Lighting Tips
If you need digital photographs of your products for eBay, pictures of an engine part for a user manual, or pictures of heirlooms for an insurance company, a simple studio lighting setup will make the pictures better.
Look Beyond The Obvious
“Let’s say you’ve been hired by a client to photograph a portrait. They decide on an outdoor location at a nearby park. You pack up your equipment, head out to the park, and spend an hour photographing the client.”
Learn Photography at the National Gallery
An interesting photography course is going on right now. Art Pascuali started on January 24 the new 8-week photography course designed for those who want to take up the art as a serious hobby.at the National Gallery Education Centre, Baytown Plaza, West Bay Road. Cost is CI$200 per person10% less for Gallery members CI$180. There is also a book for the course at a cost of CI$ 25.
Wedding Photography: new trends
The field of wedding photography continues to change as the years go by, and more and more wedding photographers have to employ their creative talents and expertise to produce exceptional results with their photographs…
Digital Photography Tutorial: Create Your Own Website
While creating and managing a large professionally-run website requires a huge amount of time and expertise and a staff of dedicated programmers, creating a simple personal website such as an online photo album is something that almost anyone can do, without the need for specialist knowledge or expensive software.
Photography Tips For Newbies
This article explains a few things about photography, and if you’re interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don’t know, especially when you want to join some of forums and discussions about this topics, then this article will be useful for you more or less, in order for you to get some of new ideas from the discussions you have joined.
An Introduction to Catchlights
A “catchlight’ is simply the highlight of a light source reflected off the surface of the eye. This highlight adds depth and dimension to the eye, and gives the eyes life in a portrait or snapshot.
Outdoor Photography Tips
Chris Pirillo about taking pictures outside – a different ballgame than snapping shots indoors. Everything is different, from the lighting to the backgrounds. Here are some tips to help you take beautiful shots when outdoors.
Street photography and the homeless
There’s some interesting discussion here that I find fascinating. It’s worth reading, if you can get over the self-importance of some of the posts.
Enhance your digital photography by making your own lighting tools
Digital photography is one of those hobbies (or professions) where you can set yourself up fairly cheaply with an entry level camera, but if you wanted to, the amount you could spend on cameras and equipment is limitless!
Photography Not Dead
In his article, Peter Plagens concludes that the art of photography is dead in this pixel dominated world of Photoshop and CGI technological advances. Does truth in photography still exist? I would argue that there is no such thing as truth in art, whether it is in painting, photography, sculpture, or any other artistic medium.
Photography’s Impact on American Society
This article by Andrew Moore is close to literature but if you have the time, read it.

This tutorial shows how to whiten teeth using a Curves adjustment layer in Photoshop CS3. In Portrait Photography, no matter how pretty the model is, how well lighting is and how good your white balance setting is adjusted, teeth may still not be as white and pretty as they should in order to make a picture become a magazine cover.
However, this video also teaches that the teeth should have a natural white, which is not pure white. The change is subtile.
Before making the change to teeth, do this in order to avoid any other changes of the rest of the image:
Duplicate the background layer.
Fill the background layer with a gradient that looks like fire.
On the duplicated layer, use the Extract filter to remove the girl from the background.

I had the idea to inform myself (and you) about this camera accessories because I felt the need of a remote control while shooting night Christmas scenes. To explain better, my Nikon D40x, like many other cameras, can not make an exposure longer than 30 seconds without a remote – at least that’s what the manual says. I did managed to get to “bulb” option on manul mode, but, for that, I needed to keep my finger on the sutter, fact which causes the camera to shake and the picture gets blurry. Therefor, I’ll start with pointing out the advantages of a remote control and then I’ll give you a list of remote controls to choose from according to your camera.
A remote switch is a cable with a switch on the end – just as simple as that. It duplicates the action of the shutter button − half pressure activates the exposure metering and focus while full pressure fires the shutter. The units differ simply in the length of the cable and the type of connecter plug used to attach the cable to the camera.
A remote switch will allow you to fire your camera without the need to touch it. This is very useful when the camera is fixed to a tripod or supported on a wall. It eliminates the movement that can be transmitted to the camera as the shutter button is pressed.
One of the question you might have is “why are some cables longer than others? why is lenght important?”.
The answer is that when you are further away from the camera, you have more chances to remain unnoticed by the photographed subject – speaking of wildlife photography. Extension cables are suitable for such situations.
So let’s go back to the situation I mentioned at the begining: I want to make a long exposure using a remote controler. With a remote release, once you have pressed the button you can lock it down by sliding the button forward. Now the shutter will stay open without you having to keep pressure on the button. This ‘running lock’ means you are free to work with very long exposures, limited only by your camera’s battery life. To close the camera shutter, simply slide the remote switch button back and let go.
So war I’ve been talking about the traditional way of remote picturing, but, the’s a new and more effective way these days: A wireless controller not only acts like your television remote controller, but it also works in the same way − by infrared. More than that, a friend of mine has an universal remote controller which is his TV controller and camera controller in the same device. A wireless controller has a transmitter and a receiver. The receiver is connected to the remote plug on the camera, and an extension cable can be attached if you need to be even further away.

Question: How long can this exposure be?
Answer: Digital cameras need power when the shutter is open to keep the CMOS sensor active. This means their maximum exposure time is likely to be shorter than that for film cameras.
IMPORTANT TIP FOR LONG EXPOSURES: If you are interested in shooting star trails, you will reduce the noise levels in the images by shooting on cold winter nights rather than warm summer evenings.

For Canon users:

RS-80N3: 80mm cable with N3 connector for professional and mid-range digital EOS cameras
RS-60E3: 60mm cable with E3 connector for entry-level digital EOS cameras
RS-60T3: 60cm cable with T3 connector for early EOS models
TC-80N3
Wireless Controller LC-5

More complex remote controler like the TC-80N3 have a few extra features over and above other remote switches: a built-in self-timer, interval timer and long exposure timer, which can all be set in one second increments from one second to 99 hours. It also features an exposure count setting.
As for the connectors, take a look at E3 and N3 in the firts place, but note that there is no adaptor that allows you to use a N3 remote switch with an E3-compatible camera. This means that it not possible to use a TC-80N3 with any of the E3-compatible cameras, such as the EOS 350D or 400D.

For Nikon users:

NIKON MC30 and MC-36 Remotes (designed for use with Nikon SLR cameras equipped with a 10-pin remote terminal) are compatible with Nikon D300, D200, D100 (with MB-D100 grip attached), D3, D2H, D2Hs, D2x, D1, D1H, D1x, F100, F6, F5, F90X and F90.
Nikon MC-DC1 Remote Cord is for Nikon D70S & D80 Digital SLR Cameras.
Nikon ML-3 Compact Modulite Remote Control is mostly useful for wildlife photography up to 8m. Can Also Fire The Camera Remotely When A Subject Moves Between The Transmitter And Receiver
Opteka Wireless Radio Remote Release for Nikon D300, D200, D100, & D2x SLR Digital Cameras – 100m range, and it can activate auto focus, release shutter, activate continuous drive mode or keep the shutter open for bulb photography as well.

On March 1, 2008, in honor of Women’s History Month, Humble Arts Foundation, in collaboration with Ladies Lotto, will present “31 Under 31: Young Women in Art Photography,” a month-long exhibition celebrating 31 of the most innovative young women in emerging art photography under the age of 31.
The Exhibition is co-curated by Lumi Tan, Director of Zach Feuer Gallery in NYC, and Jon Feinstein, Curatorial Director of Humble Arts Foundation.

Exhibition Dates: Saturday, March 1st, 2008 – Saturday, March 29th, 2008
Venue: 3rd Ward Brooklyn

A darkroom is what most people refer to as the photo lab. As the name implies, a dark room is a room or a space which is made to be dark in order for photographers to be able to use materials that are light-sensitive to develop films and photographs.

These rooms were first used in the late 1800s up to the early 1900s. However, due to the advancing technologies, the use of these darkrooms for developing photos is continuously decreasing. However, it has found a niche in the hearts of many hobbyists.

Printing your own pictures is one of the most rewarding experiences for photographers. It gives a certain feeling of fulfillment because the picture as a whole, is created by the same hands.
Here are the basic tips you should do when building your own darkroom.

Tip 1. A darkroom is most effective if it can be made totally dark. There are many places in the house which can be converted into a darkroom. You can look at using the spare room or the spare bathroom to be able to build a darkroom.

Tip 2. You must make sure to ventilate the dark room well so as to make it comfortable for working.

Tip 3. Seal off the different parts of the room where leaking light can pass through.

Tip 4. You should buy the necessary supplies for the development of films and photos. The basic things that you need are: enlarger; trays which are adequately sized; tongs; easel; concentrated developer fix and solution. You can go to eBay to be able to purchase some good and cheap supplies.

Tip 5. There should be two partitions in the darkroom, a “wet” one and a “dry” one. The separation is very important so as to avoid mistakes which can damage the photos.

Tip 6. Use the trays wisely and appropriately. One tray should be used to hold the developer solution, the other one should be used to hold the stop solution, and the other one for the fix solution.

Most of the photographers I know use Adobe Photoshop CS or Lightroom for editing their pictures. So do I. On the other hand, most of the photographers I know, if not all of them, have a Flickr account to share their photos.
As a result, Photoshop and Flickr should have a link between. But there is none…. or… at least not an official one.
The frustration of not beeing able to use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to export your photos into Flickr gallery is over because Xof at digitalfreak.net unleashes a little hack. I have to addmit this spares me some time.

—> In the Flickr Uploadr application, select the App then right click > Make Alias
Then you need to locate the “Export Actions” folder, which is in your Home/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom/
Once the alias moved into this folder, all you need to do is to select “Flickr Uploadr” in the Post Processing options tab from the “Export Photos” dialog box.

While I’ve been gone, a lot of rumors started to spread around the Internet about the PMA Show. This year, the most important show of the year will take place between Jan. 31 – Feb. 2, 2008, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev. You should expect bigger storage cards, bigger zoom on compact digital cameras, higher image quality, high frame rates (frames per second), larger LCD screens, more CMOS sensors. Also, dpreview states that “I’m pretty confident that 2008 will go down as the year of the digital SLR with perhaps up to 25 new DSLRs over the course of the year.” I bet you allready noticed that while walking on the street, there are more and more people with a DSLR hanging their neck than compacts in their pockets.
The official PMA2008 report also states:
“The digital SLR camera market is booming. Compared to last year the DSLR camera sales increased with impressive numbers and it seems the digital SLR camera has become a mass consumer product. New entry level D-SLR cameras with 6 Megapixels surprisingly were welcomed very well by the amateur photographer and it seems that within this segment of the digital camera market the resolution range of 6 – 10 Megapixel fulfils the need of the amateur photographer. Without lenses the digital SLR camera would not be complete and it is for that reason we see a huge number of digital SLR lens introductions appear this year.”
I believe this is a good think and a challenging one also. Photography is no longer an expensive hobby and more competitive photographers know on my door too. This also means that, from now on, it’s more important to concentrate on the photography and not on the camera you have, so keep an eye on photoaxe tutorials.
Here’s a list of the brand new camera’s of 2008 that will be presented at the PMA2008; and, before that, I’ll post the specifications on photoaxe.com:

Canon Digital SLR Canon EOS 450D / Rebel XSi
Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS ELPH / IXUS 80
Canon PowerShot A590 IS
Canon PowerShot A580
Canon PowerShot A470
Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1
Casio Exilim EX-S10
Casio Exilim EX-Z80
Casio Exilim EX-Z100
Casio Exilim EX-Z200
Fujifilm FinePix S100FS
Fujifilm FinePix S8100fd
Fujifilm FinePix S1000fd
Fujifilm FinePix F100fd
Fujifilm FinePix Z20
Fujifilm FinePix J50
Fujifilm FinePix J10
Kodak EasyShare Z1085 IS
Kodak EasyShare Z1285
Kodak EasyShare Z8612
Kodak EasyShare V1273
Kodak EasyShare V1073 IS
Kodak EasyShare M1033
Kodak EasyShare M893
Kodak EasyShare M863
Kodak EasyShare M763
Nikon Digital SLR Nikon D60
Nikon Coolpix P60
Nikon Coolpix S600
Nikon Coolpix S550
Nikon Coolpix S520
Nikon Coolpix S210
Nikon Coolpix L18
Nikon Coolpix L16
Olympus SP-570UZ
Olympus Stylus 840
Olympus Stylus 1010
Olympus Stylus 1020
Olympus Stylus 850 SW
Olympus Stylus 1030 SW
Olympus FE-310
Olympus FE-340
Olympus FE-350 Wide
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LS80
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FS3
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FS5
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FS20
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LZ8
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LZ10
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ4
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ5
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FX35
Pentax Digital SLR Pentax K20D
Digital SLR Pentax K200D
Pentax Optio S12
Pentax Optio M50
Pentax Optio E50
Samsung Digital SLR Samsung GX20
Samsung NV24HD
Samsung NV40
Samsung NV30
Samsung NV4
Samsung L210
Samsung L110
Samsung L100
Samsung i8
Sony Digital SLR Sony Alpha DSLR-A200
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H10
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T300
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W130
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W120
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S780
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S750

Functions:
• Shooting Modes: Auto, Program, Shutter Priority AE, Aperture Priority AE, Sensitivity Priority AE, Shutter & Aperture Priority, Manual, Bulb, Flash X-sync, User Mode
• Effects: B&W(4 type), Sepia(3 type), Color (18 type), Color extract (6 type), Soft (three-level amount adjustable), Illustration, HDR (3 type), Slim (+/- 8 level amount adjustable), Brightness (+/- 8 level amount adjustable)
• Flash Modes: Auto, Fill-in, Auto & Red eye, Fill-in & Red eye, Front curtain synchro, Front curtain synchro & Red eye, Rear curtain synchro
• Focus Modes: Single Servo AF, Continuous Servo AF, Manual focus, 11 focus points, single, center, automatic area, for AF Assist – External Speedlite required
• White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent (W, D, N), Flash, Manual, Color Temperature (1, 2, 3), One Touch WB
• Metering: TTL open-aperture 16-segment, Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
• Usable Lenses: Schneider D-XENON, D-XENOGON, SAMSUNG lens, PENTAX DSLR lenses, KAF2, KAF, KA mount lenses

Technical Data:
• 95% Field of View Viewfinder + 2.7 inch LCD
o megapixels
• ISO Range: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (1/3EV or 1/2EV step) 6400 (User setting)
• Flash Sync. Speed: 1/180sec.
• Exposure Compensation: +/-3 EV (1/2EV step) , +/-2EV (1/3EV step)
• Exposure Bracketing: 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 or 1 EV steps
• Continuos Shooting: JPEG : 3fps (depends on memory capacity) RAW: 3fps (up to 9 frames)
• Self Timer: 2sec., 12sec.
• File Format: RAW (DNG), RAW + JPEG, JPEG (EXIF 2.21)
• SD/SDHC – Secure Digital memory + internal memory
• Lithium ion battery : SLB-1674, Charger : SBC-L6
• Dimensions: 142mm × 101mm × 71.5mm (excluding the projecting parts of the camera)

Next to a camera, I also have a telescope at home. I became interested into combining my two hobbies. Although astrophotography is a very easy hobby in which to get started on a simple level, it can be difficult to master at its highest level. You must be prepared to spend the time learning the craft. But spectacular results are not only possible; they are easy to learn with the step-by-step approach of Digital Astrophotography: A Guide to Capturing the Cosmos. This book from O’Reilly is new on the market and has the following topics covered:
Learn how to:
Set up your camera for optimal results
Focus your camera for razor-sharp images
Take beautiful night shots with a simple compact digital camera, a tripod, and a telescope
Use a DSLR camera to shoot the Sun, Moon, stars, and more
Get brilliant images of planets with a webcam
Capture remote galaxies with a CCD camera just like a pro

Also learn to:
Shoot RAW format images and improve them with calibration frames
Take short exposures of faint deep-sky objects and combine them into a longer exposure
Perform brightness, contrast, and color correction
Make corrections for vignetting & uneven field illumination
Process your images for stunning results

As the author says, “The rewards of this fascinating hobby grant you unforgettable hours under the night sky… It is exciting!”
In his foreword, nationally renowned astronomer and artist, Robert Gendler tells us, “I can’t think of anyone better [than Stefan Seip] to bring the new technologies of digital astrophotography to those who are eager to learn them.”

Functions:
• Shooting Modes: Intelligent, Normal Picture, Motion Picture, Scene
• Scene Modes: Portrait, Soft Skin, Self-Portrait, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle Light, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High sensitivity, Hi-Speed Burst, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial photo
• Movie Mode: QuickTime Motion JPEG
• Effects: Standard, Natural, Vivid, Black & White, Sepia, Cool, Warm
• Flash Modes: Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced Off, (Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction only in Night Portrait/Party/Candle Light mode)
• White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen, White Set
• Metering: Inteligent multiple

Technical Data:
• 2.5 inch LCD
• 8 megapixels
• 3x optical zoom + 4x digital zoom
• Focal Length: 5.5-16.5mm (33-100mm)
• Aperture: Minimum aperture wide f2.8, Maximum aperture wide f8, Minimum aperture tele f5.1, Maximum aperture tele f14
• ISO Range: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, High Sensitivity Auto (1600-6400)
• Flash Range: 0.3 – 5.9m (Wide/ISO Auto), 0.3 – 3.2m (Tele/ISO Auto)
• Focus Range: Normal: 50cm – infinity, Macro / Intelligent : Wide 5cm / Tele 30cm – infinity
• Exposure Compensation: 1/3 EV step, +/-2 EV
• Exposure Bracketing: +/- 1/3 EV ~1EV step, 3 frames
• Continuos Shooting: Full-Resolution Image, 2.5 frames/sec Max. 7 images (Standard mode), Max 4 images (Fine Mode), High-speed Burst Mode: approx. 5.5 frames/sec (recorded in 2M for 4:3, 2.5M for 3:2, 2M for 16:9)
• Shutter Speed: 8-1/2000 sec, Starry Sky Mode : 15, 30, 60sec
• Self Timer: 2, 10 sec
• File Format: JPEG (EXIF 2.21)
• SD/SDHC – Secure Digital memory + internal memory
• 2x AA batteries (Alkaline included)
• Dimensions: 95.7 x 62 x 31.2 mm (3.8 x 2.4 x 1.2 in)
• Weight: 129 g (4.6 oz)