the world through a photographer’s eyes…
60 Photography Links You Can’t Live Without
Great list of photography links - help sites, blogs, etc. I recognize a few, nice to see Digital Photography School and Thomas Hawk getting props, going to have to check out a few others, already snagged the flickrRSS Wordpress plugin for the site.
Be sure to check out all 60 Photography Links You Can’t Live Without over at CameraPorn!
Tags: cameraporn, digital photography school, DPS, flickrrss, links, plugin, thomas hawk, wordpress
12 Ways To Never Miss A Photo Opportunity
Great article over at the Digital Photography School blog (as always) by San Francisco based photographer Jim M. Goldstein. Some good tips!
- Have a camera bag that enables you to easily and quickly access your camera
- Be sure to have not just (1) one fully charged battery but (2) two
- Be sure to clean the front and rear elements of your lens to minimize spots (optionally cleaning your camera sensor)
- Before heading out make sure you have CF cards in your camera that are empty or have lots of free space
- Pre-set your camera settings for the type of subject you’re aiming to photograph
- If you have a camera with image stabilization or vibration reduction set your lens appropriately for the subject
- Have needed filters on your lens or take filters off your lens as necessary before heading out
- It may sound obvious but take off your lens cap
- Head out with a notion of what you’d like to photograph and how, but always keep your eyes open for new subjects and the unexpected
- Have your camera on and your hand on your camera bag
- Stay focused
- Don’t chimp
Be sure to check out the rest of the article 12 Ways To Never Miss A Photo Opportunity over at the DPS blog for fuller explanations of these quick points.
Tags: digital photography school, DPS, jim m. goldstein, Tips
DPS Assignment : Wide Open
Over at the Digital Photography School Forums they have a new assignment every couple of weeks. The latest assignment is “Wide Open”.
This weeks assignment is “wide open”. This may have a few people asking what exactly shooting wide open is. Basically it refers to the size of the opening in your lens to let light pass through. The smaller the f-stop the larger the opening. For example, if your lens is the standard 18-55mm kit lens it probably has options of f3.5 to f5.6. The f3.5 is a larger opening than the f5.6. So for this assignment we are trying for smaller numbers to have a wider opening.
A great intro for this is in the blog: http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/aperture/
This was my submission, shot with my 50mm lens at f/1.8.
Tags: 50mm, aperture, assignment, cemetery, digital photography school, DPS, grave
“What the Heck is an Aperture?” Part One.
Very easy to understand explanation of what aperture is and how it affects your photos over on the Pioneer Woman Photography blog. In a nutshell:
If you want a very shallow depth of field (background blurry), you’d choose a very large aperture opening, which would be a very low number. (f2.8)
If you want a very large depth of field (everything in focus), you’d choose a very small aperture opening, which would be a higher number. (like f22)
Be sure to check out the full “What the Heck is an Aperture?” Part One. post!
Also, the Digital Photography School Forum latest assignment is Wide Open - so submit your pictures taken with a wide open aperture! Below is one of my past favorites that I’ve taken with a shallow depth of field, it was taken at a setting of f/1.2.
Tags: aperture, DPS, pioneer woman photography, Tips
Digital Photography School: Why, What, and How to Blog series
Darren Rowe over at Digital Photography School just wrapped up a three part series on blogging. There’s some really good information and tips in the series, written by Natalie Norton.
Part 1: Why You Should Consider Setting Up a Blog.
- It’ll turn up the heat
- Track your progress
- Feedback
- Marketing
- Publicity
- Relationship
- Announcements
- Networking
- Testimonials
- It’s Plain ol’ Fun
Part 2: Building Your Blog: 10 things to consider when building your rockin’ photoblog.
- Keep it fresh
- Share the love
- R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
- K.I.R., Keep it real
- Keep it simple
- LARGER than life
- Piracy is better than obscurity
- For the love of children everywhere, chill
- Know your numbers
And Part 3 wraps it up with How to Find the Blog Service that’s Right for Your Photoblog.
I recently asked 8 successful photographers 4 simple questions. Their broad range of answers will rock you to the moon and back if you’re serious about starting your own photoblog, so this week. . . we’re gonna learn from some friends of mine. I hope you enjoy.
Looks like i have my work cut out for me!
Tags: blog, blogging, digital photography school, DPS, natalie norton
Good Samaritan…
Just wanted to say thanks to Magda, a friend of Mike’s. Mike was with me when I accidentally dropped my Canon Digital Rebel XTi/400D about a week ago. His friend Magda offered up her backup Canon Digital Rebel XT/350D as a loaner while mine was in the shop. Mucho gracias, I really can’t thank her enough!
My buddy Sime used the above image on a DPS poll pondering insurance… in my case, this was covered under my house insurance - I have an accidental damage rider on my policy - but with a $250 deductible, it wouldn’t have been worth it in this case…
Tags: 350d, 400d, broken camera, canon digital rebel xti, digital photography school, DPS, magda, mike, xt, xti
Introduction to Metering Modes
Yet another good post over at DPS, this one on metering modes. Was just thinking about getting to the bottom of this myself the other day!
Early last year when I bought my digital camera the sales assistant told me that it had different ‘metering modes’. At the time I was too embarrassed to ask what that means and bought the camera without knowing. It took me a while to work it out but once I did I realized that it was really important. I thought I’d write up what I learned.
Read the rest over at the DPS blog.
Tags: DPS, metering modes, Tips
10 Really Useful Flickr Greasemonkey Scripts (and more)
Found this older post on DPS, I use a couple of these and they are great scripts!
Here’s another great link as well over at Steeev’s Flikr Projects. The one I use from this the most is the Multi Group Sender…
Better flickr Firefox extension is supposed to be another good one, adds a bunch of menu items to flickr. Looks like it incorporates a couple of ones I use already (Rich edit, buddy icon reply), will have to check it out!
Last but not least for now, here’s one that overlays the EXIF data on the photo (if available) when you roll over it.
Tags: DPS, flickr, greasemonkey
17 Stunning Wide Angle Images
Another great post over at DPS, this one on the use of 10mm lenses to produce some stunning, yes stunning, wide angle shots!
While there’s a lot to be said for the power of zoom lenses (in fact many manufacturers are developing cameras with bigger and bigger lenses like the 20x optical zoom on the Olympus SP-570 that was announced this week) photographers who exclusively shoot at the longer focal lengths that their camera and lens offer could be missing out on some wonderful perspectives and framings.
Today I want to present you with 17 shots - all taken with wider focal lengths (mostly with 10mm lenses). I hope these give a little inspiration to rediscover the wider end of your camera’s zoom.
View the images and post over at DPS!
Tags: DPS, wide angle
Alternatives to Buying a Dedicated Macro Lens for your DSLR
Another great article over on DPS about alternatives to buying a dedicated macro lens…
If you want to experiment with taking Macro images but don’t have the budget to be able to afford a dedicated Macro lens for your DSLR there are a number of other Macro lens alternatives worth considering.
Each alternative has their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of price, portability and image quality - but it’s amazing at what can be achieved on a budget to give you a taste of the world of macro photography.
I’ve ordered the Raynox DCR-250, not mentioned in the article but I’ve seen GREAT shots with it, and am awaiting it - it has been shipped! Read about some of the other macro lens alternatives available over at the DPS blog.
Tags: alternative, DPS, lenses, macro, Tips
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