Aerial Photography - Your Escape to the Clouds !
Are you fascinated with aerial photographs ? Like many people you are probably enthralled with the perspective - especially if it is of an area you know personally or you spot a well known landmark.
The interest in aerial photography has a long history. Even before men could take photographs high above the earth they were drawing images as they imagined the land to appear from above.
THE HISTORY OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
The first person to take a picture from above the earth was the French author and artist Felix Tournachon, also known as Nadar. He took his first picture from a balloon which was tethered to the earth over the Bievre Valley in 1858.
Aerial photography played an important part in creating accurate maps and planning military movements. In 1902 the French army used both regular kites and an air filled balloon to obtain shots of enemy standings.
HOW AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY CHANGED
Manned and unmanned balloons, kites and eventually gliders were the first transporters to take pictures from on high. Arthur Batut used kites to take aerial photographs in the 1880's and the use of kites in aerial photography has continued virtually unchanged over the course of time - of course, the equipment has improved, but the basic principles continue to draw interest from hobbyists and aerial photography enthusiasts.
With advances in technology the ability to use remote controlled aircraft was added to the group. Associations for aerial photography - whether kite, glider or remote controlled - can be found all over North America and other parts of the world. These forms of taking aerial photography are also used by Universities and others for scientific research in Earth Sciences.
Obviously the advances continued with the creation of satellite imaging, however, hobbyists and scientists continue to make use of, and enjoy, the art of taking aerial photographs with their own equipment.
HOW ARE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN ?
The concept is quite basic. A camera is attached to a kite, balloon, glider or remote controlled aircraft. It is then set on a timer to take photographs at regular intervals. Photos can also be taken with a remote controlled operation which is used by the operator or ground crew.
It is important to know that there are guidelines you are required to follow when taking aerial photographs. In particular there are restrictions on using kites or other items which are tethered to the ground after sunset unless the object and its line are properly lighted.
If you are interested in trying aerial photography try to find information on local groups through the internet or from local hobby shops. Your view on the world will change!
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2006/02/24
Article : Digital Cameras – The State of the Art !
Digital Cameras – The State of the Art !
Digital cameras have come of age in the last two years. Once a new fangled way to take images that were going up against the standard film cameras in the marketplace and meeting with consumer resistance, and now digital has become the king of the mountain in photography. Digitals only competition for the consumer’s hearts is the ubiquitous mobile phones equipped with cameras (both still and video).
Side note -- have you been at any mass events of late (concerts, rallies, speeches, sports events) and seen how many people are using their mobile phones to take images? I was at a concert recently and witnessed over 5000 people taking mobile phone pictures at the same time. Amazing. Not sure if many of them actually do anything with their images but it was still impressive to see that many people snapping images at the same time.
How can we say that? Well one just has to look at the facts from the industry itself. The number one digital camera seller for over a year and a half now in the USA has been Kodak. Yes that is right, Kodak, the giant film photography company has transformed itself in the face of a disaster that was a digital wave coming their way. Several years ago Kodak was a film company, a huge film company, and here comes digital photography and the consumers were going wild for it.
Can you imagine the bonus that was paid to the Kodak executive or executives who had the foresight to demand that the company adopt a digital strategy instead of standing firm on their film based roots? Now granted Kodak is still a huge player in the film business (which has not gone away by any means) but they have done a marvelous job of creating a consumer product line in the digital camera arena. These products are super user friendly and they take great images to boot. The Kodak EasyShare cameras are number one in the USA and number three world wide behind Sony and Canon. Not bad for an old generation industrial giant. They have turned the ship to take advantage of the prevailing winds of the digital age.
Now in the middle of this decade digital camera technology is easier than ever for consumers to use. The cameras come ready to take great images, allow novice users to snap photos without learning all the bells and whistles they offer, and most of them have made it super easy to share, print or email photos to friends and family. Many cameras feature one button to push in order to share or print an image, now it doesn't get much easier than that.
You can spend from $100 (or less but I am not sure I would go there) all the way up to the top of the line at $3200 for the top of the line digital SLR camera for your imaging needs. Some of the best current models on the market include the new Canon E5D SLR at the high end of the cost scale at around $3200, the ultra slim Sony Cyber Shot DSC-T5 which is compact and makes a fashion statement to boot, the super easy to use and share images Kodak Easy Share One, and for great price to quality you can't beat the Fuji FinePix F10 at around $350.
One potential problem with digital cameras has recently to light and some manufacturers have issued service advisories to owners of some digital camera models with regard to a problem in a chip called the CCD or charged couple device. In the defective chips pictures often appear distorted, have a colorcast that appears gray or purple, or appear completely black. Now this is not a huge industry problem most of the models with the defective chip are over a year old. Therein lies the interesting nugget with regard to the changing nature of the digital business.
Industry specialists now estimate that digital cameras have a life cycle of about a year. That means that new product is constantly coming onto the scene to replace the old technology and consumers are supporting that by buying newer and fancier cameras as they are released each year. So a chip problem comes on to the scene but it is eclipsed by the fact that the market is moving so fast that it almost doesn't matter. However if you should be one of the owners of a digital camera with a defective CCD you can get help from your camera manufacturer. Visit the Consumers reports website for details on the recall and service advisories that have been issued. www.consumerreports.org
Now of course there have to be new services that benefit form the digital camera wave. The local corner film shop may have disappeared but the printer companies have found a new heaven in the market. Color printers, the ink to fill them (find a bargain or perish...), paper, and image printing services both offline and online are proliferating in the digital age. One of the big online digital printers was bought up by Kodak themselves in order to help garner a share of online digital image printing business. My current favorite new find for image printing supplies is Cartridge World. They recycle printer cartridges and then give a good price on the refilled ones. Saving the Earth a bit and making it easier to print more great digital images, now that seems like a good step forward.
Digital cameras have come of age in the last two years. Once a new fangled way to take images that were going up against the standard film cameras in the marketplace and meeting with consumer resistance, and now digital has become the king of the mountain in photography. Digitals only competition for the consumer’s hearts is the ubiquitous mobile phones equipped with cameras (both still and video).
Side note -- have you been at any mass events of late (concerts, rallies, speeches, sports events) and seen how many people are using their mobile phones to take images? I was at a concert recently and witnessed over 5000 people taking mobile phone pictures at the same time. Amazing. Not sure if many of them actually do anything with their images but it was still impressive to see that many people snapping images at the same time.
How can we say that? Well one just has to look at the facts from the industry itself. The number one digital camera seller for over a year and a half now in the USA has been Kodak. Yes that is right, Kodak, the giant film photography company has transformed itself in the face of a disaster that was a digital wave coming their way. Several years ago Kodak was a film company, a huge film company, and here comes digital photography and the consumers were going wild for it.
Can you imagine the bonus that was paid to the Kodak executive or executives who had the foresight to demand that the company adopt a digital strategy instead of standing firm on their film based roots? Now granted Kodak is still a huge player in the film business (which has not gone away by any means) but they have done a marvelous job of creating a consumer product line in the digital camera arena. These products are super user friendly and they take great images to boot. The Kodak EasyShare cameras are number one in the USA and number three world wide behind Sony and Canon. Not bad for an old generation industrial giant. They have turned the ship to take advantage of the prevailing winds of the digital age.
Now in the middle of this decade digital camera technology is easier than ever for consumers to use. The cameras come ready to take great images, allow novice users to snap photos without learning all the bells and whistles they offer, and most of them have made it super easy to share, print or email photos to friends and family. Many cameras feature one button to push in order to share or print an image, now it doesn't get much easier than that.
You can spend from $100 (or less but I am not sure I would go there) all the way up to the top of the line at $3200 for the top of the line digital SLR camera for your imaging needs. Some of the best current models on the market include the new Canon E5D SLR at the high end of the cost scale at around $3200, the ultra slim Sony Cyber Shot DSC-T5 which is compact and makes a fashion statement to boot, the super easy to use and share images Kodak Easy Share One, and for great price to quality you can't beat the Fuji FinePix F10 at around $350.
One potential problem with digital cameras has recently to light and some manufacturers have issued service advisories to owners of some digital camera models with regard to a problem in a chip called the CCD or charged couple device. In the defective chips pictures often appear distorted, have a colorcast that appears gray or purple, or appear completely black. Now this is not a huge industry problem most of the models with the defective chip are over a year old. Therein lies the interesting nugget with regard to the changing nature of the digital business.
Industry specialists now estimate that digital cameras have a life cycle of about a year. That means that new product is constantly coming onto the scene to replace the old technology and consumers are supporting that by buying newer and fancier cameras as they are released each year. So a chip problem comes on to the scene but it is eclipsed by the fact that the market is moving so fast that it almost doesn't matter. However if you should be one of the owners of a digital camera with a defective CCD you can get help from your camera manufacturer. Visit the Consumers reports website for details on the recall and service advisories that have been issued. www.consumerreports.org
Now of course there have to be new services that benefit form the digital camera wave. The local corner film shop may have disappeared but the printer companies have found a new heaven in the market. Color printers, the ink to fill them (find a bargain or perish...), paper, and image printing services both offline and online are proliferating in the digital age. One of the big online digital printers was bought up by Kodak themselves in order to help garner a share of online digital image printing business. My current favorite new find for image printing supplies is Cartridge World. They recycle printer cartridges and then give a good price on the refilled ones. Saving the Earth a bit and making it easier to print more great digital images, now that seems like a good step forward.
Article : Making Money from Photos
Making Money from Photos
The first thing to do if you want to make money from photos is learn how to take great ones. In the world of commercial photography clarity sells. The subject of how to take a good photo is too comprehensive for one article, however the following is important:
· Have a decent camera.
· Know how to use it.
· Have an eye for detail and colour.
· Be ready to grab an opportunity when it presents itself.
If you happen to be driving through the hills of Scotland and come across a lone piper (or even two), grab that camera. Watch for sunsets, moonrise, cloud formations and tree shapes. Keep a sharp eye on your pet for unusual poses, and visit your florist every so often. Flower pictures are surely many photographers’ bread and butter and they can be photographed in the light on your windowsill. Greeting card markets love photos of flowers, gardens and pets doing something unusual. Wildlife and nature are great for calendars and geographic magazines and educational markets.
Diversity is the keyword for topics in photography. The wider the range of topics you cover, the more likely you will be to get a sale. Anyone can make a good living from stock photos. Freelance photographer Lee Frost (UK) sells just as many photos taken from his own backyard as from exotic and far-flung locations. In fact he sold a pic of the dandelions in his garden to a natural health book. But if you love travelling, put your holidays to work for you. Travel guides, brochures and websites could be possible markets for your photos.
So what to do with that fantastic shot ? The edges are sharp enough to cut with, while the clarity would bring tears of joy to many publishers. The main thing to aim for with any photo is to sell it to multiple markets. This is taken care of if you submit to a photo library. You don’t have to be responsible for selling your own stuff then, but since the word is ‘diversify’ aim to do both. Offer it to non-competing markets over several years, since you are not selling the copyright.
It is important for any photographer to keep a portfolio of his work to show. You never know when you’ll meet a prospective buyer who wants to look at your work and they will not be impressed if you have to rummage through a dusty desk to scrape them together. When you do score a sale, don’t charge a pittance just because the picture only took a few minutes of your time. You’ve spent years learning your craft and your photos are worth a decent figure.
If you really know what you are talking about and can take a fantastic shot, think of submitting it to a photographic magazine, along with all the details of the precise equipment you used and a step-by step account of your procedure. A bit of a challenge maybe, but worth the effort. There are many other markets to consider too; all kind of magazines, newspapers, catalogues, travel brochures and books. So grab that camera and start shooting.
The first thing to do if you want to make money from photos is learn how to take great ones. In the world of commercial photography clarity sells. The subject of how to take a good photo is too comprehensive for one article, however the following is important:
· Have a decent camera.
· Know how to use it.
· Have an eye for detail and colour.
· Be ready to grab an opportunity when it presents itself.
If you happen to be driving through the hills of Scotland and come across a lone piper (or even two), grab that camera. Watch for sunsets, moonrise, cloud formations and tree shapes. Keep a sharp eye on your pet for unusual poses, and visit your florist every so often. Flower pictures are surely many photographers’ bread and butter and they can be photographed in the light on your windowsill. Greeting card markets love photos of flowers, gardens and pets doing something unusual. Wildlife and nature are great for calendars and geographic magazines and educational markets.
Diversity is the keyword for topics in photography. The wider the range of topics you cover, the more likely you will be to get a sale. Anyone can make a good living from stock photos. Freelance photographer Lee Frost (UK) sells just as many photos taken from his own backyard as from exotic and far-flung locations. In fact he sold a pic of the dandelions in his garden to a natural health book. But if you love travelling, put your holidays to work for you. Travel guides, brochures and websites could be possible markets for your photos.
So what to do with that fantastic shot ? The edges are sharp enough to cut with, while the clarity would bring tears of joy to many publishers. The main thing to aim for with any photo is to sell it to multiple markets. This is taken care of if you submit to a photo library. You don’t have to be responsible for selling your own stuff then, but since the word is ‘diversify’ aim to do both. Offer it to non-competing markets over several years, since you are not selling the copyright.
It is important for any photographer to keep a portfolio of his work to show. You never know when you’ll meet a prospective buyer who wants to look at your work and they will not be impressed if you have to rummage through a dusty desk to scrape them together. When you do score a sale, don’t charge a pittance just because the picture only took a few minutes of your time. You’ve spent years learning your craft and your photos are worth a decent figure.
If you really know what you are talking about and can take a fantastic shot, think of submitting it to a photographic magazine, along with all the details of the precise equipment you used and a step-by step account of your procedure. A bit of a challenge maybe, but worth the effort. There are many other markets to consider too; all kind of magazines, newspapers, catalogues, travel brochures and books. So grab that camera and start shooting.
Article : Is There a Dark Side to Digital Cameras ?
Is There a Dark Side to Digital Cameras ?
OK, so we live in a world that likes to fantasize about the dark side of things, both in our movies, books, and other entertainment options. One could even say that post 9/11 we even live in a world fearing the real dark side in our midst, but we tend to live in our consumer world of devices that aid us and amuse us on a daily basis. Digital cameras and camera phones are everywhere now. Just about everyone is using one or the other or even both at the same time (have you been to a concert lately and seen folks holding up their mobile phones the way we used to hold up lighters in he old days?). So, these devices have become ubiquitous through our usual consumer desires to have the latest in high tech, consumer advertising, and let's face it...the appeal of having a device that makes things easier for us.
Now is that bad ? Probably not, or most people wouldn't own several of them and have a desire for even bigger and better digital cameras. The news media seem to like it just fine as they now have folks everywhere taking images for them when events occur and they can get almost instant access to these images for use in the newspaper or even on TV. In the old film days there were no way you could get the images from a normal citizen and use them almost instantly for news coverage. Now if something happens and someone is there with their mobile phone camera or digital camera the images can be relayed in a heartbeat to the news operations and used in coverage very quickly.
During the London bombing of the subway system in 2005 the images from the underground terror were on the news within the hour and the world was transported into that terrible scene by those images when it would not have happened in the past. Of course then there is the dark side of digital images that took place at the Abu Grabe prison in Iraq. The military personnel who shot those images of the prisoners in degrading positions were simply taking them for their enjoyment and to show to their friends. Of course once they got out of the circle of friends the world was shocked and dismayed by these actions. The ease of sharing digital images made this a dark affair to say the least. However if we were to fool ourselves that these things would not have happened if digital cameras were not present it would be sad indeed. Those folks would have carried out their sick little game even without the ability to share the images amongst themselves.
Now some have said the other dark side of digital cameras is the whole storage issue and how this could be the Achilles's heal of digital photography. With folks out taking tons of images in increasingly higher resolutions there are more and more storage issues for the digital photographer. Granted, the devices come with larger storage capacity and our computers now have huge hard drives, but if you keep filling them up with more and more images and don't bother to organize them in some fashion you will just end up with folders of data that never gets seen or used.
Did you know that at recent imaging expo not one new 35mm film camera was introduced ? All of the major camera makers are now completely focused on digital cameras. So the big deal in the near term for digital imaging will be for these same camera companies to invest in figuring out not only how you can print your nice photos easily but also how you can store and organize them efficiently so that you can use them and find them as needed. They have made the cameras easy enough for all of us to use. Of course it is up to all of us digital photographers to go through and hit the delete key/button on a regular basis and get rid of the bad images in order to help the situation. This is the joy of digital...that you can play with your camera and try things out. When you do store your images make sure to file them in a folder that gives as much description of what is in the folder as possible.
Watch out for those mobile phone cameras as competitors to our digital cameras. Nokia has just released the N90 camera phone and it rivals many digital cameras for quality and usefulness. It can take still and video images at 2 mega-pixel resolution using a Carl Zeiss lens. You can do just about everything with this device including listening to MP3 music, watching video on the 352x416 pixel screen, connect to the internet and check your email, send photos over the network, and connect to a Bluetooth wireless headset as well.
Oh my ! Now we can be saddled with devices that won't even let us live our lives. We will be too busy multi tasking as we walk down the street. Now THAT may be the dark side of digital cameras!
OK, so we live in a world that likes to fantasize about the dark side of things, both in our movies, books, and other entertainment options. One could even say that post 9/11 we even live in a world fearing the real dark side in our midst, but we tend to live in our consumer world of devices that aid us and amuse us on a daily basis. Digital cameras and camera phones are everywhere now. Just about everyone is using one or the other or even both at the same time (have you been to a concert lately and seen folks holding up their mobile phones the way we used to hold up lighters in he old days?). So, these devices have become ubiquitous through our usual consumer desires to have the latest in high tech, consumer advertising, and let's face it...the appeal of having a device that makes things easier for us.
Now is that bad ? Probably not, or most people wouldn't own several of them and have a desire for even bigger and better digital cameras. The news media seem to like it just fine as they now have folks everywhere taking images for them when events occur and they can get almost instant access to these images for use in the newspaper or even on TV. In the old film days there were no way you could get the images from a normal citizen and use them almost instantly for news coverage. Now if something happens and someone is there with their mobile phone camera or digital camera the images can be relayed in a heartbeat to the news operations and used in coverage very quickly.
During the London bombing of the subway system in 2005 the images from the underground terror were on the news within the hour and the world was transported into that terrible scene by those images when it would not have happened in the past. Of course then there is the dark side of digital images that took place at the Abu Grabe prison in Iraq. The military personnel who shot those images of the prisoners in degrading positions were simply taking them for their enjoyment and to show to their friends. Of course once they got out of the circle of friends the world was shocked and dismayed by these actions. The ease of sharing digital images made this a dark affair to say the least. However if we were to fool ourselves that these things would not have happened if digital cameras were not present it would be sad indeed. Those folks would have carried out their sick little game even without the ability to share the images amongst themselves.
Now some have said the other dark side of digital cameras is the whole storage issue and how this could be the Achilles's heal of digital photography. With folks out taking tons of images in increasingly higher resolutions there are more and more storage issues for the digital photographer. Granted, the devices come with larger storage capacity and our computers now have huge hard drives, but if you keep filling them up with more and more images and don't bother to organize them in some fashion you will just end up with folders of data that never gets seen or used.
Did you know that at recent imaging expo not one new 35mm film camera was introduced ? All of the major camera makers are now completely focused on digital cameras. So the big deal in the near term for digital imaging will be for these same camera companies to invest in figuring out not only how you can print your nice photos easily but also how you can store and organize them efficiently so that you can use them and find them as needed. They have made the cameras easy enough for all of us to use. Of course it is up to all of us digital photographers to go through and hit the delete key/button on a regular basis and get rid of the bad images in order to help the situation. This is the joy of digital...that you can play with your camera and try things out. When you do store your images make sure to file them in a folder that gives as much description of what is in the folder as possible.
Watch out for those mobile phone cameras as competitors to our digital cameras. Nokia has just released the N90 camera phone and it rivals many digital cameras for quality and usefulness. It can take still and video images at 2 mega-pixel resolution using a Carl Zeiss lens. You can do just about everything with this device including listening to MP3 music, watching video on the 352x416 pixel screen, connect to the internet and check your email, send photos over the network, and connect to a Bluetooth wireless headset as well.
Oh my ! Now we can be saddled with devices that won't even let us live our lives. We will be too busy multi tasking as we walk down the street. Now THAT may be the dark side of digital cameras!
Article : Digital Photos and Photo Labs - 6 Things to Consider
Digital Photos and Photo Labs - 6 Things to Consider
The popularity of digital cameras has skyrocketed in recent years. Every event or celebration you go to now has at least several people snapping away. Once you pay for the camera and memory cards, your costs are zero, until you actually have a picture you want to print. You can take 40 pictures of your new child, niece, nephew, grandchild, etc, and if only two good shots came out of that, then you only pay for those two.
The question is - where should you print those two masterpieces?
Owning your own photo quality printer is definitely faster. There are even people who take a small printer with them and make prints for other guests right away. Almost as easy as a traditional Polaroid camera.
Is it cheaper?
The large chains have jumped into this fray in a BIG way. Wal-Mart, Blacks, Business Depot, and many others. With all this competition comes low, low pricing. A typical 4x6 print from a big chain is cheaper than the retail cost of the do-it-yourself paper that the same chain sells in their photography center. And at home you still have to pay for the ink!
Here are 6 things to consider when getting a photo lab to print your digital pictures.
(1) Price. All the major players have priced their 4x6 size very competitively. The larger sizes though, like 5x7 or 8x10, are usually higher in cost than what you can do it for at home.
(2) Drop Off. Can you upload your digital pictures to them via the internet (very convenient) or do you have to deliver them on a floppy or CD?
(3) Delivery. Does your photo lab let you pick them up in the store, or do you have to wait for the post office or a courier? Picking them up at the store should be a no-cost option. If you can pick them up, is the location easy to get in and out of?
(4) Timing. How fast do they work? One photo lab has a reputation of having most orders ready in one business day. Another is a bit cheaper, but takes a week.
(5) Quality. You may have to talk to relatives, friends, and co-workers about this one. Find others who have already tried various printers. One photo lab's web site states that they will not print a picture with too low a resolution (nothing under 150 DPI allowed). This can be inconvenient, but assures you of a quality print.
Speaking of resolution, a 4x6 printed at 200 DPI requires a digital print that is 800 by 1200 pixels. An older model 1.0 megapixel camera can do this easily. If you have a more modern 3.3 megapixel camera you can create a 200 DPI print that is 8x10. One of the advantages of a better camera, say a 5 mp, is that you can "crop" part of the picture away and still have the 3.3 megapixels required for an 8x10.
There is one more item you need to be concerned with.
(6) A standard "snapshot" for a photo album is 4x6 in size. That is a ratio of 1.5. Most new cameras have a photo ratio of 1.33! What happens if you send a 1.33 picture to a photo lab and ask for a 4x6? They cut off ("crop") part of the picture you took, making it shorter on its longest side. You may not like the part they cut off! The best internet upload systems for photo labs allow you to indicate what can be cut off. Alternatively, use a program on your computer to make the digital picture the correct size and ratio before uploading.
Memory for digital cameras is getting cheaper all the time, so load up on memory, take lots of pictures, and proudly display the ones that turn out well.
The popularity of digital cameras has skyrocketed in recent years. Every event or celebration you go to now has at least several people snapping away. Once you pay for the camera and memory cards, your costs are zero, until you actually have a picture you want to print. You can take 40 pictures of your new child, niece, nephew, grandchild, etc, and if only two good shots came out of that, then you only pay for those two.
The question is - where should you print those two masterpieces?
Owning your own photo quality printer is definitely faster. There are even people who take a small printer with them and make prints for other guests right away. Almost as easy as a traditional Polaroid camera.
Is it cheaper?
The large chains have jumped into this fray in a BIG way. Wal-Mart, Blacks, Business Depot, and many others. With all this competition comes low, low pricing. A typical 4x6 print from a big chain is cheaper than the retail cost of the do-it-yourself paper that the same chain sells in their photography center. And at home you still have to pay for the ink!
Here are 6 things to consider when getting a photo lab to print your digital pictures.
(1) Price. All the major players have priced their 4x6 size very competitively. The larger sizes though, like 5x7 or 8x10, are usually higher in cost than what you can do it for at home.
(2) Drop Off. Can you upload your digital pictures to them via the internet (very convenient) or do you have to deliver them on a floppy or CD?
(3) Delivery. Does your photo lab let you pick them up in the store, or do you have to wait for the post office or a courier? Picking them up at the store should be a no-cost option. If you can pick them up, is the location easy to get in and out of?
(4) Timing. How fast do they work? One photo lab has a reputation of having most orders ready in one business day. Another is a bit cheaper, but takes a week.
(5) Quality. You may have to talk to relatives, friends, and co-workers about this one. Find others who have already tried various printers. One photo lab's web site states that they will not print a picture with too low a resolution (nothing under 150 DPI allowed). This can be inconvenient, but assures you of a quality print.
Speaking of resolution, a 4x6 printed at 200 DPI requires a digital print that is 800 by 1200 pixels. An older model 1.0 megapixel camera can do this easily. If you have a more modern 3.3 megapixel camera you can create a 200 DPI print that is 8x10. One of the advantages of a better camera, say a 5 mp, is that you can "crop" part of the picture away and still have the 3.3 megapixels required for an 8x10.
There is one more item you need to be concerned with.
(6) A standard "snapshot" for a photo album is 4x6 in size. That is a ratio of 1.5. Most new cameras have a photo ratio of 1.33! What happens if you send a 1.33 picture to a photo lab and ask for a 4x6? They cut off ("crop") part of the picture you took, making it shorter on its longest side. You may not like the part they cut off! The best internet upload systems for photo labs allow you to indicate what can be cut off. Alternatively, use a program on your computer to make the digital picture the correct size and ratio before uploading.
Memory for digital cameras is getting cheaper all the time, so load up on memory, take lots of pictures, and proudly display the ones that turn out well.
Article : 4 Simple Tips for Taking Better Photos
4 Simple Tips for Taking Better Photos
Photography as an art has never been more exciting or enjoyable. Todays photography enthusiast has many styles, topics, and tools open to them. Plus, the blending of digital with print makes the craft of taking photos very versatile.
While it is true that taking photos is as simple as running out and grabbing a cheap five dollar camera, taking GOOD photos has never been easy. So lets explore some quick ideas that can help you take photos that you will be happy to send home.
Here are four tips to help.
1. Get a little closer, don't be shy. One of the biggest mistakes most beginning photographers make is shooting from so far away. They leave too much distance between themselves and their subjects. Instead, get up close and personal. Fill up as much of the camera frame, with your subject, as you can. You can always reshape, trim, and resize a good quality shot. But you can't continue to blow up a distant subject and hope that it will come into focus. It just won't happen.
2. This tip springs directly from #1(above)... focus your shot on only one subject. Determine what the main subject of the photo will be, and catch that image. Try and find the one key subject, person, or event that accurately portrays the feeling you are trying to capture.
3. In addition to getting one subject, in your photos, you will want to make the background of the photo as simple as possible. Busy, distracting backgrounds pull the attention away from the central theme of your photo. The subject of your photo is absolutely the most important element, and anything that detracts from the subject can ruin your shot.
4. Finally, you want to take your subject out of the exact center of the frame. You do this by using the rule of thirds. Imagine having a camera lens split into 9 equal sized boxes, 3 across and 3 down (like having a tic-tac-toe game printed right on your camera lens). Where those "tic-tac-toe" lines cross, should become the focusing point of your subject, when you are arranging to take your photo.
Based on this tip, every time you compose a shot, the main subject of your photo should be located primarily on one of these "third" lines.
These are just four very basic tips and strategies to help improve your photos. As you know, photography skills can always be improved. In fact, most professional photographers exhibit a life long passion for learning new techniques, photography angles, and photo inspirations.
Photography as an art has never been more exciting or enjoyable. Todays photography enthusiast has many styles, topics, and tools open to them. Plus, the blending of digital with print makes the craft of taking photos very versatile.
While it is true that taking photos is as simple as running out and grabbing a cheap five dollar camera, taking GOOD photos has never been easy. So lets explore some quick ideas that can help you take photos that you will be happy to send home.
Here are four tips to help.
1. Get a little closer, don't be shy. One of the biggest mistakes most beginning photographers make is shooting from so far away. They leave too much distance between themselves and their subjects. Instead, get up close and personal. Fill up as much of the camera frame, with your subject, as you can. You can always reshape, trim, and resize a good quality shot. But you can't continue to blow up a distant subject and hope that it will come into focus. It just won't happen.
2. This tip springs directly from #1(above)... focus your shot on only one subject. Determine what the main subject of the photo will be, and catch that image. Try and find the one key subject, person, or event that accurately portrays the feeling you are trying to capture.
3. In addition to getting one subject, in your photos, you will want to make the background of the photo as simple as possible. Busy, distracting backgrounds pull the attention away from the central theme of your photo. The subject of your photo is absolutely the most important element, and anything that detracts from the subject can ruin your shot.
4. Finally, you want to take your subject out of the exact center of the frame. You do this by using the rule of thirds. Imagine having a camera lens split into 9 equal sized boxes, 3 across and 3 down (like having a tic-tac-toe game printed right on your camera lens). Where those "tic-tac-toe" lines cross, should become the focusing point of your subject, when you are arranging to take your photo.
Based on this tip, every time you compose a shot, the main subject of your photo should be located primarily on one of these "third" lines.
These are just four very basic tips and strategies to help improve your photos. As you know, photography skills can always be improved. In fact, most professional photographers exhibit a life long passion for learning new techniques, photography angles, and photo inspirations.
Article : WiFi Comes to Digital Cameras
WiFi Comes to Digital Cameras – WOW ! What's Next ?
First we had to get over the whole film thing after a nation of baby boomers had been raised on Kodak, Polaroid, and 35mm film cameras of various shapes and sizes. We were all use to the idea of sending in our film for developing and waiting for our pictures to come back.
Then along came digital cameras and the world was taken by storm with this cool new technology. Suddenly you could take a picture and see the results immediately. At first these cameras were slow and not such great quality but still kind of cool. Then things heated up and now we have fantastic digital cameras of all sizes and shapes that can take wonderful images which can be shared instantly with your family, or the rest of the world for that matter.
Now comes the latest in technology integration. WiFi and digital cameras. No need to even plug your camera memory card into a computer, or a printer at all. Now you can buy a digital camera that transmits the images via wireless technology. Yes, that is right, a wireless connection for your image uploads.
Now, you may be among those in the population that have not even gotten their hands around the whole digital image sharing thing yet. But this promising new technology may lead us to a world of fewer cables to plug in, quicker transfer of our images, and in the case of events in the world, the ability to share images of news almost instantly.
As we saw in the recent bombings in London, folks with cell phone cameras recorded the devastation they saw in the underground and shared it with the world in almost real time fashion. These new cameras may be able to take that sort of thing to an all new level. Imagine cities that implement widespread WiFi access and photographers with WiFi cameras capturing images of news and other special events. They could transmit those images right away and let the world see them.
Here is how it works:
Nikon has released two models of digital cameras that are WiFi enabled. The idea is to be able to transmit your pictures straight from the camera to your computer or printer through a wireless adaptor. You bring up the images to transfer, hit “go”, and they get sent through the air to your printer. The Coolpix P1 and P2 will be in the $400-$550 range in pricing and the adaptor is extra.
They are competing with Kodak which released its own version of the WiFi camera in their Easy Share line of cameras this year. Kodak has already gone to making it easy to share photos by transmitting them at so called "wireless hot spots", usually cafes or stores where wireless access is sold or given away to customers. These efforts by the leading camera makers seem aimed at adding value to their already impressive digital technology.
Digital cameras continue to be hot sellers despite what some in the industry thought would be a slowing of sales this year. Many had predicted that cell phone cameras would slow digital camera sales, but this is not happening.
If you are a leading edge gadget buyer and have a wireless mindset then you may want to be first on the block to get one of these Wi-Fi digital cameras.
First we had to get over the whole film thing after a nation of baby boomers had been raised on Kodak, Polaroid, and 35mm film cameras of various shapes and sizes. We were all use to the idea of sending in our film for developing and waiting for our pictures to come back.
Then along came digital cameras and the world was taken by storm with this cool new technology. Suddenly you could take a picture and see the results immediately. At first these cameras were slow and not such great quality but still kind of cool. Then things heated up and now we have fantastic digital cameras of all sizes and shapes that can take wonderful images which can be shared instantly with your family, or the rest of the world for that matter.
Now comes the latest in technology integration. WiFi and digital cameras. No need to even plug your camera memory card into a computer, or a printer at all. Now you can buy a digital camera that transmits the images via wireless technology. Yes, that is right, a wireless connection for your image uploads.
Now, you may be among those in the population that have not even gotten their hands around the whole digital image sharing thing yet. But this promising new technology may lead us to a world of fewer cables to plug in, quicker transfer of our images, and in the case of events in the world, the ability to share images of news almost instantly.
As we saw in the recent bombings in London, folks with cell phone cameras recorded the devastation they saw in the underground and shared it with the world in almost real time fashion. These new cameras may be able to take that sort of thing to an all new level. Imagine cities that implement widespread WiFi access and photographers with WiFi cameras capturing images of news and other special events. They could transmit those images right away and let the world see them.
Here is how it works:
Nikon has released two models of digital cameras that are WiFi enabled. The idea is to be able to transmit your pictures straight from the camera to your computer or printer through a wireless adaptor. You bring up the images to transfer, hit “go”, and they get sent through the air to your printer. The Coolpix P1 and P2 will be in the $400-$550 range in pricing and the adaptor is extra.
They are competing with Kodak which released its own version of the WiFi camera in their Easy Share line of cameras this year. Kodak has already gone to making it easy to share photos by transmitting them at so called "wireless hot spots", usually cafes or stores where wireless access is sold or given away to customers. These efforts by the leading camera makers seem aimed at adding value to their already impressive digital technology.
Digital cameras continue to be hot sellers despite what some in the industry thought would be a slowing of sales this year. Many had predicted that cell phone cameras would slow digital camera sales, but this is not happening.
If you are a leading edge gadget buyer and have a wireless mindset then you may want to be first on the block to get one of these Wi-Fi digital cameras.
Article : Cameras of the Future
Cameras of the Future
One time you had only to look into a little lens and press a button to take a photo, but these days cameras are more complicated. Much advertising money is spent on telling us all just how simple and easy it is to take a photo, and it is certainly easier to load a film in the average camera now than it used to be, but you still have to know more about it. You can’t just pick up that brownie box and ready, aim, fire. There are warning lights that tell you to change your angle or adjust your exposure, to mention just a few.
So what is the camera of the future going to be like? Will it be so complicated that only a rocket scientist will be able to operate it ? Probably not, since manufacturers must get good sales for their products. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that there are more sales in the masses than in an elite group of rocket scientists.
So come on guys, make it simple. How about a talking camera to tell us what to do? Just imagine Great-aunt Ethel lining up her new camera to take a picture of the latest nephew. The sun slides behind a cloud and the camera growls, “Hold it, stupid!” Ethel retrieves the camera from the grass, dusts it off and focuses again. “Beep-beep-beep! The subject is not smiling!” As the family gathers around with fans and cool drinks for Aunt Ethel, little Johnny grabs the camera and drops it into the fishpond, where it happily snaps the goldfish every time they wiggle.
The camera of the future may not talk, but at a recent exhibition in New York Canon had a prototype that waits until all the subjects are smiling before taking the picture. Another can tell if you’re blinking. These are expected to be commercial within a year. Fuji has already announced it has a digital camera far superior to most in clarity and resolution.
We think of the digital camera as possessing the most modern technology, but what if it is simply the Model T of cameras ? Perhaps today’s digital cameras are the forerunners of some amazing new technology hiding around the corner, just waiting for someone with vision to invent it? Some time in the future, there will surely be moving 3D images that can be clicked into being on our desktops, in mid-air, or beamed to the other side of the world in less than a second. They’ll be in full color and at the click of a button, we’ll be able to hear what is being said. I can hardly wait!
One time you had only to look into a little lens and press a button to take a photo, but these days cameras are more complicated. Much advertising money is spent on telling us all just how simple and easy it is to take a photo, and it is certainly easier to load a film in the average camera now than it used to be, but you still have to know more about it. You can’t just pick up that brownie box and ready, aim, fire. There are warning lights that tell you to change your angle or adjust your exposure, to mention just a few.
So what is the camera of the future going to be like? Will it be so complicated that only a rocket scientist will be able to operate it ? Probably not, since manufacturers must get good sales for their products. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that there are more sales in the masses than in an elite group of rocket scientists.
So come on guys, make it simple. How about a talking camera to tell us what to do? Just imagine Great-aunt Ethel lining up her new camera to take a picture of the latest nephew. The sun slides behind a cloud and the camera growls, “Hold it, stupid!” Ethel retrieves the camera from the grass, dusts it off and focuses again. “Beep-beep-beep! The subject is not smiling!” As the family gathers around with fans and cool drinks for Aunt Ethel, little Johnny grabs the camera and drops it into the fishpond, where it happily snaps the goldfish every time they wiggle.
The camera of the future may not talk, but at a recent exhibition in New York Canon had a prototype that waits until all the subjects are smiling before taking the picture. Another can tell if you’re blinking. These are expected to be commercial within a year. Fuji has already announced it has a digital camera far superior to most in clarity and resolution.
We think of the digital camera as possessing the most modern technology, but what if it is simply the Model T of cameras ? Perhaps today’s digital cameras are the forerunners of some amazing new technology hiding around the corner, just waiting for someone with vision to invent it? Some time in the future, there will surely be moving 3D images that can be clicked into being on our desktops, in mid-air, or beamed to the other side of the world in less than a second. They’ll be in full color and at the click of a button, we’ll be able to hear what is being said. I can hardly wait!