Weekly digital photography podcasts, photo tips, reader submitted pictures, equipment reviews and more.

Adobe just released an update to Photoshop Express that includes integration with Flickr and "Save As" functionality. Plus, there's a new embedable player that allows users to post their Photoshop Express slideshows to sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and personal blogs. You may have caught wind of this update earlier in the week when some sites reported about it. But Adobe had to pull it back on May 7 because they discovered a bug. By Friday, May 9, they had everything cleaned up and ready for users. Now Available! The Digital Photography Companion. The official guide for The Digital... read more

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Posted by dstory on May 10, 2008 | Comments (0)

I've just heard from Mikkel Aaland, director of the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Adventure 2008: Tasmania, and he shared that there are still two weeks left to enter the Win a Trip to Tasmania, Australia Sweepstakes. Here's the official blurb: Follow in the footsteps of the Adobe Lightroom Adventure Photographers or create your own adventure on the beautiful island of Tasmania! Here is your chance to win a trip for two to experience the natural beauty of Tasmania first hand. Winners receive roundtrip economy airfare for two on Qantas Airways from one of their North American gateways - Los Angeles,... read more

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Posted by dstory on May 9, 2008 | Comments (0)

According to a report on the Stock Artists Alliance web site, "Orphan Works is back. Last month, the U.S. Congress held Hearings, making clear that the wheels were again in motion. Last week, it became official when new versions of the Orphan Works Act of 2008 were introduced by both the House and Senate." If you're not familiar with the Orphan Works issue, it essentially means that if your copyright information gets stripped out of the metadata of your photo, and someone wants to use that image, they may be able to do so if it is determined to... read more

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Posted by dstory on May 6, 2008 | Comments (0)

Digital Story readers have a terrific new sponsor supporting our virtual camera club -- Red River Paper. And they've created a special landing page for TDS members where they'll offer promotions on their excellent inkjet photo stock. One of the things I like about Red River is that they sell directly to photographers, and they have an excellent customer service attitude. Plus the prices are fantastic! And they are one of the leaders in creating photo papers that are made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled content. This is a winning combination for TDS members. Be sure to check out... read more

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Posted by dstory on May 5, 2008 | Comments (2)

David over at Strobist might be able to light circles around me, but one thing we share in common is our passion for the Canon PowerShot G9. David wrote in the article, New Canon Powershot G9 Makes My G7 Feel Like Unloved Stepchild, "I don't write about specific cameras very often on this site, but this one bears a closer look. The G9 is of particular interest because of it's flash-friendly features, among other things." One of those "flash-friendly features" is that you can sync a Canon G9 up to 1/2500th. This is very handy for high speed flash... read more

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Posted by dstory on May 4, 2008 | Comments (0)

Here's a fun interview to listen to. A few weeks ago, while I was working in Orlando at Photoshop World, I had a chance to visit with photographer and fine art printing expert John Paul Caponigro. One of John Paul's passions is the Epson Print Academy, and he gives us an inside peek in the Academy from color management to fine art workflow. Speaking of color management, I love one of JP's comments about it: "Yes it is rocket science, but you don't need to be a scientist to drive a rocket." He believes that color management can be... read more

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Posted by dstory on May 1, 2008 | Comments (0)

We've had some interesting discussion around Adobe's DNG format, both here on The Digital Story, and on the TDS Flickr Public Group. The main focus has been: should you consider converting your existing RAW files to DNG when you upload them to your computer? However, we're seeing the occasional digital camera writing natively to the DNG format, and the latest entry is the Ricoh GR Digital II. Over at PhotographyBLOG, Mark Goldstein puts the camera to the test in his complete review of the Ricoh GR Digital II. Mark writes: "The Ricoh GR Digital II is not your usual... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 30, 2008 | Comments (0)

In the workflow class I taught last weekend, we had some discussion about the Adobe DNG format, and if RAW shooters should convert to DNG when uploading their images to the computer. I've published a fair amount on this subject. In Digital Photography Podcast 114, Julieanne Kost talks about on Lightroom and DNG, and she's a big proponent of the open file format. Anyone who has been to one of my workshops knows that if you're not using Lightroom or Aperture, I recommend Photo Downloader, which comes with Adobe Bridge and allows you to convert to DNG during the... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 28, 2008 | Comments (8)

Want to know the fastest memory card to buy for your Canon 40D, Nikon D300, and a host of other DSLRs? Rob Galbraith's CF/SD Performance Database is a collection of memory card write speed results from Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras. You'll also find card-to-computer transfer results for the latest CompactFlash cards, with more CompactFlash and SD/SDHC results to be posted soon. The Card-to-Computer Transfer Speed section is new, and really interesting to pour over to see the best combinations for readers and memory cards. If you want the best read/write performance with your DSLR, I'd bookmark this page... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 24, 2008 | Comments (0)

I had a chance to shoot with a preproduction model of the Panasonic DMC-TZ5 at PMA in January. The "TZ" stands for travel zoom, and this is a terrific "on the go" camera. Starting with the 10X Leica DC Vario-Elmarit optical zoom (28-280mm equivalent), the little compact can handle a variety of shooting situations. The image stabilization works wonderfully, and having the option of choosing among aspect ratios (4:3, 3:2, or 16:9) is a creative plus. This latest version provides HD movie capture at 1280 x 720 @ 30 fps. The accompanying audio is recorded with an onboard mic,... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 23, 2008 | Comments (0)

In this week's podcast show notes for "After Every Shoot", there's a downloadable Jpeg graphic listing the 10 reminders I encourage you to follow after each camera session. The reference graphic prints nicely on a 4 x 6 sheet of photo paper, enabling you to stash it in your camera bag or use as a bookmark for The Digital Photography Companion. Go get yours today. Print one for yourself, and a few to share with friends. Technorati Tags: digital photography, Digital Photography Companion, Technology, The Digital Story... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 22, 2008 | Comments (1)

After I published the Drobo podcast, some readers commented that picture backup seems more complicated than it should be. That's a great point. The answer is yes... and no Those of us who have been wrestling with this issue for a long time probably have more redundancy built into our approach than the average photographer wants to think about. I totally understand that. What happens is, as I develop one archive system, and use it for a while, I begin to observe places where it is vulnerable. I then think about how to plug those holes. But if such... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 18, 2008 | Comments (0)

"We found this beautiful place in some old growth rain forrest, and Maki did an installment in her Makirama series," writes Peter Krogh. "I was running camera for her -- pushing the button when she was ready. After a series of images, I handed her the camera for review." This is just a taste of the compelling imagery being posted from the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Adventure 2008: Tasmania, where a team of more than 20 photographers "traveled to the end of the world, literally, to the remote island of Tasmania. Their mission is to road test specialized digital photography... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 17, 2008 | Comments (1)

TDS member Jason writes: "Over the last year, as I began looking at my photographs with a more critical eye, I realized that my prints were always noticeably darker than what I was seeing on my computer screen -– specifically, I was losing a lot of shadow detail in the prints." "Shadow details that were easily visible on my screen disappeared into black on my prints. At the time, I was doing my editing using iPhoto and Photoshop Elements on a 20 inch iMac G5 running Panther. I didn't have my own photo printer, but I tried several different... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 16, 2008 | Comments (2)

The Drobo is labeled as "Fully Automated SATA Robotic Storage Array," which sounds a little intimidating, like something that will taunt the cat when you're not around. But actually, it's a fairly clever device about the size of a toaster that you can insert up to four SATA hard drives. After doing so, Drobo takes it from there. It stores any data that you write to it, automatically backs it up, and constantly monitors the situation making necessary adjustments and repairs while you're out doing what you should be doing, taking pictures. As a passionate digital photographer, I had... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 13, 2008 | Comments (2)

Canon compacts with DIGIC II or III processors have more capabilities than appear on their menus. Functions such as high-speed shutter and RAW mode can be unlocked using firmware available via the CHDK project (Canon Hacker's Development Kit). WIRED Magazine helped shine a light on this work with their recent article, Supercharge Your Camera with Open-Source CHDK Firmware. It's a terrific overview piece with lots of links, and I suggest you start there if interested in this project. I have a Canon SD700 IS that I'm going hack. It's a wonderful little camera that I use primarily for underwater... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 11, 2008 | Comments (3)

Sometimes we can't just leave well enough alone... If you downloaded Podcast 123, Interview with Stephen Johnson on Tuesday or Wednesday (April 8 & 9), then you noticed that my segments covering virtual camera club business sounded terrible. What happened was that in an attempt to remove some of the background noise from the Johnson interview on the expo hall floor at Photoshop World, we totally butchered the in studio stuff. Yuck! I've since reposted the audio and it sounds so much better. You can redownload the podcast here (28 minutes). You can also subscribe to the podcast in... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 10, 2008 | Comments (0)

"“Tipped off by protests against soaring fuel prices, I landed in Yangon on 23 September, 2007, with some old clothes, a Canon 5D camera, two fixed lenses and a laptop," writes Adrees Latif in his blog post. "...Knowing that hundreds of people were gunned down in similar circumstances in a 1988 uprising, I climbed an old crosswalk directly overhead, to get to one of the few spots offering a clear view... I had already locked on my 135mm lens and set my camera shutter speed to 1000, aperture to F/7.1 and ISO at 800. With the camera on manual,... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 10, 2008 | Comments (0)

We heard about the ColorMunki Photo ($449 on Amazon.com) earlier this year at PMA. But now that the real product is shipping, the reviews are starting to surface. Over at PhotographyBLOG, they write: "ColorMunki Photo is a brand new colour management device that makers X-Rite are touting as a "breakthrough product". What's the reason for all the excitement? Namely price - ColorMunki Photo offers monitor, projector, and printer profiling at the previously unheard of price of $499 / £379 / 429 Euros, seemingly without cutting any corners. Our colour management expert Jon Canfield has been testing the ColorMunki for... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 9, 2008 | Comments (0)

If you missed my first live webinar, "Five Ways to Impact," you can now download the entire presentation from the O'Reilly Media site. The 54-minute presentation shows five techniques for making your pictures look better than others, plus includes a Q&A session with queries submitted live from the audience. You'll need some bandwidth, however, because this puppy is really a big dog at 175 MBs. It does have quick start, so the movie begins playing before the download is complete. To view, go to -- http://downloads.oreilly.com/oreilly/videos/oreilly-story-webcast.mov -- then put your feet up and enjoy. Now Available! The Digital Photography... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 8, 2008 | Comments (0)

"This image is a culmination of approximately 35 images taken from a small street near a busy freeway interchange," said Sage Humphries D.D.S. "I originally got the idea when changing from one So Cal freeway to another in traffic. As I was gazing down upon the busy interchange from high above, I was amazed at the aerial view and really wanted to try and replicate the complexity of the interchange without the chaos of the cars." "I knew that I could not set up a tripod and a camera at this location of inspiration, and I knew there was... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 6, 2008 | Comments (0)

Tom Hogarty, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Product Manager, took the stage in Orlando and showed off some of the new features in the beta release of Lightroom 2.0. Existing users of Lightroom 1 can get the beta today by visiting Adobe Labs and clicking on the download link. Adobe states on the Labs page: "The Lightroom 2.0 beta program is available for use by all current Lightroom customers. If you don't already own a copy of Lightroom you can download the beta and try it for thirty days. If thirty days is not enough time, Lightroom customers can invite friends to... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 3, 2008 | Comments (0)

Lynda.com just announced the release of my latest title, Digital Photography Principles: The Camera. And they've made 14 movies from the title available for free. That's more than 40 minutes of instruction that you can go watch right now. I hope you check them out, because they are useful and fun. But what I really want to talk about today is how we made this movie. I think it's a real departure from what you normally see on Lynda. First of all, this isn't your standard screencast type training. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we were able... read more

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Posted by dstory on April 1, 2008 | Comments (0)

Lots of reader mail has been flowing in lately, and a few of the questions have me stumped. So I thought I'd occasionally run one or two by our adept virtual camera club members to see if anyone has an answer. Dale writes: "I've been using burst mode on my D300 and noticed something odd that perhaps you could comment on. Whenever I shoot in burst mode I find that the camera records the images slightly out of order." "For a portrait session, that wouldn't matter of course, but for sports it's a little annoying because I like to... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 31, 2008 | Comments (4)

I'm heading out to Photoshop World this week, and I should have lots to report. First, I'll be recording interviews in the O'Reilly Media booth with some great photographers including: John Paul Caponigro, Vincent Versace, and Stephen Johnson. I'm also going to chat with Mikkel Aaland live from Tasmania via AIM as he reports on the Lightroom Adventure II from way down under. During my stay in Orlando, I'll also promote my new book, The Digital Photography Companion. O'Reilly Media, the publisher, is giving away Photo Companion Cards that I designed, which include tables for exposure compensation, lighting, white... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 30, 2008 | Comments (0)

There's so much to like about Aperture 2.1, but the game-changer is Edit API. Apple has created a bonafide plug-in architecture for Aperture that enables 3rd party developers such as Nik Software (Viveza) and PictureCode (Noise Ninja) to place their technology within Apple's pro level photo management application. In order to give you a glimpse at the possibilities, Apple is providing the first plug-in for free and part of the 2.1 download. Dodge and Burn works just like tools in your favorite external editor, except you don't have to go anywhere. Consider it your "internal editor" that provides very... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 28, 2008 | Comments (1)

I attended the San Francisco stop of the Aperture World Tour today and had the opportunity to listen to New York pro shooter David Bergman talk about his workflow. This is a guy who sometimes captures as many as 4,000 Raw images in a single assignment. Since a hobby of mine is appreciating the different ways photographers apply star ratings in their photo management applications, I thought I might pass along David's approach. He starts by going through the entire shoot once applying either a single star on no star to every picture. If a shot gets a single... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 26, 2008 | Comments (3)

I have this fun talk I've been doing at conferences and user group meetings titled Five Ways to Make Your Photos Look Better, and this coming Thursday, March March 27 at 10 am Pacific Time (17:00 GMT), I'm going to share it online via a live webinar hosted by O'Reilly Media. The gist of it is this: Thousands of pictures are recorded every day. Many of these shots are personal and not meant to be viewed as art. But what if you could capture the world everyone else sees, but in a more beautiful way? Derrick (that would be... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 24, 2008 | Comments (1)

From June 22 to June 28, 2008, I'll be facilitating a Digital Lab at Santa Fe Workshops titled, Beginning Workflow with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. I'm very excited about having the opportunity to teach this lab, not just because I'll be working in Santa Fe for a week (although, not bad either), but because I'll be able to share one of my favorite workflows for photographers who want to work efficiently. The basic approach is to use Adobe tools to identify your best shots quickly, then perfect and move along without getting bogged down in Photoshop. I have lots... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 20, 2008 | Comments (0)

Second-curtain flash is a technique where the flash fires at the end of a long exposure instead of the beginning. This puts the motion blur in the right location: behind the subject. I discovered a PDF online from my DP Hacks book that provides a great tutorial for this technique. You can grab it by downloading Second-Curtain Flash for Cool Effects. My personal advice. Find that setting on your camera, and just leave it there. I can't think of an instance when I would want the flash to fire at the beginning of the movement instead of at the end.... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 19, 2008 | Comments (9)

One of my biggest complaints about the Canon lens arsenal are their 50mm options. There is the sharp, but grindy 50mm f-1.8. This is the lens I use, but not the one I want. Canon's 50mm f-1.4 is only slightly better design wise, but soft at the edges when wide open. And the 50mm f-1.2 is huge and way to expensive for my budget. Therefore, I've begrudgingly stuck with the high-value but low sex appeal 50mm f-1.8 for all these years. But Sigma may be coming to my rescue. They just announced their 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM, and... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 17, 2008 | Comments (1)

"The new trim size [of The Digital Photography Companion] will make it more appealing for bookstore shelving, but we wanted to make sure it stayed portable too," wrote Colleen Wheeler in her post, It's Still a Pocket Guide at Heart. (The Companion is someone you want with you, not home on the shelf when you need to figure out your exposure compensation setting.) So we went with a 5 1/2 by 8 1/2" size that will fit nicely in camera bags. Oh, and it still fits in some (larger) pockets. (Author carrying case not included.) Photo by Colleen Wheeler... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 16, 2008 | Comments (0)

The good news about an updated monitor calibrator, such as the Spyder3Elite by ColorVision, is that it reminds us that we have to calibrate in the first place. By way of anecdote, I'm setting up a just-arrived MacBook Pro 17", and wanted to make a quick print yesterday. After making sure I had the right drivers for Leopard, I then noticed that the image looked a little different on the screen than what came out of the printer. Oh rats! Calibration. The Spyder3 has been on my radar, and fortunately, PhotographyBLOG has just reviewed the Spyder3Elite. Here's their introduction... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 13, 2008 | Comments (0)

"I read about the lunar eclipse just a few hours before it was to start, in an urgent email from a friend," said Marty German. "I had just enough time to Google the local start times for each of the main phases." How Marty Took the Shots "I setup my 1980s Leitz Tiltal tripod and mounted my Nikon D200 camera with its 1980's Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 ED AF lens manually focused to infinity, and set it to its maximum 200mm zoom. It was the longest lens that I own. I shot everything in raw so that I could 'tweak... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 12, 2008 | Comments (5)

As the author, I'm one of the first people on the planet to get my hands on the just-printed The Digital Photography Companion. This seems like a good opportunity to provide you with insights about the book that you won't find anywhere else. Before I get to the anecdotes, let's start with the basic specs. The trim size is 5.5" wide by 8.5" tall. It's a nice size that fits in a lot of places. Companion is 228 pages, full color, and printed on 60# coated stock. Personally, I would have preferred a slightly denser 70# stock, and may... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 9, 2008 | Comments (1)

Have you seen this? Sal Sogholan just published an amazing Aperture-InDesign Integration Demo on Apple.com that enables you to use Aperture as the database for an InDesign-based publishing system, complete with maintaining direct links to the related master images in the Aperture library. "Placed previews can be updated as needed and even replaced with high-resolution exports in preparation for offset or direct-to-plate printing." And the best part is, you can try it for yourself by downloading the Aperture-InDesign demo installer. Sal had warned me that there were some powerful scripting hooks baked into the latest version of Aperture. This... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 7, 2008 | Comments (1)

In this week's podcast on mobile photography, I talk about how easy it is to upload your photos directly from the mobile device to an online service such as Flickr. I often post mine using the email application on the iPhone. (And remember, we have a Digital Story Public Group on Flickr.) The problem is, the iPhone doesn't have an image editing application. So what do you do if you want to make a few adjustments to your picture after it's posted online? A while back, Flickr struck up a deal with Picnik to enable roundtrip image editing from... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 5, 2008 | Comments (0)

According to a recent story in Photography Bay, Canon has applied for a patent to use Iris watermarking to help photographers protect their images. In short, you have the camera read your iris, then it embeds your unique biological data into every shot. You can have additional metadata added if you wish. (Notice the callout 106d that indicates Registration mode.) This is really interesting stuff. If you want to read more about how Canon envisions this, take a look at the Photography Bay article. It may be available on your next camera... Technorati Tags: Canon, digital photography, Technology, The... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 4, 2008 | Comments (0)

"I had been trying to consider how to tackle the theme of "Empty" for a recent TDS photo assignment, when a significant snowstorm provided the inspiration," said Mike Doel. "In addition to knowing that the golf course would be empty, I figured that it would also be a good example of one of the tips I've learned from The Digital Story - try to find photos that catch views that are unique or unexpected." How Mike Did It "When I arrived at the course, the first thing I did was to get permission to take photos. Having received that... read more

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Posted by dstory on March 2, 2008 | Comments (0)

Tethering a camera to your computer allows you to capture images directly into it. This is particularly handy for product shots and in-studio portraits when you want to see a full resolution version of the photo right away. With a tethered camera, you click the shutter and the image appears on your monitor. Just like that. Many DSLRs will have tethering software bundled in their kit. Both Canon and Nikon provide this feature on most of their advanced cameras. Check their software disks for more information. Aperture 2 also provides tethered shooting. You can refer to this chart to... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 28, 2008 | Comments (4)

If you have your own web site, QuickTime Pro makes it easy to take video snippets off your digital camera and post them there. Its "Export for Web" option under the File menu presents you with some sophisticated publishing options... except now they're as easy to implement as checking a box. The process couldn't be simplier. Open the movie you want to publish. Choose "Export for Web" from the File menu. Select the options you want: iPhone (WiFi), iPhone (cellular), and/or Desktop. Choose as many as you want. When you hit the Export button, QuickTime will create a folder with... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 26, 2008 | Comments (0)

On first encounter, the Sony DSC-T200 is just too beautiful to be taken seriously. I was seduced by its slim design -- about the same proportions as an Apple iPhone -- with "folded" 5X Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar zoom lens, an 8 MP image sensor, and a 3.5" touchscreen LCD, all housed in a brushed metal housing that feels as good as it looks. There's no way this camera can perform as well as it looks. Field Test I decided to take it out in the field and test its mettle (or test its metal in this case). Well, for... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 24, 2008 | Comments (0)

I've found another great use for the microwave over. I was shooting some water shots recently and actually found a way to soak my sneakers. I'm not talking about a little wet, I mean drenched from stem to stern. I tried just letting them air-dry for a couple days, and got nowhere. Because I was staying in a hotel, I didn't have a traditional clothes dryer available. After a few days, my good ole sneaks started to smell a little funny. It occurred to me, that when sponges in the kitchen start to smell funky, a good way to... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 22, 2008 | Comments (0)

There's an interesting post over on Inside Lightroom about whether To Delete or Not to Delete. Working photographer James Duncan Davidson grapples with the same issue we all do: how much of our image data should we hang on to? Duncan puts forth some interesting ideas. And even though he probably shoots more pictures than the average guy, it's interesting to read how he deals with the mountain of gigabytes he accumulates annually. Technorati Tags: Technology, The Digital Story... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 21, 2008 | Comments (0)

I spent yesterday evening locked in Samy's Camera store in Santa Barbara, CA (oh the humanity!). We were shooting video for my upcoming digital photography title on Lynda.com. In the shot illustrated here, I'm discussing the difference between large aperture zooms (using the Canon 70-200 f-2.8) and smaller aperture zooms (Canon 70-200 f-4). We were very fortunate to be able to use a real camera store as a set. Richard, one of the store managers, even stayed after hours (10 pm!) to enable us to keep recording long after Samy's had closed. We shot at the photo counter... imagine... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 20, 2008 | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Nikon's new D3 is the most desired DSLR on the market right now. I've heard more people talking about this body than all others combined. Over at PhotographyBLOG, Gavin Stoker reviews and has this to say: "The Nikon D3 digital SLR is Nikon's first ever full-frame camera, offering a 12.1 megapixel, FX format CMOS sensor. The 9fps continuous mode, even when shooting RAW images, should appeal to all the sports photographers out there, supported by Nikon’s next-generation 51-point AF system. The Nikon D3 has an incredibly versatile ISO range of 100-25,800 (yes, ISO 25,800!), new EXPEED image processing engine... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 19, 2008 | Comments (3)

Sometimes the perfect storm is a good thing. On Sunday, I was driving from Santa Rosa, CA south to Ventura. I was scheduled to begin two weeks of recording for a digital photography title with Lynda.com. I knew I would be there in the studio when Aperture 2.0 was announced, but wasn't at liberty to discuss it. But what a great opportunity! Wouldn't it be wonderful to actually record the training title on the day Aperture 2 was released? My producer, Chris Mattia, had a similar thought once he heard the news. By 9:30 am on Tuesday, he was clearing... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 15, 2008 | Comments (3)

The question of 2008 seems to be, "Do you really need 12 megapixels in a compact camera?" This idea surfaced again with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200. Over at PhotographyBLOG, Mark Goldstein has published a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200 review. Here's a few bits of what Mark has to say: "At first glance the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200 looks like a fairly run-of-the mill compact camera, with an understated, compact silver body, 3x zoom lens (35-105mm) and 2.5 inch LCD screen. Look a little closer though, and you'll find that there are some more impressive stand-out features. Most obvious is the headline-grabbing... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 14, 2008 | Comments (0)

"I thoroughly enjoy capturing insects, spiders and other creepy crawlies on my little pocket-sized Canon Ixus 800 IS camera," says Ruth Cooper. "It goes everywhere with me, since I never know when I'll find something interesting to capture." "I usually wear clothing that blends into the garden surroundings, and an old blue cloth hat that shades me and my glasses." "The sound on the camera has been turned off, and I almost always have the camera on the Digital Macro setting, which still gives me automatic focus on the subject. I also try to stand either in the shade,... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 13, 2008 | Comments (0)

After months of speculation by the Aperture user community, Apple today released Aperture 2.0 with a raft of new image adjustment tools, an overhauled Raw decoder, major speed improvements, and additional camera support. The bulk of these changes can be loosely corralled into four areas: Interface Changes, cleaner looking (and easier to understand) UI, including the tabbed inspector, double-click behaviors, and the new All Projects, which is similar to Events in iPhoto. Performance Improvements, including an optimized database for better searching and browsing, and Quick Previews that use available Jpegs instead of always decoding the Raw file from scratch. Photographers... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 12, 2008 | Comments (3)

Most of our DSLR's have pop up flashes, and most of us aren't using them as often as we would like. Why? Primarily because they produce harsh, unflattering tones. But a new $29.99 accessory called the Lightscoop could change that. Here's how Professor Kobre explains it. Professor Kobre's Lightscoop slips over your Nikon, Sigma, Pentax, Fuji FinePix, or Canon camera’s pop-up flash and allows you to bounce the flash like professionals bounce an expensive external flash. The Lightscoop is the inexpensive answer to natural looking bounce flash and digital photography lighting. (Even professionals like it for casual shooting!). And... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 10, 2008 | Comments (2)

"'Lord G-d' has also been exclaimed - minus the soiled trousers - by those seeing a Canon 1200mm/5.6L USM for the first time. At 36 lbs, 33" long and 9" wide at the front element, calling this lens a 'tele' is like calling King Kong a monkey," wrote Allan Weitz in his post, The Mother or all Telephotos. He shows some pictures captured with the monster lens, and then reminds us that using the 2X extender will get you a 2400mm/f11 rig... for those needing just a little more reach. Thanks to Rick LePage for the pointer to this... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 8, 2008 | Comments (2)

When I'm in big cities, I try to travel by foot as much as possible. That's when I see the good shots, and if I'm lucky, I come home with one or two. I was walking back from a dinner meeting in Las Vegas with a Canon G9 and a small Gorillapod tucked away in my jacket pocket. I felt like shooting something, but nothing caught my eye until I climbed a set of stairs for a street overpass and noticed this scene. I wanted the streaming lights of traffic driving by, but I thought they would look best in... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 6, 2008 | Comments (2)

I've never been a fan of creating layer masks in Photoshop to adjust specific areas of color and tone. It's a lot of work. Nik Software has come to the rescue with Viveza, a plug-in for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements (Mac and PC) that allows photographers to use U Point technology to adjust their images. This is the same technology Nik employs in Capture NX. And it is incredible. Basically, you just click on a color that you want to adjust and a U Point tool appears with brightness, contrast, and saturation sliders. If you move any of those... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 4, 2008 | Comments (0)

I stopped by the Sony booth at PMA 2008 to test the Sony alpha A350 DSLR (available as preorder for $899.99 US with 18-70mm lens on Amazon). What intrigued me most about this camera was the combination of Live Preview and a tiltable 2.7" Clear Photo LCD Plus screen. The screen angles upward for low angle shooting and downward for capturing shots while holding the camera over your head. You can also press it flush against the back of the body. This opens up additional shooting possibilities for DSLR fans who weren't previously able to compose shots at extreme... read more

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Posted by dstory on February 2, 2008 | Comments (0)

Shooting from a helicopter is tricky business. You have to photograph through glass that is often curved and full of reflections. Unlike with other through-glass shooting, you can't put your camera lens up against the surface because of the rotor vibration while flying. I was dealing with all of these factors while capturing this image of Hoover Dam with Lake Mead in the background at the Arizona/Nevada border in Southwestern USA. So here's how I did it. I used a Panasonic LUMIX TZ5 (just announced at PMA) in aerial scene mode. What that does (and what you can do on... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 30, 2008 | Comments (0)

Here's a new feature for The Digital Story: "How I Did It." These are techniques from virtual camera club members who have built upon information in The Digital Photography Companion, or came up with a new tip altogether. The "How I Did It" tips will appear on The Digital Photography Companion mini-site, so we can build a living library of knowledge for everyone to use (and contribute to). If you have a "How I Did It" tip to share, just send it to me with the sample photo, and put "How I Did It" in the email subject. This week's... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 25, 2008 | Comments (0)

There are a lot of things to like about the just-announced Canon Digital Rebel XSi (450D). Inclusion of the DIGIC III processor is important. I'm using that processor in the G9, and it elevates the game noticeably. Also, 3.5 fps in a Rebel? My gosh, I don't have that speed in my EOS 5D. Having such a fast frame rate in a camera that sells for $799 US is a boon to folks who want to leverage burst mode. And you can shoot up to 53 JPEGs in burst, or 6 RAWs. Not bad at all. The 3" Live... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 24, 2008 | Comments (2)

I was reading Jon Canfield's post this morning, Using Standard Keywords, and I began to wonder about how many articles we've published on O'Reilly Digital Media on the art and science of using keywords. So I did a quick search on the subject, and came up with list of 20 posts that help you organize your photo library. This is a true cornucopia of keywording advice. So, for those of us in the middle of winter, now might be the opportune time to finally figure out what our approach is to organizing our libraries. And even if you don't... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 23, 2008 | Comments (0)

Nikon's D300 DSLR ($1,799 US) is the successor to the popular D200 that has been seen in the hands of many pros. Initial reports about this camera have been very positive, with improvements in high ISO shooting. PhotobraphyBLOG has just reviewed the Nikon D300 and writes: "The mid-range digital SLR camera market has never been so competitive, with new models recently announced by virtually all the major manufacturers. The Nikon D300 is the latest prosumer model to pass through our review lab. With the highest price-tag of any of the main contenders, it has a lot to live up... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 22, 2008 | Comments (1)

Since we don't have Geotagging in most of our cameras yet, here's a slick device for SD Card shooters that enables us to add GPS position data directly to JPEGs. ATP's Photo Finder is a pocketable GPS tracking device that lets you insert the SD memory card from your time-synced camera, then it writes the positions directly to the file header of each shot. You can then plot the data with Google Earth to see the location of each photo. The $100 device seems easy enough to use. Just make sure that your camera's internal clock is in sync... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 21, 2008 | Comments (6)

I've been sharing a lot of iPhoto '08 tips lately at Macworld SF in the O'Reilly Booth. But I discovered a new one this weekend that I thought you might enjoy. When you have a print, and want to figure out the perfect color for the front matte, you can do so right on your computer. One of the new goodies in iPhoto '08 is the Customize function in the Print dialog box. It allows you to design (and print if you want) single and double mattes in a variety of color combinations. I wanted to figure out a... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 20, 2008 | Comments (0)

I stopped by the Casio booth here at Macworld and played with the Casio EXILIM Pro EX-F1. It's still in the final stages of development, but they should have a full production model ready for testing by PMA. I have an appointment with Casio there to test the latest version. I'm excited by these specs: 60 fps still photography, CMOS sensor, DNG format, 7 fps burst mode with flash, HD and SD video, external mic jack, and tons of other goodies. This camera is a true speed demon. I'll report more after testing the finished model in Las Vegas,... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 18, 2008 | Comments (5)

The Digital Photography Companion is the culmination of two years work. To prepare this book, I spent hours working with photographers and aspiring photographers to find out exactly what they wanted. As a result, I settled on an 8.5" x 5.5" trim size that allows enough room for healthy-sized photographs, yet fits in the backpack, purse, camera bag, or jacket pocket. The book is designed to help you make pictures that distinguish your work from others. By mastering the controls on your camera and learning a few basic techniques, you can create virtually any type of image you want.... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 17, 2008 | Comments (5)

I constantly remind people to keep their compact cameras with them while on the go. That way if a great shot presets itself, they can grab it. But when going out for an evening stroll, take the portable tripod too! Compact tripods, such as my favorite, Gorillapod by Joby ($22), enables me to use sign posts, newspaper machines, and just about anything else I can find standing still on the street, and use it for making long exposures. In the case of this image of Lori's Diner on Mason Street in San Francisco, I use the Gorillapod and a... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 16, 2008 | Comments (3)

During Sunday night's panel discussion at Book Passage in Corte Madera, and then during the first day of the Aperture workshop at Macworld SF, Raw was still the most popular topic among attendees. I imagine we're in for more Raw discussion at Wednesday's Apple Store event (in San Francisco) that features Mikkel Aaland, Harold Davis, Rick Smolan, and myself. (directions and details here.) The talk starts at 4:30 pm. The crux of what many want to know is why they should shoot Raw, what are its advantages, and how best to process the files? I'm happy about the interest... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 15, 2008 | Comments (0)

One of the problems with sharpening in Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom could be that you're not controlling what gets sharpened and what doesn't. For example, you may want to sharpen the buildings in a scene, but not the sky above them. Sharpening sky is a waste of time that only increases image noise. Same for portraits, you want to sharpen the eyelashes but not the skin pores. You may have more control than you realize if you use this simple technique in either Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom. Display your photo at 100 percent (this technique won't work... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 14, 2008 | Comments (0)

We think that Photoshop Elements 6 is one of the best values in Mac software (along with iLife 08). Adobe just announced Elements 6 for the Mac at a preorder price of $89.99 US and upgrade from $69.99 US. For those dollars you get a Universal Binary version of Photoshop that features many of Adobe's latest technologies such as Photomerge GroupShot, Faces, Web Galleries and improved tools for B&W and scrapbooking. Plus, you can even correct lens distortion. Here's what Adobe has to say: "New features based on proprietary Photomerge technology let users easily combine the best facial expressions... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 10, 2008 | Comments (2)

I was wandering around the The Florida Aquarium in Tampa last night for the Kodak-sponsored Closing Night Party at Imaging USA. Since it was a photography show, it's safe to assume that most of the attendees were shooters. I was amazed at how many people did not know how to shoot exhibits at an aquarium. So I thought it might be time for a refresher. This technique applies to shooting through hotel windows and portholes on airplanes too. Turn off the flash. (all it's going to do is cause reflection in the glass). Increase your ISO (for aquarium and... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 9, 2008 | Comments (3)

Rick LePage had managed Macworld Magazine, covered the photography beat for other publications, had more printers than I have cameras, and is now putting his talent into a new web site called Printerville. Rick says this about the site: "We love everything about printers, paper, ink and printing. We have been playing with them, writing about them, and using them for more than two decades, so we like to think we know more than a little bit about them. Of course, the world of printers is a big one, and we’ve chosen to focus largely on photo printers for... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 8, 2008 | Comments (0)

Regardless if you're using Lightroom or just managing files on your own, a good file naming convention that you can apply to your pictures on import will help you stay organized. In his Imaging USA session, "Organizing: Asset Management in Lightroom," Seth Resnick provided this tip. He created a preset in Lightroom to name his pictures logically when he brings them into the application: DATE_custom-name_sequential-number.file-extension So a file would look something like this for a shot he'd take today: 20080107_tampa_0001.cr2 I like his method, but use a variation on it. Instead of adding a sequential number after the custom... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 7, 2008 | Comments (1)

Lots of interesting stuff going on today at Imaging USA. I'm going to sit in on a Seth Resnick talk, "Organizing: Asset Management in Lightroom." I haven't had a chance to listen to Seth since he's moved from his management system to Lightroom, so this should be fun to hear how one of the DAM masters leverages Adobe's latest photo software. I'm also looking forward to Katrin Eismann's talk on "The Power of Camera Raw." Katrin has a new book out, The Creative Digital Darkroom that looks just great. I have a copy at home that I can't wait... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 6, 2008 | Comments (3)

Here's a fun project if it's miserable outside and you want to play with your photography. Find an old pair of corrective glasses for farsighted eyes, and make a do-it-yourself fisheye lens. You can read all about, complete with instructions, at Photojojo, (which is a great site anyway for a rainy day). Oh, by the way, this shot was taken with a Nikon 10mm lens, not a DIY fisheye lens... don't expect these results with your hack ;) Technorati Tags: DIY, digital photography, The Digital Story, fisheye... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 3, 2008 | Comments (0)

I've spent a lot of time lately backing up my portable drives, making sure my big drives are in order, and getting my photography act together for 2008. I've decided to close out my Aperture and Lightrooom libraries for 2007, and begin fresh libraries for 2008. I still carry my 2007 libraries with me on portable drives, and of course have them backed up in multiple locations. This is a great time of year to get your digital house in order. I cover more of this stuff in this week's podcast, Getting Organized. 2008 will be our best workflow... read more

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Posted by dstory on January 1, 2008 | Comments (0)

As of Jan. 1, 2008 on U.S. flights, if you pack a spare Li-Ion battery in your carry-on luggage, it has to be in a plastic bag or in the original packaging. Here's the verbiage from the Department of Transportation. Passengers will no longer be able to pack loose lithium batteries in checked luggage beginning January 1, 2008 once new federal safety rules take effect. The new regulation, designed to reduce the risk of lithium battery fires, will continue to allow lithium batteries in checked baggage if they are installed in electronic devices, or in carry-on baggage if stored... read more

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Posted by dstory on December 31, 2007 | Comments (7)

The topic of image noise often surfaces when we talk about shooting at high ISOs with compact cameras. Usually the conversation veers in the direction of trying to prevent the noise and devising workarounds toward that goal. But, is image noise always bad? When I was a film shooter, one of the reasons why I liked TRI-X B&W film was because of its grain pattern. I would often use this film in situations where I thought the grain would add an artistic element to the composition. Now, when I'm out and about, I'm carrying a Canon G9 as my... read more

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Posted by dstory on December 28, 2007 | Comments (3)

Winter presents some graphical opportunities for photographers with a keen eye. The combination of angled light with various forms of precipitation can make for some interesting abstract compositions. Now that you've captured snapshots of family and friends during holiday gatherings, turn your lens outward and see what you can find. This shot of lingering frost in the shadow of a chimney was recorded with a Canon G9. Photo by Derrick Story Technorati Tags: Canon G9, digital photography, The Digital Story... read more

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Posted by dstory on December 26, 2007 | Comments (0)

Sooner or later, it happens to us all. We have to pull together a nice gift for people we care about... at the last minute! We could re-gift, but somehow that feels wrong for this particular occasion. These folks deserve better. Something special. A handmade present. One of my most popular articles this time of year is the original Last Minute Holiday Gift Ideas. There are some good ideas there, so be sure to take a look. But wait... there's more. Custom DVD of a Family Event -- Nearly everyone has a DVD player these days, and most of... read more