Just another photo from my 365 project this year

First of all, I just wanted to mention that today is the last day of February, which means that March is just around the corner, and that means it’s time for a new theme over in the iffles.com Monthly Themes group on flickr! And what is that theme, you ask? Transportation! Cars, buses, planes, bikes – anything you take to get from one place to the other… or however else you want to interpret the theme.

Also, I hope you’ve all gotten a chance to check out all the photos that have been submitted to the 50@50@50 group. It’s full of people’s 50 photos taken with a 50mm on the 50th day of the year, and it’s quite inspiring! I have yet to edit and post my photos, but I hope to get to it at some point this week.

What I have found some time to do, though, is read about photography on the internet!

• Christopher F is a photographer I discovered through the iffles.com monthly theme group on flickr and I was excited when he started his own blog. I especially liked his list of 10 things he wished he knew sooner – such good points!
• I can’t say I’ve done much online photo editing, but if you do, perhaps you’re interested in these 5 free online tools for photo editing.
• Tired of noise in your photos? Check out these tips for reducing noise without using software.
• I shoot in Av mode 90% of the time, but there a whole lot of other options on my mode dial… what about yours? Want to know what they are and why you should or should not ever use them? Check out how to translate the mode wheel.

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One of the articles below talks about photographing your pets - and here's one of mine - Maia. This photo is also part of my October Photography project

For those of you that don’t follow me on twitter or flickr, you might not realize that I’m doing a project for the month of October that involves taking and posting a photo every day along with a quick tip. The photos are on flickr, and the tips are being tweeted as well as posted on flickr. If you don’t want to follow daily, just wait until the end of the month, and I’ll post all 31 tips over here.

I had an opportunity to take some Senior Photos this weekend, so I’m busy editing those at the moment… in the mean time, though, it’s been a while since I’ve shared some of my favorite recent photography articles.

• There’s a lot of articles out there telling us what we should be doing as photographers… but here’s some of the things you shouldn’t be doing.
• Neon lights can make for some pretty interesting photographs, and here’s some tips on how to get some good ones (via the Epic Edits facebook page)
• I’m not sure how many of you guys reading this are into both photography and rock climbing, but even if you aren’t, I thought this tips on improving your rock climbing photography were interesting none-the-less.
• I love my two cats just as much as most pet owners love their little furry friends, and if you have some of your own you’d like to get some good photos of, check out these tips for photographing pets.
• Thinking of buying some used gear? Check out this checklist for buying used cameras and lenses on craigslist and tips for buying camera gear on ebay.
• I don’t usually post links to videos, because I usually don’t even take the time to watch them myself, but I found this one on what National Geographic thinks makes a great photo to be really interesting.
• All of these post production tips for striking landscapes can be done in Gimp! Hooray!
• The Senior pictures I just took? He was not a camera-shy guy. But if he was, these tips for photographing a camera-shy guy might have come in handy!
• I am lucky in that I’ve never lost any of my photos by accidentally deleting them, but someone else has, and recovered them – here’s how (for the record, I’ve heard of a couple different programs to use to do this, but I have no personal experience with any of them).

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Have I posted this before? I just can't remember!

My work project is finally done! I will soon post the July and August from the iffles.com Monthly Themes Group on flickr, but also wanted to remind you guys that September’s theme is Shoes!

Since I’ve been too busy to post lately, I’ve also been too busy to read as much as I usually do. I’ve been trying to catch up in the past few days (though, there’s no way I can catch up with everything I typically read), and I thought I’d share some of my favorite recent posts from other photography sites with you:

• If you’re still trying to decide whether to shoot in RAW or not, check out this post from Ronan Palliser that might convince you to try it!
• Still from Ronan, it’s pretty impressive that he was able to take a photo of a flash just the flash itself as the only light source. Inspiring!
• I feel like I post a lot of links to posts about composition, but I can’t help it, I just find composition rules inspiring, so check out these 5 elements to compose great photos. Oddly enough, I read another article in my massive catch-up that had the exact same title (some overlap, but they’re not all the same 5 tips).
• Speaking of 5 tips, here are some for adding flavor to your landscape photography.
• Here’s some tips for emphasizing the subject of your photo.
• If you’re really looking for something to read, check out these 100 helpful photography tutorials. I fully admit to not reading them all.
• I just recently bought a polarizing filter (so recent that it hasn’t even been delivered yet), so I found the timing of this introduction to them quite convenient!
• The two most common questions I get asked by people who just bought their first DSLR are “What camera bag should I buy?” and “what is the first lens I should buy?”. I have a hard time answering the first one (because I think it depends on the purpose of the bag), but the lens one is always easy – a 50mm prime. And if you don’t already have one, perhaps you should check out this introduction to the wonderful world of the 50mm prime.
• PetaPixel has created something pretty awesome – a list of your rights as a photographer printed on a gray card set.
• Ever wonder how people get those perfect images of things falling into water? Well, now you can find out!
• It was really nice to see a post-processing tutorial on PetaPixel that featured Gimp! Check out how to get a warm cross-processed look!
• My favorite type of photography is probably landscape. If you feel the same way, you might want to check out landscape photography for the serious amateur.
• I’ve never attempted taking photos at a concert, but I still found these concert photography lessons quite interesting!

I will be back soon with those July and August photos!

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Just a sumer-time photo. f/4.0; 1/1600sec; 24mm; ISO 200

July is over and August has started up. You all voted over in the iffles.com monthly theme group on flickr, and reflections was the winner, so that’s what August’s theme is. Even if you’re not playing along with the theme group, there’s still some links here to help get you inspired in whatever you’re working on photography-wise.

• A friend of mine recently got his first DSLR and I was try to explain the relationship between Aperture, ISO and Shutter Speed to him, as well as how to use the exposure meter in the manual modes of his camera. I should have just saved him some time and pointed him to this article instead!
• I actually don’t look at a lot of professional photographers’ online portfolios… but when I do, many of the things on this list of Online Photography Portfolio No-nos do, indeed, bother me.
• Got a tough lighting situation? Maybe you find the cure on this Three Nightmare Lighting Conditions article
• For a lot of us, it’s now summer time – a great time to get outdoors and shoot before the weather turns cold again. Not sure what to shoot? Check out this list of 10 things to practice shooting in summer.
• I know a lot of you are in the middle of a 365 project right now, so you might need these tips on staying on track with such a project.
• The best way to become a better photographer is to keep on taking photos. If you feel you’ve hit a creative block, check out some ideas on how to keep “swimming” (via Your Photo Tips)

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This really has nothing to do with any of the links, just a photo I've taken recently that I like!

First of all, the winner of the pro flickr account celebrating the one year anniversary of iffles.com was Bouncyczech! You should be receiving an email with your flickr pro account code. Either enjoy it yourself, or pass it one – whatever floats your boat!

And now for some links that you might find interesting!

• I love black and white photos, but even I make some of these mistakes with your black and white photos.
• You all know how much I love flickr, right? Well, read someone else’s perspective on why flickr is a great tool for nature photographers
• Just a few days before iffles.com celebrated a one-year anniversary, another favorite photography site of mine celebrated its one-year. So hop on over to the discerning photographer for a list of top ten posts you may have missed over there!
• Have a prime lens you love as much as I love my 50mm? Check out these 7 tips for shooting with normal primes
• I’ve mentioned before that I don’t have much of a desire to become a professional photographer. But I know that’s the ultimate goal for many of you. So, are you good enough to go pro?
• A lot of these things didn’t apply to me since I shoot more landscapes than people, but it was still an interesting list of items to bring on a photo shoot
• Ronan Palliser gives two tips for shooting in bright sunlight – improvise with fill light or find some shade

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f/4.0; 1/20 sec; 105mm; ISO 1600

Above is one of my photos from a wedding John and I recently went to as guests, which is a topic of one of the links below.

• I’m all about free software, so here’s a list of 32 free software solutions for photographers.
• Whether or not you plan on breaking into the portrait photography business at any point, you will probably take photos of people at some point, so you might be interested in these 8 lessons learned from a first attempt at portrait photography posted on DPS
• Ronan Palliser recently wrote a four-part post about taking photos as a guest at a wedding. Be sure to read the rest of the posts, too!
• For a completely different type of photography, check out these 11 tips for landscape photography.

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f/29; 20mm; 1 sec; ISO 100. One of today's links is about shooting waterfalls, something I haven't had much luck with in the past

You may have noticed I’ve decided to change the name of these link entries from Weekend Links. I have accepted the fact that I’m just not very good at always getting around to posting them on the weekend. Oops.

As a reminder, later this week, I’ll be going through the iffles.com Monthly Theme Group on flickr to pick out my favorite photos from April – People photos! Now, I haven’t finished editing/uploading all of my April photos, but I’ve decided that not everyone is as far behind as I am, so it’s probably safe to start selecting the photos now. If you still have yet to post for April, you better get to it! And don’t forget that May’s theme is colors!

• Ronan Palliser shares some options for shooting in low-light situations, like aquariums.
• I know I’m a little late post this – as you only have until Sunday – but if you haven’t seen it already, DIY Photography is doing a contest right now for an amazing bunch of prizes. check out the Bag O’ Goodies!
• I’m planning on take a short trip in the next few weeks where I will stop to see one of my personal favorite waterfalls (Taughannock Falls), so these 7 tips for photographing waterfalls just might come in handy!
• Lightstalking is asking if you can do these 7 things on your camera without looking – it’s an interesting look into the types of things that should become second-nature to you the more you get comfortable with your camera.
• This article about simple steps for shooting amazing silhouettes is actually older than my last Weekend Links post, but I don’t recall posting it? I apologize if I did. Perhaps my organization system for link posting isn’t quite as good as I thought it was…

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f/4.0; 1/2000; 24mm; ISO 200

I figured since my trip to Washington DC was partially to blame for the lack for Weekend Links posts lately, that I’d throw up the first photo I’ve edited from the trip so far.

As you may have noticed, we’ve started the month of May already (April just flew by for me, I don’t know about you). Which means that next week, I’ll be posting my favorite People photos from the iffles.com Monthly Themes group on flickr. May’s theme is colors – which is a nice broad topic, which should be fun. However it inspires you, feel free to enter them into the group! The only rule is that the photo must be taken sometime this month.

Now for the links!

• I wish I’d read this list of 10 easy tips for great travel photography before I went on my recent trip to DC!
• Color plays an important role in photography, and you can use it to create strong compositions. (found via Epic Edits)
• Speaking of Epic Edits, they recently posted 7 more tips for extremely wide angles – and since my wide angle lens is one of my favorites, I found it to be a good read
• As photographers, we obviously all have our camera out a lot, right? Well, sometimes it’s good to know when it’s time to put the camera away.
• I can’t vouch for any of these, because I’m not into podcasts at all at the moment, but phototuts+ listed 6 useful and informative photography podcasts to check out if you do the whole podcast listening thing!
• It’s so hard to avoid photographing a flower, isn’t it? But sometimes I find it hard to capture the true beauty of what I see in front of me. Here’s a great article about the art of flower photography that might help.
• The title of this link really speaks for itself: The Definitive List of Online Photography Magazines. So, if you’re looking for anything else to read, you should probably check it out!
• I prefer shooting outside in natural sunlight, but obviously we can’t all do that all of the time, so it’s important to read up on what every photographer needs to know about indoor lighting conditions.
• My favorite kind of lighting articles are ones that show before and afters when adding lights into a photography situation, much like this flash-lit friday article from Ronan Palliser.

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f/4.0; 1/50sec; 73mm; ISO 400

As promised, here’s the Two-weeks-In-One edition of Weekend Links! I almost didn’t get around to posting again because I bought a Droid Eris this weekend and to say it’s been a bit distracting would be an understatement :)

• Sometimes you don’t have a DSLR with you (or maybe you don’t even own one at all), but you find some flowers you’d like a photo of. Here are some tips for photographing wildflowers with a point and shoot.
• And if you don’t have that DSLR yet, here’s a great ultimate guide for buying your first Digital SLR.
• Ronan Palliser recently posted his workflow for processing wedding photos in two parts (here’s Part One and Part Two) – even if you don’t photograph weddings (I don’t!), you might find it an interesting read, especially if you find yourself often photographing large quantities of photos in a short period of time (like photowalks or on vacation). No one person’s workflow is the Best Workflow, but it’s always interesting (and informative) to read someone else’s.
• Are you new to photography and you often hear people throwing around words like aperture and telephoto, and you’re not quite sure what it all means or what you should be looking for? Well then, check out these 20 questions and answers for new photographers!
• I know photography can be a pretty addicting (addictive? I can never figure out which is correct.) hobby, and you often find yourself buying more and more stuff, but here are 5 reasons why you should minimize your camera gear. Really good list, in my opinion.
• Are you in a bit of a photography lull and are looking for some inspiration? Well, here’s a list on how to find some.
• There are a lot of things that go into getting a great photo and having a successful photoshoot, and often you’re so caught up in the moment you forget to do things like check to make sure you’re using the right ISO. Check out this article about photography checklists to help make sure you don’t miss anything again.
• Those of you doing a photowalk project this year might really find this article on capturing hidden natural beauty interesting. Well, even if you’re not doing photowalks this year, you still might! (this article is the one that inspired my posting the pink flower for today’s list – as you can tell most of the flowers on that bush were still buds, but I was lucky enough to spot the two that were just starting to open up, so I had to do some creative maneuvering in order to capture that hidden beauty)
• Looking to make a little money off of your photography without becoming a professional portrait or wedding photographer? Check out these 12 places to sell your photography.

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f/1.8; 50mm; 1/40 sec; ISO 400

The last link today talks about how sometimes you get some really great shots when you don’t plan for them or think much about them – which is exactly what the above shot was for me.

Also, as a reminder – there’s a just a few more days left in March, so be sure to get your black and white photos submitted to the iffles.com monthly theme group on flickr! April’s theme is People – this one is going to be a challenge for me, actually!

• Steve Berardi over at PhotoNaturalist gave another reason to use a tripod (other than for sharp photos), and it’s something I’ve never really thought about, but is so true!
• I think I’ve mentioned a number of times around here that I haven’t ventured very far away from natural light, and honestly, I find the multitude of photography lighting resources to be a bit overwhelming, which is why I haven’t taken the time to sit down and try to sort through them all. But over at Epic Edits – they did! Check out these 20 resources that will get you lit.
• Speaking of lighting, Light Stalking posted these 7 basic things about flash photography.
• If you’re more like me and into the natural light of the outdoors, perhaps you might also be interested in these landscape photography resources that were posted on The Discerning Photographer this week.
• There seems to be a theme of light going on this week, because Ronan Palliser was talking about light and landscape photography – specifically on dealing with patchy light situations.
• Ronan also reminded us this week that sometimes, the best photos are the ones that require the least effort.

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