Students Of Success

Firstly, in the spirit of thorough disclosure, I want to state that I possess quite a few cameras. They embody an assortment of companies. I own three Nikons, a Pentax, as well as a Kodak. I ought to confess that I am a little partial toward a specific brand, but I’ll try that it does not blur any editorial comments I might subsequently make.

look at a grand Canon EOS1D Digital Camera

In case digital camera sales are any indication of which the topmost brand was, then as per eBay.com Olympus would be a certain leader. Presently, this brand boasts of the distinction of having the most number of models in the listing of the ultimate cameras. This ropes in 3 amidst the 5 top ones. Following these are cameras created by Pentax. Kodak boasts of 2 cameras in the topmost 20. In the next spot are cameras offered by Minolta. Lastly, Agfa enters the picture owing to its own offerings. gpoz324

Going through a different website showed that Olympus led the line, followed by Fuji. The next in line is Pentax , which in turn is followed by Contax; and following these are BenQ, Aigo, Minoz, and Vivitar. A subsequent website positioned the cameras in the following way. The topmost was Olympus, at the seocnd spot was Sony, third came Kodak, and these were trailed by Panasonic, Fuji, HP, HoneyWell, Bolex, Yashica, and Leica.

By basically tallying these diverse outcomes, Olympus scored on top of the rest, Sony came in as second best, and in 3rd place are cameras offered by Kodak. All additional companies continue to contend for the top honors.

Your patience and money, that is.

The expected performance of digital camera batteries is often overlooked when shopping for a camera. Digital cameras are high drain devices so it’s important to know how many shots a fully charged battery will deliver. Having to frequently stop and change or recharge the batteries will definitely put a damper on a photo outing.

Digital Camera Battery Types

Digital cameras typically employ either a rechargeable battery pack or standard AAA’s. Most newer battery packs use lithium ion (Li-ion) battery technology. Specs vary but the better ones can be recharged in a couple of hours or less and will last through several hundred shots.

Many inexpensive digital cameras are powered by AAA batteries. This is extremely convenient since virtually every store sells these batteries. But even so called “super alkaline” batteries won’t last long, and replacing them quickly becomes an expensive proposition.

Time and Money Saving Battery Tips

If the camera uses AAA batteries, a wise investment is rechargeable batteries. Newer Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries are best. They are less prone to the so-called “memory effect” of older Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) batteries. And they last longer per charge than throwaway alkaline batteries. Just make sure to get quality rechargeable batteries rated 1600 mAh or higher. They cost a little more but are well worth it in the long run. Also buy a good charger and at least one extra set of batteries.

With a battery pack, unlike AAA’s, you’re pretty much stuck with the battery designed for the camera. There may be higher powered upgrade options, but it’s critical to check the specs for expected life per charge as well as professional reviewer comments. Even with the best camera and battery pack, at least one fully charged back-up is recommended.

Regardless of the battery type, a little research before you buy will save time and money plus a lot of frustration, making your digital camera experience more enjoyable.

Digital cameras information from A to Z: camera types & features, how they work, accessories, photo printers, comparisons and more - plus digital photo processing tips and info at A-Z Digital Cameras.com, Your Complete A-Z Resource for Digital Cameras, Accessories and Information.

This article may be re-printed in its entirety, with no changes and this resource box included.

© 2005 A-Z Digital Cameras All rights reserved

Nokia, as everybody knows, is now 1 of the earth’s most large fabricators of handsets and this is when compared to other leading competitors for example, Samsung & Motorola (as well as others). Nokia construct mobile telephones for each and every main sector and back in 07 Nokia was voted the most valuable global brand. Their commodities fall into four type of divisions - cell phones, multimedia, networks & enterprise solutions.

The cell phone revolution headed by Nokia would seem to be irrepressible. The thickset bricks made in the nineteen nineties for instance, the Nokia 2110 that was almost 236 grams have nowdays been superseded with light-weight, and slim phones for instance, the Nokia 6282 that comes in at a mere 115 grams or the Nokia 7380 that weighs only 80 grams. The phones all have the most current in communications jiggery-pokery along with a substantial fashion sense.

Deciding on a handset was in the past a manageable undertaking still, considering the products possible to everybody today, it becomes slightly harder. Potential buyers will often buy their handset with the thought of various features, - might it be a statement of fashion an object which makes people look wicked - or could it be just for the advantages that the telephones currently offer, for instance, e-mail & WAP, etc.

More technologies are also consolidating in Nokia handsets to allow the customer the occasion to communicate with more than only speech. Nokia telephones which include digi cameras are also becoming normal as is the facility to produce video and beam them to friends and associates through multimedia messaging. You can additionally get full color graphics on every one of their telephones and more than 1/2 are available with the facility to show WAP info (pages altered only for the smaller display on a mobile devices). Also obtainable is telephones which have radios & MP3 facilities just for listening to your favourite tunes. The cost of their mobile devices range from nil up to a few hundred pounds, it primarily depends about what one require. Find the phone that suits you with Nokia mobile phones..

Nokia, as was stated, is still the the globe’s top maker of cell phones, even though some think that Nokia’s number 1 ranking might be under pressure in particular by Sony Erickson. Even so, Nokia are backed by the advantage of a lot of of experience in mobile device assembly & has incredible loyalty from its mainstream consumers along with with their reputation only for reliability & user friendliness.

As new technologies become even more crucial in today’s telephones, the space between Nokia and all of its competitors will become additionally obvious.

For the truly mobile businesswoman out there, the facility to get online and employ the devices back at the office is a great plus. Now found in a great percentage of Nokia hand sets on sale today are Business Phones. These brainy pieces of high-technology empower you to get your data through internet browsers & e mail any of your customers and team mates. Indeed, your business phone performs in a similar way to a lap-top does, the difference is it is much less than half of the size.

Nokia, as they say, is all about connecting people. They also think that transportability makes firms better. Mobility gives people the facility to team up and transact business outside the conventional work environments and times. Nokia gives you a wide assortment of business devices. Each of the devices is targeted at various sorts of customer. I recommend checking out Nokia UK for business phones

Drawing on their business range Nokia offer four contrasting types of business handset. These are communicators, smart phones, messaging devices and mobile phones. Nokia business devices support solutions such as Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email. Nokia have done some research & it has been uncovered that employees employing wireless accomplished an average of an extra fifty five mins of work per day. This is expected to increase to about eighty minutes extra productivity per day by the end of 2007. Another advantage to exploiting their Business handsets is that they will save dosh for the business or even for yourself since you will not depend upon 2 different hand sets - people can have all they need in just one set.

Nokia’s handsets are superb for companies & for pros. All sets have great designs, they are all very compatible and also no problem to use, once you’ve used them for a while. The email functionalities are superb with support from Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Microsoft Office 97, 2000, 2003 & XP and don’t forget it works with the zip manager & Adobe Reader. Folk are able to send and receive emails throughout chatting on the telephone plus they may get the up to date calendar and the contacts data. The email facilities can also work in offline mode which means people are able to read & write e-mails when the internet is down.

Although the business hand-sets from Nokia are not all particularly petite, what people need to remember is they are good dimensions considering what they are able to do. Most of them come with a full keyboard and backlight, a large landscape screen and also a simple one press feature which accesses the e-mail function.

A business handset might not be for everyone but for the conveniences it will offer someone who will make use of the facilities, its definitely going to make their life much easier.

Nokia is a worldwide telecoms corporation, concentrated on the key growth fields of wireless & wired telecommunications. Nokia is now the planet’s largest constructor of mobile telephones, with a worldwide telephone hand set market share of roughly 38%. Nokia develops mobiles for every leading market sector & protocol. The company furthermore develops coms network equipment for applications such as mobile & fixed line voice telephony, ISDN, broadband access, VO IP & wireless LAN.

Nokia plays an immensely major role in the economy of Finland. Nokia is unequivocally the largest Finnish company, making up almost 0.3 of the market capitalisation of the Helsinki Stock; an uncommon position within a first-world country. It’s an important employer in Finland and various spinoff businesses have mushroomed into major firms as Nokia’s subcontractors.

Nokia expanded Finland’s GDP in excess of 1½ % in 99 alone. Back in 2004 Nokia’s quantity of the Finland’s GDP was found to be 3½ % and made up near to 0.25 of Finland’s exports in 2003. Back in 2007, Nokia turned over revenue that for the first time surpassed the state budget of Finland. This has led some to refer to Finland as “Nokialand.”

Finns have named Nokia (lots of times) a champion Finnish brand and employer. Nokia is known to be the fifth most valuable brand in the world in BusinessWeek’s Best Global Brands list of the twenty most admirable outfits on the plant in Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies.

Nokia’s Mobile division serves folk with mobile voice and data products around a vast variety of mobile devices. The aforementioned division undertakes to concentrate on primarily high-volume category sales of phones and devices, with consumers being the most important customer segment.

Nokia concludes that price, design, brand, and ease of use are the main-stream mobiles’ most critical considerations for customers. Nokia’s product back catalogue includes digital camera mobiles with great features like mega-pixel cameras and MP3 players that interest the mass market.

During the first quarter of ‘07 it sold in excess of 15000000 mp3 mobile phones, which means that it is not only the planet’s primary supplier of mobile phones and digital cameras (as the bulk of Nokia’s cellular phones feature digital cameras, it is also believed that it has lately improved on Kodak in camera production making it the greatest in the world), it is nowadays also the primary supplier of digital audio. It aims to sell 80000000 music phones by the end of 2007, outpacing sales of gadgets such as the iPod from Apple.

So you have this great new camera. Now you’re standing in front of a display of more film that you’ve ever seen. All you want to do is take some great family photos but you don’t know where to start. Here’s short guide to help you get started.

Film speed is a number that represents the film’s sensitively to light. The higher the number the more sensitive to light, in that the less light is needed to take a well exposed photo. The number is also an indicator of the detail you will receive from the negative. The higher the number the more likely that you’ll see a graininess to the print when enlarged. Film speed goes from 25 to 1600 speed film.

25 to 200 Best for still life and portrait work, in studio conditions where the lighting is controlled. This is not the film for family shots indoors even with a camera mounted flash. You’d really need a complete lighting set up to use this film effectively. 200 speed film is very good for outdoor sunny conditions when you’re trying to get a shot of a beautiful landscape. It offers excellent detail and color saturation.

400 Considered the all purpose film. Most films touted as all subject or general purpose are really 400 speed film. When in doubt use 400 speed film. Though you may still be using your camera mounted flash in room lighting conditions. Also good for outdoor conditions, will give you some flexibility in darker conditions and where you are trying to capture a moving subject.

800 to 1200 Made for capturing fast moving subjects in all types of lighting situations. People running, playing ball, etc. This is the film you want if you want to freeze frame the action of a baseball game. This film speed can be used for capturing fast moving wildlife, like birds, but you will see less detail if you enlarge above a 16 by 20 size.

1600 This film is for super high speed shots. Unless you shooting a car or boat race you probably won’t need this film. Don’t use this for nature and landscape images the lack of detail will be obvious in enlargements.

Most of the time you’ll only need a 400 speed film for basic snapshots. But it doesn’t hurt to use the other speeds for special occasions, you’ll notice a difference.

Copyright 2004 Kelly Paal
Kelly Paal is a Freelance Nature and Landscape Photographer, exhibiting nationally and internationally. Recently she started her own business Kelly Paal Photography (www.kellypaalphotography.com). She has an educational background in photography, business, and commercial art. She enjoys applying graphic design and photography principles to her web design.

1. Myth: Digital photos are pixilated or fuzzy.
Reality: most people that say that have never seen a photo produced by a professional grade digital camera. The quality of modern digital cameras is equal of greater than film cameras.

2. Myth: Digital photos don’t last they will fade in a couple of years.
Reality: Only the photo capture part is digital. The printing is done using traditional photo paper on the same paper and chemistry used to print film photos. So, both will last the same.

3. Myth: Digital colors are muddy.
Reality: Only if they are produced with cheap, low quality cameras and/or the photographer doesn’t know how to adjust them and process them for printing

4. Myth: Digital photos are dangerous; the photographer can lose your photos.

Reality: Nowadays most photos are stored using Flash Cards that is one of the most reliable forms of digital storage. After the wedding the photos are downloaded to the computer and additional backups are created on CD or DVD allowing several copies of the same event to reside on different locations. In the case that photos are accidentally deleted they can be recovered using software. With film there is only one copy. It is not uncommon for the photo labs to lose the film, damage it in the printing machine, process it in the wrong chemistry, scratch it, etc. Film also can be damaged in camera, be fogged, damaged by X-rays at the airport, suffer color changes due to heat or age etc.

5. Myth: Digital photos lack detail.
Reality: Only if they are produced with cheap, low quality cameras. It is not unusual for us to produce 30×40 inch prints from our professional grade cameras with stunning detail.

6. Myth: Digital is cheaper because there is no film.
Reality: Professional grade digital cameras and lens are very expensive. In addition the professional photographer has to invest on computer equipment and software to process the photos.

7. Myth: I got a digital camera that takes great photos now I can start a career as a wedding photographer.
Reality: Wedding photography requires that you have artistic talent and that you learn photography including composition, lighting, etc. A wedding is an uncontrolled event that requires technical and artistic skill. It is not the place to learn photography.

8. Myth: I don’t have to take care when I take photos anymore I can fix it later in Photoshop or other photo-editing program.
Reality: Garbage in and garbage out. There is no fix for badly composed photos, out of focus, bad lighting, etc.

9. Myth: Digital photography is easy now I don’t need a professional wedding photographer.
Reality: If you trust your wedding memories to somebody who doesn’t have the professional skills you are likely to be sorry or disappointed.

10. Myth: I am afraid that the photographer will do weird effects.
Reality: the purpose of the editing software is to enhance the quality of the photos. It is not a license to create weird stuff. Talk to your photographer about your expectations.

11. Myth: Digital will never be better than or equal to film.
Reality: Digital cameras are equal or better than film in terms of resolution color fidelity etc. and far superior in low light situations. The “film look” can be easily emulated using digital imaging processing techniques.

12. Myth: I got a bigger fancier camera with more megapixels than your so my photos will be better than yours.
Reality: Unless you have the technical and artistic skill the camera that you use will have minimal impact on the quality of the photos that you produce. A great camera in the right hands will produce great results. Some of the greatest photos in history were produced using mechanical cameras.

Juan Carlos Torres is a very respected and awarded wedding photographer in Oregon.
He has a Masters Degree in Remote Sensing with a strong background in digital image processing and photography.
He is a member of the several professional photographer organizations including the Professional Photographers of America,
the Professional Photographers of Oregon, the Wedding Photojournalist Association, and the Oregon Wedding Photo Guild.
His wedding photographs are unique and very artistic and have been featured in national and international magazines.
For a sample of his works please visit portland oregon
wedding photographer and eugene oregon wedding photographer
For a discussion on wedding photography see our Blog at oregon wedding photographer

A land without ruins is a land without memories—a land without memories is a land without history. ~Abram Joseph Ryan

Why photograph old barns? What is the best way to capture them? Are people really interested in them? Let’s face it; old barns have so much character. Here in the United States and especially in California, old architecture is not that prevalent. New buildings seem to be everywhere! Old architecture is constantly being torn down while new cities arise. Not only this, but storms and the passage of time take them down too.

Recently, as I drove by and admired the most beautiful old red barn, I was compelled to photograph it. The barn is located in New Castle, California. Since environmental photographers are at the whim and mercy of the landlords, I knew I had to photograph it before a demolition transpired or a storm destroyed it. I strongly believe that old barns enhance the roadside and remind me of oil paintings of old.

Photographing architecture with diffused lighting (without hard shadows) is a great way to capture barns. Barns are too big for fill flash, so the time of day, lighting conditions, and camera setting are pretty important.

When photographing a barn, look for the best angle. Try to get the barn to fill up the whole image. If foliage is growing up over the barn, photograph it. Try to remember, the closer the better. We want to see the barn. As it is, the image is small–try to keep this in mind. If you learn to shoot bold photographs, you will have more to work with after the fact. You will have a better quality image with more detailed information. Make sure to leave a little bit of room for cropping. You want to have to option to format the image vertical, horizontal, or square.

Barns are part of our environment and trigger our thoughts of fond historical memories. Ruins tell us about the people who lived here before us. Photographing historical places makes for great images for custom postcards and family albums. Always remember, people love barns. Take pictures of what people love.

Debbie Jensen, Graphic Designer and Photographer http://www.debjensendesigns.com

When it comes to simple basic Still-Life Tabletop Photography, as far as the novice ‘wanna-be-photographer’ is concerned there is often a mental block, when really it’s quite simple, so much so that if you start to do it professionally, after a few years the trick is to stay awake.

I asked UK photographer Phil Selfe why he sold his very successful studios a few years back and he answered, “I just got bored Rog”.

I remember when he was my assistant back in the seventies, I would set up the first still-life shot, then say to him, “Shoot off the rest Phil” and go out for the rest of the day.

Of course not all still-life is so mundane and in fact some still-life shots are very exacting, requiring careful planning, construction of the set and attention to lighting details, which would include running test shots to acquire the effect that was needed. Sometimes this could take a day or two to successfully complete.

If you were shooting room sets as I use to do some time back, this would require a lot more work and would involve the use of many assistants, carpenters for set building and in many cases taking days to successfully complete. You would also need some serious studio space to accomplish this type of specialist work, as I use to have.

But as UK comedian Ronnie Corbett would say “I digress”, lets get back to the basics of still-life tabletop photography.

For lighting you will need an attachment to your studio flash unit called a ‘Soft Box’. This is as it sounds, a box constructed in fabric, which is reflective on the inside, with a diffuse panel at the front, providing a directional soft defused light to illuminate the subject. An umbrella attachment is not sutible for this work as the spread of light is to wide.

If you don’t have a studio flash unit you can buy a soft box that will attach to a hammer head flash gun. If you have a second flash head you can put this to good use by simply bouncing it off the ceiling, to help fill any shadow area.

What you will need for Still-Life Tabletop Photography.:

1. Medium Format Camera and a ‘macro’ lens (close focusing). Better still a 5×4inch. View camera, which has tilt and swing front and rear panels for ease of focusing.

Did you know that only one in fifteen NEW cameras sold to day, are film cameras, this means there are great bargains to be had in the use film camera market, take advantage of that right now.

2. Soft Box Attachment.

3. Tripod, a good solid one.

4. Lighting Stands, you will need two or three.

5. White Card as reflectors or as a background, size 1mtr.x70cm. from your art shop, get three.

6. Background. muslin or material, off white or neutral in color.

7. Low table about 2ftx2ft. 18 inches high.

8. Light Meter for flash exposures.

What to do:

Set up your soft box at an angle of 45 degrees to the left or right of camera and slightly to the back of the set. This should be for small still-life objects and the light should be no more than a meter away from the subject, so you are able to stop down, (set the lens aperture), to at least f22, to get as much depth-of-field as possible so the image will be in sharp focus. If you have a second flash head, use it bounced off the ceiling to help to fill any shadow area.

Fix your reflector, (white card), the opposite side to the flash and an additional reflector the other side underneath the soft box.

Use a good lens hood, such as a bellows lens hood, to keep the light from the soft box hitting the lens. It’s also good practice to fix a small piece of black card, suspended over the lens of the camera to prevent any light causing flare from the lens, taking care that the black card doesn’t clip the picture area, or effect you meter reading.

Make test exposures to find out the best result and after some experimentation, you will find the results that you want. It’s also good to “bracket” your exposures, which means to make three exposures, one at half a stop, (f.stop number), above the reading and one at half a stop below, choosing the best density of the three exposures made. Most pro photographers, even after a tests, use this as standard practice. Film is cheap and digital is nothing.

Now if you think that there is some other ‘magic’ formula that the pros use to shoot simple still life, your WRONG. This is the most used pro photo still-life set up, but of course there many exceptions to the rule and not all still life work is table top.

Final comment: The best way to become an accomplished photographer in still-life or other work, is go work for one as an assistant. It’s the way most good pro photographers make it.

Happy shooting.

To check out the story and images about Still-Life Tabletop Photography go here: Still-Life Tabletop Photography

I’m from London. I started out in the days of the Swinging Sixties and London was quite a place to be. In those days we use to shoot catalog fashion shots with a 10×8 inch View camera, so the color transparency images would be the same size as the image on the catalog page, I have to tell you right now that took quite some doing. Now I spent most of my time with my website: Pro SECRETS of Money Making PHOTOGRAPHY, writing about and teaching photography, occasionally shooting assignments.

To check out more info about Still-Life Photography, go here: Pro Still Life PHOTOGRAPHY

So, you have taken lots of pictures with your new digital camera, the memory card is full, and you are wondering how to store and archive your images.

1 Buy another memory card

The method of storing your images with least effort is to buy a new memory card and keep your images on the first card.
Taking into account that memory cards are currently expensive, this seems a costly way of archiving the images. In the longer
term, however, there may be some argument for this method as memory card prices fall, which they progressively have. However
as time goes by the digital size of images (measured in megapixels) will increases partly offsetting this factor.

2 Transfer your images on to your computer

Most if not all digital cameras come with a cable for connecting the camera to a personal computer. The manufacturer has
probably provided software with that cable so that you can install the software on to your computer, connect the cable and
transfer images from your camera onto your PC. Don’t forget, if all else fails – read the instruction booklet! Once safely on
your computer hard drive, you can erase the memory of the camera and start taking new photos all over again. However do check
that the images have been successfully downloaded to your computer before you erase them!

3 Burn your images onto a CDRom

Many home computers are now equipped with a CDRom writer. This is probably the preferred way of archiving your images for
years to come. One word of warning though. Do not buy cheap recordable CDs – CDRs. Cheap discs are less reliable and we have
found some to be problematic. We have also found that rewritable disks – those that can be written once and then overwritten – do not work well in certain CD Drives. Best to use good quality write once CDRs and carefully label them, storing them in cases for protection. In due course CDs will be replaced by DVDs providing greater memory capacity as image files increase in size.

4 Store your images on a public web site

If you are connected to the internet you will be able to find sites on the world wide web which will store your images for
posterity. Furthermore, they may let others view your images, or restrict access to them by a password. Some sites charge for
this service. What the long term prognosis is for any of these sites is – well – who knows. But they might be useful in the
short term.

5 Print your images at home for viewing

You might want to put your images in an album to keep for yourself and to show family and friends. Photo printers are
available for home use – either from the manufacturer of your camera or from another. The convenience of being able to print
your own images at home immediately will be offset by the cost of consumables, which can be high, and the slow print speed of
many home printers. Further there has been discussion regarding the longevity of the prints made at home compared with
conventional prints made on photographic paper.

6 Use a professional laboratory to make photographic prints

A more practical way of printing your images is to take your camera memory card or a CDRom to you local film processor for
prints. You will be able to collect your printed images either the same or the next day and they will be photographic prints
with a very long life expectancy. The laboratory will be able to crop your images or enlarge the full image or a section of
it to further enhance your photo.

7 Put your pictures on to a photo gift

For a lasting memento, why not put your pictures into a frame or even get your laboratory to put them on a gist such as a mug
or mouse mat. Such object will have a long life and attract interest and attention. To see some of the possibilities when it
comes to photo gifts feel free to visit http://www.view-link.com/photogifts.html

Christopher Thomas is both keen photographer and company director of Viewlink Ltd based in Amersham, Uk. The company focusses on digital photo developing for both amateur and commercial photographers. For more articles by Christopher Thomas please visit the company website at http://www.view-link.com