All posts relating to digital photography, including both hardware and software. Tutorials and reviews are the most common types of posts.
I have written several posts regarding backing up your data. I have mentioned many different forms of media that you can use to keep your data safe. Over the past four months I have been using an online backup solution called Mozy.
While I have written about Mozy in the past, I will sum up my experiences thus far with using the online solution, including the pros and cons of using Mozy.
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My first digital camera that I bought was a Canon G2 in 2002. I liked the camera because it took great pictures, included a rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery, and was able to take RAW pictures. When my G2 broke, I was provided with a Canon S3 IS because of the warranty. The S3 in itself is a great camera, and includes some features that the G2 didn’t have, like the the TTL (Through-The-Lense) viewfinder.
The one option that I do miss, however, is the ability to take RAW digital photos. I always liked editing my images before printing, and RAW photos allowed me to do that better than JPEGs. Recently I stumbled upon a utility that will allow my S3 to take RAW photos as well as change other previously unavailable settings.
I was recently at the park taking pictures of my oldest son on the swings. As I took the pictures, I noticed another person doing the same with members of his family next to me. I stood and watched for a moment as he became disappointed when his pictures came out blurry, and he eventually gave up.
Taking pictures of kids on the swings requires a bit more effort than simply taking pictures of a stationary individual. As I watched the man, I thought about the many settings on his camera he could change to take the picture he was hoping for. I will talk about those settings in this post.
In my last post I talked about my method of backing up my archived photos. I discussed the various media I used to ensure I will always have at least one copy of every photo.
I have talked about my workflow with regards to archiving in other posts, but I feel I should provide a new updated version of the workflow. In this post I will outline the steps I use to create, backup and edit my archived photos.
I have been scanning and archiving old family photos in order to help preserve them for the future. The first set of photos are the only copy of each photo available so they were chosen first for archiving.
It is important that when you archive photos that you create a system for backing up your files so you won’t lose them. I have created my own system that should ensure I will always have a copy of each file I archive.
I do quite a bit of scanning whether it be slides, negatives, or printed photographs. For slides and negatives I can easily scan multiple items at one time. Scanner applications are able to save each image to a separate file with slides and negatives.
Scanning multiple photographs is a different story. Many times people would scan multiple photos in at one time and then manually separate them. My scanner software can do that, but with automated settings only. Photoshop includes an automated action that can do this for you after the scan, and straighten your photos automatically.
I have written several posts in the past relating to digital photos, and more specifically JPEG files. I have talked about the differences between JPEG and RAW files. In one post I also compare JPEG and GIF files, and provided examples to illustrate when to use a particular file type. The JPEG and GIF post also listed the settings I used to get the resulting image in Photoshop.
When you save an image you are provided with many options to optimize your image for size and appearance. In this post I will describe each of the features associated with JPEG files to hopefully help you make a better decision.
I have written several posts on image formats, their advantages and disadvantages. The one thing I haven’t really discussed is when to use a particular format over another. Depending on that type of image you have will determine which format you should choose. Most people may just choose JPEG, however, there are many times GIF may be more suitable.
I will explain when to use either GIF or JPEG with images using examples and comparisons between the two formats. Hopefully this post will help you make a more educated decision.