For some time, I have wanted to get a bunch of the Crappy Camera people over to my workplace for a night of photography. Most workplaces don't have a couple of mastodon skeletons, an Allosaurus, fossils of various kinds, dioramas, or mounted animals. Yup, I work at a museum -- the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. However, the research museum is not as photogenic as the Exhibit Museum in the same building, which is where the Ann Arbor Area Crappy Camera Club ended up on Tuesday evening. Amy Harris, the director of the Exhibit Museum thought it sounded like a great idea, and we had pretty much free rein of the exhibits from 6:30 - 9 pm. Twenty people braved a snowstorm to take advantage of the opportunity to bring whatever cameras they wanted, tripods, and in one case, a model. I also encouraged the attendees to donate $5 each for the Exhibit Museum, and $110 was a big surprise the next day for the Director.

The Ruthven Museum Building was completed in 1927, spurred by Alexander Grant Ruthven, the Director. He later went on to become the President of UM, and the building that now bears his name houses the Exhibit Museum, and Museums of Anthropology, Paleontology, and Zoology. It's the Exhibit Museum that people see, and is just generally known as the...

I was working on a logo for a project and decided it would make a good freebie for you guys. It's another web 2.0 style logo. Feel free to use it as you wish!



Download: Mediafire

Do you already master the art of taking photos without 'the red eye' syndrome? Have you taken pictures that could have been much better then they were? Even some professional photographers has this problem occasionally.

Here I'll give you a few tips helping you improve your picture taking, from being a beginner to becoming a more advanced digital photographer. It doesn't matter if you're taking pictures with your cell phone or a more advanced point and shoot camera.

One Basic Digital Photography tip is to carefully compose. Always pay attention to what's in the frame.of the viewfinder. See to that you fill the frame. Pay attention to what's behind the object, nothing else should decrease interest from the object.

Try to positioning your object to the side rather at the center of the photo. Also try to see if a vertical photo might be better than a horizontal shot of the same thing by turning your camera sideways.

Great Close Up. Normally your digital camera has a macro mode. A macro mode is like a super magnifying glass. A close up of something like a nice flower can bring out flavors that you never knew existed, and will make your photos more exciting to look at. Try out these features, you will find many new ways you can use to improve your photos.

Buy a Tripod Be very careful to hold your camera steady. Digital cameras are prone to make not clear photographs if your...

My first tip for taking digital photography for anyone whether they are beginning, or have some degree of experience is "don't be frightened of your camera". Get used to handling your camera so that you feel comfortable with it. Make sure you know where all the controls are, and familiarise yourself with their functions. This is one of the basic beginning photography tips that often gets overlooked as it is such an obvious one.

Once you are comfortable handling your digital camera and have learnt how to use all the controls and functions, my next tip for taking digital photography is to take lots and lots of pictures. The beauty of digital photography is that you do not need to keep every picture that you take. You are not paying for a long processing sequence like you would be if you were using a camera that uses rolls of film, so you can be a lot more extravagant when it comes to taking pictures. Plus you may just take a prize winning photo purely by chance, and any photos you don't want you can simply delete.

Another of the basic beginning photography tips that people often forget is to hold the camera steady. Again this may sound pretty obvious but it's surprising just how many of us forget this simple little tip when we rush to get a good photo. It is important to actually practice holding the camera so that you automatically steady it for every picture...

Olympus has introduced another tough digital camera with its Stylus 1030SW. They claim it can handle a drop from 6.6 feet, a dunk in water 33 feet deep, temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit, and crushing weight of up to 220 pounds. The 10.1-megapixel 1030SW improves upon its predecessor, the 770SW, with increased shock absorption capabilities, more resolution, a slightly larger LCD screen, and a longer 3.6x optical zoom lens.

Sporting a sleek metal body in a choice of Starry Silver, Midnight Black or Metal Pink, waterproof line-up to everyone. Waterproof to 3m, shockproof to 1.5m, and freeze proof to -10°C, this camera is ready for the bumps and bangs of everyday life. In conjunction with its tough exterior, the µ [mju:] 850 SW boasts a hearty 8.0 Mega pixels to guarantee the flawless capture of every detail. Digital Image Stabilization is also on board to reduce blur. For framing flexibility, a 3x optical zoom (equivalent to 38-114mm on a 35mm camera) gets you in close, and the large 2.5"/6.4cm LCD makes it easy to quickly preview and review shots. In addition, an LED Macro Illuminator is available for enhancing shots of close-up subjects during macro photography.
Shooting outdoors in bright daylight can be tricky because of the extreme contrast between dark shadowed areas and bright sunlit areas. While the human eye is capable of detecting the nuances between dark and light and all the details in between, image sensors traditionally have not been quite as sensitive. The...

Digital Photography Manual for the Beginner

You have purchased a digital camera, or are thinking about it, and are looking for information on digital photography. Maybe you are one of the skeptics that avoided an early adoption of modern dogital technology because you didn't know how to handle the camera or equipment properly.
Are you looking for information to improve your skills or just to learn that a transition to digital equipment is not very difficult? You will adapt easily to become part of the crowd.

Since the price tag of digital photographic products has dropped, the popularity has increased. Many people are looking for hints, tips and general information. Most people know they can point and shoot with a camera (or their cell phone) and produce satisfactory results. However most people are concerned about the learning curve of digital products. How can I get the highest satisfaction, enjoyment and quality out of the digital equipment.

One of the easiest features and greatest advantages for new and potential future users of taking snapshots with your digital camera, lies in the way you can easily modify and edit your photographs. However, digital camera software tend not to be very user friendly and always seem difficult to new users. The cost and quality of these software editing products may worry many of those interested.

Fortunately, you will quickly learn that photo editing software generally is as easy as ABC! Many good software packages and tutorials are available for...

After I got my first digital camera, the manual made me very excited with all the things promised. Picture editing, instant focusing, texturing and toning etc. When reading the manual it promised everything, it was few photographic things this camera was not able to do. I had big ideas about photographing every opportunity coming my way, from weddings down smaller events in our family, with top results.

However, it wasn't as easy as expected. All the functions promised in the camera was there, that wasn't the problem. It was more that I didn't know how to use the functions effectively. Easy, simple things like setting timers, zooming etc was no problem. Also some of the tone settings were quite easy to use. Then when it came to the more complicated stuff, I was at a dead loss. Even worse, my landscaping shots simply didn't come out as expected at all. Postcard kind of a shot was something I wanted to shoot, shots that would make everyone pick up the photo for a look, but all I was having were boring flat shots which didn't reflect what I had seen at all.
I wanted to be far more technically proficient with the camera as well in the hope of doing my art better. I checked a few local college photography courses, and thought that some of them offered what I wanted, but they were very pricy for me since this is only my hobby.

What I would want was...