2009 National Wildlife Photo Contest

I came across this amazing photography contest you all have to check out. If I wasn't having a baby in the next 2 weeks I would be jumping all over this. In fact, I might still enter...

You all have to check this out and you better let me know if you enter so I can watch out for your photos.

Even if you decide not to enter or if photographing wildlife is not your thing I still think you need to check out the 2008 Photo Contest Winners Gallery. The photos are amazing. I'm loving it!

Ready for Spring

This is a picture I took last spring but I can't wait for these blooming bulbs to start making their way through the soil again this year. I have had enough of this cold snowy winter and am ready for the spring flowers. Do you have any fun pictures portraying the beginning of spring?

Canon announces it's first Waterproof Digital Camera

How exciting!! Canon announced the release of their PowerShot D10 which will be available April 2009, and even more amazing it's suggested retail price is $329.99.

It's waterproof, freezeproof and shockproof with 12.1 megapixel resolution and 3x zoom lens.

This incredible camera is definately worth looking at, I think I will get one myself.

Click here for a fantastic review by dslrspot.net.

File Formats in Digital Cameras - RAW

File format RAW records images exactly as they were seen and the camera makes no adjustments to the size. It is sometimes called a digital negative because it is basically the pure digital image.

One neat thing about using the RAW format is that after you shoot an image and you decide that you used the wrong ISO setting when capturing the image you can actually go back into the image once it has been taken and reset the ISO speed. Cool huh!?

Another neat thing about RAW formats is that it is about 1/3 the size of a TIFF file. So it's still large but not ridiculously large. The only downside when using RAW files is that you have to have a image-editor on your computer that is capable of translating that type of file. Sometimes the camera's software has this or you can also find it with Adobe Photoshop with a certain plug-in.

File Formats in Digital Cameras - TIFF

TIFF stands for Tagged Image File Format. TIFF formats do not use compression in which they provide extremely high image quality. Because of this it can take more time for your camera to process a single image making the process a lot longer.

The TIFF format is great to use if you are thinking of making poster-size enlargements and using pictures for other bigger uses but for every day picture taking you may be better using the highest-quality JPEG setting.

File Formats in Digital Cameras - JPEG

The most widely used file format and the one most people are familiar with is JPEG. It was named after the company that developed it 'Joint Photographic Experts Group'. The fascinating thing about the JPEG format is that it can shrink the size of your digital files up to 90 percent. The only disadvantage is that it greatly reduces the quality of the image.

JPEG is great for snapping every day photos just used in the home, on the computer or emailing. It's best to use the best JPEG setting as often as possible unless you are desperate for more space on your memory card.

One interesting thing I recently learned was that every time you open a JPEG file on your computer and re save it again or even send it on through email it reduces the image quality. 

Rechargeable Battery Management

Now are the days of digital cameras and most come with rechargeable batteries. I have recently come across some fascinating information on how to properly care for your batteries. If you were at all like me you may have thought that all you needed to do was charge it, use it up and re charge again...

Firstly how long a battery stays charged depends on a few things. Things like zooming in and out a lot, constantly reviewing your pictures through the LCD screen and using your LCD screen instead of your optical finder to take pictures will drain your battery much quicker.

Extremely cold weather will also drain your batteries very quickly. Contrary to that, cold temperatures are only bad for the battery when it's actually being used. It is recommended to store charged batteries that are not being used in the freezer. Yes, the freezer! This will help the batteries to hold charge longer but you must let them warm up before using them in your camera.