Updated November 5, 2007. Here are practical advice and dollar-saving tips for digital camera photography (including scanners), whether you are just getting started or want to improve the quality of your results.

This file will be updated if there are truly significant changes to hardware or software. Significant means exactly that, not mere additions of dozens of new "features" that no one needs or uses -- but only help a vendor's ad Campaign. Hence "We have 47 more menu items than Brand X." Phooey, a printed manual that is easy to read beats a million features you cannot find or understand or need.

If you got to this file directly from my metalworking home page, return there by using your browser's back button.

BUT if you came to this file as the result of a Web search engine, see more than 70 additional files on my home page Machining and Metalworking at Home: http://www.janellestudio.com/metal/

ACME DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY PRIMER

(how to get started, then take effective photographs for the web -- or for any other reason, including personal enjoyment)

Table of Contents (TOC)

The Aims of This Site
Introduction
Convert Regular Prints, Film, and Slides for the Web
Selecting a Digital Camera for the Web
When Do You Need a Higher Resolution Digital Camera?
Critical Camera Features
Must-Have Camera Accessories
Digital Camera Photo-Taking Tips
Take Pictures in Your Workshop (or Studio)
Isolate the Subject Visually
How To Get Close to Your Subject
Lighting Tips
Support or Steady the Camera
Preparing Digital Photos for the Web or Newsgroups
Shrinking the Digital Copy's File Size
Give Viewers a Choice of Digital Photos
Website Bandwidth -- A Few Quick Words
About Different File Formats for Pictures
Photo Manipulation Software
Photoshop Elements Books
Elements 6 Is Here -- Do You Need to Upgrade?
Other File Formats Needed for the Web
Printing All Your Photos at Home? Not Me
Update Additional Comments November 2007
Copyright Notice
SAFETY WARNING

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The Aims of This Site

- practical advice on choosing a scanner and a digital camera and accessories;

- simple tips to improve your success with a digital camera;

- how to acquire good, appropriate-size digital images for the Web, particularly workshop-related but also for personal webpages;

- info for practical manipulation and improvement of photo files;

- guidelines for the appropriate use of text (extension .txt) and PDF (extension .pdf) files on the Web;

- and recently, more information related to digital photography in general, including producing quality prints inexpensively.

Introduction

Perhaps you're like me and have spent a lifetime with film cameras. Then along comes the Internet and its insatiable need for digital images to post on personal websites. Yikes. Got a whole new bunch of stuff to learn. But in many ways it is easier stuff. Just take it one step at a time.

You can use the info when assembling your own personal website, or just want to upload a few photos (and/or text) to a Yahoo newsgroup or wherever. You can convert existing photos, or learn how to use a digital camera. Hopefully you will also find some useful photo-taking tips on capturing machinery and projects, up close and personal.

"Hey wait a minute", you say. "Your site hasn't got a single picture on it. What the heck do you know?" True, this site was designed to be lean and mean without flashing ads, dancing penguins, or the overhead of bloated pictures. As of the date of this file's update, this site had about 11 Megabytes mainly in very compact text files and is close to my current target for this subject. No room yet for photos. Maybe a picture is worth a thousand words when describing supermodels, or a complex machine setup or jig, but MANY messages with IDEAS! will fit into the webspace of one picture. The logical place for photos is in one of Yahoo's many metal-newsgroups' photo sections, or on YOUR personal webpages.

My scanned regular film photography and digital photography appears on non-metal hobby webpages and was used for years when publisher of a now extinct newsletter for two radio control aircraft clubs. And digital images and graphics for a government agency and even a national magazine. And film photography as a life-long passion. Other separate lives, in only one lifetime.

Back on topic, looking at some websites, we soon see a whole bunch of other people who don't know much about the subject at all. Some common problems seen:

- digital photo files are way too big to see on the screen -- need a MUCH bigger desk for the mouse to scroll way over there;

- those same huge files take forever to load in the browser window;

- and Heaven help you if the site put dozens of full-size photos on the same page;

- then there may be added music to make the loading even slower;

- and some think animations, scrolling text, etc. are cool. [Not.]

Let's just establish an understanding up front. There are always better different(?) way$$$ of doing anything. What follows is some pretty darn practical stuff that will serve the purposes of the average home photographer on an average, or limited, budget just fine.

Maybe those more expensive ways will come down in price in future, as much tech stuff does. But bigger files will always obstruct a lot of people using the Web with 5 year old computers. Those users are still a critical part of the audience of any responsible site trying to reach out and help others. I have used top-end computers at home since 1986. The first few cost big bucks, so they only got replaced when absolutely necessary. My second-last one (bought when then $tate of the art) is 6 years old and still gets used on the Web when my new whiz-bang machine is back in the shop for repairs.

Those of you loving tools will appreciate the practicality of leaving some money for lathes, shapers, mills, accessories, other hobbies, ..... and perhaps even food. Try not to have to eat a cat ..... again.

Convert Regular Prints, Film, and Slides for the Web

(or to repeatedly punish ex-friends and relatives with large e-mails)

The tool needed here is a scanner. Like all tech toys, any model you buy today is "obsolete" within a couple of months. Surprise: today's (and even yesteryear's scanner) will do just fine for the Web which absolutely requires small image files.

If you don't have a scanner yet, first consider whether your use warrants a purchase. The need may be just occasional, say you just want to upload a few pictures from your workshop to help the guys in the atlas_craftsman group. Take your photos, or slides, and computer diskettes and a bag of donuts to a friend or neighbour's place. If they are really nice, they will make a set of files at the size needed, either during the original scan, or when cropped and downsized in a photo program. Warning: powdered or jelly donuts may be hazardous to the process; it's always wise to select donuts or spouses with due care.

If you need a scanner permanently, the choice will probably need more research on your part than you spent before choosing the items in the last sentence. Start with free material, magazines or books, at the library. You may be lucky enough to have a friend who has recently boned up on the subject for his own use, but keep an open mind based on your own research. Magazines may have a comparison chart comparing features of multi models. There are Web sites like CNET where you can compare scanner features and reviews, and read some brutally frank opinions of real scanner owners. Go to http://www.search.com/ and under Consumer Electronics, search for the word scanner.

Do yourself a Really Big favour and buy the book "How to Do Everything with Your Scanner Second Edition" [or newer if available] by Dave Huss, published by McGraw-Hill/Osborne, ISBN 0-07-222891-1. It will save you money in your scanner choice, or at least save you from buying the absolutely wrong one for your needs. It will also tell you more about scanning truths, and lies, and tips than I ever knew despite using a scanner for ten years. This book will quickly let you make excellent scans and learn to resize images properly. (If you don't buy this book, you may likely regret it.)

Only then go to a few computer/scanner outlets and insist on speaking to a sales rep who has personally actually used the models under consideration. Not surprisingly, some of the computer whiz kids know more than the manager. If the shop has a repair department, ask a technician for his experience with the various brands and models.

Don't buy more complexity than you need. Automated feeds of photos or documents are nice frills if you are going into heavy production, but cost more and may cause more breakdowns. Check into the price of the scanner light bulb; it may be worthwhile getting a 3-year extended warranty if that fee costs about the same as one burnt out bulb; in this instance be sure bulbs are included in the warranty. If bulbs are not included, don't bother with the extended warranty. The basic store or manufacturer warranty should protect against getting a lemon. After a year or so, you can probably get a brand new scanner with the same features for a drastically reduced price. I dislike the idea of a disposable item, but here do the math and make a practical choice.

Don't buy a scanner with more resolution than YOU really need. Yes, you will need the highest practical optical resolution if slides or negatives are going to be scanned. Slides and negatives need a scanner with an adapter, that has its own light source. Your whiz-bang 2400+ dpi (dots per inch) gazillion-colour model scanner will have to be throttled back to a lower setting for the Web. Or a higher resolution scanned image will need to have its file downsized severely in a photo manipulation computer program. (We'll mention some practical tips and advice about those programs later on here.)

Also carefully evaluate the features of software that comes with the particular scanner. Some are very basic and will soon cause you to have to buy a separate photo manipulation program. Some have bundled programs with more features. Look for a handy scanner feature where pages can be directly scanned into a single PDF file. You may, in any case, choose to do most of your after-scan photo manipulation with a separate program just because they will do far more than even the best program normally bundled with a scanner.

Once the scanner is home, please READ ALL the instructions before plugging it in. Some units have all sorts of hidden packing and taped areas to prevent damage to moving parts during shipping; make sure every one is removed. Install the scanner exactly per the maker's manual, taking into account your computer and its operating system.

Now try some scans using the manufacturer's default settings. You will often be surprised by the seemingly-low resolution specified, and the quality of the images at those lower settings.

Yes the really high resolution is best for tiny film negatives and slides; it is overkill for snapshots and the Web. Not to mention the bloated files that will quickly cause you to buy a much bigger hard drive.

For the Web, typically you are starting with a clear photo print of perhaps 4 inches by 6 inches from your neighbourhood film developer.

The maximum size image that will comfortably fit on a computer screen without most computer owners having to scroll to see it all is 800 X 600 pixels. If you scan your 4" X 6" print at a setting of 100 dpi, the resulting image will fit just fine. Try a scan at a scanner manual's default setting if under 100 dpi, and then another one at 100 dpi. Look at them both at full size on your computer screen and make up your own mind if there is any significant quality difference. Just don't go any larger for the purpose at hand.

If the pertinent part of the photo is smaller than the print, use the scanner cropping feature to keep the part you really want to show. Also reduces the file size.

If the photo is scanned from a slide or negative, use the highest resolution available for your scanner. Then make a copy of the file. Use photo software to shrink the Web copy's version to less than the max 4" by 6" size on screen at 100% (full) size, or never more than a maximum of 800 by 600 pixels.

Save the image in the JPEG (pronounced jaypeg) format with .jpg file extension. The image file size actually undergoes some compression when saved in this format, which saves both Web space and loading time without any significant loss of quality that anyone will notice for what we are doing.

Always keep the file size well below 100 KB. Under 40 KB (or smaller!) is better, if it still shows the pertinent details. We are trying to convey information to the group or website visitor effectively here, not win a photography contest under the scrutiny of a magnifying glass.

At least one group's moderator has categorically stated that if images larger than 800 by 600 pixels are posted without good reason, and specific permission, they will be summarily trashed. So much for someone trying to impress the group with a 2 MB file that quickly fills the group's very limited space; being called a *#%! would be a good thing compared to what moderators really say about them.

Now if you haven't bought that scanner book yet, you will need it for a zillion details and tips beyond my experiences covered here. Like how to use your scanner to take fine pictures of 3-dimensional objects. But no, not the red Chev truck.

Selecting a Digital Camera for the Web

(or how to go digital with the most fun, and least cost, without eating another cat)

Before losing you here if you don't yet have a digital camera, the cost can be pretty low right now for the camera you really need and will enjoy immensely.

All that research I told you to do about scanners applies in spades to digital cameras, because you will really revolutionize your photography, and bring back excitement and fun again. You will buy one, or eventually more, digital cameras.

I spent two years researching digital cameras before deciding on my first digital model. Since that first purchase, every camera was routinely obsoleted by its own manufacturer's bringing out a new higher resolution model with more features every very few months. Each new model cost less than its predecessor, and the "older models" were slashed in price. Today, next month, and forever, the photography magazines are still reviewing dozens of new models monthly, and muddying the waters for anyone trying to make a choice.

Here are some hard thoughts (practical facts in my opinion):

It is not wise to wait for a particular camera you want to go down in price (which it will someday soon) because you will not have it TODAY! to go on vacation or attend family functions or go fishing or record your insurables, or a hundred other uses. Pictures NOW and memories are priceless, worth far more than a few bucks saved.

The newest models have more settings and features that you will never, ever use.

The most complicated camera will spend more time in repair, and cause you to get mad sooner and chuck it, and then have to buy an even more complex one because they stopped making simpler ones. A never ending plot?

You will take 90% of your pictures just fine with the default automatic settings, which will NOT be at the highest resolution of the camera you just bought.

Even an older digital camera of 2 Megapixels will produce much better photos than you might expect. Typical 4" X 6" prints are great. 5" X 7" are fine (two will fit on one sheet of photo printer paper). 8" X 10" are okay. And you know you don't print or use or need many that size. Look at all the 8" X 10" school portraits in the bottom drawer in the rec room. How much wall space do you really have? Or hard drive space? Or CD-Rs by the hundreds?

Even with a 2 Megapixel camera, you will take most of your pictures at a lower than maximum resolution. Low resolution pictures look better than your TV or computer monitor can show when torturing friends after a vacation.

At any same max resolution, a good lens will take better pictures than the other camera. Sometimes a better lens on a lower resolution camera takes a better picture than a so-so lens on a higher priced, higher resolution camera.

Okay, without stringing you along or up, do your research. Two websites that I can highly recommend are:

Steve's Digicams which provides excellent reviews on new and recent models and takes pictures of the same subjects with each model, allowing you to see some startling differences in clarity when comparing models.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html

CNET where you can compare digital camera features and reviews, and read some brutally frank opinions of real camera owners.
http://www.search.com/ see Consumer Electronics, and Search for digital camera

When Do You Need a Higher Resolution Digital Camera?

If you actually need a camera that produces excellent near-film quality 8" X 10" prints, the original file must have a high enough minimum resolution of 300 ppi to print at this size. [Note: we are talking ppi, or pixels per inch, image resolution which is the key factor in the details quality of the final printed image. Do not confuse ppi with a printer's dpi, or dots per inch, as stretching a low ppi image to a larger physical print size will look poorly no matter what the printer setting is.] Needing 8" X 10" prints at 300 ppi translates to a camera of just 6 Megapixel capability.

There are many reasonably priced 7, 8, or even 10 Megapixel models available now. (Certainly a pro photographer already has purchased at least a 16 or 23 Megapixel adapter for the back of a medium format pro camera, or opted for a digital SLR with at least 10 or 12 Megapixels.) You will likely find that you cannot see any difference between the 6 and 8 Megapixel results when printed in the smaller print sizes; so the 6 Meg model may be what YOU actually NEED, at least for the next four years or so. The 6's take darn fine pictures.

One very good excuse for having a very high resolution camera (let's say over 6 Megapixels) would be for situations where: even with the highest power of optical zoom, the subject is still very tiny within the field of view. For example, in nature photography, you cannot get close enough to the bird to fill the picture frame. When you later crop and blow up the bird, the image of the bird is heavily pixelated (lots of jagged pixels instead of fine detail). If you had a higher resolution camera, cropping and blowing up the part of the image with the bird might still give an acceptably detailed picture.

Okay, there is another need for a higher resolution camera than the cameras we discussed above (that were better than good enough for our Web pix needs). If you have aspirations to write a magazine article with how-to pictures, such publications normally insist on higher resolutions for their submissions. Probably you will need a camera with 6 Megapixels or more to get the minimum resolution demanded. Using a camera with more pixels than the bare minimum will allow you the luxury of cropping a shot and still meeting the publisher's requirements. (Check with the particular publisher for their photo, and writing, submission requirements.)

If you thought a higher resolution camera than needed today is a good idea, be prepared to pony up big-time for storage devices. You got that high end camera and want to save original pictures as master copies at the highest resolution. That could be 8 or 10 MB or even much more. Then there are the copies of the picture that you enhanced in a photo manipulation program. naturally you saved the master amended copy at highest resolution with all its manipulated layers intact. Let's say another 20 MB. Then there are the reduced file size copies you sent to publishers or friends. Didn't need the spare bedroom anyway. Yes I'm exaggerating, but much less than you might think, now.

Getting a really high resolution camera when you don't need one proves you have more money than brains, or is that more cameras than machine tools?

Critical Camera Features

Three really really important things to look for in your final choice no matter how many Megapixels a camera has:

The optical zoom is 3 or more (digital zoom is flummery and irrelevant); be aware that too large an optical zoom range may result in some distortion of the image at extremes of the range; also zoom powers above 6 would benefit greatly from an image stabilizer feature in the camera to counteract hand or wind shake. The optical-type image stabilizers are the most effective.

You must see a good view in a large LCD screen in bright(!) sunlight. Many cameras' LCD screens are so washed out you cannot see enough detail to know if you are taking, or have taken, a good picture. Do not believe the reviews or the camera salesperson. Insist on taking the camera outside into bright sunshine to see for yourself. YES, SHOP ON A SUNNY DAY AND TAKE THE CAMERA OUTSIDE TO TEST THE LCD SCREEN BEFORE YOU BUY! A good salesperson will go outside with you and coach you about camera controls. If they are too busy to go outside, and hesitate to let you loose alone outside with this fairly valuable item, take a leaf from the car test drives and leave them a photocopy of your driver's licence as security. Or let them hold your kid for collateral. (You will bring back the camera and collect the kid right???) Or shop at a real camera store where they understand and appreciate the issue.

The camera allows you to change the default settings and remembers YOUR preferred new settings when you turn the camera on again. I was in an aircraft museum where the best pictures were obtained using natural light; my darn camera always reverted to auto flash when turned on and I had to cycle it to the no-flash setting again. In a museum that does not allow flash, it would not be hard to forget to reset the camera one time and get kicked out.

Must-Have Camera Accessories

(While actually making price comparisons and buying the model chosen, remember to budget for some "options" that are not in truth "optional".)

Immediately buy any of the following not bundled with the camera:

- compatible battery charger

- spare rechargeable battery or batteries (some don't last very long)

- a cable to connect to your computer to transfer pictures

- a small padded case to protect the camera and its spare stuff (one that has both shoulder and belt straps is very convenient; if camera cases are too large or too expensive, look at cell phone cases -- mine works great).

Immediately or soon afterwards buy the following:

A 256 MB or larger memory card ON SALE (naturally of the exact type your camera uses). The extra card should be even much bigger if you bought a camera with 6 megapixel or higher resolution. All memory is routinely on sale, so save some bucks here soon. The memory card with the camera is way too small to hold more than a very few pix. If you can negotiate a serious discount on a larger capacity card while purchasing the camera, all the better.

Be aware that too large a card is dangerous; if you fill it, you will have too many eggs in one basket, a basket that could be lost, stolen, damaged, or accidentally reformatted. While on vacation I spread my picture-taking between several cards. At home new pictures are transferred promptly and regularly to the computer. As blank CD-Rs are way under a buck each, the photo collection is regularly backed up. The new pix are first, and any space left on the CD is filled with another copy of critical pix and files. Yes that is a bit redundant but it sure feels good. A few times a year a new set of backup CDs is made and then stored away from home to be safe from fire or other disaster that might destroy the residence. You could keep them at work, a friend's place, or in a bank box if you have one.

A cable to connect the camera to a TV, to display images while still on holiday, or view at home without everyone crowding around a computer monitor; alternatively you can burn selected images onto a CD that can be shown on TV using a DVD player; but not all DVD players like all CD formats -- test before buying.

A plug-into-the-wall power supply for the camera to be used while transferring pictures from camera to computer; alternatively, make sure your camera battery is fully charged before starting such a transfer. The point is not to have a camera power outage during this sensitive process. Another advantage to the wall-power unit is if you plan on long sessions of indoor photography -- for example you are shooting dozens of household items to make an insurance inventory.

Truly optional is a card reader. Insert your camera's memory card into this device which plugs into the computer. The camera then is not involved in the transfer. Such devices can be for one type of memory card, or have slots for many types. The only problems I see with this gadget are extra (needless) cost, and the wear and tear on both the camera parts and memory contacts if frequently removing and replacing your memory card (which was always relatively safe if left in the camera). Many newer computers come with built-in card readers for multiple memory card formats; so this item may no longer be an issue.

Digital Camera Photo-Taking Tips

Don't try to take important pictures before you are familiar with the workings of your digital camera. If you have already used it successfully, just skim through the following paragraphs until you find something you have not tried. But if not yet familiar with your digital camera, just read more carefully and then engage in a bit of fun practice.

You did read the manual, right? Try taking some pictures at home while the manual is open in front of you. Just accept the default automatic settings. Nothing fancy.

Be careful to remove the lens cap and keep the front of the lens away from anything before you turn the camera on. Some cameras extend the lens pretty quickly and forcefully -- the lens could be damaged if it hits something during this sudden extension.

Get used to turning it on and off, and finding the major controls like zoom and shutter release while having your eye up to the viewfinder. Also get used to a delay between when you press the shutter release and the shutter actually releases.

Frame the view you want to take. Squeeze the shutter release and try to stay still until a full second after the click. (It really won't take this long, but this routine of holding after the click will save you from getting into the nasty habit some people develop of pressing the shutter and immediately moving the camera. Their all too frequent result: blurred or out of focus pix.)

If you find yourself physically wobbling or wandering off the subject during the delay, try bracing your elbows against your chest, frame the scene, and then hold your breath for the brief shutter period needed. With practice, you will get better at this -- until you can freeze still during the whole process without even thinking.

The digital camera's longer shutter delay is caused during the cumulative time the camera takes to calculate the light levels, focus the lens, and then execute the picture. You can considerably reduce the delay by learning to frame your picture, then press the shutter part-way so the light level and focussing gets done and locked (for as long as you care to hold at this point); then pressing the shutter the rest of the way takes the picture more nearly instantly.

[Briefly way-off topic. This same part-way-shutter-hold tip is handy if the subject is moving. Point at something else which is in the same lighting and at the same distance and squeeze the shutter release button to the part-way point to hold the settings. Now point at the moving subject and squeeze the rest of the way. If the subject is moving really fast, like a train, you prefocus and part-lock the shutter on something near the track before the train gets close; when the train is near the point where you want to take the picture, you swing the camera view along with the train as you squeeze the rest of the way, and follow through with your swing. The train will be pretty sharp and the ground will now be blurred.]

Okay, let's get back on topic to practicing our skills at capturing still objects, using the camera's default automatic settings, and as seen through the viewfinder. We'll take some photos of any immobile subject in the kitchen: saucepan, toaster, Winchester, Cold Steel Tanto, beer keg, brother-in-law, etc. (No one else has to know what You really keep in Your kitchen.) Just have fun.

Now take some of the same pictures using the large LCD screen which usually shows more closely what the final picture captures. Chances are the picture taken with the viewfinder is off center from what you expected. Learn how much you have to compensate left or right to get a full picture using the viewfinder when the subject is near the camera. As you get further from the subject, the viewfinder view captures a picture framed closer to what you think you are taking.

If framing a scene, and capturing exactly as much you need is critical, you will someday appreciate this practice when an important picture opportunity arises and there are only a few seconds to shoot.

Now go outside and take a bunch of similar pictures of immobile objects like Chev bow-tie, flower pot, empty beer bottles, other brother-in-law, etc. Using viewfinder, and then using LCD screen. Still not sure exactly how much left or right offset is necessary at different distances? Practice till you know for sure.

If you are wearing a hat with a brim, or hold the camera with your fingers too far in front of the camera, you will be amazed at how much of the scene is blocked in the final picture. Remember that the lens sees much more than you see through the viewfinder, and even a bit more than you see if using the LCD screen for taking the picture. Learn to prop your hat brim up, or turn it around (briefly), and keep all your fingers in close to the camera and away from the lens.

After any picture, check the result in the LCD screen. If not right, take another till it is right. (Now you can really appreciate why a good LCD screen clearly visible in bright exterior light was so important in our choice of camera to purchase.)

And all that practice didn't take a penny in cost. Hey this IS fun.

Take Pictures in Your Workshop (or Studio)

(information here works fine for pix of other crafts or hobbies)

Let's take some pictures of that neat toolholder that the guys (and gals) in the Atlas or Shaper or Sherline or Taig group wanted to see. [Alphabetical order slightly cuts down on the hate mail.]

For safety's sake, have ALL machine tools off and unplugged during this whole photo session. Machining is difficult and dangerous enough without adding camera stuff and distractions to the mix.

Clear the area around the subject of extraneous items that are not part of the photo story. And besides, we are going to pretend that your shop is less cluttered and curly-chip-buried than the reality. (You never believed any of the other folks' pix of pristine shops where there were horizontal surfaces not covered in junk. They won't believe your workshop neatness either; but let's not give them proof!)

Isolate the Subject Visually

One good tip is to pin/clamp/block-up a dull, monotone sheet of thin craft paper, or card stock or posterboard just behind the subject; if possible, it should also curl under the subject to provide a new, perfect background. It will also help to illuminate the back of the subject with soft reflected light. A light grey will work best to not affect exposure, but is inappropriate if the machine or subject is too close in colour to the background.

Experiment with different colours. Light to medium green works fine with grey machines or bare metal subjects. Light to medium blue works fine with green machines. Keep sheets of various colours from a stationery store on hand and pick the best one for your subject today.

You can also get short lengths of felt material in different colours from a fabric store; they drape nicely and make great backgounds for craft projects or fine tools or whatever.

Another way to isolate the subject is to place the background deliberately out of focus. This is easily done even with default camera settings just by placing the camera further away and using optical zoom magnification. Zoom settings have less depth of focus, so that only the subject is really clear. But this can be overdone if the subject is big enough to have some of its parts out of focus. Since this is a digital camera, where we see the results right away, we can soon change our setup to get perfect results at no cost other than time. And we are gaining valuable experience that will save time in the long run on other photo projects.

How To Get Close to Your Subject

Shots of really small objects or details come out best if you first do everything practicable to get the lens close to the subject so that it fills the camera view and is still in focus. Here you must frame the shot using the LCD screen.

See the camera manual for how close the camera can physically be to an object and still focus itself. You can also try a little closer. Just be cautious to turn on the camera first and let its lens extend before moving it within a few inches of anything you don't want to puncture the lens.

It may have a macro range, which in some models is still too far away to fill the frame with tiny stuff.

Some cameras do not have a macro setting but you may be able to approximate a macro-like picture's close-up by getting the camera as close as it can focus while using the optical zoom.

The fancier more expen$ive cameras may have auxiliary close-up lenses; now we must be cleverer than that for our simple, dirt-cheap purpose here.

I have an old cheap close-up lens (just a one-lens magnifying glass with a friction-fit aluminium frame) that fit a Kodak box camera from the 1950's. Held close in front of a small digital lens, it works surprisingly well to increase the image size and get my first basic camera in closer. The autofocus still works just fine. (And if it did not work, I would try setting the distance manually, if this manual focus feature were available on the particular camera.)

By logical conclusion, a reading magnifier glass held still between lens and subject should work pretty good. By golly it does. Yes there is a bit more distortion than using Brand X's super lens, but it sure is good enough for our subject and Web information needs here.

And if all that doesn't work to your satisfaction, just increase the camera's resolution from the default one we mostly use. The object won't be any closer to the camera, but in our photo manipulation software we will severely crop the image leaving the critical bit to fill the new picture. We then prepare and shrink the image's file to an acceptable file size in the usual way.

Lighting Tips

Chances are your shop lighting is fairly okay or you are already missing body parts. Now there's a flash in the camera which automatically fires during most default camera settings when light is limited, and this should be good enough, right? Wrong, it MAY work okay but you will only know by trying. If the flash washes out detail as it reflects off our bright metal stuff, then the built in flash should be turned off and the camera set to Available-light/No-Flash. I told you the manual would be useful.

Place one or two portable lights with regular light bulbs a couple of feet from the subject, but off to the side and behind the camera. This should give perfectly adequate illumination for our subject, especially if the subject is backed by the posterboard a few paragraphs back. Experiment. And take notes as to what works.

If you are going to take these workshop (or auction) pictures regularly, you might want to use a 3 light setup. The classic setup uses a light on a stand to either side of the camera and slightly behind it. Each light points at the subject and is far enough to the side so that it needs to be angled inwards roughly 45 degrees to shine directly at the subject. The third light is above the subject and slightly past it and pointing down. The position of this light (and the others if necessary) can be altered to eliminate shadows or glare/shiny reflections where such is a problem or objectionable to the detail you want to capture. Sometimes you want a particular shadow effect to bring out surface detail on your subject. Adjust to suit your needs, and take notes!

If the lights used give the picture a slightly different colour tone from reality, that won't matter for our purpose here. You could buy special photostudio bulbs; for our limited use, that is overkill. If your camera has a white-balance feature, it can be set to correct for the type of light you are using. (For example, it makes whites white and removes the blue tint given by fluorescent lights.) Some higher end cameras may even have automatic white-balance. If the final photo's colour tone bothers you, just use your photo manipulation software to make the tone more natural.

Support or Steady the Camera

The camera can be handheld but the clearest, most reliable photos will come from using a tripod in these carefully set up, almost photostudio situations. It does not have to be expensive but it should be sturdy and stable. Your new digital camera will not like a flimsy tripod falling over any more than your old film camera did.

Most tripod designs have extendible legs that lock at various heights. It is important that you obtain most of the height adjustment with the legs and not the central rod/stem (whatever you want to call it) that is directly screwed to the camera. If this rod is adjusted very far up from the tripod central structure, it may wobble. Normally it is the least stable part of a tripod's design, so keep it and the camera close to the main tripod junction.

An old trick to add mass to a tripod is to tie a cord to the underside of the tripod leg junction so that the cord is central, hanging down between the legs. Tie a mesh bag to the cord and fill it with weights obtained near the photo shoot (so you don't have to carry them with you all the time). On outdoor shoots, use rocks to stabilize against wind shake. At home use cans of pop, tools, whatever. Beer cans do not work well here as they tend to be(come) weightless.

In the old film days, these tripod shots were made even more steady by tripping the shutter with a flexible cable release that screwed into the shutter release button. Took human shake out of the situation.

Since most digital cameras (at least the kind we can afford) have no such option, we go to Plan B. When everything is perfectly set up, use the timer to trigger the camera with no shake. (Yes that feature is in the camera manual. Read it now; I'll wait.) Ah, you're back, and it turns out that your camera was obtained with corn flake boxtops and has no timer. Go to Plan C, where we still use the tripod and take the shot by carefully part-pressing the shutter, holding, stop breathing and freeze, then gently squeeze and follow through. (In this last case you probably have no cats left in your neighbourhood, but more shapers than anyone in the group.)

Actually we always take several shots and from several angles just to make sure we get some good ones, and have the luxury to choose the best. There is no cost in taking many photos and selecting few.

Yay digital.

Preparing Digital Photos for the Web or Newsgroups

Now that you have a number of pictures of the subject, you transfer them to your computer and select the best for the purpose at hand.

If the purpose is to post a picture to a Web metalworking group, say at Yahoo, you know the requirement is for a full-size dimension on screen of 800 by 600 pixels or smaller, and of an appropriately small file size.

Keep the original and make a copy with a different name. If the original is named "Toolholder 27", then the copy can be simply "Toolholder 27A" or whatever terminology you want to standardize for your own use. Sometimes more description is better. I like to spell out the stage of the work and add the date of the new copy to the title as in "Toolholder 27 Work Copy 06Jun2007".

If at any point you mess up a copy, you always have the original to copy again and start over.

If you want to save the file after a stage of much work on it, give it a new/amended name. Now you have several versions of the same file at different stages of work. If you ever get messed up during a later stage, you have the option of starting again at different points just by selecting the appropriate file version.

Shrinking the Digital Copy's File Size

Chances are you can use the software program that came with your camera (or perhaps the software that came with a scanner) to do what is necessary. If not, consider a new photo manipulation program as discussed later here. Take notes as to what you did and how things turned out. Next time will be much easier.

The first step is to fix any obvious problems such as brightness and contrast and colour tone. [You might think that cropping would come first, but you usually get much better final picture quality if these adjustments are done before cropping.]

Then crop out extraneous background material; cropping immediately makes the file size smaller.

Then shrink the photo so that its on-screen dimensions are appropriate in size, which is certainly 800 by 600 pixels or smaller.

The file size may still be too big. If 40 KB is a suggested maximum file size for one group's purpose, getting to 40 is not a licence to be lazy. Trying for smaller files is considerate, as smaller files will allow more folks to post their pictures. Keep going and try other file size reduction options.

The software also allowed you to choose the compression setting for the shrunken file. The terminology used by many programs is different, but most show you how big the final file will be as you toggle through the alternative shrinkings.

A file size well under 20 KB should be practicable and still give a good picture for our purpose here. If you go too far, so that the small file has lost critical detail, return to an earlier editing point (if the software will let you step backwards), or start over on a fresh copy of the original or an earlier saved stage. Will only take a few minutes if you kept notes as to what you did.

Most times adjusting, cropping, then shrinking picture dimensions, and then compression of file size should reduce the file acceptably.

If not there yet, possibly the camera used a default very high colour range setting that, while nice for portrait skin tones, is not necessary for the simple picture needed here. Try reducing the file's colour range to 256 different colours (8-bit), which gives a much smaller file size.

Take notes as to what worked, or did not work, for next time. Saves headaches and increases time left for real fun.

Give Viewers a Choice of Digital Photos

Now if your purpose was to produce simple project pictures for your own website, most of the above techniques will serve you just fine.

If there are a lot of pictures on one page, have the decency to place tiny thumbnail versions on the page instead. Beside each thumbnail image, write the size of the bigger file so people will know what to expect for time needed to download the larger picture, letting them consider their own speed of computer and connection.

Giving them the choice as to which, if any, of the larger images to view is common courtesy and makes a happy viewer who will come back again and recommend your site to friends and Web user groups.

Your photo or webpage creation software will take care of making small thumbnail versions, that you then link to the larger files stowed elsewhere on the site.

Please read the manuals for the software concerned until this all makes sense, and then experiment. You only really learn something by practicing it.

Website Bandwidth -- A Few Quick Words

Bandwidth for a website (typically measured monthly) is the site's total amount of megabytes in the files viewed or downloaded by visitors. Smaller pictures on the site will reduce the bandwidth significantly, and hence reduce the costs to keep the site in operation.

If you are looking to start a website, and are comparing sales packages of web hosting services, carefully examine the features of each web package. Usually the inexpensive packages have lots of storage space for your files, so you might think the cheapest one is plenty big enough for your site's needs. Caution. Make sure the monthly bandwidth is big enough. If your site has lots of big files and becomes popular, bandwidth use will explode and excess bandwidth charges will be billed to you. It is usually cheaper to get a package with more bandwidth included.

Until you get up and running for a while, you are only guessing as to your actual needs. Many service providers will at any time during a contract period allow you the opportunity to upgrade your package if you need more space and bandwidth and special features (or downgrade your package if you need less).

And don't be fooled by the "unlimited bandwidth" advertised by some providers. Likely somewhere in the fine print it says they can charge extra for "unusually high useage" or cut off your service when their unstated limits are reached. You probably will be invited to buy a bigger package.

About Different File Formats for Pictures

(Just a quick note about photo file formats and file editing quality concerns.)

Chances are the files you have been working with are jpeg (extension .jpg) as they came out of the camera. For the purpose of producing quickly edited Web postings, saving and resaving a few copies will not be detrimental to the relatively low quality and resolution needed for the on screen final picture.

The photo manipulation software and books will point out the danger of loss of detail if you repeatedly save jpeg files while working on them. Jpeg is a form of file compression that loses cumulative detail with every save. When your objective is to produce a high resolution, high quality print or file, then such cumulative losses may be intolerable.

The alternative strategy is to save your first working copy of the original camera file in a tiff or psd format that introduces no loss of detail. Typically you can then manipulate the file, and save all the interim versions you want (or have the space for, because these can be very large files), without any compression loss whatsoever.

Only when you want to produce the final file do you save it as a jpeg version, and at that moment introduce only one small and relatively insignificant loss.

Photo Manipulation Software

Your scanner and/or camera probably came with some basic photo manipulation software that will suit the most basic needs of improving less than perfect images.

Sometimes the easiest way to get a better picture is to simply retake the scan or photo. Kinda hard when the photo was from your holidays, or the scan was of a page you borrowed and returned.

So let's fix the picture, or at least make it much better.

The fact of life with photo manipulation software is that you often get what you pay for, which can take a lot of dough. And sometimes even then the product can be heavily featured but sadly lacking in ease of use or friendly, complete help.

I have used the most expensive high-priced illustration and photo software from several companies since 1988, and I now have a very critical opinion of some of the bigger and more/most expensive ones. Bloated, non-intuitive, and downright unfriendly to anyone who does not have the time, or commercial need, to master them.

Here is a simple opinion and suggestion that you can take, or reject if you do not have another program already.

Buy the relatively inexpensive Adobe Photoshop Elements in whatever version exists. (Version 6 came out in late 2007, but be aware that early users are experiencing some problems that hopefully will be resolved soon.)

It has a really good included manual (rare). It has a lot of inexpensive (relative to other computer software) third-party-how-to books that have tricks to emulate its high-priced sibling even closer. There are scads of websites offering free tips and tutorials and tools to use with Photoshop that work just fine in Photoshop Elements. Usually the only difference in a tip recipe is that a step that uses a Photoshop keyboard command has to be performed in Elements by mouse-selecting an item from a menu.

Don't get me wrong, if you really need a photo program for your technical job and time is money, then the full-blown Photoshop is likely the best way to go. For most of us hobbyists, Elements (Version 2 and newer) is more than adequate.

Those of you using and happy with other programs are certainly entitled to your opinion, and I am not going to debate this issue. You are welcome to put your money elsewhere, just do your research first. Personally I have a soft spot for companies (with good programs) that give upgrades either for free, or for a significant discount, to their registered customers that already paid for the earlier version of their program. Those companies are getting rarer nowadays, but some still exist. You can make that issue part of your shopping research.

Some very good alternatives to Elements include (in order of decreasing cost, but not necessarily power):

Corel's Photo-Paint or Paint Shop Pro;

Media Chance's inexpensive but powerful Photo-Brush;

and Google's free program Google Picasa that enjoys excellent user reviews.

Photoshop Elements Books

Dave Huss, who wrote that great scanner book mentioned above also has a very good book for increasing the utility and fun of Photoshop Elements. He also has a website with a routinely updated selection of his own photography showing what can be achieved using photo manipulation for artistic effect. You will definitely enjoy a visit to www.davehuss.com

Scott Kelby has written my favourite, "the photoshop elements book for digital photographers" (New Riders Publishing). He is also an expert on Photoshop, and shows some workarounds to get many of the same effects in Elements even if the feature is not present as a menu item. Fabulous, and very useful.

And if you do buy Photoshop Elements, see the hundreds of tools and tutorials invented by Photoshop artists that are shared on Adobe's website: http://share.studio.adobe.com/
Many, many of these freebies (other than Photoshop Actions, which are macros specific to Photoshop) work just fine with Elements (and some other photo programs).

And if you really want to see the power of photo software, before and after shots of attractive fashion models made beautiful are featured at Shan Canfield's site Shanzcan at: http://www.shanzcan.com/photoshopahol.html
under the menu item "photo retouch gallery". Most of her step-by-step tutorials for Photoshop are fairly easily duplicated in Elements Two or newer if you take it slowly and do exactly what she says, allowing for the program command differences. In Elements the equivalent command, but perhaps with a different shortcut or name, may be in an Elements menu. So experiment and have fun; the worst that can happen is that you get more familiar with your own software.

Okay, we got way off our workshop subject here, but the simple truth is that your digital camera is going to take lots of people and event and vacation shots. Now you also know that near miracles can be achieved using fairly simple techniques in good photo manipulation programs when an irreplaceable photo needs repair or improvement.

Elements 6 Is Here -- Do You Need to Upgrade?

In the fall of 2007, Adobe released Elements 6. It has some more [very few in my opinion] new features and like 3, 4, and 5 has a built-in photo album organizer. If you just bought a computer with Vista, Elements 1 through 4 will not work on it. Before buying Version 6, visit Adobe's site and read the forums on Elements. My impression is that early users are reporting a large number of problems with the program. If you already have Version 5, you will need an update to 5 before it will work with Vista.

If you already have Elements 2 or 3 or 4 or 5, I would opine that the upgrade to 6 is too expensive for what little extra you will get. By now you have learned how to use the program, and may have added some free plug-ins or learned techniques or bought books to enpower the basic program. Chances are you have another program to organize photos, or you are perfectly happy with Elements 2's ability to make folders and move/copy/edit/rename photos. Or you are happy with Windows Explorer [the file manager Explorer, not to be confused with their Internet Explorer Web program]. Under XP, Windows Explorer has a very handy view-thumbnails mode that can be used easily to reorganize, rename, etc. all your photos. Version 3/4/5/6 has a built-in photo album organizer. My opinion: save your money unless you only have a computer with Vista.

The desire to upgrade software every time a company announces a newer version is a human frailty that manufacturers prey on. My 20+ years' experience with software is that upgrades are not cost effective (do not give enough new bang for the buck). You will save money and not be significantly disadvantaged if you lock your wallet and wait for at least two upgrades from your version before buying again, if even then. For the Elements program, registered users of earlier versions usually get a small discount when upgrading, but still likely pay about a hundred bucks with tax on each upgrade. If you bought the original Elements 1, and upgraded each time, you now have about $600 invested in a $100 program. [Yikes!]

If you do not have a competent photo manipulation program now, then Elements 6 may be a reasonable choice once the early bugs are eliminated.

Naturally everyone who wrote a book to help Elements 2/3/4/5 users will update it to an Elements 6 version. Most of these books are not worth buying if you have the earlier version. Most of the contents are a rehash of the earlier book, with new photos to make it look completely different. If you are comparing such books, check the Table of Contents to see how many truly new tricks or features are included.

And most of the tricks in the later books will work fine with earlier versions of Elements, or other photo programs. The ones that do not work with your software (because you do not have a new feature available only from the upgrade) can often be accomplished via a work-around. Many new features are one-step shortcuts that can be achieved with other software in a few manual steps. Experiment. Your current program can do a lot more than you (or most magazine reviewers) think.

One book I can recommend is "50 FAST DIGITAL PHOTO TECHNIQUES with Photoshop Elements 3" by Gregory Georges (Wiley Publishing, Inc.) This book is well written, has lots of useful tips (almost all of which work fine with version 2), has a Web site for support, and includes a CD with the complete earlier version 2 book -- all for a price way under most books on Elements. A good deal -- an even better deal if you can find a used copy.

As of late 2007, a few Elements 6 books have appeared, and more will. The only things new in the program are a few features, and the books I looked at only differed from the earlier version's books when telling how to use the new features. Not a bargain if you have upgraded from an earlier Elements version and already have books with demos and tricks. They still work. And the few new features are all well described in the new program's included documentation or help file.

Other File Formats Needed for the Web

Okay bear with me for a few more minutes as there is more good info ahead.

You can see the power of the simple text file to share written information in a very compact format by looking at the various text files on this site. If they had been in a bloated format so that website addresses could be launched by clicking within the file and had more formatting features, the files could be double or triple in size. Not a good trade-off for a private, non-commercial site with limited space.

[More complex formatting would also have increased time needed for my daily chores after reading 100+ messages from several groups; and then selecting, editing, compacting, and simplifying messages for my files. The original messages are in a wide variety of layout; some need a lot of hand tweaking as it is. Have to save some time for family, work, metalworking, other hobbies, and fun.]

Similarly when you have written information to share in the files section of one of our metal groups, no matter what program you use to write the file originally, have the courtesy to save it in a plain text version for sharing. Then anyone with any computer and any browser and any software can open, read, and save it. They can also copy the text and insert it into their own reference files -- combining, shortening, editing, using smaller type, printing multi-pages on one sheet of paper, etc. etc.

If you do not yet have a simple, friendly program for writing new text files, or editing text files downloaded from the Internet, you won't go far wrong with many of the free text editing programs out there. My favorite, as mentioned on the home page here, is NoteTab Light. This is a freeware program available from Fookes Software at http://www.notetab.com Usual disclaimer, just a happy user.

There is a tendency for many people who personally own Adobe Acrobat (the commercial, paid PDF creation software), or have a copy at the office, to overuse this program and create PDF files when a text file is smaller and much more considerate to others. Yes everyone can download the free Acrobat Reader and read the files, but they are big and bloated for simple text content. And they cannot be edited by your average Web user, unless he too has the paid version and the originator allowed in the file properties for others to edit it.

Now there are times when the use of PDF files is socially acceptable here. A PDF file is a good choice when one of us is scanning an old brochure or old tool manual long out of print. It typically contains text, photos, diagrams, and exploded views or drawings. Today's scanners can save such a complex, multi-page document in a single PDF file that is efficient and relatively small for what it contains. Then a PDF file provides a real service to others needing help with the same old/obsolete machinery or other subject.

Just remember to respect copyright laws.

Printing All Your Photos at Home? Not Me

You might have noticed earlier that I did not go into the topic of printing photos at home. My personal experience is that colour printers are a waste of money. Yes they have come down from the over $3000 I nearly spent once on an early inkjet; fortunately I tested the output and the pix faded badly when exposed to bright light, so I did not buy that clunker. Later, prices came down and I used many models at work. Their pictures still faded badly. The ink cartridges clogged and wasted lots of ink being cleared, if they did not fail completely, long before empty. Now they nearly give printers away but you will have to cut back on food if you buy a lot of cartridges and special paper. (Yes paper and inks have improved, but their prices have soared. Archival photo inks and top quality, acid-free, specially coated photo papers are justifiably more expensive than bargain stuff.)

Phooey. I have mine printed at professional photography stores using the same machines that do the high quality film-generated photos. Saves me a great deal of time and money, especially for pix in bulk.

Note, I did not say just any old photo place -- such as the sideline operations found in corner stores. Use a photo store or lab that also does high quality prints from film -- the kind of place local professional photographers and keen amateurs frequent. The print may cost a bit more than a corner store version, but will be worth the difference if it lasts many years longer without fading.

TEST. If in doubt as to which store/lab makes a better product, choose two typical files and order sample prints from each store. Lightly pencil the store identity on the back of its two prints. Then shuffle the prints so you don't know which is which, and compare them face up. Place them in winning order, and then turn them over and record the source stores' order of finish.

Next wrap the same half of the same picture from each store with aluminium foil and tape to a south facing (or sunny) window, photo-side facing out. After a couple of weeks, compare them for fading and note the order of best to worst. (If there is no difference, you can rewrap and expose for another two weeks. If there is still no noticeable fading, the print will last for a lot of years -- possibly more years than you -- in its nice, safe, dark, acid-free album or photobox.)

Now you have a unbiased pecking order as to which stores produce the best prints and which have the most permanent prints.

"But," you ask, "doesn't that take away your control over the quality of the final output?" Not really.

If you want absolutely complete control of the final product, then sure, manipulate the image in a photo program until it satisfies you and do your own printing with a very good (not bargain) model printer, with archival inks onto top quality photo paper designed to work with your printer. Work away to your heart's content producing beautiful portraits or prints of special occasions. Special pictures, special handling. (And you might want to evaluate your printing results against the store prints from the earlier test. No cheating, print the exact same files. Hopefully yours are best and least faded.

But when you want to have prints of the 200 plus pictures you took on your recent vacation, the time and expense of doing all that printing at home can be excessive. You can still have quality control of the photos and get them printed inexpensively by that professional photography store.

Make a new working file folder on your hard drive and paste COPIES! there of all the photo files you want to print. (Just in case you change your mind as to which ones are worth printing, bring over working copies of every one of the say, vacation files. You can always eliminate unwanted ones later during your final decision as to which get printed.)

Use your photo program to examine and enhance and crop the working copies until you are satisfied. No loss of quality control there. Now make your final selection for printing and put those files onto a media type (memory card or CD or ...) that can be read at the professional photography store (ask first). Sometimes you can send the photos electronically, but if you don't have high speed Internet, or have more than a few photos, it is usually easier to deliver the files in person or by mail.

For home printing of text, letters, diagrams, plans, and reference material off the Web, B&W laser printers are ideal. These printers and their cartridges have dropped to very reasonable prices for home use. They have permanent output and use inexpensive, regular paper. They are also extremely reliable and long lived.

Update Additional Comments November 2007

(The file contents above have also been reviewed and totally updated where needed.)

So you just read the file and ask yourself whether the information is current because now it is late 2007 and hardly anyone sells 2 Megapixel cameras anymore, which are at the low end of cameras discussed here. No, your old 2 Meg cameras will still do all your holiday 6" X 4" prints just fine, and still be higher resolution than your new whiz-bang TV and DVD player can use. The owners of new higher resolution cameras can use every bit of the information here.

Even lower resolution cameras in cell phones are taking pictures that appear nearly daily on the TV news because they were actually carried by someone who chanced to be at a breaking-news event. Not too many people carrying 23 Megapixel 4-pound digital SLRs everywhere they go. Any camera small enough to carry everywhere, every day, beats an expensive clunker in the closet at home. (And yes you could have both. The clunker will shine when you take it on a special mission where you can tolerate its weight and bulk for the duration of your task.)

If you buy a higher resolution camera today with more features (that you really/probably/maybe will use) and a more pleasant dropping price, great. The photo tips still work. And so does the gotcha that more megapixels mean bigger memory cards and more back-up disks, and eventually more memory and faster processors for another new computer, which needs new programs with more new features (than all the old features -- that you never did learn how to use) and so on ...

You have the right at any time to say: "Stop the world, I want to get off -- here!"

Use this file's tips to be an informed buyer and competent user and get the most out of your camera. No matter how much money you throw at a new camera, it will be obsolete next month -- if you believe the advertising hype. Hopefully you will make up your own mind and enjoy your current camera for as long as it serves YOUR real needs.

If you have aspirations to elevate your photography to the level of serious amateur or professional artist, remember that money and the latest gee-whiz lens or hardware are no substitute for study and practice and a developing artistic sense.

Through practice, your technical ability as a photographer will improve. Solicit opinions and advice from those with similar interests. Just do not be intimidated by snobs or hacks with expensive cameras but little talent. Their photos may be perfectly exposed and meet all the usual technical criteria, but have they captured something greater than a pretty picture of a pretty thing? (Anyone can do that.)

A photographic work of art captures the soul. A great work of art can be created from common subjects, in the same way that some writers can create literary masterpieces from common words. Either it is great art, or it isn't. The particular camera or machine used is simply not relevant to whether artistic greatness is achieved. Development of an artistic eye, with time and practice, will triumph over mere gimicks and money.

Okay, we are really almost done. Longer, with pictures and more tips, would turn into a book and then I'd have to charge for it :-) There are more than enough good digital photography books and third-party-how-to books on photo software out there. Besides buying a few key reference books, save some money by reading your library's books. You can also learn a great deal from the many photography-help websites out there. People freely sharing knowledge is the greatest achievement of the Internet.

And do enjoy digital photography with the little-kid sense of wonder and adventure that you haven't felt in all too many years!

Best regards

Steve Bachanek
in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Machining and Metalworking at Home
http://www.janellestudio.com/metal/

P.P.S. Just joking about critters. No cats or roadrunners were harmed in the writing of this web page despite the best efforts of various local coyotes, who have now seen the light and become vegetarians and are preparing to write their life-changing memoirs and will likely get onto some best-seller list.

P.P.P.S. Some references here to metalworking machines may be a bit of a mystery if you stumbled onto this photography page through an Internet search. Be assured that the photography information here is equally useful to you no matter what your craft or hobby. And if you have become curious about metalworking, browse through my Machining and Metalworking at Home site. There are a lot of general interest subjects there (e.g. Rust Removal) that could be helpful to anyone.

Copyright © 2003-2007 Steve Bachanek. This file's contents are not to be reproduced by any means, including electronic, without written permission except for strictly personal use.

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