Suggested Starting Equipment:*

1. DSLR camera. Having this immediately will greatly improve your chances of getting it SS & IS
2. Best Glass you can afford. A combination of 18-55, 50  and 55-250 range will get you started.
3. Desktop Computer with the fastest internet connection you can afford: Broadband, Cable etc.
4. Adobe Photoshop
5. External Computer Drives for Storage and Back-Ups. Terrabyte drives have come down to less than $135
6. Large Monitors for your desktop. Larger the better. Be sure and calibrate them.
7. Tripod
8. Extra Batteries for your camera
9. Large CF or SD memory cards for your Camera. Have at least two. Faster the better.
10. External Flash

*If you are on a shoe-string budget it is possible to make substitutions. It is also possible to go without some of these depending on what you shoot. However, having these pieces of equipment from the start will save you many potential headaches in the long run.

Best of Luck !

My Referral Links to Top Producing Microstock Photography Websites:

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery.mhtml?id=144463

http://www.dreamstime.com/Mwp1969_info

http://www.istockphoto.com/mwp1969

http://www.123rf.com/profile_markpayne

http://us.fotolia.com/partner/200479231

http://www.bigstockphoto.com/?refid=HW16kzhvJX

Midstock Photography Sites:

http://www.mostphotos.com/mwp1969

Our Website:

www.PayneImages.com

It’s Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. That means there are some spectacular deals available out there on name brand electronics and optics. You can fight the crowds at the malls, or shop online from the comfort of your home. Here are some great deals we found on Amazon.com.

Canon SX20-IS Digital Camera, $349.00 The Canon SX20-IS is an amazing still and video camera for the price. It takes still images up to 12.1 megapixels, using a 20X optical zoom. As you’d expect from Canon, it offers built-in image stabilization and outstanding color and contrast. But here’s what makes this camera special — it shoots HD movies in 16:9 (wide) format, plus SD movies in standard 4:3 format. And the movies are stored to an SDHC memory card, which you can easily transfer to your computer. Heck of a camera for $349.00 with FREE Shipping on Amazon.com.

Canon PowerShot SX20IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch Articulating LCD

Samsung 10″ Netbook computer, $339.99 (Windows XP) This is the netbook used by your Editor. It has a very sharp screen and a battery rated for 9 hours. I’ve been able to get about 7.5 hours run-time from the battery. I really like this unit because it has a great keyboard (probably the best in class) and a rubberized shell that adds to durability. The built-in networking is excellent (it automatically logs on to nearby Wi-Fi hubs), and this computer isn’t stuffed with useless “bloatware” you have to remove. Note, if you want/need Windows 7, look for another brand, such as the latest Toshiba.

Samsung GO N310-13GB 10.1-Inch Midnight Blue Netbook – 9 Hour Battery Life

Manfrotto 410 Geared Head, $196.99 If you have an expensive spotting scope, this geared head is well worth the money. It permits you to make precise elevation or tracking (horizontal) adjustments without getting way off target. With most tripod heads you have to fiddle with a bunch of controls to move the scope, but then it usually goes too far and you have to start all over again. With the Manfrotto 410 head you can move the viewing point smoothly, in very small increments. Want to raise your view up 1 MOA at 1000 yards, without touching the horizontal position? No problem. Once you get one of these geared heads you’ll wonder how you lived without it.

Manfrotto-bogen 410 Compact Geared Head with Quick Release – Supports 11.1 lbs

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We are thankful for our home, which is very cozy and safe. We are thankful for our family. We are thankful that Whitey has come to live with us, even if we do have a little rumble every now and then!  

We are thankful for all our friends in the Cat Blogosphere. Even more so because you continue to visit us even when Mom has been so busy remodeling the Swamp before we all move there that we can not visit as much as we normally would.

We are also thankful that this little kitten is about to celebrate his/her first Thanksgiving in his/her new home! Tripod is already starting to play and has been purring up a storm!

And tomorrow, we will be hoping that we are thankful for some Turkey!

We wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I was browsing the Gitzo tripods website this morning and found The Vintage Collection.

It is a genuine replica of Gitzo supports with the classic logos. And what can I say about the case? It’s simply a must have!

http://gitzo.com/cms/site/gitzo/cache/products/special_lines/sl_vintage

What can I say. I’ve just not been feeling the sculpture vibe for the last year. However, thanks to a kick in the ass and a bit of time looking at Ernst Haeckle etchings, I’ve got my sculpture on again.

And this is just the first one. I’ve already got two more completed.

The other thing I want to do is find a way to make a porcelain lamp. I’ve got one attempt already, but I’m not sure I like how it turned out. I’m probably just going to reclaim it and start again. … no, I AM going to just reclaim it and start again. I learned a few things which is good. I’ve never really tried to work with lighting so this is a real learning curve for me.

I don’t know what people think about the story of the Amityville haunting, whether it’s true or not, but check out this picture that was taken during an investigation of the house. It appears to clearly show the face of a small boy peering out of a doorway. The investigators at the time had set up a camera and tripod to photograph the same area every so often and that is what they caught on film. When the image showed up the investigators said that no children were present during the investigation. It is thought that it could be the spirit of John DeFeo, who was 9 when he was killed in 1974 (see pic below right), along with his parents and most of his siblings, by older brother Ronald DeFeo Jr. He now sits in prison serving 6 life sentences and the current owners have stated repeatedly they have no problems with the house. Personally I don’t believe the stories of it being haunted, but the picture below still gives me the chills. Thanks for reading.

Photography is all about light.  Three controls affect the amount of light reaching the camera’s sensor: aperture, shutter speed and sensitivity. Each one also has a creative impact on the image.

And now for the fun bit.  Some smart folks have divided each of these three controls into “stops” as shown in the following table. Each stop up doubles the light. Each stop down halves the light. This allows the photographer to change the creative effects while maintaining equivalent exposures.

The following four images have equivalent exposures.

With the above tools and some knowledge of artistic composition, you are on your way to great photos. Now go and have some fun!

PURR REQUEST! Our awesome friends and neighbors at the Swamp just rescued this 4-6 week old feral kitten. Tripod will need his/her right rear leg amputated in about a month, once he/she gains some weight and strength. It has 3 nasty breaks in it – there is no way to know when or how it happened, but it can’t be saved. Fortunately, Tripod CAN be saved!

Welcome to your new home, Tripod!

When shooting in low lighting without a flash, it may be convenient to have a tripod to mount your camera on.  However, if that convenience is not available, all is not lost.  There are several tricks you can implement to keep your photographs from the dreaded blur.

The first thing you can do is find somewhere to set your camera to take your shot.  Most likely, you may not have a surface to set your camera on.  So the second resort is finding somewhere to prop your arms, such as a rail or cabinets.  This will help you hold your camera still to capture your shot.  The first photograph below of the House of Blues in Dallas, Texas was taken using the latter technique mentioned.  I propped my Nikon Coolpix on the rail to steady my shot.

As a side note, you want to be careful when you push your shutter release with your forefinger not to move the camera while you are squeezing the shutter.

Another thing you can do is to lean against a wall nearby with your trigger arm leaned against the wall.  The second photograph below was taken by leaning against the doorpost of the entrance to the House of Blues’ restaurant.

If there is absolutely nothing around to prop on or prop against, the last resort is using your own body to prop your arms against by pulling your arms close to your body.  The last photograph shown below was taken using this method because I wanted to have a closer shot of the artwork in the House of Blues at an angle and did not have any anchor handy to prop against.

So in low light situations, have no fear!  Steady does it by finding places to prop your arms or body.  Take multiple shots, and there’s a good chance you may come out with a beautiful, blur-free shot!

This post is the second in a series of reports on the 2009 Mushing History Conference. Click here for the first report in this series, which included the presentations of Tim White and Carol Beck.

Denali Park Kennels Display Panels

Conference organizer Tim White had procured the wonderful display panels on mushing history from Denali National Park, filled with historic images and explanations of sled dog travel down through the ages. The panel shown here, titled Native Sleds – Form and Function, for example, shows several types of sleds such as an Athabaskan Buckskin Toboggan made of bent wood covered with skins, “ideal for traveling through the deep snow and narrow trails of Interior forests;” a “Built-up sled by Fred Akmalik of Tulugak Valley,” with the explanation, “Heavy runners and a raised bed held up well when traveling throughout the arctic coast of Alaska.” There is an illustration of the heavy Greenland-style sled, which could be pulled by either dogs or a snowmachine; and a “Siberian Yupik hauling sled made of whale baleen and walrus hide line.” The bottom of the panel shows a Malemute Eskimo Family in 1878 with their large sled.

Kevin Keeler

The third speaker on Saturday morning at UAA was Kevin Keeler, Administrator for the Iditarod National Historic Trail, which commemorates a 2,300-mile system of winter trails that first connected ancient Native Alaskan villages, opened up Alaska for the last great American gold rush, and which now plays a vital role for travel and recreation in modern day Alaska.

Kevin brought a wealth of information, beautiful posters, booklets, flyers, and other materials to share with the conference attendees, and he explained how January, 2008 marked the 100th anniversary of efforts to open the now famous overland route from Seward to Nome, and to commemorate this epic achievement, January 2008 to October 2012 has been designated the official Iditarod National Historic Trail Centennial.

Kevin also gave a powerpoint presentation which provided an overview of the history, route selection and development of the Iditarod Trail, the sleds and types of teams used, discussed the variations in routes, trail marking, a few of the old roadhouses, and explained a bit about what’s being done to preserve and protect the current day Iditarod National Historic Trail.

One of the many resources available free from the BLM Alaska site for the Iditarod National Historic Trail is a downloadable PDF of the beautiful and informative full-color, 24-page Visitor Guide, which details the route, the history, and the current projects along the trail. Of special note are the numerous easily accessible sites of interest along the present-day trail, especially between Seward and the Mat-Su area, and the wonderful old historic photos and interesting descriptions:

Sled designs proliferated, with manufactured sleds joining the ranks of toboggan-style handmade sleds. Most every sled at the turn of the twentieth century was equipped with a “gee pole.” The gee pole was a stout pole lashed to, and projecting from, the front of the sled, which the driver could use to leverage and steer the sled. Most dog drivers still did not ride the sled, instead running beside or riding skis or a sort of early snowboard between the dog team and sled. Riding the sled-runners was used only by drivers of light and fast mail and race teams.

There is also information about the Iditarod National Historic Trail at Iditarod100.com, the site for the Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance, including a full-color PDF of a four-page flyer detailing the Centennial Framework, with additional details from history:

For the past century, wooden tripods have been placed at close intervals along treeless sections of the Iditarod Trail to guide travelers safely through blizzards. A 1912 article titled “Trail Making in Alaska” described how Colonel Goodwin, leader of the Alaska Road Commission expedition to mark the trail from Seward to Nome, constructed the tripods:

“…tripods…consisted of three sticks of timber each, two of which were eight feet long and the third ten or eleven feet long. They are so fastened together that the longest of the tree sticks projects two or three foot over the others and directly above the trail.”

The same design is still in use today, with volunteer groups and public land managers working to provide these safety markers over hundreds of miles of the trail.

Next: The presentations by Rod Perry and Linda Chamberlain. Still to come: Joe Redington Jr., Jane Haigh, Jeff Dinsdale, Chas St. George and others.

This post is the second in a series of reports on the 2009 Mushing History Conference. Click here for the first report in this series.

Photographed by gadl

Oblique mercator "projection" of this equirectangular panorama.

La caverne aux livres is a secondhand bookshop in Auvers-sur-Oise (30km to the North of Paris). The entrance of the bookshop is an ancient railway hangar, but from there you’ll quickly find yourself in an old postal train whose cars have been reconverted into giant bookshelves.

– License

Das Monopod mit iPhone erinnert ein einen Golfschläger

Nachdem es bereits Objektive für das iPhone gibt, rückt nun das nächste Photo-Accessoire für’s iPhone nach: Die Firma XShot hat ein iPhone Case im Repertiore, das an ein beliebiges Stativ montiert werden kann. Ich bin noch nicht ganz dahinter gestiegen, wie sie das mit dem Fernauslöser hinbekommen haben, aber vielleicht bin ich einfach auch noch nicht auf den Selbstauslöser gekommen.

Das Case von XShot für's iPhone lässt sich an Tripods montieren und kostet 29,90 USD

Für 29,90 USD kann man das Case derzeit vorbestellen - ist doch was nettes für den Wunschzettel and den Weihnachtsmann!

If you have a thick back, anyhow.

So I lost my ceramics job. It’s been rather depressing, especially because the studio my job was in is in the same building my personal studio shelf is in. AaaaWwKward. Anyhow, I generally like my former boss, and I would love to have the job back (an actual possibility, as I lost it due to lack of orders for the studio) I’m trying to keep down the bad feelings about how the boss handled things and treated me. Or at least out of the public eye. Still, I want to cry a little every time I go past the door. Its going to be a while before I can (sanely) talk to my boss again. I really loved that job.

I’ve never had a job I loved before.

In the meantime I’m redirecting my angst and seasonal depression into more productive things. Like therapeutic hole poking. I’ve got a tripod that is very largely influenced by Ernst Haeckel etchings that I’m a little in love with. Different types of holes on this one, they’re bigger and less clean. Yet more clean. Hard to explain, I’ll just have to go take a picture tomorrow to show you.

I also think that the change in light bulbs is really helping me. I’m using full spectrum florescent, mostly in combo with warm florescent, but I spend time in my bedroom every night with just the full spectrum ones. I feel less inclined towards addiction and escapism (which has been my major symptoms of depression in the past, since I buried all the bad feelings in game playing and book reading. It is kinda’ OCD.) I’m still pretty sensitive emotionally, but not as out of control as I usually am at this time and the bad feelings don’t cling and seep into my pours like the usually do. Well, except for the lost job, but even that seems a bit more remote and less in my face than I expect.

I’ve also been re-familiarized myself with the best motivation for getting on the job-search ball: Looking at your bank account and credit card bills. Damn.

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Tamrac 5515 Adventure Zoom 5 Camera Bag Holster Case (Gray) + Tripod + Accessory Kit for Canon Rebel XSi, XS, T1i, XTi, 40D, 50D, Nikon D40, D60, D5000, D90, D300, D700, Olympus Evolt E-30, E-450, E-520, E-620, and Sony Alpha A200, A300, A350, A700 Digital SLR Cameras Review

Tamrac 5515 Adventure Zoom 5 Camera Bag Holster Case (Gray) + Tripod + Accessory Kit for Canon Rebel XSi, XS, T1i, XTi, 40D, 50D, Nikon D40, D60, D5000, D90, D300, D700, Olympus Evolt E-30, E-450, E-520, E-620, and Sony Alpha A200, A300, A350, A700 Digital SLR Cameras Feature

• KIT INCLUDES 3 PRODUCTS — All Brand New Items with all Manufacturer-supplied Accessories + Full USA Warranties:
• Tamrac 5515 Adventure Zoom 5 Camera Bag Holster Case (Gray) PLUS +
• Precision Design Deluxe Camera Tripod with Carrying Case +
• Precision Design Deluxe 6-Piece Lens & Digital SLR Camera Cleaning Kit
• Internal Dimensions (WxDxH): 6 x 4.25 x 7 inches

Tamrac 5515 Adventure Zoom 5 Camera Bag Holster Case (Gray) + Tripod + Accessory Kit for Canon Rebel XSi, XS, T1i, XTi, 40D, 50D, Nikon D40, D60, D5000, D90, D300, D700, Olympus Evolt E-30, E-450, E-520, E-620, and Sony Alpha A200, A300, A350, A700 Digital SLR Cameras Overview

Kit includes:
♦ 1) Tamrac 5515 Adventure Zoom 5 Camera Bag Holster Case (Gray)
♦ 2) Precision Design Deluxe Camera Tripod with Carrying Case
♦ 3) Precision Design Deluxe 6-Piece Lens & Digital SLR Camera Cleaning Kit

The Adventure Zoom 5 holds a digital or film SLR with a zoom lens up to 4½” long attached and ready for action. The front pocket features Tamrac’s US-patented Memory & Battery Management System, which uses red flags to identify fresh memory cards and batteries from ones that are used up. Side pockets are perfect for carrying a cell phone and additional accessories. An EasyGrip carrying handle, adjustable, removable shoulder strap and belt loops in back provide convenient carrying options. An additional Windowpane-Mesh pocket organizes other small accessories. A smooth nylon pocket in the lid holds lens-cleaning paper. Add Tamrac accessories to the Strap Accessory System (S.A.S) attachment slots to customize the bag.

Get maximum image quality and avoid camera shake with this lightweight and sturdy 57-inch tripod, supplied with a fitted carrying case and strap.

This 6-piece cleaning kit contains everything you’ll ever need to properly clean your lenses, including a Hurricane Air Blower, Lens Cleaning Tissues, Lens Cloth, Lens Cleaning Liquid, Brush and Cotton Swabs.

Tamrac 5515 Adventure Zoom 5 Camera Bag Holster Case (Gray) + Tripod + Accessory Kit for Canon Rebel XSi, XS, T1i, XTi, 40D, 50D, Nikon D40, D60, D5000, D90, D300, D700, Olympus Evolt E-30, E-450, E-520, E-620, and Sony Alpha A200, A300, A350, A700 Digital SLR Cameras Specifications

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Nov 06, 2009 11:50:04

Friends Link : Koh Chang Lagoon Resort Bungalow Canon EOS Rebel T1i Kit Leica C-LUX 2 Review

Click here for the review and photos at state.ie

This little guy came as part of the package deal with our new camera. Tripod of steel!