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If you are shopping for a digital camera you know it can be very confusing standing at the counter. I have compiled some information and tips for the snap shooter to the amature photographer to get you in the know for buying your first camera.

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This is a quick one, but I thought it was way cool so I am sharing. Microsoft Research has put out Microsoft ICE for panorama stitching. If you don’t have Photoshop CS3, this is a serious alternative, and a free one, for stitching together awesome panoramas. I used a series of 13 images shot on a tripod on the center of my office using a Canon 40D Digital SLR camera and a Sigma 10-20mm lens @ 10mm. The resulting image is a comparison of those images ran through both Photoshop and ICE, you be the judge.

Download Microsoft Image Composite Editor Here.

I have been into digital photography since 2003. I first started messing with RAW then using Phase One’s Capture One software. At the time I was shooting with one of the original Canon Digital Rebels and printing large prints. The ability to tweak the RAW photos in Capture One was an obvious advantage, but the need to still use Photoshop to remove dust spots, fix blemishes and the like meant that my workflow was take photos, download card, open photos in Capture One, edit white balance, contrast, exposure, export all photos, open up photos in Photoshop, correct issues with photo, save, select photos for prints, reopen, resize to output, save.

I had been teetering between Adobe Lightroom and Apple’s Aperture for awhile and a friend offering to sell me Aperture 2 for $100 tipped the scales of economics towards that direction and I picked it up.

Now I can point you to plenty of articles about all of the features, and I will at the end of this post, but the real value here is not the editing tools themselves, but the way they change your workflow. This Sunday, I shoot 186 photos, all in RAW. Here is a little peek into the process of how I managed them.

When I got home, I plugged my CF card into the card reader and it began to download photos. Even as it is downloading photos, ones that have already imported are available. I started rating photos right away. The view that shows a large photo and thumbnails at the bottom is fantastic for this.

By rating photos there were usable 2-3, and photos that were fantastic a 4 (I don’t rate anything 5, I am pretty critical of my work), and skipping over 1 in the favor of 9 (discard), I had whittled the 186 photos down to 54, 9 of which were 4s, the rest twos and threes. I then re-sorted my photos in reverse order, highest ranking first, and looked through the twos and threes for a photo I remembered wanting to place on Flickr.

At this point, I went through the photos one by one, adding cropping when needed, adjusting the exposure on most of them to punch it up a bit, then finally a sharpening to make things look just so.

Then I selected my 10 photos, exported the "Versions," which are Aperture’s edits, to jpg and gave it a resize to have no edge longer than 1,024 pixels wide.

I uploaded my photos to Flickr and I was done. 10-15 minutes, 20 tops.That’s some serious time saving for going through nearly 200 photos.

Today I learned that there is even a plugin to export your photos directly to Flickr!

If you shoot raw, or think you want to, this software is a serious time saver.

I love this backpack! The Lowepro Flipside 300 is just what I have been looking for. In preparing for Alaska, I quickly realized that my over the shoulder bag was too small, and my laptop/camera bag was too much trouble to carry. With my laptop it was too heavy with not enough room, without it, it had more room, but poorly suited for carrying more camera equipment. My load-out list for this trip is the 40D with Grip, charger, 28-135mm IS, 50mm, 10-20mm and 100mm Macro, as well as a 430ex Flash.

I had the guy at the camera store get all those (or size equivalents) out and we started testing out bags. Of course smaller is better, but we do want to hold all the stuff, so when I came across this gem I was blown away.

It’s amazing how much room this bag offers for it’s size. My camera fits snugly with the grip attached (a problem for many bags) and the extra lenses fit snug and secure as well. It also has a removable ouch at the top of the inside of the bag for chargers and accessories, as well as a pocket inside that’s perfect for filters.

Outside there is a secure tripod mount for locking the feet in and securing the legs with a strap, as well as a drawstring pouch and a zippered pocket for media, cables, etc.

Kudos for smart design making the waist straps removable, I often cut these off because I never use them and airport scanners hate them.

Capacity:

1 Pro DSLR with 300mm f/2.8 lens attached plus 1–3 additional lenses or flash units, 1 tripod, multiple cables, memory cards, manuals and other digital accessories

Size(Interior):
9.1W X 5.4D X 15.9H in./
23 X 13.8 X 40.5 cm
Size(Exterior):
10.2W X 6.9D X 17.5H in./
25.8 X 17.4 X 44.5 cm

Weight:
2.87lbs/1.3kg

This really is a great bag, I picked it up at a local camera store for $70, and online prices seem to be consistent with that. If you are looking for a small but roomy camera bag, this is your ticket!

So last night, I decided to go take some photos to give Aperture a real workout in RAW image processing. I love the view of Seattle from Gasworks Park and thought that if I hurried, I could catch it at sunset. I drove like hell and unfortunately just missed the sun.

I decided to take a few photos anyway, and when I got to the retaining wall that separates the little lookout area from the water, I saw this stenciled on the retaining wall.

So does Getty Images have the right to copyright anything now? Can they say what we can and can’t take photos of? Should I expect to see one of these tattooed on my favorite NBA player soon?

I don’t know if this is a joke, a spoof or what…if it’s serious, color me concerned.

This post copyright Getty Images.