March 2011

Protecting Your Images: Why Watermarking Matters and How to Do It Easily

Submitted by David Cardinal on Mon, 03/28/2011 - 10:40

Cheetah_WatermarkedKeeping up with all the ways images can be stolen sometimes seems like a losing battle. For each mechanism to prevent un-authorized downloading of copyrighted images there is a workaround quickly found by thieves. Through it all one fairly simple technique has stood the test of time—Watermarking. This was driven home again this week. Let’s talk about why you may want to watermark your images and about how you can do it easily without getting  in the way of legitimate sales…

The CompactFlash Card for the Photographer who has Everything (Else)

Submitted by David Cardinal on Thu, 03/24/2011 - 11:45

Sandisk is now shipping the ultra-fast, ultra-high capacity —that’s not a typo, it’s really 128 Gigabytes, bigger than many laptop hard drives were just a couple years ago. . If that is too rich for your blood then our new favorite value champion is the . We have one and it benchmarks faster than our 400x cards and is only $20 more. A small price to pay if it gets you the final shot in an amazing action sequence.

Photodex 10% off sale on all Effects for Proshow through March 31...

Submitted by David Cardinal on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 09:40

Those of you using Proshow (our "Editor's Choice" for best slideshow software on Windows and now a site sponsor) know that it comes with some pretty cool transitions and effects. But if you'd like to spice up your shows with some new ones Photodex is offering 10% off on all effects packs and even upgrades to the latest versions through March 31...

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South Texas Bird Photo Safari Trip Report & Images

Submitted by David Cardinal on Mon, 03/21/2011 - 13:31

Thanks to some great hosts, enthusiastic participants and mostly cooperative weather we had another great visit & photo safari in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. To coincide with NANPA’s Summit we moved the trip up from April to March. As a result we took a little bit of a risk with the weather but it worked out and we were able to get plenty of shooting time each day.

Sweat The Details in Your Photos: What a Difference A Shadow Can Make

Submitted by David Cardinal on Sat, 03/19/2011 - 16:48

There is a lot to keep in mind when you are photographing any moving subject, especially wildlife. Your choice of subject, background, composition and most importantly the light. And then there is the waiting for the moment of action and a pose which creates interest. But even with all that in place little things can keep you from getting a great photo…

A Gray Owl for A Gray Morning

Submitted by David Cardinal on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 09:58

_djc9014We had some early clouds on our South Texas Photo Safari this morning so I decided to take advantage of the very even light to see if I could get some good shots of an Eastern Screech Owl that nests near where we were shooting. Not only do owls seem to be more cooperative on gray days but the fact that the owl’s hole faced North wouldn’t matter so much since the clouds would scatter the light just about evenly all over.

Tripods Aren’t For Shooting, They’re For Waiting

Submitted by David Cardinal on Mon, 03/07/2011 - 17:59

_djc7021Okay, now that I’ve got your attention, of course tripods are for shooting. But the most under-appreciated advantage of a tripod isn’t when you’re shooting it is when you’re waiting. For any type of wildlife photography and many sports there can be long periods of waiting patiently and then a quickly unfolding moment of drama. You may only have a second or two to react and get a shot of the peak of action. If you need to pull your camera up from your side, aim, and shoot, then no matter how fancy you’re camera strap, you’re skunked….