Blue Pixel

As internet connections have gotten faster, I’ve started relying more and more on the cloud to store and synchronize data. Dropbox has been my main tool for that, but thanks to a great offer from Box, I’m starting to use it too.
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I recently returned from leading a photo trip to Costa Rica for American and Popular Photography's Mentor Series (http://www.mentorseries.com). As we were wrapping up the trip, driving back into San Jose, I was trying to answer questions on the bus and there was a good one I didn't have time to answer. I can rectify that now.
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I got my first 35mm SLR camera when I was fourteen. Forty years later I'm still learning, and that's one of the things I love about photography.
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I've had a few conversations with photographers recently about lenses not performing up to expectations concerning sharpness of photos. In the past I've always looked to the age of a lens and the design (consumer-grade or pro?). Now, though, I'm starting to think about our definition of "sharp."
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I'm as guilty as most people when it comes to shooting large group family pictures. I don't like to do it. The more people you've got in a photo the harder it is to make a nice photo. This year, though, I decided to fight my natural tendencies and try to make a nice group shot at Thanksgiving.
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The more choices we have, the harder it can be. Shoot JPEG or RAW? Upgrade Photoshop now or wait? Spend more on a faster lens or save $$? My favorite choice right now is between full-frame or cropped-frame cameras, because that choice gives me more flexibility in my photography.
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This past week I received an email from someone looking for help in decoding the AF settings on their camera. This is perhaps the most common, hardest to figure out group of settings on today's digital SLRs.
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Well, it's time for a topical subject. With the fourth of July a few days away, this is a great time to go through the ins and outs of fireworks photography. I've been doing these shots for about 35 years, the most involved being the 12-exposure shot shown here that I did with a Hasselblad. It's changed a bit since those days of film, but the basics remain the same.
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I've got a bone to pick, and this is about as good a time as any (and it gives me a good excuse to use this nice photo Ed Zurga shot of me!). Does it ever seem that most people preaching workflow want to teach you the most complicated version they can come up with?
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Over the last few months I've gotten numerous phone calls and emails from friends asking if they should upgrade from their Nikon D200 to the new D300. Just got two more, which made me think it would be a good blog entry.
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