Ken Rockwell Nikon D40 and other Nikon SLR iPhone apps!

Ken Rockwell has released a set of iPhone apps which provide a user guide to various different Nikon SLRs. SLR models available are the Nikon D40, D90, D300s, D300, D5000, D3000 and D700. Take a look here for screen shots and app store links.

$3 spend to save a lot of time

Be gentle on me this is my first contribution!

I found this great little gadget on ebay. You can buy them for around $3 US.

What do you do with it?

Well it goes on the flash mount on the camera so you can make sure the camera is level, this doesn't seem an issue however if you shoot landscapes and especially sunrise / sunsets sometimes in near darkness it is hard to tell if the camera is level. If it's not level then there is a great deal of time spent on the computer to correct it....

Create your own flash based portfolio website

I have recently revamped my own photography website using a great free website builder called Wix. It allows you to build flash based website using simple templates and drag and drop components, resulting in a very professional slick looking site and no knowledge of difficult techie code needed. Import photos direct from your Flickr account or PC with ease and host the finished website on wix or on your own hosting website. Very simple to use and I have to say, with only a few hours spent setting the templates up, I got a very professional looking portfolio to showcase my photography! Take a look!

Don't lose the rights to your photograhy! Digital Economy Bill & clause 38

I recently blogged about the Digitial Economy Bill and Clause 38. I'm sure you've all heard about the Bill, and how it will allow ISPs to ban you from the internet if you've been illegally downloading music and films etc, but did you know that it also has a clause with HUGE implications for photographers?

Clause 38 of the Digital Economy Bill says that if someone finds your photograph, wants to use it and decides that they can’t trace you, they can do whatever they like with it after paying an arbitrary fee to a UK Government-appointed “licensing body”. Clause 43 also introduces “Extended Collective Licensing”. This means that if someone finds your photograph and can trace you, they still don’t have to contact you for permission to use it. They can go to a UK Government-appointed “collecting society” and ask them instead. They’ll pay an arbitrary fee and be able to do whatever they like with the photograph. Your photograph. Again, without asking you first or paying what you would have charged.

Big corporations have an interest in getting this bill passed, and you have to ask yourself why. The Register reports that:

Big publishers and the BBC have come out to lobby for the controversial Clause 43, that part of the Mandybill that strips photographers of their historical rights.

Is that surprising? It should be, because Clause 43 is the section that deals with 'orphan works' - and according to the Business department BIS, the only people who are supposed to benefit from the unique powers it confers are special parties: copyright libraries, such as the British Library. These are non-commercial operations. Clause 43 was never intended act as a leg-up for tight-fisted publishers.

But here they are.

Don't lose the rights to your own photography!! Petition your local MP. The deadline to take action is 6th April 2010. I went to the 38 Degrees website, entered my postcode, name and email, and fired off an email to my local MP, all in 2 minutes.

Create an HDR-like image from one RAW file in Lightroom.

Here's a great tutorial on creating an HDR-like image from a single RAW files using Adobe Lightroom. Looks like an interesting technique that I'll try out soon.

Two Factors for Perfect Focus...

Informative article from Digital Photography School on how to achieve picture-perfect focus.

Build your own Steadicam for smoother video

Tutorial on how to make your own DIY Steadicam. Now you can have smoother moving shots while taking videos, just like on popular TV shows like 24, The Office and so on.