People often say that the default Flickr presentation and navigation of photos is not the greatest.

Well, use other tools then - the Flickr API will well established and you see many non Flickr websites giving alternative presentations.

For example, have a look at my photos via:

• Flickr Leech
• Darckr by Laurent Henocque
• FlickRiver
• My Contacts via Flickr Hive Mind
• Coverflow Slideshow
• view my Flickr social relationships in flickrGraph
• View On Black
• 

Many DSLR shooters are used to 3:2 whether that be APS-C or 35mm full frame. Leaves us Four Thirds owners sometimes perplexed. Sure, the common 4R and the 12R print size is exactly 3:2 ratio. But 3R and 5R isn't. 16:9 movie isn't. Widescreen LCDs for the computer aren't. Neither is A4 paper. Hmmm...

Update: Looks like I'm not quite exact on "6x7 film". We're alluding to the 120 size film (entry in Wikipedia). Although the film was a Kodak initiative, it is now enshrined in ISO 732:2000. This 120 size film allowed various cameras to create different ratioed frames. There was 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7 and so on.

A long and for the most part interesting thread of square vs rectangular aspect ratios has coincidentally surfaced on the Open Talk DPREVIEW forum. In it, a recitation of the Rolleiflex history occurs.

Bert Stephani has a few tutorials on YouTube.

The Masters of Photography Slideshows

Photoleancouk has a Portrait Photography Masterclass.

Rick Sammon's Top Ten Digital Photography Tips

I've been a fan of the wide angle view since the 35mm film camera days. I remember getting an f/3.5 28mm MD Rokkor for my Minolta XE-1, then finding that it wasn't as sharp or with enough pop as I expected. I sold it through the Trading Post and after a few years, Vanessa helped me get a 21mm - 35mm Sigma - I still have that lens. I would take it on the Uni student trips and had fun with it. Even shot Ronnie's wedding years ago. But I still wasn't getting it. With film, you only make that many mistakes (and it was colour slide that I shot), each time paying. This was before the Web and no one to compare notes, swap stories. My foregrounds would dominate with boring flat detail, I'd get the odd good shot.

This year, to celebrate the special occasion, I bought a Zuiko Digital 7mm-14mm ultra wide angle lens (that's 14mm to 28mm equivalent). When I handle it wrong, I get seriously elliptical heads, legs as big as lamp posts, really cartoon character exaggerations (like the special effects in Madagascar movie). When I don't have enough Depth of Field (how on earth can you get insufficient depth of field on a 14mm uwa lens on a Four Thirds Sensor?), I get the zoom effect like on a crude 3D graphics PC Game (Doom, anyone?)

On the other hand, sometimes things work out.

 Saw this photographer discussing her shots of Chefs in a book called "My Last Supper"

YouTube - Authors@Google: My Last Supper
  

I know the Malaysian scene well. As a kid, I would sit with the Kodak Starlet, look out the car and try and capture everyday shots. Older, I would shoot with the Kodak P880.

When you pass a scene every day, you get jaded. It takes someone foreign to show you with new eyes. Here's Trey's Malacca shophouse.

See it larger and more at Trey's blog

I was itching to photo shoot, asked around in Flickr but the few people who replied said they were gearing up for Mother's Day tomorrow. I thought I was gonna shoot alone but my old Uni buddy came shooting with me. He shoots a Nikon DSLR, I shoot the P880 and the Oly 510.

Of course, I'm mad keen to use the Oly 510, but the style and type of photo saw me shooting the P880 mostly because of the 24mm. I've gotta wean myself off the P880 sooner or later - maybe later - I can't afford the Zuiko 11-22mm (equiv to 22-44mm) nor the fantabulous Zuiko 7-14mm (equiv 14-28mm) . I did make a less good decision after 5 pm. The light was going and I still stuck to the P880 mostly because I wanted the 24mm Field Of View but more due to laziness in changing lens for the Oly 510.

We met a very cheery RACV man, he was changing a back tyre for a client. Told us to shoot him and but leave out his mug.

I like this next one a lot - it is with the P880, vertical hold. Now, in theory, you've got to sight the shot properly, check Depth Of Field, check Exposure, think of mapping Input Tones to Output Tones. Thing is, with a the P880 and the Point and Shoot mentality, it's a different ballgame. I shot RAW - this is a move away from exposure bracketing 3 JPEG that I have been doing since February. I paid attention and tried not to overburn the highlights - however, the P880 live view histogram is different from the review histogram. Secondly I did try to use a smaller aperture but with ISO 100 on a dullish autumn day, you're pretty much on max aperture.

Now, on a DSLR, that would mean that some worrying about Depth Of Field (or lack of) and whether the cheapie wide angle (usually 28mm equivalent kit) would be sharp enough. On the P880, oh, what the heck, this is the only lens you have, so let's shoot. Plus the small sensor will give as much DOF as it can.

What about focus point? Well, you can't really manually focus on the P880, after all the LCD is pale and the EVF not much better, both are pretty low res devices. So, heck, let the thing autofocus.

Of course, the Olympus e-510 comes into it's own when you want a focus on the main subject and a reduction of distracting elements

Seems Sir Cliff is in the news. His Congratulations didn't make the 1968 EuroVision Number 1 because the vote was rigged by Spain towards Massiel's La La La. Brings back memories. Look at those cool costumes!

As I said in my previous blog posting, it's interesting times for DSLR buyers. The market has been escalating in volume progressively and now every major brand has something to sell.

People who are newbies to digital photography, photography in general or are "graduating from DSLR" ask certain questions. Are they the correct questions? Maybe, maybe not. Here are some questions and my answers:

Questions

How much is it?

A very good question. Don't think of shopping for a DSLR like you're shopping for your Point and Shoot. A DSLR potentially is an endless hole where your money can go. It's quite easy to go into LBA (Lens Buying Addiction). When you cost a DSLR, cost the whole package that you would use for say 3 years. Don't look too far and question whether this brand has a future or not. Yeah, some brands may vanish - Minolta almost did, but now Sony has taken over their cameras and created a new future. What do you care abou the future? Buy it, use it, enjoy it.

But it costs so much more than my Point and Shoot and does less?

Yes. If you want value for money on paper spec, a high end Point and Shoot will have a lot more "stuff" for the same money. But the DSLR can do more - particularly if you buy more DSLR stuff. A Point and Shoot does not have much to expand. A DSLR is about trying to get a tool that can potentially deliver more image quality, assuming you pay more and more for the price of admission.

But I just bought a DSLR and the photos look worse!

Yes. For several reasons.

1. Point and Shoot cameras are made for people who are real beginners - they probably want to shoot, take the photo files to the store and get them processed immediately. Such people are expect "out of the box" quality. So many brands make the photos super sharp, super "bounce" or "pop", highly saturated colours to please people. DSLR are meant for people who want to inspect their files on computers, adjust this and that to taste before they print or whatever. Thus some DSLR photos don't look good immediately, they need tweaking.
2. Point and Shoot cameras have small sensors. This allows the lens size and weight to be small. Small sensors allow a large DOF - Depth of Field. Many things look sharp in the photo. DSLR have bigger sensors - the DOF with such cameras is shallower. Meaning that focus, auto or manual, must be spot on otherwise the target will be blurred. With a shallow DOF, even if your target is sharp, some stuff in front of the target and behind the target might be blurred especially in low light conditions.
3. Point and Shoot cameras have slower autofocus but autofocus over a larger area. The way DSLRs work, they have very quick autofocus but their autofocus zone(s) are very sharply defined spots in the photo. Sometimes, you point the camera off centre and the autofocus zone doesn't cover that spot on the target.
4. In order to shave the price down so that an entry DSLR price comes near or below a high end Point and Shoot, the brands often shave the image quality of the "kit" lenses. To the extent that the kit lens may have poorer image quality for general shooting conditions than a high end Point and Shoot.

Ok, Brand A Model 1 has this and that, Brand B Model 2 has this and that, so Model 1 is better!

No, that's not the best way you compare cameras. Some people just take an empty Excel sheet or a Word table, put all the features on the left column, put Model names along the top and check this, check that. The one with the most ticks must be better, right?

This is how you compare computers. This is not how best to compare cameras because there are some unwritten things that are not on the product comparison table. Yeah? Like what?

1. Weight - not figures or numbers but how it carries in your hand and in your bag. Not just the camera weight but the lenses as well
2. Balance and grip - how it feels in your hand, lens and camera.
3. Personal feel of the body as you hold it tight and put it up to your eyes - some DSLR have darker and smaller viewfinders with a shorter eye point / eye relief. You will be aiming using the OVF (Optical View Finder) so you need to judge.
4. Ability to use legacy or old lenses, even 20 / 30 year old lenses. The brands want you to buy new lenses for sure. But some brands and models work with old lenses - some of these lenses are already paid for, some are very cheap, some are quite useable and quite sharp.
5. Ability to rent or borrow lenses (friends with the same brand).
6. Bulk - both the body and the lenses. Yes, you can see dimensions but you have to hold it and carry it over the day to figure out how bulk feels. Bulk is also a problem if you don't want to stand in the street and everyone whisper - "Ooh, look at the Pro." On the other hand, if you want to look like a Pro, then bulk up.
7. Self image or prestige - would you prefer to be using a brand that Pros use?

These factors are often not in the product comparison table. Factors that are in the product comparison table, well, they're easy to identify and debate over.

How come I can't aim with the LCD? Should I get a DSLR model with LiveView?

Yes, some or many people aim a Point and Shoot with the LCD screen. The DSLR traditionally, you aim using the OVF. The idea is quite different, the visualisation and impact on your brain is quite different. So, some brands implemented the LiveView idea in DSLR. There is LiveView and then there is LiveView - each one does it slightly diferrently, no one is 100% like a Point and Shoot.

And although LiveView is indeed useful, it robs light from the OVF by design (even when you are not using it). The DSLR has a big body and an even longer snout in the lens. It's not easy to use LiveView like you would with a Point and Shoot. Yes, it is a useful feature, but not for every shot.

From time to time, beginners to digital cameras and photography ask for reading material. Sure they can buy a book but there's quite a bit of stuff on the web.

Photonhead is a website that teaches you some fundamentals.

Earthbound Light is a melange of articles. One deals with the perennial question of PASM.

Luminous Landscape and Cambridge in Colour are full of detailed and reflective articles.

Duke University has a Photography FAQ.

Wikipedia has articles on Digital Photography, the Camera Lens, Exposure Value, Depth of Field.

Photography Composition Articles has the obvious.

Short Courses.com has Curtin's Guide to Digital Cameras

BernieCode's Better Beginner's Guide

Edwin Leong has ebooks on Photography and Wedding Photography

The Radiant Vista has reflective articles

Wrotniak has lots of Four Thirds articles

There are one off articles on:

• calculating Exposure Values and the Exposure Value Table
• Digital Photo Interpolation
• Bokeh
• Dynamic Range and Tonality
• EXIF attributes
• Safety with electronic flash
• Grokking the GIMP
• Depth of Field

There are also photo magazines

• ePhotoZine
• PhotoAnswers' Free Field Guides

and Podcasts (see forum thread)