SnapShot Archives - 01/23/2000
SNAPSHOT - PHOTO NEWS FROM BETTERPHOTO.COM
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Welcome to SnapShot, the weekly newsletter on the art
of photography from http://www.betterphoto.com
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IN THIS ISSUE
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Sunday, January 23, 2000
* SPOTLIGHT: Win up to $5000 at OnlinePhotoContest.com
* BETTERPHOTO: Server will be down for a couple of days
* BETTERPHOTO: Read past issues of SnapShot on the Web site
* WEB NEWS: Scanning Made Simple: A Review of 20 Flatbed Scanners
* WEB NEWS: PhotoLinks photography directory offers great options
* WEB NEWS: Photo essays by Herman Krieger will make you smile
* WEB NEWS: New book - Learn Digital Photography in a Weekend
* THIS WEEK'S TIP: Shooting a portrait without a competing background
* PHOTO Q&A: Best scanner and software for removing unwanted elements
* PHOTO Q&A: Choosing what kind of camera to buy
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT
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OnlinePhotoContest
A few of you have asked about a contest at BetterPhoto. I have looked into
the options currently on the Web and found one that particularly stands out.
OnlinePhotoContest features many categories you can enter, charges no fee,
and awards winning pictures up to $5000:
http://www.onlinephotocontest.com
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WHAT'S NEW AT BETTERPHOTO.COM
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Server Will Be Down
Due to our need to change servers, the Web site will be unavailable for a
short time - hopefully less than two days. This downtime should occur
sometime this week:
Read Past Issues of SnapShot on the Web Site
We now have an archives section, in case you would like to look up an
interesting tidbit from a previous issue of SnapShot:
http://www.betterphoto.com/snapshots.asp
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PHOTOGRAPHIC HAPPENINGS ON THE WEB
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Scanning Made Simple: A Review of 20 Flatbed Scanners
PC Magazine has evaluated 20 scanners under $500 that may serve well for
your image inputting needs. In addition to the review, they post results
from the scanners and allow you to compare the quality from each
side-by-side, like you might do at the eye doctor. I picked the HP Scanjet
5200C as my favorite and the Epson Perfection 636 - their Editor's Pick -
as first runner-up:
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/stories/reviews/0,6755,2307707,00.html
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PhotoLinks Photography Directory
Looking for a particular kind of photography Web site? Find help at
Photolinks.com - an awesome array of sites, categorized so you can go right
to the site you want without having to sift through a million personal photo
galleries:
http://www.photolinks.net
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Photo Essays by Herman Krieger
Take a look at this fun collection of humorous photo essays. To have a few
laughs, I recommend "A Day in the Life of a Mobile Veterinarian," especially
if you love animals:
http://www.efn.org/~hkrieger/index.html
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New Book - Learn Digital Photography in a Weekend
If you have been shooting with a traditional camera for a while and would
like to venture into new territory, this book explains a lot about digital
imaging. Learn what all the silly acronyms stand for, how to evaluate
digital cameras, why you might want a Compact Flash storage card, as well as
how to edit and print your images:
Discounted from to$24.95 to $21.24 at Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761515321/graphiqueA
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THIS WEEK'S TIP
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When shooting a portrait, pay close attention to the background. If you have
a choice, select one that is non-distracting and not busy. Choose a
background color that contrasts well with your subject to make it stand out.
If you do not have much of a choice, blur the background by selecting a
larger aperture (smaller f-stop number). You goal is to focus all attention
on your subject without allowing anything to compete for attention.
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CAMERA AND PHOTOGRAPHY Q&A
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Q. If I would like to get someone out of a picture I have or change a
background of a picture, what would be the best software to use?
What would be the best scanner to get the best quality I can get from
scanning prints? I have a lot of prints to work from. I know you get better
pictures with negatives, but I would like to work with past pictures for
now. I would also like to use the scanner in the office.
A. I use an HP Scanjet 5200C Business Edition Scanner. It is one touch and
the ease and use is fantastic and the result is true quality scanning. As
for the software I have been most successful with Adobe Photo Deluxe
Business Edition. It has everything you need to modify, crop, enhance, etc.
your photos as well as simple mode or a more advanced mode which I have
found to be exceptional. I have tried many different software programs and
seem to always go to the Adobe when I want the finest results.
-Marsha
[Editor: Interestingly, this HP scanner was my pick as a favorite, second
place going to the Epson Perfection 636.]
Judge for yourself by comparing the results from various scanners at:
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/features/scanners99/imagetest/index.html
Read more about the HP Scanjet 5200C and other flatbed scanners:
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/stories/reviews/0,6755,410409,00.html
Buy Adobe Photo Deluxe Business Edition:
http://www.betterphoto.com/product/productDetail.asp?productID=267
Respond to this question:
http://www.betterphoto.com/QnAredirect.asp?threadID=118
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Q. I am interested in photography as a hobby. I want something that I can
expand upon. What would be something that I could start out with and later
add on to?
A. One of the best starter cameras - something you can get creative with and
add on to in the future - is a 35mm SLR (Single Lens Reflex). Here are a few
choices:
Canon Elan II with EF 28-80 USM V Zoom Lens:
http://www.betterphoto.com/product/productDetail.asp?productID=238
Nikon N60 Camera with 35-80 Zoom Lens:
http://www.betterphoto.com/product/productDetail.asp?productID=390
Pentax ZX-50 QD SLR with Zoom Lens:
http://www.betterphoto.com/product/productDetail.asp?productID=392
While these cameras offer many features and functions that will help you
take beautiful pictures immediately, they also allow you to override the
automatic. You can use lenses of all different types. You can add
sophisticated lighting equipment and other accessories to get really
creative.
-BetterPhoto.com
<<Additional response from a member:>>
I would be more circumspect about what camera to get. A lot depends on what
type of photography that you do. For instance if you plan to do develop
yourself-black and white to do artistic photography I'd recommend for
reasons (write for details) the Nikon F3. I'd also suggest that you get an
N8008s used rather than the N60, which is the most limited of the Nikon
line. The elan is a very good all around camera but it has a unique feel
that I didn't like; you've got to try them and see which one feels good and
simple to use. I can ramble on this a while, but drop a note and say more:
your budget, what you imagine shooting, what type of photography you imagine
doing...
-Matthew
[Editor: Good point - so many people ask this question I sometimes forget to
get the particulars of their situation. There is much to be desired in this
process of picking a camera.]
Respond to this question:
http://www.betterphoto.com/QnAredirect.asp?threadID=267
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Ask a question of your own or answer a few from your fellow photographers:
http://www.betterphoto.com/qnaTOC.asp
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shooters - from budding beginners to expert professionals.
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Until next week, enjoy shooting!
Thank you,
Jim Miotke
BetterPhoto.com
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