Photub

Save JPG is a site that was started by 15x100, 15 Photographs by 100 Photographers, to try and save JPG in one form or another. (As a side note, 15x100 is a pretty interesting project)

In other positive news, JPG Magazine apparently has had some interest in acquisition. The interest in the site means that it'll survive at least another week, with hopes of much longer.

There's also been some interesting ideas in the comments on the Save JPG site. Comments suggesting that JPG should charge money to post to the site, but remain open to view. Something like this I feel might work, but I'm unsure what you'd actually be buying. Flickr, for instance, is a photo backup solution in some regards with a Pro account. The unlimited storage, unlimited uploads is key there.

But, what else could JPG do to survive? Could JPG turn into a generic photo sharing site, or what about the possibility of taking the community magazine to the next level and let individuals of the community create their own issues? I don't know, but the question of JPG's survival, and the form it survives in, is something I look forward to getting an answer to.

Photojojo has a holiday gift guide with some good ideas on the list. There's a camera bag with a solar panel (it puts out 1.5 watts which is enough to charge some small devices), a Polaroid instant camera, some books and of course something every photographer should have—a 50mm prime lens. There's a bunch more listed so be sure to check it out!

Airtight Interactive (makers of SimpleViewer), have a really great Flickr browser (photos are pulled from the Interesting) with lots of eyecandy called TiltViewer.

While it's definitely a very cool Flash application, I don't think it's going to revolutionize the way we look at photos, especially because most photos do not require that you look at them any other way but straight on. However, I could see Apple coming out with an extension to iPhoto which uses Core Graphics to do some sort of photo browser, or perhaps it'd fit better into Front Row. I think this is doubtful.

With summer and storms still to come, there are great subjects that we often miss. PopPhoto has a good article up about How to Photograph Bugs and Other Insects. Get out your macro lenses! (OK, you don't really need one, but hey use it if you have it.)

A while back I mentioned a simple 15 minute light tent, that could be used as a makeshift studio for product shots and other small things. One of the great things about that setup is that you don't necessarily need to have slave flash units to use it, but Dave Pearson shows us how we can use the (very reasonably priced) Quantaray MS-1 flash boosters as the external light source. These things fire when they see another flash, so you don't need to trigger them with some other tool. It's all automagically taken care of for you. Dave's article talks about how to modify them to use gels to get some special effects, and is well worth a look at. His article also mentions Strobist's $10 Macro Studio, which is similar to the 15 minute light tent.

As someone who thinks about taking photos much more often than I actually take photos, I find myself interested in the idea of photography competitions. Not for the reasons of glory, or great prizes but for the aspect not always thought of, the learning.

Taking photos for a competition gives you some goal to focus your attention on. Take for instance the Staples Hometown View contest I recently posted about, where you are asked to "Upload a picture highlighting what you love about your hometown." This has a broad range, but it still starts to funnel your focus towards something. Many, right away will begin to think about particular topics that they might shoot for the contest. I thought of a few, and instantly started to think about how I would compose my shot, what time of day would add the most to my composition and what conditions would be perfect. This sort of behavior is essential to learning about anything. It's called thinking.

However, too much thinking can also lead to bad shots. There is some sort of balance that as an amateur I have yet to figure out. Yesterday, for instance, I attended a technical talk on software patents and brought my camera. The conditions weren't perfect, but I had planned out how to take the photo I wanted of the speaker on stage. Waiting for just the right moment, I was rushed to focus, compose and shoot. My exposure was nearly on point, but my focus was off and the photo didn't turn out so well. And, because I was picky about the shot and over thought about everything, I only had one chance and I blew it.

My experience yesterday taught me to be more aggressive while taking photos, but still plan for my shots. If I had fired off 100 shots yesterday, not only would it have been annoying for members of the audience and the speaker, I would have missed the reason I was there to begin with. But, had I been a bit more aggressive and readapted my plan as conditions changed, I would have been able to obtain a few more shots while still being a good audience member. They may have suffered the same "badness," but nevertheless I could have made sure to fix what didn't work before.

Unless you are an expert photographer, you are not going to be able to see the outcome of all situations. Likewise, in order to become an expert you have to think about what the outcome will be for all of the situations you photograph. This is because in order to learn from your photography, you must compare your perceived results with your actual results. Trial and error so to speak, but without planning you'll have way too many perceived results to maintain and to analyze afterwards.

So take a look at Photography Competitions, a site where you can see a number of current contests around the internet and plan to take photos for them. Plan your shots before you pick up your camera and adjust your composition and your original thoughts on location a few times. Does your original idea still make sense now that you are at the location? Look through the viewfinder and think about your composition before firing the shot. And of course, after you take the shots go back and look at them. What worked? What didn't work? Can any of the shots be readjusted to make it better and maybe be entered in the competition (assuming you can go back to the location)?

Photography Competitions don't have to be about winning or losing or even entering a photo. Often times, you might get the benefit of critique from other contestents or judges, but the ideas that they present to be photographed are the true beauty of them.

I wouldn't do this with any camera I loved, but if I had a camera laying around I didn't care about...

I am NOT responsible for broken cameras as a result of tossing.

Watch Movies talks about the similarity in shooting a major Hollywood Production and shooting a wedding. The following quote sums it up quite nicely (though the rest of the article is well worth reading):

"Some people think that one of the most important differences between good professional photographers and good amateurs is that the pros have a picture in mind before they take one and get it because they know how to; the amateurs get a shot more by accident."

I guess this makes me an amateur, but it seems only a matter of time before a good amateur begins to see the good shots and allows for planning of them. Likewise, like any artistic medium, it takes a while to truely master it. Professionals are professionals because they are able to create the shots they want by looking to previous shots they've taken and combining the experiences from them. They understand that blurring occurs with slow shutter speeds not because of theory, but because they've taken shots of hummingbirds with a shutter speed that was just a bit too slow. They've learned from their previous photography and because of this they can see new images. Want to get paid to take photos? Become a master by learning everything you can and by practicing. Shoot everyday, even if it's in your living room and study your results.

For the record, I'm not a professional. I haven't developed all of the skills it takes to become a professional, and without true dedication to photography, I may never become a professional. I do hope to some day become the step just below professional--the step where I make images like described in the quote above.