It seems like almost everyone has a cell phone camera these days that can snap photos of just about anything in a matter of moments. Working with electronic photographs instead of the traditional film and paper print photos is cost-effective, there is no wasted paper to end up in the garbage and they take up virtually no physical space at all!

Whether you’re a professional photographer or an amateur photography novice you’ll still appreciate the convenience of digital photography. And what’s better than just snapping lots of digital pictures is the fun way you can display them to others. There are many different ways to share your photos, from digital picture frames to printing them out to keeping them on your PDA.

One of the most fun ways to share your photos to others is with a photography blog. A blog is a website that allows an author to post instant updates onto Internet about just about any subject imaginable. A photo blog can include the digital photographs you took on any given day or trip. You can add comments about your photos and you can inform people about why you took the images and what was happening when you took them.

To start a photo blog you just need to find some free blogging websites and pick a blog name. Most blogging sites are fairly simple to get started with. You simply type your ideas out in a post, insert your digital photographs from your camera and the blogging software pretty much does the rest. When you are satisfied with a post you “publish” it and anyone on the internet can instantly read it!

With a photo web log you can not only share your photos with others but you can also allow visitors to write comments on your posts. If you allow comments on your images then you can also learn what other people like and don’t like about your photos. Getting commends from visitors to your blog is part of the fun of putting your images online. If you are a portrait photographer then you might use a website to display your recent portfolio of samples.

Remember not to worry about always writing a article that’s going to make other people happy. It is your photography blog and you can post pictures of whatever you want. You can share images of a trip to Florida one day and then post photos of some flowers in your back yard the next day. Just try to have fun with the ability to spread your electronic photographs so quickly with your own blog!

Need to discover more about digital photography and see some great examples? Check out my great digital photography blog for some great photography advice!

Digital photography is a great thing as a pastime.  It is now a completely do it yourself process as lengthy darkroom processes have been omitted by digitalization.  With a little practice and effort you can take great pictures.  There are certain things you need to defeat rigorously when shooting with a DSLR if you need to take good photographs.  This article covers a vital one- focus and focal length. 

The sharpness of a picture depends on focusing the lens correctly .  The lens has many elements inside which can be altered by pushing- pulling or rotating the lens ( relying upon the lens ) for each particular space between the subject and the camera.  All digital cameras and lenses offer automatic targeting where the camera focuses the lens on the topic when the shutter is a little depressed.  But using manual targeting options you can be more creative.  Move the focus mode switches on the camera and the lens to manual to start focusing manually . 

While sharp focus of the topic is excellent for most pictures in some cases making the subject out of focus absolutely or slightly produces some very interesting effects.  For example you can convey a dream like atmosphere in a photograph of a child if you can manage to make a soft focus which is an especially slight off focus along with a very shallow depth of field.  Depth of field can be made shallow by employing bigger f numbers, lenses with long focal lengths ( zoom or tele lenses ) and by shooting from a distance from the topic. 

A focal length of 45- fifty mm is considered as the ordinary focal length as it offers the same view as the human eye.  Lenses with bigger focal lengths are the tele lenses while the ones with smaller focal lengths are the wide lenses.  Lenses with variable or adjustable focal lengths are the zoom lenses. 

Wide lenses tend to stretch the image giving them a breathtaking appearance.  So use them for landscapes.  It doesn’t need to be said that they will give you a wider coverage and bigger depth of field which you will need to shoot landscapes. 

To shoot portraits and models use a moderate focal length like seventy to ninety mm.  This can effectively blur out the background without making the depth of field too shallow and will give you crisp portraits. 

If you want to shoot animals and birds choose for at least two lenses.  You can go in for tele zooms as they’ll give you a big range of coverage.  Ideal will be a 90- 300mm and a 300- 5 hundred mm lens.  This will let you shoot most subjects from a distance so as to not to bug them or put yourself at risk. 

For shooting concerts and shows use medium zooms like 35- 70 mm or 24- 70mm as they give you a little bit of both wide and tele in one lens.  In this way you don’t have to change lenses in the middle of a program.  You can miss crucial parts of the program if you have got to change lenses and you may end up annoying your neighbors.

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So many different people have asked us about fixing the built in lens covers/barriers/flaps on their Canon Powershot SD series digital cameras that I’ve gone ahead and written some instructions. Our lens barrier repair kit is a little tricky to replace on Canon SD series cameras but definately not impossible for you to do yourself. You will need patience, a good eye and a steady hand as well as a small screwdriver. We’ve been using dental picks for some time, they do a good job!

To get things started, turn on the camera to extend the lens and then open the battery door and remove the battery so that the lens stays out. This allows you to easily work on the lens barrier assembly.

The first part that goes in is the barrel drive ring; it has a small part sticking down into the lens. Most cameras have a drive ring, but some do not. If you don’t see one in your kit then your camera does not need one. Make sure it rotates slightly once it has been inserted, otherwise it’s not in properly and can jam the lens.

Next we will install the barrier plates or ‘flaps’ with the springs attached. Put one spring on each of the flaps, there are little tabs to hold them on. They are TINY, they are hard to hold and if you drop it… lets just say DON’T drop it on the carpet, ok? We do have just the springs available for purchase, but please try not to lose them.

Carefully put the cover or ‘flap’ in the hole with the spring pointing towards the post where the other end will connect, and then with something with a tiny and pointy tip (we use dental picks!) gently grab the loop of the spring and stick it on its post.

If you do this with the lens covers or ‘flaps’ in the open position they will stay in place once you get them properly seated. If everything pops off, just start again. Try not to stretch out the springs, they need to remain tight for the assembly to work properly.

Then gently put on the barrier cover, it’s a flat plastic ring. The tabs on the outer barrier cover match up with small slots in the lens housing and it will lock into place. Be gentle, don’t force anything too hard or you will break it and the parts will not hold it place.

Now it’s time to test your skills! Now we put the battery in and while crossing our fingers, turn the camera on! Did it work? Did it go flying across the room with a cute little *SPROING!* and all the parts flew across the room? Yeah I hope not, but I’ve been there myself so you’re not alone.

Once it’s working nicely …you’re almost done with your first camera repair!

Next put the dual sided tape on the barrier cover. CAUTION: Make sure to take the tape off of the backing paper but DON’T remove the paper that matches the shape of the tape on the other side!! Removing the small paper part will cause the tape to fold up on itself and stick together. Bye bye tape!

The tabs fold over the edge, don’t let them stick out or the lens cover won’t fit and the lens will jam. The tape lines up with one tab at about the 11 o’clock position, then fold the tabs over and press them in so they don’t stick out.

Now put on your chrome or black lens cap, line up the cap with the small indentation at the bottom, you’ll see how it goes on easily.

Fire up the camera again and admire your handywork! Congratulations you now know more about Canon camera repair than the Geek Squad, and they told you it would be two hundred dollars and take 3-4 weeks to repair. Whatever Geek Squad… Whatever.

Hmm… I think I’m seeing the beginning of something big here; affordable do it yourself Canon camera repair!