Ellen Anon writes in her recent post, Memory Card Failures, that "Sooner or later it happens to almost all digital photographers - at least all those who shoot a lot. You check some of the images in camera and they look good. You load the memory card into the reader and wait for the images to appear in Aperture’s import window. But nothing happens. You push the card into the reader a little more firmly and make sure the reader is attached properly to the computer, but still there’s no sign of the card showing up on the computer."

"The first time it happens it’s hard not to panic, especially if the card contains shots that will be difficult to replicate. Plus you wonder if the card is corrupt and should be replaced, or if you can salvage it. And you wonder if it just happened out of the blue or if you somehow contributed to the failure."

What follows is some good information about handling memory cards and what to do when things go wrong. Also, check out the discussion at the bottom of the post. Some great comments by knowledgeable people round out this helpful article.

Technorati Tags: equipment, digital photography, The Digital Story, Inside Aperture

One of the most popular shots I've published on The Digital Story was Steve Wozniak arriving at an Apple event on his Segway. Well, the Segways are out in full force again.

This time, I was out enjoying the SF sites on the SF Photo Walk -- a side event at WWDC that included a few TDS members! -- and lo and behold, an entire squad of Segways approached. They were part of a tour led by a company that puts visitors on Segways, then communicates with them through a walkie talkie system that provides local information through a speaker mounted on the Segway's handlebars.

I couldn't resist this grab shot, and I have a feeling that I'm really going to get a kick out of it 20 years up the road. Ah, life in San Francisco...

Photo by Derrick Story, June 2007

Technorati Tags: The Digital Story

kottley started an interesting discussion about online photography classes -- such as Betterphoto.com, and the comments by TDS members so far has been helpful. But it would be nice to get more perspectives from folks who have taken online photo courses, such as NY Institute of Photography, BetterPhoto, etc.

If you have tested any of these, please chime in. And if you just want to read what others think, then wander over to the watering hole.

Technorati Tags: The Digital Story, Flickr Public Pool

Virtual is good, but in-person isn't bad either. I have a number of teaching and speaking events lined up for 2007, and I'm going to publish monthly updates here on TDS. I've also created an Events Calendar so you can peek ahead, especially if you're planning a trip to Northern California.

July 2007 Events

This highlight for July is the Sony/Pop Photo Digital Days coming to Sheraton Gateway Hotel, 600 Airport Blvd., Burlingame, CA 94010, (650) 340-8500. I'll be speaking on Lightroom on the 21st and CS3 on the 22nd. Looking ahead, I have an all day workshop in Santa Rosa on Aug. 18 titled, I've Taken Great Photos, Now What?. You can sign up at the SRJC Community Ed page.

If you see something on the Events Calendar that interests you, be sure to email me first to confirm the date and find out additional details. My contact information is on the Submissions page.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story

You're Not Ken Burns -- But FotoMagico slideshows are so good that people will believe that he helped you.

It's the hybrid device that you just can't get out of your head. Two new pieces of information on the TX1 to follow up my report from Feb. 07.

First, DPReview has published their comprehensive review of the "half camera - half HD video recorder" and struggled with some of the same issues that I have. When it comes to Canon's choice of video format they say: "...the use of M-JPEG for movies means that if you want to shoot even half an hour of footage you're going to need a pocketful of fast, large SD cards. And though the movie quality is excellent, you're getting nothing like the resolution you could expect from a decent dedicated DV camcorder."

However, the reviewer, Simon Joinson, was tempted too by this intriguing device: "I'd really, really recommend going to a store and trying it for yourself before committing; this is a cool, fun gadget with surprisingly good image quality, but for me it's not a camera I found easy to live with - especially not at the best part of $500."

I also had a conversation with my editor at Macworld Magazine. She had been casually using the TX1 for a couple weeks and was getting attached to the device. She addressed one of my other complaints, no option to plug in an external mic, by saying the stereo recording was quite good and better than other compact cameras she had tested. Obviously onboard-only mics have their limitations, but this was good news nonetheless.

So there you have it... more on the device that we want to buy, but wrestle with its tradeoffs and $479 price tag. Let me know what you think if you have a chance to shoot with it.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story

Here's a fun list of handy photo goodies for shooters on the go: the Macworld Summer Travel Guide. As they say in the opening, "Suntans may fade, but photos and video clips will let you recapture that vacation vibe long after you’ve unpacked." Amen!

They rate the list of accessories and gadgets by cost categories (Bargain to Splurge) and by portability (Weightless to Burdensome). I wrote up one of the items in the list, the Lowepro CompuDaypack, which is one of my favorite travel bags (shown here). But there are lots of other good gear ideas too, that range from the luxurious Epson P-3000 to a free Twitter account.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story

Scottmandu started a discussion recently on the TDS Public Group about Post Processing & Photo Management App. Scott leads off with:

Just a poll of the members ... which photo management and post-processing app do you use? E.g. Aperture, Lightroom, Photoshop, Elements, iPhoto, Picasa, NIkon Capture, iView, etc.? I'll start by saying that I'm using iPhoto and am in the process of deciding between Aperture and Lightroom. How about the rest of you?

The comments that follow are interesting and informative. If you're thinking about upgrading your post production workflow, I think you'll enjoy this conversation. You can join in here.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story

ExpoDisc Custom White Balance -- Simply Better Color. Simply Better Pictures. Visit www.expodisc.com

Way back when I was working on the Digital Photography Hacks book, I came up with my favorite use for a camera phone: Use it to take pictures of parking locations in big garages so I wouldn't forget where I left my car. This became particularly useful when I found myself in a long term parking garage after being out of town for a week or more. Where the heck did I park?! All I'd have to do is check my camera phone and, there would be a picture of location I had forgotton. Shown here is a shot from the San Francisco Airport long term parking facility.

Over time, however, I began to appreciate these images as interesting pictures too, and I enjoyed browsing through them on my phone when I had time to kill (such as being stuck on an airport tarmac waiting to fly out). I stopped deleting the shots from my camera phone and began saving them in an Aperture photo library.

Then it dawned on me, that by encouraging others to use their camera phones to take pictures of their parking spots, I could help people find their cars and get some interesting shots from all over the world as part of the bargain.

How to Participate

Would you like to participate? All you have to do is start taking photos of your parking locations, then log on to the Park by the Numbers gallery, and click on the "Upload" icon to add your images to the collection. Be sure to add the location in the title, and please add your copyright to the body of the post.

You can also upload images directly from your cameraphone by using this email address: dstory-813z@gallery.mac.com. The "Subject" line of your email will be the title of the photo, so put the location in the subject line. Add your copyright information to the body of the email, below the photo. Then just send, and the image will be added to the gallery with all of your info.

I hope you share images from the parking spots in your corner of the world -- this will be great fun.

Visit the Park by the Numbers Gallery.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story

If you're thinking about a serious flatbed scanner that can handle various sizes of negatives too, the Epson V700 and V750-M Pro are heavyweight contenders. The good folks over at Imaging Resource have been testing these units for nearly a year, and have published a comprehensive review of these Epson scanners. They're worth a look.

Technorati Tags: review, digital photography, The Digital Story

In this week's podcast, I talk about the value of a polarizing filter for reducing reflection and deepening colors, especially in the sky. But the "world's handiest lens accessory" can also double as a neutral density filter.

Most circular polarizers have two f/stops of density. That means if the normal exposure is 1/15 at f/8, the with the polarizer attached, it will be 1/15 at f/4. Sometimes this works against you putting your shot in the clutches of camera shake. But there's one instance when a polarizer is invaluable -- when you want a long exposure, such as capturing water scenes.

This shot of Burney Falls in Northern California was recorded with a 4-second exposure. Because the lighting was good that day, I had a hard time getting an exposure long enough to produce the effect I wanted. By putting a polarizer over the lens, I was able to reduce the shutter speed and get that dreamy look I was hoping for.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story