One of the best ways to improve your digital photographic skills is to engage in an exchange with other digital photographers.

I can't tell you how much help I was able to get with film camera restoration and panoramic and stereo photography from various photographic forums, and more recently for my Kodak P880 digital camera, from various forums.

It hasn't all been take either; I've also helped a fair number of fellow photo buffs with their problems.

You'll meet all sorts of interesting people on these forums from rank amateurs to seasoned pros who are more than happy to share their years of experience and knowledge.

Here's an excellent general photography website with some helpful digital camera and photography forums.

Take a camera with you whenever possible, and look around, you'll find a picture somewhere.

Source:www.jimippolito.com

Many people, especially Americans, think that bigger is better, and many times that's true, but not always.

Bigger is better for bank account balances but not necessarily for diamonds for example. A smaller stone with fewer or only tiny flaws looks better and is more valuable than a large one with visible flaws.

But many people are obsessed with numbers such as zoom lens ratios and these days the number of megapixels a digital camera's sensor has.

As I've said in past postings, there are other factors that determine the quality of a digital image besides the number of megapixels. Lens quality, the camera's onboard firmware, and the quality of the camera's digital sensor itself all contribute to the overall result.

Several years ago a friend had her wedding professionally photographed by a pro who used a ten state of the art Canon Rebel 6 mp DSLR.

The results were fabulous and looked as if the pictures were done with a mega bucks film camera such as a Leica or Hasselblad.

Now, we have digital cameras that boast sensors upwards of 13 mp. In fact even I have 8.3 and 9.3 megapixel cameras, modestly prices ones.

Does that mean that I would achieve better results than the pro did a few years ago? No, first off she's a pro and knows how to get the most out of a given camera, so that's a factor.

If you're an honest person, and I believe I am, you cannot be afraid to tip your hat to persons who do what you do, but better.

I found a photography blog that is authored by a highly accomplished young woman who has created some amazing images that I feel will provide inspiration for the rest of us.

Sheba Wheeler, the blog's owner, offers photo tips that are worth checking out, such as "wetting wood" before photographing it to bring out its subtle colors and textures.

I wish I had thought of that before taking the above picture.

Check out Ms. Wheeler's blog and draw some inspiration from it and learn how to be a better digital photographer.

Source:www.jimippolito.com

If you like taking and displaying your pictures then chances are you also like looking at and critiquing other people's pictures.

The problem with searching for images and videos of interest to you is that are just too many of them to find what you're looking for quickly and easily.

But now there's a new, free, easy to use software application that speeds up the process and assures that your searches will return more accurate results.

"Piclens" will make your visits to YouTube, Flikr, Facebook, MySpace Smugmug Google Images, and other sites more enjoyable, so check it out.

Source:www.piclens.com

Now that the venerable Kodak Company has pretty much forsaken film for digital photography it seems that they just can't introduce new cameras fast enough.

Kodak which had only a few digital cameras for sale about 3 years ago, with just small differences between models, now has every imaginable type of camera in its lineup.

I'm still happy with my Kodak P880, and so far it hasn't given me any headaches although, like most complex devices it has had a few glitches and hiccups. Nothing really bad though, such as a total breakdown, or loss of all data has happened. I've only experienced the occasional failure to actually take a picture, even though it appears that it did, but at least you are aware of it and can take another.

Now Kodak is introducing a wide array of technically advanced, compact cameras, at very attractive prices, such as the Kodak M1063, shown above.

Rather than try to relate the details on all of Kodak's new models check out this page and click on the various links that take you to the details of all the new Kodak digital cameras.

Take a camera with you whenever possible, and look around, you'll find a picture somewhere.

Source:www.kodak.com

Is there anyone out there who hasn't played around on YouTube at least for a little while?

Hey even I have over 100 videos on YouTube, which I shot for my "Playtime Las Vegas blog.

Well now, digital camera and camcorder manufacturers are starting to offer a recording option that allows the user to record video clips that are optimized and immediately available for upload to YouTube.

Now the well equipped videophile on the go can shoot a video, download it to a Wi-Fi enabled laptop, and instantly upload it to YouTube.

The Samsung SC-MX20 camcorder uses SD cards, provides 720x480 resolution, has a Schneider lens with 34X optical zoom, and allows 16:9 widescreen recording at a MSRP of $279.00.

Take a camera with you whenever possible, and look around, you'll find a picture somewhere.

Source:www.cameratown.com