Wandering off the reservation...

As our regular readers know, and all the new ones are about to find out, on weekends I tend to "go off topic" from photography and post on just about anything.

Things that are interesting, topical, or important (at least to me).

My daughter was reading a magazine and saw a short blurb about a new theme park that was designed for people with special needs and said "you should tell people about this".

I thought she was right.

Being the fortunate parent of children that don't have special needs I've never thought about the things those families don't have access to, the family trips (and fun) they haven't had.


So, todays wandering is to share with you "Morgan's Wonderland", it opened just 6 months ago, and is "the World's First Ultra Accessible Family Fun Park designed specifically for children and adults with special needs, their family members, caregivers, friends and the entire community".

Morgan's Wonderland is in San Antonio Texas, sits on 25 acres, and looks like such a fun place.

When I saw the eyes of this young boy I saw pure joy.


So please check out their website, the parks different attractions, and their live webcam.

But most importantly tell others about it.

A wedding video with a new twist...

Here is a wedding video that was sent to me, the twist for this wedding video is that it's done in stop motion/action, something I have never seen before.

I like the uniqueness of this but wonder about the long term viability of this style when it comes to wedding videos.

The video is posted below and I would love to hear what you folks think about this style.

For subscribers you will need to return to the blog as videos are not pushed through with your subscription email, sorry.

Nikon D60 book review...

This is the second in a series (of 3) book reviews done by our readers.

All three books were kindly provided by "Stay Focused Press", todays book is for the Nikon D60, and the review is done by reader Paula Apro.

From Paula:

"I really liked the way “Stay Focused Nikon D60” was organized by problems and solutions to those problems, rather than a step-by-step rundown of all the features. It groups the most common problems that people experience and puts them into different chapters. Each issue offers several different solutions depending on the specific conditions. For instance, a photo can be too dark for several different reasons and each one is fully explained with its individual solutions. The sample photos do a great job at illustrating both the problem and the fix. This makes it easy to jump around reading the items that pertain to your most pressing needs.

Before the groups of problems and solutions, the book starts off with a really handy section called “Boost Your Camera IQ.” This is invaluable for those new to DSLR photography (which many people with the D60 are) and it’s also a great review and refresher for those more experienced shooters.

All of the biggest issues with taking nice photos are covered including, fixing pictures that are too dark, too light, blurry, using the flash, slowing motion, etc. Just about all the bases are covered for the amateur photographer. Each solution includes a page with illustrated step-by-step camera settings. These illustrations show the screens where the settings are to be made. Very handy indeed because most photographers are visual people and will appreciate these supporting graphics.

In addition to the graphics showing the camera settings, the most powerful illustrations are the side-by-side before and after pictures. One picture illustrates the problem and the next shows the result by making the suggested settings. It’s almost not necessary to read if you’re using this book as a reference. You have a problem picture, you pick up this book and look for a picture that resembles your problem, and then match your settings to the ones shown for that issue. Well-la, problem solved!

No matter how much experience you have you are bound to pick up a few new neat tricks. And the refreshers on the basics are always valuable. This book will be especially handy to keep near by when you need a quick reference to the correct camera settings to get that perfect shot."

You can get you own copy of the "Nikon D60" guide as a hard copy book ($22), a PDF ($19), as an iPone/iPod app ($4.99), or for your iPad ($9.99).

Thanks Paula and thanks Stay Focused Press.

Our "Sessions with JoeyL" contest...

Here are just a few of the (many) images that have been entered into this months contest to win "Sessions with JoeyL".

You can find all the details and rules for entering our contest here, and you can head over to our Flickr group to take a look at the fine work our readers have been submitting.

In the mean time, enjoy these images.

(click on any image to view larger and in a new window)

Kumarakaram Kerala

The Dawn

Canon XSi book review...

I recently asked three readers of Weekly Photo Tips to review instructional books specific to the camera they shoot.

The books are from "Stay Focused Press", todays book is for the Canon XSi, and the review is done by reader Chris Scott.

From Chris:

"Like so many of us that get a new DSLR camera, we fail to read the owner’s manual and go straight to the gear to start using it. This book is aimed at the majority of new camera users that do the same thing.

Starting off, it goes over the three tenets of exposure: ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Diagrams and example photos are given to differentiate what each one means to the exposure. Depth of field is also explained and how that is created or minimalized.

For those that have used a camera before and understand photography basics, you then move onto the rest of the book. Like a troubleshooter’s guide to photos, you are given solutions to a large variety of scenarios and problems that arise.

Photographers would find this book the most rewarding if they picked up the camera, started shooting, and then viewed the photos afterwards. Upon reviewing your shots, you might see a blurry photo, or one out-of-focus, or another one that’s really orange-looking taken inside. You would then look up that specific issue in the last nine chapters of the book and find out what you could have done to improve the shot and not make that mistake next time. Want to take pictures of your kid’s soccer game? It has a whole section to prepare you with what you need to know to take the best possible shots.

The value of this book is its hands-on practicality. It doesn’t waste time with the delving into photography history or the scientific concepts behind aperture. It goes directly to the point and gives you the best information possible - with ample illustrations - of how to pick up your Canon Rebel XSi and know what you are doing."

You can get you own copy of the "Canon XSi" guide as a hard copy book ($22), a PDF ($19), as an iPone/iPod app ($4.99), or for your iPad ($9.99).

Thanks Chris and thanks Stay Focused Press.