Sorry for the lack of articles! I’ve been busy planning and getting married! 
To get back on track, DigiSniper has a good article on how to Spot a Fake Memory Card! Don’t be a victim of fake imitation goods!
The “Sorry Corporation” on the fake memory stick is hilarious. You should be able to spot that the next time you’re shopping for a memory stick.
Photography Bay reports that Nikon’s press release for PMA has been leaked. Nikon will be announcing a whole bunch of new lenses and yet another new DLSR not long after they announced the D3 and D300.
Nikon’s new D60 will feature:
The following lenses will also be announced:
I can’t wait for PMA to see if any or all of the above will be announced!
Click here for the full article! Thanks Engadget!
P.S. Sorry for the lack of articles lately. I’m busy preparing for my wedding
Instructables has a very cheap and good DIY flash diffuser project. It can be attached to any flash units like the Nikon SB600 and SB800 speedlights and the Canon 420EX and 580EX.
Here are the ingredients required:
This makes for a very good weekend project and could save some money for that lens you’ve been dreaming of.
Thanks for your support since Photography7.com started!
Have a Merry Christmas and be safe during the holidays!
Aperture Histogram (RGB) by tychay
Most modern DSLRs and some compact cameras are equipped with a built-in histogram. Most photo editing applications like Photoshop will also include one or more histograms for you to analyze your photos.
But what is it trying to tell us? This is another aspect of digital photography that has stumped me for some time. For the longest time, I’ve only been able to check if my photos are overexposed or under exposed from the histogram. After reading this article from the Professional Photographer website, I finally have a clue.
Here’s some extract that helped me the most:
What does a histogram show?
It shows how the luminance values in a in a digital or digitized photograph are distributed. The linear scale in a histogram runs from black at one end to white at the opposite end.
What does it represent?
The horizontal scale of the histogram measures exposure latitude, and the vertical scale measures quantity: it tells us how many pixels in the image have a specific luminosity value.
The article also brings up a very interesting point that I didn’t know. The histograms in some camera’s LCD is based on a highly compressed low-res JPEG.
More than likely, the data being sent to the preview is based on a highly compressed low-resolution jpeg using an 8-bit-per-channel version of the color space you’ve chosen and possibly incorporating the tone settings you (or the camera manufacturer) have set as in camera processing parameters.
Head over to Professional Photographer for the full article. Maybe you’ll be able to understand it better than me and perhaps write an article for Photography7. 
The holidays are here and it’s time to shop for gifts for your loved ones and even yourself! (What better excuse to splurge on your expensive hobby then Christmas?!)
I’ve done a fair amount of shopping for photography equipment, including cameras, DSLRs, lenses and tripods. So here are some tips from my personal experience:
A memory card can and will fail you when you least expect it to. I have heard horror stories of memory cards failing during a wedding, honeymoon and important projects. So split that 4GB SD Card into 2 x 2GB SD Cards.Months later, you still haven’t received your camera. You call the vendor, and you’re given a song and dance about it being back-ordered because of X excuse, (but) would you like to buy the camera bundle with some accessories for $1,700? … If you fall for the up-sell … you’ll notice that your package bundle includes (only) the battery and charger (which are normally included with the camera for MSRP). If you give up and cancel the order, you’ve wasted a ton of time, you don’t have a camera, and the company has had your $600 for three months.
Personally, I don’t like to place a cash deposit especially if the camera is not released yet. It binds you down to the retailer because there is no way that they will return you the deposit.
Do you have any tips to share? Let us know in the comments.
Epic Edits Weblogs is another blog that I regularly read for great tips on photography. One of the great article is a list of 9 post processing techniques to improve your photographs. Even though Brian (the guy behind Epic Edits) titled the article “9 Photoshop techniques…”, I believe most of these techniques can be achieved by using many other alternatives (GIMP, Corel Paint Shop Pro etc.).
Reading through the list, I realise that I have been applying many of the techniques to make my photos more visually appealing!
Here’s a quick summary of the techniques:
You can see at least 3 techniques used in my post box photograph above. The only technique that I’ve never thought of using is adding Noise & Grain. Most of the time, I’ll be too obsessed about reducing noise.
Have you used any of the above techniques? Why not share with us how it worked for you? Drop us a comment.
Honestly, I’m not much of a book person but for the sake of improving my photography, I went online to search for books specifically on composition. My photos are generally lacking in composition. They are boring and look like any ordinary snapshots.
I’ve seen and bought a number of books on photography which are mostly similar. How to use your camera, what is DoF (Depth of Field), what is shutter speed etc… Fairly standard and boring topics. That is why this book is so refreshing: Learning To See Creatively by Bryan Peterson.
Why do other people’s photograph stand out more than mine? The main reason is composition. Composition can turn a photo from “Oh, that’s nice…” to a “Wow! How did you do that?”. Bryan guides and shows you how to train your vision and “see creatively”. There are many photos and comparison to guide you throughout the book and helps to visualize what Bryan is explaining throughout the book.
There are also plenty of engaging exercises including getting down on your knees and belly to view the world differently. It can be daunting at first, especially if you’re like me. I hate it when everyone is looking at me kneeling down to take a photograph. You can review your photos after the exercises and understand the different ways of “seeing”.
After a number of same old photography books, I am quite reluctant to spend more money on books. I’d rather save them for my dream Nikkor lens 17-35 f/2.8. So I borrowed a copy of the book from my local library, you should do the same too. After only halfway through it, I decided that I want my own copy for keeps. It’s only $16.47 from Amazon! How could I resist?!
Digital School Photography lists out some of the ways to hold your camera properly. Holding your camera properly is not just for looking "professional", it all adds up to the stability of your camera. Stability means your photos will turn out sharper!
Here’s what Darren at DPS recommends:
My little addition to these tips is:
Drink less caffeine - Caffeine causes your hands to tremble when taken in high amounts (4-5 cups a day) so try to keep it low.
Head over to the full article at DPS!
If you’re like me, furiously scouring the internet for information on the Nikon D3 and D300 DSLRs, here’s some links to further poision you:
D3 Samples Images (Korean Only) - Hi Res images taken from a Nikon D3. Displaying the superb high ISO perfomance yet again
D300 Sample Images - Shots of UC basketball game taken D300
A few shots with a production Nikon D300 - The 25th unit of Nikon D300 to leave to production line. Sample images and overview of the event too. Take a look at the 100% crop images at ISO 3200. Jaw dropping!
More images taken with Nikon D300
Now, which bank should I rob to be able to afford these awesome bodies?!
