At this moment, I'm working in my hotel room listening to music streamed from an iPad to the new iHome iDM12 Portable Bluetooth Speaker Systemthat has terrific sound, including decent bass, yet only weights .35 pounds. I charged the unit before leaving home, so I don't have to mess with batteries. Just turn it on, connect to the iPad via Bluetooth, and play.

There are four buttons on top of the iDM12: Power, Volume Down, Volume Up, and a multifunctional button. Initially you use the MF button to pair the device with the iPad. After that, you can use it to play/pause music. This is handy because I have the iHome on my desk in the hotel, with the iPad across the room. I can actually control playback without having to touch the iPad.

If you like to watch movies or TV shows on your iPad, the iDM12 enhances the experience nicely. You can use the included stand to set up your iPad, then enjoy great sound via the iHome speakers. Very handy when two people are watching together. And when you're traveling, the stand folds up and attaches to the front of the unit.

If you want to use the iHome speakers with another device via stereo mini jack, use the dual-purpose USB cord that also has a male stereo jack for a regular MP3 device. I've also paired the device with my MacBook Air. Use the Bluetooth setup on the Air, then choose the iDM12 as the audio output device. Sounds great!

You can buy the iHome iDM12 directly from iHome for $69 with free shipping, or from Amazon for $64with free shipping. The unit produces rich sound, hardly takes up any room, and frees you from wires when using with the iPad or MacBook. Definitely recommended for anyone who wants to enhance the audio output of their portable device.

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I was just reading a Canon advisory about peripheral AF points operation limitation with certain EF lenses, referring to eight older lenses released between 1990 and 1995. One of the lenses, the 35-105mm zoom, is still hanging around my studio.

Just to be clear, the advisory doesn't say that the lenses don't work with the new Canon bodies. The issue is, "...the peripheral AF points do not function as cross-type AF points resulting in vertical and horizontal lines not being simultaneously detected. Vertical or horizontal lines can only be detected separately."

One of the things I enjoy about my Canon DSLR system is that I'm still using favorite lenses from years ago, such as the 85mm f/1.8, on current bodies, such as the 5D Mark II and the 60D. This particular advisory doesn't bother me much, In fact, I appreciate the information... just in case I decide to break out the 35-105 zoom (which was a mediocre lens at best, btw).

The good news is, that in most cases, you're going to get solid performance with your older Canon EF lenses on any Canon DSLR body. That's why we say that good glass is an investment.

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There are a handful of applications that enable a connection from an iPad to your DSLR. But if you really want to control the camera remotely, take a look at onOne's DSLR Camera Remote HD for the iPad.

I've connected a Canon T1i, 60D, and 5D to my MacBook Air, and then used my iPad as command central. This includes working in Live View, video recording, and using the iPad as an Intervalometer to set both interval and number of shots for a session.

The set-up is painless. First, I downloaded the iPad app from the App Store ($49.99). Then I went to the onOne site to download the server for my MacBook.

Connect the camera to the MacBook, turn it on, and fire up the server. Then launch the iPad app. It will see your computer on the WiFi network and list it for you. You tap the name of your computer in the list, and DSLR Camera Remote HD makes the connection. You now have control of your camera from the iPad

At this point, you can turn off and on Live View (for cameras that have it), take pictures, focus (via Live View), adjust parameters such as white balance and ISO, and even record video if your camera supports it. When all of the settings are to your liking, you can switch to full screen mode that gives you a bigger version on the image with the Fire button. You have the option of saving your photos to the computer only, or the computer and the camera.

DSLR Camera Remote HD is designed for Canon and Nikon cameras. The interface is well designed, functionality works great, and for Canon users in particular, it's worth the price for the Intervalometer alone.

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Over the course of an event, such as WPPI 2011 in Las Vegas, I notice little adjustments along the way. Here's an example that made me smile.

On Day 3 at WPPI, the body painters were wearing undergarments. Click on image for larger size.

Earlier in the show, when I walked by the Unique Photo booth, they were body painting models, but with no undergarments on top. This has been a popular attention grabber at Vegas photo shows in the past. Aside from the attractive models, the artists are quite good. It's amazing at how fast they work, and how effective the results are.

Then, on Wednesday, I passed by the booth again on my way to see Brian Smith present at the Sony booth, and I noticed that the models were now sporting bras beneath the body paint. Looks like, even in Vegas, you have to cover up these days.

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Out of Focus Car Lights - Las Vegas, originally uploaded by The Digital Story.

This image was captured from an overpass on Las Vegas Ave., looking down at the cars and lights on the street. I was shooting with a Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L on a Canon 60D. I opened the aperture all the way to f/2.8, then manually defocused the lens to create this abstract bokeh composition.

I'm seriously considering making a SizzlPix of this image. I think it would be fascinating to hang on the studio wall.

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The Epson R3000 Inkjet Printer features high-capacity cartridges that hold 25.9 ml of ink each, more than most printers in this class. I was able to pop the hood on one today at WPPI and take this shot, allowing you to see for yourself.

Indeed the cartridges look much bigger than those in my R2400. Epson also confirmed that they are on schedule for a March delivery of the first batch of R3000s. The street price will be $849.

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Statue of Liberty, Las Vegas, originally uploaded by The Digital Story.

As soon as the Expo Hall closes at WPPI, I head outdoors for some late afternoon shooting. In this case, I liked facing the sunset and working with the interesting shapes of Las Vegas.

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I'm recording this podcast as I'm stepping out of my hotel room in Las Vegas for day 2 of the WPPI show at the MGM Grand Hotel. I wanted to hold off on recording this episode until I've spent some time here, so you're getting my impressions of the event as close to "live" as possible.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (21 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. You can support this podcast by purchasing the TDS iPhone App for only $2.99 from the Apple App Store.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Loved One is the February 2011 Photo Assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Member Participation page. Deadline for entry is Feb. 28, 2011.

TDS Summer 2011 Photography Workshop

We're making plans now for the Summer 2011 TDS Photography Workshop. If you want your name on the reserve list, just drop me a line.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Podcast Sponsors

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Make Your Photos Sizzle with Color! -- SizzlPix is like High Definition TV for your photography.

You don't have to be a guy to use a Lowepro S&F Technical vest, as proven by fashion photographer Vered Koshlano. In this Lowepro blog post, she explains why in a very fun 1-minute video recorded on the show floor at WPPI.

You can see Vered's work at www.byvk.com.

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WPPI: Checking Out a Lowepro Pro Roller, originally uploaded by The Digital Story.

Many TDS Podcast listeners have come by the Lowepro booth to say hello. If you're attending WPPI, I hope I get to meet you. I'm here in Las Vegas through Wednesday.

"This is an HDR shot with a Canon 60D using a Canon wide-angle 10-22mm at 10mm and the ISO set to 800," writes Keith Burrows. "I used Aperture 3 and HDR Pro plugin by NIK software."

Moonrise, Palm Beach, Florida by Keith Burrows

"This section of beach was lit by giant spotlights from atop the seaside condos behind me. It almost made the water look like it had an underwater pool light illuminating it. I shot quite a few that night and will post them soon on my new photography site.

Keith is an associate Pastor at Acts 2 Worship Center A/G with a passion to capture the wonder & splendor of God's creation.

This is our 209th Grab Shot! Wow. If you want to review the collection that began back in 2006, go to our Grab Shots page.

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. We'll try to get it published for you on The Digital Story.

And you can view more images from our virtual camera club in the Member Photo Gallery.

The Digital Story Podcast App is the best way to stream or download weekly TDS podcast episodes. No more syncing your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or even your Android phone just to get a podcast. And the best part is, The Digital Story Podcast App is your way to help support this show. Download it today!

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I'll be in rocking Las Vegas next week for the WPPI Convention at the MGM Grand Hotel. In addition to helping photographers in the Lowepro booth (#124), I plan on reporting on interesting things I see and people who I meet. I'm also going to record next week's TDS podcast from the MGM Grand.

Canon has the largest booth area, followed by Nikon and Sony. But one of the things I like about WPPI is that the expo attracts lots of smaller businesses doing creative things. I hope to share some of those goodies with you next week.

If you plan on attending the event, please stop by the Lowepro booth to say hello, or send me a Tweet at Derrick_Story.

Next stop... Las Vegas!

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As we wait for large aperture prime lenses from Zeiss and Sigma for our micro four thirds cameras, we can still create those velvety soft backgrounds right now. I've been testing adapters for my Olympus PEN E-PL2, and it's a lot of fun.

A Canon 50mm f/1.2 mounted on an Olympus E-PL2 to create this soft background effect. Click on image for larger version.

The process is quite simple. You get an adapter that allows you to mount a particular brand of lens on your camera. I've tested Zeiss and Canon adapters for the E-PL2. This allows me to use wide aperture primes on the petite Olympus to achieve effects I can't get with the kit lens.

Since the PEN cameras have image stabilization built-in to the body, any lens you put on the body becomes stabilized. You have to manually focus, and you don't get any aperture metadata. But what you do get is the ability to create shots at wide aperture.

If you want to create a big time look with your little camera, investigate adapters for any prime lenses you may have stashed in the closet.

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Hiding pictures in iPhoto '11 is a helpful technique when you want to keep an image in your library, but you don't want others to see it. It's easy to set up, and just as simple to turn on and off. In this short video, I use the technique to hide a picture of me taken after a week of Oktoberfest in Munich.

More Training Available

There are now two ways to learn and have more fun with iPhoto '11: my iPhoto '11 Essential Training ONLINE at Lynda.com, and the new iPhoto '11 Essential Training DVD that you can purchase from the Lynda.com Store for $49.95 US.

You also may want to watch Creating Smart Albums in iPhoto '11. It's a very handy technique.

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Audio recording is becoming a bigger part of the photographer's world. Whether we're capturing video with our DSLR or adding voiceover to a slideshow, we need to ensure that our presentations sound as good as they look. In this week's podcast, I discuss the Rode VideoMic Pro Compact Shotgun Microphone, an Audio Technica lapel mic, and the Logitech USB Headset H530that plug directly into your computer. All three device will help you capture clean audio.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (32 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. You can support this podcast by purchasing the TDS iPhone App for only $2.99 from the Apple App Store.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Loved One is the February 2011 Photo Assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Member Participation page. Deadline for entry is Feb. 28, 2011.

TDS Summer 2011 Photography Workshop

We're making plans now for the Summer 2011 TDS Photography Workshop. If you want your name on the reserve list, just drop me a line.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Podcast Sponsors

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Make Your Photos Sizzle with Color! -- SizzlPix is like High Definition TV for your photography.

By using B&W in a photo, you can help focus the viewer's eye to a particular area of the composition. In this shot for example, I like how the basketball player is flying above the rim. It's amazing really. But in the full color version, the colorful crowd was distracting, making it hard to isolate the player with the ball. I like the expressions in the crowd, but I want the viewer to look at those after focusing on the main subject.

After bouncing off a trampoline during the halftime show at Oracle Arena, this athlete soars high into the air then dunks the ball on his way down. Click on image for larger version.

To help improve things, I converted the entire image to B&W in Aperture 3, then I used an adjustment brush to restore the color to just the player. To do this, go to the gear menu in the B&W brick, and choose, "Brush B&W away." It's very easy to do.

You can also create this effect in Photoshop, but the thing I like about Aperture 3 is that I don't have to build a mask. The application does that for me. All I have to do is paint and I get the effect I want.

More Aperture Tips and Techniques

My next Aperture Workshop is May 23, 2011 in Santa Rosa, CA. write me if you're interested in attending.

To learn more about Aperture 3, check out my Aperture 3 Essential Training on Lynda.com. Also, take a look at our Aperture 3 Learning Center. Tons of free content about how to get the most out of Aperture.

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The ability to push the ISO up to 3200 for indoor sports makes everything easier. I can stop down the aperture a bit to give me more depth of field, and still maintain a fast shutter speed to freeze the action.

Warriors point guard Stephen Curry splits the defense of Durant and Green to score during the Warriors victory over Oklahoma City at Oracle Arena on Feb. 13, 2011. Click on image for larger version.

For last night's Warriors victory over Oklahoma City at Oracle Arena, I used the Canon EOS 60Dwith the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L zoom to capture these shots. The 60D works great because of its 5.3 fps burst rate and the excellent image quality at ISO 3200. This enabled me to shoot at 1/500th second at f/4 or f/5.6.

Kevin Durant dunks against the Warriors at Oracle Arena. Click on image for larger version.

Being able to use the f/4 telephoto instead of the bulkier f/2.8 70-200mm makes everything easier for this type of sports photography because it is lighter and smaller. Then, to get the most out of the images, I capture in Raw, even though the memory buffer fills up a bit faster on the 60D when I do.

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The just announced Olympus SZ-10 is a compact featuring a 18x super telephoto 28-504mm lens, 3" 460K-dot LCD monitor, 720p HD video recording, 3D photo mode... and face detection for cats and dogs.

That's right, in there are two scene modes dedicated to cats and dogs, so when your favorite pet turns toward the camera, the SZ-10 locks-in focus and exposure for their adorable faces. "Say kibble!"

The Olympus SZ-10 should be available in April 2011 for $249.

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I started working for a local newspaper when I was in high school, and for the next 25 years my photography was defined, in large part, by my employer. Then, in the late 1990s, the Web changed everything. For the first time I wasn't a staff shooter. As part of the evolution, I built my own web site and became a freelancer. I didn't fully realize it at the time, but my career was taking a 180 degree change toward being an independent writer and photographer.

I started thinking about all of this again after reading a good post on the web site, A Photo Editor titled, Is Editorial Photography Dead?. It's definitely worth a read. Essential, the answer is "no," but it certainly is changing. There are very few staff jobs these days, and content is being created at all levels, from "pros" to bloggers. I agree with this. In fact, I wear both hats myself.

I have shoots that I'm hired to do that often include credentials and expense reports. Then I have activities where I have a PEN in my jacket pocket, I see a shot, capture it, and then post it on my blog. This recent shot of Dorell Wright could have easily accompanied a paid newspaper article I might have written in the past. Now it's part of my blogging today. There's no paycheck for this shot, but somehow it helps my cause. The Web is like that.

Dorell Wright, Golden State Warriors - Captured during pre-game warmups with an Olympus PEN E-PL2 with an 40-150mm lens at 150mm. ISO 1600. Click on image for larger version.

I'm as excited as ever about photography. But I've made more adjustments to my career in the last two years than I had in the 30 years that preceded it. So I would say that the state of editorial photography is: rapid change. And my advice is to move with it, and when you can, get in front of it.

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One of the most tempting combinations in the micro four thirds universe is mounting the Panasonic 7-14mm f/4.0 zoom lenson a new Olympus E-PL2 body. The effective range of the Panasonic lens is 14-28mm, providing lots of shooting opportunities that you don't get with a regular kit lens.

Liberty Hill, San Francisco by Derrick Story. Click on image for larger size.

The Panasonic wide zoom feels like a quality optic. It's solid, smooth, and absolutely beautiful. You have to hold it to truly appreciate its machined precision. The constant f/4 maximum aperture combined with the ISO 1600 performance on the E-PL2 is a street shooter's dream come true. And the compatibility is excellent when mounted on Olympus PENs. The metadata for this shot shows all of the lens information as well as the camera data. This is one of the areas where adhering to agreed standards really pays off.

This image from the Liberty Hill area of San Francisco was shot at 14mm wide open on the E-PL2 at ISO 1600. (You can see all of the metadata by clicking on the chart to the left for an enlarged view.) The Jpeg was then processed in Aperture, exported, sampled down, then 12 percent Smart Sharpen was added in Photoshop CS5 before posting here. All through the processing workflow, the photo looked great: clean tones and good clarity. This makes post production much easier when you have a solid image to begin with.

The Panasonic 7-14mm f/4.0 zoom lenswill set you back about $850. It's not a casual purchase. I borrowed one from my photographer friend Ben Long, and have been trying to figure out how to buy my own ever since. I'm sure it's one of those "will last a lifetime" investments. And if you want to work at wide focal lengths, it's a zoom that you will most likely fall in love with.

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I was happy when I could mount sexy Panasonic lenses on my Olympus PEN. But the Micro Four Thirds party just got a bit more exciting. In the last week, Schneider-Kreuznach, Carl Zeiss, and Sigma all announced that they would be designing and manufacturing glass for the Micro Four Thirds mount.

I think this is particularly good news for Olympus PEN owners because those cameras have image stabilization built into the body. This means that any M4/3 mount should work great on any PEN, and include IS.

Personally, I'm looking forward to new prime lenses. Two of my current favorites for the PEN are the Olympus 17mm f/2.8 Lens($259) and the Panasonic LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7 ($334). Imagine having a Carl Zeiss 40mm f/1.8 (which would equal an 80mm f/1.8 because you double the focal length for M4/3) or a Sigma 50mm f/2.8 macro?

This will be a scene to keep your eyes on in 2011...

Even though the just-announced Canon T3i DSLR looks great, it was an accessory for it that got me excited. The Speedlite 270EX II for $169, which can be used as a slave flash in E-TTL wireless autoflash configurations with other E-TTL compatible EOS and PowerShot cameras. That means that this super compact unit that only requires 2 AA cells can be used as an off-camera flash with my Canon 60D DSLR because of the built-in wireless transmitter. This is also true for the 7D and new T3i.

The 270EX II also includes a remote firing function enabling you to trigger the camera from the flash. And thanks to the articulated screens on the 60D and T3i, you can angle the LCD so you can review the shot even when you're not standing behind the camera.

Being able to set up off-camera flash with just my DSLR and a compact unit means that I will use this wonderful technique more often. The 270EX II will add very little weight to my everyday backpack. Once the flash begins shipping in March, I'll post a full review.

Learn Off Camera Flash Technique (Easily!)

If you want to learn how to use this great lighting technique for your portraits, check out Photo Assignment: Off-Camera Flash. There are 15 instructional movies, three of which are absolutely free, including the free tutorial, "Using One Flash on One Light Stand for a Simple Portrait." Perfect, wouldn't you say, for the Speedlite 270EX II?

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Some of the most frustrating mistakes occur when we forget to change our settings back to default after a shoot. I just had such an experience when I thought I was shooting in Raw... but no! I was shooting 2.5 megapixel Jpegs instead. Too bad it was a great shot. In this podcast, I review 10 reminders for after a shoot. Embrace these, and you will have fewer missed shots.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (26 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. You can support this podcast by purchasing the TDS iPhone App for only $2.99 from the Apple App Store.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Loved One is the February 2011 Photo Assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Member Participation page. Deadline for entry is Feb. 28, 2011.

TDS Summer 2011 Photography Workshop

We're making plans now for the Summer 2011 TDS Photography Workshop. If you want your name on the reserve list, just drop me a line.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Podcast Sponsors

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Make Your Photos Sizzle with Color! -- SizzlPix is like High Definition TV for your photography.

I've been looking for a good compact condenser mic for my video work on location. When I saw the announcement for the Rode VideoMic Pro Compact Shotgun Microphone, it looked like a perfect fit for my field work. After some preliminary testing, I'm impressed enough to take it on my next assignment, covering WPPI in Las Vegas later this month.

What I Like

• Standard 9 volt battery that provides hours of work. This is important in the field.
• Green indicator light that lets you know the mic is on and powered up. Most of my condensers do not have indicator lights, and I'm always nervous about the status of the battery during long shoots.
• Three-position decibel switch (-10, 0, +20), that when used in conjunction with the manual gain setting on my Canon 60D and 5D, gives me very good control over audio levels during recording.
• 80 Hz high pass filter when working around the hums and buzzes of events.
• The condenser capsule has a supercardioid pickup pattern that's able to capture audio from the front, yet minimizes pickup from the sides and rear.
• Truly light and compact. Fits nicely in my camera bag.

What I Don't Like

• Battery compartment cover is clunky and could be frustrating to operate when having to change out the 9 volts in the field.
• Mount does not fit in the hot shoe of my Canon 60D. [See update at end of article for more on this. Problem appears to have been corrected.]It's incredible that Rode could make such a big mistake here, but I can only slide the mic in about 1/3 of the way in to the camera hot shoe.
• Shock mount is nice, but you have to use it all the time. There is no mounting hardware for the mic itself if you remove it from the shock mount.
• No case is included. For a mic that's designed for travel, and that costs $230, seems like Rode could give us a case to protect it.

The Bottom Line

Rode VideoMic Pro lists for $229. It looks good mounted atop DSLRs. It includes a solid right-angle mini stereo jack that works great with DSLRs that include audio ports. Sound quality is good, and I like having decibel control on the back of the mic.

I'm frustrated with the hot shoe mount that does not work well with my Canon 60D. I'm only able to push it in about 1/3 of the way. It still works, but c'mon, nobody tested that? I would also like a second mount for the mic for those situations when I need something a bit more rugged that the rubber-band shock mount. And not including a case for a travel mic feels like penny pinching.

But even with those complaints, the Rode VideoMic Pro is the best travel condenser mic I have right now, and it gives me a high quality option for those situations where lapel mics are impractical. If it holds up over time, I should be happy with my investment.

UPDATE Feb. 15, 2011 -- I just received this note from Rode about the hot shoe foot on the VideoMic Pro I had tested: "We've conducted an internal audit and have concluded that this was an isolated issue that unfortunately existed in a small number of the first production batch of VideoMic Pros. Moving forward we have tightened the QA procedure for the shoe mount to ensure that this won't happen again." They sent me a replacement foot for my mic, and it now mounts perfectly on all of my hot shoe cameras.

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Congratulations to John Farnan for his winning entry, Impressions of NYC for the Jan. 2011 Blurb Book Page of the Month.

"Impressions of NYC" by John Farnan. Click on image for larger version.

Have you considered making your own book? If so, take a look at our Blurb on The Digital Story site.

"The photo was taken in Lower Antelope Canyon (Utah) and shows the detail of Navajo sandstone," writes Chris Cornelis. "Wind and water have carved out beautiful shapes with amazing texture."

"Lower Antelope Canyon" (Utah) by Chris Cornelis

"When I entered the canyon I was overwhelmed. I started taking photos like crazy, resulting in a lot of mediocre photos and a couple of pretty good ones. I like this one a lot because it captures the essence of what makes the canyon so beautiful (color, shape, texture), and at the same time, it's a very simple image."

This is our 208th Grab Shot! Wow. If you want to review the collection that began back in 2006, go to our Grab Shots page.

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. We'll try to get it published for you on The Digital Story.

And you can view more images from our virtual camera club in the Member Photo Gallery.

The Digital Story Podcast App is the best way to stream or download weekly TDS podcast episodes. No more syncing your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or even your Android phone just to get a podcast. And the best part is, The Digital Story Podcast App is your way to help support this show. Download it today!

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Full screen mode isn't just for editing anymore. You can take advantage of every pixel on your Mac for just about any task in iPhoto. This can improve your experience considerably when working on a smaller device, such as the new 11" MacBook Air.

Here's a short video on how to take full advantage of full screen mode in iPhoto '11.

More Training Available

There are now two ways to learn and have more fun with iPhoto '11: my iPhoto '11 Essential Training ONLINE at Lynda.com, and the new iPhoto '11 Essential Training DVD that you can purchase from the Lynda.com Store for $49.95 US.

Other Articles about iPhoto '11

Creating Smart Folders in iPhoto '11

Introduction to iPhoto '11 Essential Training

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Rain Clouds over Power Lines, originally uploaded by The Digital Story.

If you change your camera's resolution, remember to change it back.

During a Macworld class I was teaching, I lowered the resolution on my Canon 60D (for a particular demonstration) to "S2," which is only 1920x1280 (2.5 megapixels). After the class was over, I forgot to return the setting to Raw where I normally keep it. When I am shooting Raw, I get full resolution from the camera -- 5184x3456 (18 megapixels).

The next day, while driving to my Lynda.com assignment in Ventura, CA, I saw this dramatic scene on Interstate 5 and was lucky enough to capture it. Unfortunately, the image was at the lower resolution I had set during the Macworld class. Ack!

Well, at least I can use it on the Web...

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What's the best way to share images with clients and subjects after a photo shoot? I recommend putting up an online gallery. But you may want to control who sees the images, and what they can do with them. In this week's podcast, I talk about using Flickr and MobileMe to provide secure galleries for the people you photograph. One is easier than the other to set up... and which one that is may surprise you.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (20 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. You can support this podcast by purchasing the TDS iPhone App for only $2.99 from the Apple App Store.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Loved One is the February 2011 Photo Assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Member Participation page. Deadline for entry is Feb. 28, 2011.

TDS Summer 2011 Photography Workshop

We're making plans now for the Summer 2011 TDS Photography Workshop. If you want your name on the reserve list, just drop me a line.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Podcast Sponsors

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Make Your Photos Sizzle with Color! -- SizzlPix is like High Definition TV for your photography.

Who cares if the weather outside is terrible? This month TDS shooters prove that you can stay inside and still get great shots. Check out the Indoor Lighting gallery from members of our virtual camera club. And which one will be the SizzlPix Pick of the Month?

The Feb. 2011 assignment is "Loved One." Start working on your contribution now. Details can be found on the Member Participation page. You can now submit photo assignment pictures up to 800 pixels in the widest direction.

Please follow the instructions carefully for labeling the subject line of the email for your submission. It's easy to lose these in the pile of mail if not labeled correctly. For example, the subject line for next month's assignment should be: "Photo Assignment: Feb. 2011." Also, if you can, please don't strip out the metadata. And feel free to add any IPTC data you wish (These fields in particular: Caption, Credit, Copyright, Byline), I use that for the caption info.

Photo by Wayne Lorimer. (Click on it to see enlarged version.) You can read more about how Wayne captured this shot, plus see all of the other great images on the December 2010 Gallery page.

Good luck with your February assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for December. Very impressive!

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-

Now Available! The Digital Photography Companion. The official guide for The Digital Story Virtual Camera Club.

• 25 handy and informative tables for quick reference.
• Metadata listings for every photo in the book
• Dedicated chapter on making printing easy.
• Photo management software guide.
• Many, many inside tips gleaned from years of experience.
• Comprehensive (214 pages), yet fits easily in camera bag.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story, Photo Assignment