For the Nov. 2014 Photo Assignment, TDS shooters worked on many levels. See for yourself in our gallery, Layers. And which one will be the SizzlPix Pick of the Month?

Photo by Victor Hermand. Victor writes, "With this month's assignment, I am happy to celebrate a year of virtual camera club participation. Thank you for all the fun!
Here is the recipe for this month's entry:

• 1 layer of fresh snow
• 1 layer of long exposure
• 1 layer of painting with light
• 1 layer of star trail
• Multiple layers on my back

Participate in This Month's Assignment

The Jan. 2015 assignment is "Backlighting." Details can be found on the Member Participation page. Deadline is Jan. 31, 2015. No limit on image size submitted.

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 this month's assignment should be: "Photo Assignment: Jan. 2015." 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.

Gallery posting is one month behind the deadline. So I'm posting Nov. 2014 gallery at the end of Dec., the Dec. gallery will be posted at the end of Jan., and on and on.

Good luck with your January assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for November.

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

I just love the fact that my most popular Flickr photo of 2014 was recorded during a spontaneous tutorial at the TDS SF Street Photography Workshop last May.

We were scattered about on Pier 14 admiring the night view of the Bay Bridge. Some of the participants had already made some great photos. So I thought we'd do an unplanned tutorial on using Live Time on the Olympus OM-D E-M10.

Using a Mefoto DayTrip Tripod positioned on top of a covered refuse can, I composed the shot. For a little extra spice, I also enabled one of the Art Filters. I so enjoyed being part of the group huddled around the camera as we watched the image come to life.

A few days later, I posted the shot on my Flickr page, and it soon showed up on Explore. It just goes to show, you never know when you're going to capture that popular image...

Flickr Essential Training - I explore the entire Flickr universe, mobile and computer, in my lynda.com title, Flickr Essential Training. Stop by and take a look.

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This week on The Digital Story Photography Podcast: - 5 Tips for a Productive 2015, Ello, I'm Here! Windows Phone 8.1 Adventure - All of this and more on today's show with Derrick Story.

Snapshot - Holiday Group Shots - We gathered, we ate, we laughed, and then we took a group shot.

Weekly Update - Nikon D750 flare problems? Here's why and what to do about them. (It's not your lens.) - Some number of D750 bodies have a problem with internal reflections -- it's not lens flare -- from the autofocus sensor that lead to strong flare and "shadow bands" appearing in the image. Source: Imaging Resource.

Also this week... Hackers Find that Fingerprints Can Be Stolen Through Public Photos - As the quality of cameras becomes better and better, there's a new security issue emerging that you may have not thought about: fingerprints being stolen from photos. Hackers are reporting that a person's fingerprints can be reproduced using public photos that show their hand. Source: PetaPixel.

Story #1 - 5 Tips for a Productive 2015 - Each new year brings new opportunities. Are you ready to make the most of 2015?

• Endeavor at least one new project (or product) each year.
• Decide (and write down) how success will be measured.
• Keep a running list of great ideas.
• Reflect on what worked well, and what did not in 2014.
• Get your house in order. Do you have the tools and resources lined up to take advantage of new opportunities?

Story #2 - Ello, I'm Here! - After a month of observation and posting, I have to say that I think Ello is interesting. In fact, I bought the T-Shirt... literally. Here's more about it. You can find me on Ello here.

Story #3 - Windows Phone 8.1 Adventure - I was curious about the state of Windows phone operating system, so I bought a Nokia 520 on the cheap so learn more about the state of Microsoft in the mobile universe. I share my report in the third feature story of the day. I've also published two articles: 24 Hours with a Windows 8 Smartphone and Has Windows Phone Come of Age for Photographers?

Virtual Camera Club News

Photo Assignment for December 2014 is "Frozen".

News from SizzlPix: Have your SizzlPix now, and with BillMeLater, make no payment until June. Great for selling SizzlPix of your photography and collecting your profit even before you pay. Also helpful for any photographer with an opportunity for gallery showings.

Red River Paper - Save 10 percent off your next order of inkjet paper and greeting cards. Good one per customer. Use discount code STORY10X - Ends 1/15/15.

And Finally...

If you haven't done so already, please post a review for The Digital Story Podcast in iTunes.

BTW: If you're ordering through B&H or Amazon, please click on the respective ad tile under the Products header in the box half way down the 2nd column on thedigitalstory.com. That helps support the site.

In addition to subscribing in iTunes, you can also download the podcast file here (33 minutes). You can support this podcast by purchasing the TDS iPhone App for only $2.99 from the Apple App Store.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

lynda.com - Learn lighting, portraiture, Photoshop skills, and more from expert-taught videos at lynda.com/thedigitalstory.

Red River Paper -- Keep up with the world of inkjet printing, and win free paper, by liking Red River Paper on Facebook.

SizzlPix! - High resolution output for your photography. You've never seen your imagery look so good. SizzlPix.com. SizzlPix! now is qualified for PayPal "Bill Me Later," No payments, No interest for up to 6 months, which means, have your SizzlPix! now, and pay nothing until June!

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

I've been hanging out on Ello for a while, and there are definitely interesting people posting there.

If you want a crash course in Ello, take a look at the post titled, 10 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Ello by Thomas Hawk. Thomas is a fan of this social network for creative types, and he shares some good info in his post.

If you want to look me up on Ello, I'm there as derrickstory. If you need an invite, just send me an email.

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Anyone who follows me knows that I'm a dyed-in-the-wool iOS user. But as I was looking around for an inexpensive smartphone to serve as a backup, I couldn't help but to notice that the Nokia Lumia 520 with Windows 8.1. It's an amazing deal at $29 with the "pay as you go" AT&T GoPhone Plan. So I decided to give it a try.

Now if you're thinking that this is going to be a "bash Windows" article, you're wrong. After just a day of use, I like what Microsoft has done with Windows Phone 8.1. And to be honest, I prefer it over my Android device.

Overall Impression

The latest OS from Microsoft is attractive and easy to learn. The Home screen displays tiles that represent your favorite apps. You can "pin" new apps to the screen and remove those you don't use often. There are three sizes to choose from, allowing you to design your Home screen to your liking.

Tap and hold on a tile and it pops forward allowing you to resize or remove it. At the bottom of your Home screen is an arrow icon that you can tap to see all of your apps in list form. You can add any of these to the Home screen by tapping and holding on it, then selecting "pin to start."

As for global navigation, at the bottom of the display is an arrow icon pointing left; that's the go back key. The Windows icon in the center is the home key. And the magnifying glass icon on the right takes you directly to Bing on Windows 8, and to Cortana if your have Windows 8.1 installed. The Nokia 520 can easily be updated to 8.1 over the air, and it's worth doing. Cortana is excellent, by the way.

Overall, I like the typography, design, and intuitive operation of Windows 8.1. It looks great.

Picture Taking and Editing

Given that I have a very inexpensive smartphone, I tempered my expectations for the 5MP camera on the Nokia 520. And to be honest, it's about what I expected. It takes serviceable images with a minimum of fuss. The side button located near the bottom of the right edge of the phone activates the camera, whether the phone is on or off. Press it again and it takes a picture once the image is in focus.

Dibs the cat captured with the Nokia Lumina 520 smartphone..

This works great for quick snapshots. Otherwise, I'm using the Lumina Camera app that provides more options, such as settings for white balance, ISO, and exposure compensation. You can download the app for free from the Windows Store. The store is easy to use and has a surprising amount of software available.

Either way, the resulting file was 1456 × 2592 pixels and around 1.5 MBs in size. Since the Nokia 520 only has 8GBs on onboard memory, I added a 2GB micro SD card to store my pictures. If needed, I can swap that out anytime for a larger card. It's a good option to have.

As you would imagine, there are a host of image editing apps in the Windows Store. At the moment I'm using Adobe Photoshop Express. It works well and it's free. There are lots of adjustment sliders, auto fix, a before/after button, cropping, and even a handful of filters called "looks." If you have an Adobe ID, you can connect to your cloud storage too.

For those who want to take screenshots with a Windows 8.1 device, press the Volume Up and Power buttons at the same time, and the screen image will be saved to your Camera Roll.

Photographer Stuff

I was pleasantly surprised to find a number of my favorite photographer apps in the Windows Store.

Instagram is there now as a beta. After a day of use, this early release seems just fine. I had no problems browsing images or adding new ones.

Dropbox hasn't release a native app yet (to my knowledge), but there's a handy third party program called CloudSix that connected easily to my Dropbox account. All the folders show up on the Nokia, and more importantly, I can send images from the device to my account.

Olympus released OI Wireless for Windows 8. It's not as full-featured as the iOS version. But it does allow you to download images from the camera to the phone. I tested it, and the images were transferred smoothly. Now all we need is the nifty camera control function.

Western Digital released WD 2go for Windows 8, that in theory allows me to connect to my wireless WD hard drive. The app can see the drive online, but gives me an error during the connection process. Maybe a fix is in the works?

Bottom Line

The Nokia Lumia 520 is a great little device for the price. AT&T GoPhone options start at $25 a month. I haven't activated my SIM card, in part, because I haven't needed too. I'm using the Nokia on WiFi with no hiccups. In the field, I've turned on Personal Hotspot from the iPhone 5S, then shared that connection. If I ever need cellular with the Nokia 520, the SIM card is inserted, and I can activate it directly from the phone. I have the SIM information card in my wallet just in case.

As for Windows 8.1, it's delightful. I like it much better on the phone than I do on a computer. The operating system is attractive, intuitive, and snappy. The Home screen is great. I enjoy the interactive tiles a lot.

Will I ditch my iPhone for a Windows device? Nope. iOS 8 is still my top choice. But I would buy a Windows phone before an Android device... easily. I think it's the second best mobile OS available.

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

More Help on Managing Your Mobile Photos

In my lynda.com title, Managing Your Mobile Photos, I cover a variety of backup solutions for both iOS and Android users. These tutorials will help you build the perfect backup solution for you, so that you never lose a single memory.

This week on The Digital Story Photography Podcast: - Top Stories of 2014, Lighting Q&A with Leah, Lens Technology, Instagram Cleans House - All of this and more on today's show with Derrick Story.

Snapshot - Instagram Cleans House - My Instagram audience is organic. In other words, I haven't advertised or participated in any promotions to gain new followers. So I was a bit surprised when I lost close to 100 followers during the latest housecleaning. Here's a bit about that.

Weekly Update - Lens Technologies: Fluorine vs. Fluorite - Fluorine is a special coating that's applied to the surface of a lens that helps to repel things like dust, water, grease, and dirt. Fluorite refers to the mineral used to create the lens elements inside the lens. It's a monocrystal that has low chromatic aberration while being much lighter than traditional optical glass. Source: PetaPixel.

Also this week... The Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Gets an Official Price Tag and It's Lower Than We Thought - Tamron Japan has just released the official price tag for the lens, which will be $1,178. It is set to release just five days from now, on December 25. Source: FStoppers.com.

And finally: Apple Adds 7 Cameras with RAW Compatibility 6.02 Update - Canon PowerShot G7 X, Canon PowerShot SX60 HS, Fujifilm X100T, Nikon 1 J4, Olympus PEN Lite E-PL7, Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GM5, and the Sony Alpha ILCE-5100. Source: The Digital Story.

Story #1 - Top Stories for 2014 - What were the topics that caught the eye of TDS readers? Here's the top story for each month of this past year.

• January 2014 - 5 Tips for Shooting Sports with the Olympus OM-D E-M1
• February 2014 - DIY Slide Digitizer with Olympus OM-D and Leica Projector
• March 2014 - How to Restore Old Photos in Aperture
• April 2014 - There's More to Lightroom 5pt4 than Mobile Sync
• May 2014 - Dust Off Your Old Glass
• June 2014 - Can't Decide Between Aperture and Lightroom? Use Both
• July 2014 - How Does the Olympus 75-300mm Stack Up?
• August 2014 - New Uses for Old Camera Bags
• September 2014 - What Not to Shoot with a Typical Zoom at Sporting Events
• October 2014 - Long Telephoto for Landscape Work
• November 2014 - Yosemite Compatibility with Google Nik Collection
• December 2014 - Panasonic 35-100mm f/4.0-5.6 Field Test

Story #2 - Photo Q&A #3 with Leah - "Side Lighting vs Front" - Leah was admiring a photo that had lots of texture, and she was wondering how the photographer achieved the effect. An interesting conversation ensues. 

Story #3 - New SizzlPix Winners! Congratulations to the follow virtual camera club members who participated in recent Photo Assignments and have been selected as SizzlPix Pick of the Month.

• October 2014 - "Water" - Carl Shortt
• September 2014 - "Shot From Behind" - Shelle Singer
• August 2014 - "My Favorite Close Up" - Gary Legere

Virtual Camera Club News

Photo Assignment for December 2014 is "Frozen".

News from SizzlPix: Have your SizzlPix now, and with BillMeLater, make no payment until June. Great for selling SizzlPix of your photography and collecting your profit even before you pay. Also helpful for any photographer with an opportunity for gallery showings.

Red River Paper - Save 10 percent off your next order of inkjet paper and greeting cards. Good one per customer. Use discount code STORY10X - Ends 1/15/15.

And Finally...

If you haven't done so already, please post a review for The Digital Story Podcast in iTunes.

BTW: If you're ordering through B&H or Amazon, please click on the respective ad tile under the Products header in the box half way down the 2nd column on thedigitalstory.com. That helps support the site.

In addition to subscribing in iTunes, you can also download the podcast file here (34 minutes). You can support this podcast by purchasing the TDS iPhone App for only $2.99 from the Apple App Store.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

lynda.com - Learn lighting, portraiture, Photoshop skills, and more from expert-taught videos at lynda.com/thedigitalstory.

Red River Paper -- Keep up with the world of inkjet printing, and win free paper, by liking Red River Paper on Facebook.

SizzlPix! - High resolution output for your photography. You've never seen your imagery look so good. SizzlPix.com. SizzlPix! now is qualified for PayPal "Bill Me Later," No payments, No interest for up to 6 months, which means, have your SizzlPix! now, and pay nothing until June!

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This was my favorite Instagram year to date. Now that I have a couple seasons under my belt, I'm feeling more at home in this square wonderland. To celebrate, here are the Top 7 photos from this year, based on likes... starting with #1.

#1 - Top Dog

What do you do with a brand new lens? Go out and take pictures. What began as a test for the new Olympus MSC ED-M 75 to 300mm II zoom lens for Micro Four Thirds ended up as my top Instagram image of the year.

Backlit Dog, Early Morning.

A photo posted by Derrick Story (@derrickstory) on Aug 8, 2014 at 9:57am PDT

#2 - Passion Flower and Butterfly

I keep a camera by my desk when I'm working at the studio. One afternoon, I noticed this butterfly was attracted to the Passion Flower by the sliding door. Once again I used my new Olympus75 to 300mm II zoom lens to capture this year's second most popular photo.

Butterfly on passionflower, captured with Olympus 75-300mm zoom on the OMD-EM 10.

A photo posted by Derrick Story (@derrickstory) on Jul 7, 2014 at 4:34pm PDT

#3 - Fisheye Trees

While scouting in the Eastern Sierra for my Bodie Workshop in June 2015, I used the super affordable and fun $89 Olympus 9mm f8.0 fisheye body cap lens to photograph this Aspen grove.

Look Up Too! We always say, "Don't forget to look behind you," when taking pictures. And I would add, don't forget to look up too.

A photo posted by Derrick Story (@derrickstory) on Oct 10, 2014 at 2:03pm PDT

#4 - Bay Bridge at Night

I was on assignment to cover the DJI Inspire-1 launch event on Treasure Island, San Francisco. But after the gathering broke up, I parked the car along the water's edge and photographed this night scene with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm/F2.8 zoom.

San Francisco skyline with Bay Bridge.

A photo posted by Derrick Story (@derrickstory) on Nov 11, 2014 at 4:09pm PST

#5 - Eastern Sierra Plain

Outside of Bridgeport, CA is a beautiful open space that I captured with a Pentax K-5 and Cokin graduated filter. I was just having fun...

Oh, how I love open spaces and big skies.

A photo posted by Derrick Story (@derrickstory) on Sep 9, 2014 at 5:01pm PDT

#6 - Moon Shot

I've been admiring this rusty exhaust pipe for years when I came to work in the morning. It's right in my field of view as I walk along the path to the front door of the studio. This particular day, the moon was lined up perfectly for a fun composition. I pulled the OM-D out of my backpack and snapped this image before brewing my first cup of coffee.

Moon Shot.

A photo posted by Derrick Story (@derrickstory) on Oct 10, 2014 at 10:37am PDT

#7 Boy in Tall Grass

It's incredible to me how many of my popular shots were captured with the Olympus75 to 300mm II zoom lens, but here we are again. This time I was having my morning coffee while camping at Sugarloaf Ridge in Northern California, and I spotted this boy in the tall grass illuminated by the morning sun.

Boy in Tall Grass, Morning Light

A photo posted by Derrick Story (@derrickstory) on Aug 8, 2014 at 10:12am PDT

Final Thoughts

I never really know what's going to catch someone's eye. And it's not something I think about while composing the picture. But as I look at this group of shots, I do seen some common themes. They tend to be simple compositions without too many elements. The longer lens certainly had its lion's share of winners. And even though I shoot many, many Instagram pictures with my iPhone 5S, not one them were big favorites this year.

Bottom line is this: I had a blast with Instagram in 2014. And I'm looking forward to a fun, creative 2015.

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Join me on my Instagram site as I explore the world of mobile photography. And now Instagram features 15-second movies too.

I had fun writing an article for lynda.com titled Drool-Worthy Gifts for Lucky Photographers. The idea was, if you had up to a $1,000 to spend on a gift for a photographer, what are some good choices? You know... items that you would not normally consider.

For example, how about this ONA Union Street messenger bag designed with naturally milled Italian leather for $489?

"The Leather Union Street is designed to carry a 15-inch laptop, a camera, up to three lenses and small personal items. A zippered front organizer pocket provides additional space for small accessories."

Or how about this Hasselblad Stellar Special Edition digital camera, normally $3,299.99, on sale for $999? "A true objet d'art, the champagne-colored aluminum body features a carbon grip with black accents, along with hand and neck straps crafted of vegetable-tanned Italian leather.

Indeed, these are items that you would not normally consider. But what if? You can see the entire list at Drool-Worthy Gifts for Lucky Photographers on lynda.com Article Center.

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

The storm parted about halfway through my trip south to Santa Barbara. I was traveling on Highway 101 near Santa Maria when the light and landscape came together presenting me this irresistible image.

I shot with an Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the super-compact Olympus 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ zoom lens. No polarizer or other filers.

I did, however, process the RAW file in DxO OpticsPro 10, with a few finishing touches in Aperture.

Join me on my Instagram site as I explore the world of mobile photography. And now Instagram features 15-second movies too.

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Photographers using Mac OS X Yosemite and Aperture, iPhoto, or Preview have seven new RAW formats available in the latest 6.02 update:

• Canon PowerShot G7 X
• Canon PowerShot SX60 HS
• Fujifilm X100T
• Nikon 1 J4
• Olympus PEN Lite E-PL7
• Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GM5
• Sony Alpha ILCE-5100

Chances are, your Mac has already applied the update. You can check by going to the Updates tab in the Mac App Store. You can also download it here.

Aperture Tips and Techniques

To learn more about Aperture, check out my Aperture 3.3 Essential Training (2012) 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.

The Digital Story on Facebook -- discussion, outstanding images from the TDS community, and inside information. Join our celebration of great photography!