The lab you choose and the kind of file you send to your lab can make a huge difference in the quality of prints you get back. How do you pick a good online photo lab? How do you get the best results from your lab? What color space should you use for your digital files and how do you convert your files to the right color space? How big a print can you make from your digital files?
Category Archives: General
Buyer’s Guide: Recommendations For The Best Photography Equipment, Software, Books, Magazines, DVDs, Online Photo Labs, and More
Welcome to my online buying guide for photographers. With over 75 articles it is one of the most comprehensive photography buyer’s guides on the web.
I get lots of photo questions, especially at this time of year, and many of them begin with “What is the best . . . .” They usually come from photographers or someone who is shopping for a photographer. If you are shopping for yourself, or for a photographer in your life, this series is for you.
My “best of the best” series recommends the best photo gear, accessories, software, books, DVDs, online photo labs, and a whole lot more. Thanks to the information in these articles I get emails from photographers thanking me for saving them time, frustration, and a lot of money.
This article is updated annually in November with some updates in between. Most recent update: June 19, 2025.
Get a Quality DSLR and Two Lenses for Less Than $600
Refurbished Canon gear.
Yes, you can get a quality, name brand Canon DLSR with two lenses for under $600 at Canon USA. I found these particular specials this evening for a total of $570. If you buy both specials you get a camera and two lenses.
Veterans Day
U.S. Flag, Eagle, part of the Oath of Enlistment in the U.S. Military
Graceland University Symphonic Band, November 3, 2023
Graceland University Jazz Ensemble, November 3, 2023
Making Notes on a Volleyball Match
Brenna Crabtree (3) scores a point.
When I send photos to the local newspaper I like to make sure they are accurately captioned. By the time I download the photos after a volleyball match, with some rare exceptions, I can’t look at a photo and remember which actions resulted in a point and which didn’t. So I make notes on a 3×5 card. Right after I take a photo of an important moment in the match, I write down the photo number, what happened, and who did it. Take the above photo for example. You can see the ball crossing the net but you can’t tell from this still photo whether or not the other team returned the ball or not. That is where my notes come in.
I am so excited! An important, old photo rescued!
Mike Baroli
Three years ago I wrote a series of articles about the people and events that changed me as a photographer. Mike is the first on the list.
Trunk or Treat: Choosing The Best Event Photos
Trunk or Treat, 36 “Selects”. Click to see a larger version.
When I first started shooting for a small town newspaper, the first rule I learned for an event was “Shoot a lot of photos and pick the best.” The best photos were sometimes called “selects”, because they were selected for publication. In the image above you can see my final selection of images in the order they were taken.
36 Photos: Trunk or Treat, Lamoni Iowa
The “Incredible, Bodiless, Talking Head”, Trunk or Treat, Lamoni Iowa.
Every year in Lamomi Iowa, the ENACTUS program at Graceland University sponsors Trunk or Treat. Other community organizations help out. Trick-or-treaters play all kinds of fun and games to win free treats. (Everyone wins.) For example, the “Incredible, Bodiless, Talking Head” tells jokes. Anyone who survives his jokes gets a treat.
Camera Settings for Trunk or Treat
Trunk or Treat, sponsored by the Graceland University Enactus program, Lamoni Iowa.
If I am photographing an event and the light is constant, I shoot in manual mode for the most accurate exposure and the best color. But if the light is variable, there isn’t time during an active event to be constantly changing the exposure because you will miss too many photo ops. That means shooting in an automatic mode.
Photos of the Lamoni Area Fall Festival
Lamoni Iowa’s annual “LAFF” event (Lamoni Area Fall Festival) was Saturday, October 7, 2023. A selection of photos follows the break.
Lamoni’s U14 Soccer Team Wins Third Straight Championship
Carver (14) kicks the ball by two defenders to score.
It was a great season for Lamoni’s junior league soccer teams. Most Lamoni teams won most of their games and Lamoni’s undefeated “U14” team (ages 14 and under) won the end of season tournament, Saturday, September 23. A newspaper article and more photos follow the break.
Finding the Peak Fall Colors at the Best Locations
Autumn, Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Fall color will soon be sweeping the country (and already is up in Alaska). To make the most of it, you want to be at the right place at the right time. With some help from the internet, I will help you find the best fall color locations at the peak of the season.
Two Photographers and Eleven Outdoor/Travel Writers Pick the Best National Parks for Fall
Long’s Peak and Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park
Fall is a fabulous time of year to visit the national parks. Crowds are usually smaller than in the summer, temperatures are cooler, and some of our national parks have glorious fall colors. With so many to choose from, where should you go? Which national parks will provide the best photographic opportunities in the fall?
The Best National Parks for Fall Photography
Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
What are the best national parks to photograph in the fall? Here are my choices, grouped by state and province from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to, plus the ones I most want to see based on the recommendations of the photographers I trust, like Tim Fitzharris and QT Luong. More about them later.
22 Years Ago
I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was working in my office. The family/TV room was right around the corner. The phone rang and I picked it up.
“Stop whatever you are doing and turn on the TV.” I walked around the corner and turned it on.
The 20 Year Memorial, George W. Bush at Shanksville
“On America’s day of trial and grief I saw millions of people instinctively grab for a neighbor’s hand and rally to the cause of one another. That is the America I know.
Chip East Reflects on the Last Photos of His Friend, Bill Biggart, Taken on 9/11
Photographer Chip East was staring intensely at his laptop screen.
It was two weeks after two jetliners had plowed into the towers of the World Trade Center. His good friend, photojournalist Bill Biggart’s body had been recovered from the rubble. His personal effects, including his cameras had been released by authorities to his widow, Wendy.
Bill Biggart’s Last Photos – 9/11
Bill Biggart’s final photograph. He was killed when the second World Trade Center tower collapsed on top of him. He was 53 years old.
September 11th As It Happened
This compilation of news reports captures the essence of that morning better than almost any other video on YouTube.
9/11 Tribute – In the Arms of an Angel
9/11 – Let Us Pray
LET US PRAY
On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked and ultimately crashed. Two crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and one crashed into the Pentagon. The fourth crashed in Pennsylvania.
LET US PRAY.
Dozens of people in each of four airplanes living in terror as their hijacked planes are flown to destinations unknown to them. Each ends in a terrible fiery crash.
Remembering 9/11
Photo by James Nachtwey for TIME magazine.
I will never forget staring at the screen. I was stunned. It was just a few moments after I got the phone call to turn on the TV. Then the second plane hit.
On this date, twenty-one years ago, we experienced a great national tragedy in the United States. 2,977 lives that were lost in the terrorist attacks. So many families were torn asunder. The way we view ourselves and our world changed. Emergency responders continue to suffer terrible health problems as a result of working at the scene. The way we view ourselves and our world changed too. Over 2,000 first responders have died of health issues related to 9/11.
In remembrance of that day, and to honor the lives that were lost, I am posting some tributes.
Total Immersion Nature Photography Weekend in Beautiful Northern Michigan
Are you ready to take your nature and wildlife photography to the next level? Are you ready to learn the professional secrets that make the difference between good images and great images? Are you ready for a high intensity, action packed, total immersion photography weekend? Come to Park of the Pines on beautiful Lake Charlevoix October 13-15, 2023.
By the Light of a Blue Supermoon
This article will give you some tips on taking portraits by moonlight. We have been planning this shoot ever since our moonlit photo shoot in a cemetery last November. We just needed a nice bright moon and a clear sky with stars. Last night with a blue supermoon was the night.
How to Photograph Tonight’s Blue Supermoon
Super Moon, November 13, 2016
Tonight, August 30-31, 2023, is a Supermoon. Go out and take pictures! This article will take you through the steps to getting a great image.
Tonight’s Blue Supermoon – What Is It?
Tonight, August 30-31, 2023, the full moon will be bigger and brighter than most full moons. So go out and look. I love the night sky, so in my book, any time spent looking up at the night sky is time well spent, supermoon or not.
Colorado Fall Color Photography and Travel Guide – 2023
Headed for Colorado this fall? Welcome to my complete Colorado fall color photography and travel guide with 131 photos, 18 maps, and over 100 pages of information (if you print it all out). I cover some of the best known fall color locations in Colorado, and one real gem of a road that is not widely known to photographers and leaf peepers. Spend anywhere from two days to two weeks exploring the beautiful Colorado Rockies at a gorgeous time of year.
“How To” Series: Adventures with Adobe Bridge
Why use Adobe Bridge? To quickly find a photo or photos. And it is free. If you have a hard time finding photos you want, Adobe Bridge can make that process so much faster and simpler.