If you like exploring Flickr and you like Angry Pandas who breathe rainbows, you should totally check this out.
http://www.flickr.com/explore/panda
Panda, Panda, Panda by Deerhoof
B&H Photo is one of my favorite camera stores of all time. Going there is, to me, like taking my 6-year-old to Toys R Us in Times Square. They have a huge inventory of anything necessary and playful for anyone who has ever picked up a camera. It’s my version of Mecca.
B&H has an email newsletter that offers tips and news. The most recent included a link to this excellent article on the latest way to add information to your images, Geotagging. It’s a must read for anyone feeling clueless on the subject:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/find/newsLetter/Geotagging.jsp
I have to admit, I carry my point and shoot with me everywhere, often opting to leave the giant Nikon bodies at home. It’s a matter of convenience, and, quite frankly, the point and shoots really have gotten quite good. Plus, you can’t sneak a D70 into Hammerstein Ballroom. Cameralabs.com has an excellent article debating the pros and cons of each.
One way photographers and photojournalists present their work in the information age is through the use of a moblog or photoblog. A moblog, or “mobile weblog” is a blog in which posts are created directly from the users mobile/cellular phone. Pictures taken on the phone are sent directly to the blog with or without comments. A photogblog, or “photography weblog” is exactly what it sounds like, a blog whose basic function is to present the work of the photographer. These blogs can be very basic or incredibly elaborate based on the needs and desires of the blogger. Luckily for the web novice, there are several services that make it easy to create either type of blog.
Flickr is currently on of the largest site dedicated to photography. Users can use Flickr on its own, or post pictures uploaded to on other sites/blogs. There is easy integration between many popular blogging sites/software such as LiveJournal, Blogger, Movable Type, WordPress, etc. Each Flickr account allows user comments to describe the picture and space for visitors to comment. There are also some pretty neat features such as Geotag, which allows the user to pinpoint on a map where the photo was taken and Organzr, which allows users to organize their photos into albums called sets. There are plugins available for many photo organizing software, such as iPhoto, so that the user can click a button and upload to Flickr.
Aminus3.com is a free photoblogging site that allows for unlimited uploads. There isn’t much in terms of customizing your blog, but it features a clean, ad-free interface.
Blipphoto.com doesn’t offer much in terms of features, but like Aminus3, it has a clean interface and is totally free. It also has one of the nicest entry page of all of the free sites.
Expressions is a fee-based photoblogging service. With your $3.00 per month or $29.95 per year, you get lots of features including pre-made templates to change the look of your blog and images tools to make corrections to your images if you don’t have photo editing software of your own.
LiveJournal has a scrapbook feature for paid subscribers. It gives each subscriber 2GB of storage to upload pictures to keep in galleries and post into their LiveJournal, thus turning it into a photoblog. LJ has tagging tools, basic photo editing, and allows moblogging. The uploading tools are a bit clunky, but for ultimate ease of use, it’s an excellent option.
SmugMug is a bit more expensive than LiveJournal with annual plans starting at $39.95. With the added price comes unlimited storage and a better method of uploading your photos. Unlike LiveJournal and blogging based software, SmugMug also functions as a photo printing service. The professional account allows users to sell both their prints and digital downloads of the images. Be aware, however, that smugmug feels more like a photo sharing/printing service than a blog. There aren’t many templates to choose from and there are not community services.
Fotolog.com functions more like a community-based blog like LiveJournal. It is a free site with an upgrade option to unlock features, but only allows one photo and one post per day.
Photoblog.com is a free, advertising based site. It has easy tools for uploading, but you can create only one post per day with a max of 20 pictures within that post. There is no way for cosmetically changing the appearance of the blog. It does have a friends list option similar to LiveJournals to like to friends with their own photoblog.com account.
These are just a small sample of the options out there, but they should get you started.
