Website of The Week: Digital Photography School

Screen shot of the Digital Photography School website

The Digital Photography School website has been on my blog roll for over a year, and has become my first ‘port of call’ whenever I want to catch up on the latest camera reviews, photography tips, or tech tips on how to get the best out of my camera. To quote from the home page of the DPS:

Welcome to Digital Photography School! Discover how to use your digital camera with our Digital Photography Tips. We are a community of photographers of all experience levels who come together to learn, share and grow in our understanding of photography.

This is a massive site, and it might take you some time to get your head around it, so my advice is to start your reading or research in that part of the site that you are particularly interested in right now. For example, if you are looking to purchase your first or new camera, start with the reviews. Of course, it helps if you have some idea of the brand or type of camera you are thinking of buying, before you start wading your way through the hundreds of camera reviews on the site.

If you already have a camera, and want to learn more about how to get the best shots out of it, head over to the Tips and Tutorials section and search there for a specific question relating to your needs.

In the Post Production area of the site you will discover and endless array of advice to help you turn your images into the best possible photographs they can be after they have been downloaded onto your computer.

There is much to discover on the Digital Photography School site, and all skill levels are catered for. It doesn’t matter if you only own a ‘point and shoot’ camera, I am confident that you will find something of interest here to help you improve your photographic skills.

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Here are just a few of the hundreds of photography books that are available via Amazon.Com to help you with your photographic skills.

New York City Dreaming

Typical Washington Heights apartments

Some days, when I’m sitting here at home in my room surfing the Internet and researching and writing blog posts, it is hard to believe that I ever travelled at all, let along travelled for eight months last year and into the first two months of this one.

I am thinking about this now, as I reminisce about the beginning of last year’s travels.

It was exactly a year ago today, that I flew into New York City’s, JFK International Airport for the start of a two month apartment sitting gig that seemed like a gift from heaven. In fact it was a gift from friends of my sister and husband, whose Australian friends have been living and working in New York City for some years, now.

Chris works in the education sector. When New York’s schools shut down for the summer, Chris returns to Australia for two months. From time to time, friends and other family members are able to stay in his empty apartment for a week or two during their New York stay. Sometimes, nobody visits, and the apartment stays empty – apart from the family’s two cats. Obviously, the cats need to be cared for, and when the apartment is left empty, Chris is obliged to pay a pet sitter who visits the house morning and night to feed the cats and change their litter.

As you can imagine, the cost for this service adds up over two months, so when I offered to stay in the apartment last summer and keep an eye on the cats and the apartment, Chris and his wife were happy to accept my offer.

My niece, Scarlett is about to head to America for an extended vacation, and she has arranged to stay at the apartment in Washington Heights during the New York leg of her trip. Lucky girl! I would love to be there as well, but this year I’m staying home. Hopefully, the apartment will be available next year, and if it is, I hope to stay there again, enjoying another hot and humid New York summer.

I can hardly wait. Only twelve months to go!

I have of course, written extensively about my stay in New York on this blog. To read some of those posts use the Search box at the top left of the page and search for “New York City”.

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Friday Foto: Weightless in Space

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0.065 pounds? Ahh, if only! If only.

Yes, folks, this would have been my weight if I was dancing about on a giant red star somewhere out in the far flung galaxies. I guess I would have to add a few pounds for the space suit I would need to wear, but hey, I think I should be able to bear the load of a few extra pounds without too much trouble, don’t you think? Especially, given that my current earth weight is around 232 pounds.

“Where can I find this magical scale?” I hear you ask. The answer is in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. To be more precise, you will find a range of similar scales fixed into the floor of the Cullman Hall of The Universe, in the Rose Center. Here’s what the website offers by way of an explanation:

Visitors can step on several digital scales located in different areas of the Hall of the Universe and discover their weight on Saturn, Jupiter, a neutron star, and the Sun, among other celestial bodies. Your lunar weight can be found on the first level beside a model of the Moon. [Source: AMNH website…]

Suggested General Admission
· Adults: $16
· Children (2-12): $9
· Seniors/Students with ID: $12
· Adult Members: Free
· Child Members: Free

Suggested General Admission, which supports the Museum's scientific and educational endeavors, includes admission to all 45 Museum halls and the Rose Center for Earth and Space. Should you wish to pay less than the suggested admission, you may do so by purchasing tickets at any admissions desk at the Museum.

Oddly, purchasing tickets online incurs a service charge of $4 per ticket! You'd think it would be cheaper, but I assume the ticketing agency is adding their fees to the process. It hardly seems worth it. On the other hand, if ticket holders are able to avoid the queues, maybe paying an extra four bucks is good value.

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