Picture This!

Copyright © 2006 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/55-200, 1/400s shutter, f4

Early evening is a great time to enjoy the Boardwalk in the Epcot resort area. I just love the feel of the area at that time of day. Whenever I go to Disney World, I always build in time to hang out there, even if I am staying somewhere else. I think what I like best is that people linger on the boardwalk throughout the late afternoon and well into the evening. Even though it's bustling with activity, it's a very relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. There are kids playing everywhere. Many people are out walking just for the pleasure of it. There’s always someone sitting in a rocker with a good book. Friends have a beer together at Big River Grille and laugh about the fun they had earlier in the day. The Boardwalk just feels good. I like the energy of it.

Quick Tip: The best photographic subject is not always in front of you. While waiting in line to ride the Friendship water taxi to Epcot I turned around and saw this scene. For me, it captured some of that lazy summer evening feeling that I love about the Boardwalk. When you’re walking around the parks and resorts remember to look at what you might be missing in the opposite direction.

This was Challenge #4:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2006 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/55-200, 0.077s shutter, f4.5

Apparently, this wasn’t really a challenge after all! Nearly everyone got the answer correct. Congratulations go to Melissa N. Wheeler for being the first one to tell me that Challenge #4 comes from the teepee chandeliers in the lobby of the Wilderness Lodge. OK, now that I know I’m not dealing with a bunch of novices here, you can bet I’m going to step up these challenges and make them a bit harder!
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Challenge #5: Where in the world is this?

Do you know? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer by clicking on the comments link below this post.

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/18-200, 1/500s shutter, f5.6

I happened upon this little guy having breakfast while walking on the path between Saratoga Springs and Downtown Disney. He was so intent on eating that he didn’t even mind me taking his picture. If you look really close you can see one of the buildings in the reflection in his eye.

Quick Tip: My tip for today really is a quickie - take time to notice the little things. Yup, that's it. So often we are trying to cram in as much as we possibly can at Disney World. If you're anything like me, you need a vacation from your vacation! Many of my favorite shots were taken when I slowed down and really paid attention to what was around me. And, come to think of it, those are some of my favorite memories as well.

This was Challenge #8:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/18-200VR, 1/500s shutter, f4.8

The best resort pool on property, hands down, is Stormalong Bay at the Yacht and Beach Clubs. This beached pirate ship, named the Albatross, is the pool’s slide.

Darn - no winners this week. I guess this one was kind of hard. The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse was the most popular guess. This next one will be easy for you Hidden Mickey buffs - better get your answers in early!
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Challenge #9: Where in the world is this?

Do you know where to find this Hidden Mickey? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer by clicking on the comments link below this post.

Earlier, I showed how the use of software can add light to a badly underexposed photo. What if I told you there was a way to do the same thing using your camera and not having to do any post-processing in software. Would that be worth something to ya?

Looking at the photo below taken at Disney's Boardwalk Resort, you can see that the background and sky are nicely exposed but the subject is in shadow because of the angle fo the sun in relation to the photographer.

Scottwdw (yep, that's me) at Disney's Boardwalk Resort © Scott Thomas Photography 2005
Nikon Coolpix 995, 1/250s, f/6.0, 100 ISO, 0 EV

After looking at the image in the camera's LCD, I instructed the photographer (my daughter) to use the camera's flash to fill in the shadows. The result you can view below.

Scottwdw (me, again) at Disney's Boardwalk Resort © Scott Thomas Photography 2005
Nikon Coolpix 995, 1/60s, f/6.0, 100 ISO, 0 EV, Flash Used

This technique is called Fill Flash as it fills in shadow and dark areas of a scene with the use of an artificial light source. In this case, the builtin flash on the camera. In digital SLR and advanced Point & Shoot cameras, you may hear the term balanced fill flash as the camera will calculate the amount of flash needed using the amount of light detected by it's light meter. You don't want the flash to overpower the available light but to add just enough to bring out darkened areas like in this example.

Further Reading: While this article talks specifically about Canon equipment, other manufacturer's cameras work in a simliar fashion. Fill-in flash use with EOS cameras and speedlites

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50/18-200VR, 9.3s shutter, f8

One way to make the main subject of your photograph stand out is to compose your shot with leading lines. Leading lines are lines in a photograph used to guide your viewer’s eye through your photograph. When deciding how to compose your shot, consider where the line begins and ends, the direction of its flow and its angle and shape.

In this photo, my main subject is the lighthouse in front of the Yacht Club resort. There are several leading lines here: the dock, the beam of light reflected on the dock, the rope railing. Even the buildings on the horizon lead your eye to the lighthouse. The list of things to use as leading lines is endless. Even people and shadows can be used to create leading lines.

The way in which the lines flow should allow your viewer to enter the picture where the line begins and continue his or her viewing without being lead out of the photo. By changing your camera angles you can change the direction the lines in the photograph are leading. Zooming in or out can change where your line begins and ends.

You can even affect the mood of your photo by the shape of leading line you choose. Different lines are thought to have psychological meanings: vertical lines create a feeling of stature and strength and can even imply power; horizontal lines are thought to be peaceful or stable, suggesting rest; diagonal lines represent activity or motion; and curved lines are thought to be graceful and imply beauty.

Leading lines will give depth to your photo and can make an average scene look a lot more interesting. Give it a try next time you are composing a photograph.

Last month I did an entry on Props at Walt Disney World and asked people to send in their favorites. By far the most popular ones where all the different and fun hats you find in shops throughout the resort. As an example, my daughter is trying on a very patriotic hat in The Chapeau, a hat shop on Magic Kingdom's Main Street. This shop can monogram almost any hat and, of course, Mickey Ears for you while you wait. Hats found in World Showcase are a big hit with our Photo Blog readers from French Berets, Sombreros in Mexico, Coolie hats in China to Homburg style hats in Germany. The little outdoor shop at Rafiki's Planet Watch in Disney's Animal Kingdom has all kinds of safari hats. My daughter just had to model one for me.

Safari hat. © Scott Thomas Photography 2007
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/60s, f/4.5, 200 ISO, -0.3 EV, 40mm focal length

Other popular suggestions for props was RC Car from Toy Story at the All Star Movies resort, the larger than life Troll in Norway's Puffin's Roost shop, a Cinderella statue at the Marketplace in Downtown Disney similar to Buzz Lightyear I mentioned in the first Disney Prop entry and the Mickey sculpture at the Contemporary resort with Mickey ears perfect to sit kids in.

Would like to continue this topic so if you have a favorite Walt Disney World prop, I'd like to hear about it! Just leave a Comment using the link below.

This was Challenge #20:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50, 18-200VR, 1/6s shutter, f4

I noticed this shelf of crayons when I was headed into Cape May Café at the Beach Club Resort. These are the crayons they give kids to play with while they are waiting for their meals. Who would have ever thought that a crayon storage space could be used so cleverly to decorate? That’s Disney for you!

Christina Romano was this week’s winner once again. Christina is getting hard to beat! She was joined by Jessica Romano, Nancy Ahlsen, Loretta Reed and Gretchen who all knew the answer and were entered in December’s winners drawing.

It’s time for another drawing winner. Congratulations to Nancy Ahlsen! Nancy was chosen randomly from a pool of 95 December winners to receive a copy of Hidden Mickeys Walt Disney World by Steve Barrett and some special AllEars® goodies.
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Challenge #21: Where in the world is this?

Do you know? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer by clicking HERE!
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Everyone who sends in a correct answer to a Where in the World Challenge this month will be entered in a drawing at the end of the month for a copy of Hidden Mickeys Walt Disney World by Steve Barrett and some special AllEars® goodies!

Unlike when you used film, digital photography processing is done inside your camera and produces JPEG images. (dSLRs can also produce RAW images. RAW images are often referred to as digital negatives and require processing on a computer to produce the final JPEG image.) If you are like me, you try to get all your photos as close to perfect right out of the camera. It takes a lot of practice and getting to know your camera as to what settings give you the results you are looking for. I learn each time I use my camera so if you are an old hand at photography or just starting your photographic adventures, you will one day look at the photos and wonder if there is a way to improve them.

In researching this entry I found there is no general "how to" information on approaching digital photo editing. What follows is my approach. The photo editor used was Picnik.com and the steps outlined should be available in most photo editing software. The goal for the photo I selected of my daughter enjoying a hammock on the Polynesian Resort's beach was to reclaim the colors as I remembered them.

Before Digital Processing. © Scott Thomas Photography 2008	After Digital Processing. © Scott Thomas Photography 2008
Original Photo Data: Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/500s, f/10, 200 ISO, -0.3 EV, 18mm Focal Length

Step 1: EXPOSURE

The original image on the left is a bit underexposed as I had dialed in a -0.3 exposure compensation (EV). Not a drastic error yet I wanted to recoup the detail lost. In Picnik.com, I start with the Exposure tab which has two sliders for Exposure and Contrast. I first moved the Exposure slider to the right to add exposure slowly until I got back the detail. Picnik.com has an advanced button for brightness, adjusting highlight and dark areas and local contrast. I like to use the local contrast tool instead of the general contrast slider as it gives me a little more control. Your software may or may not have this option. I used a radius of 5 and strength of 25%. This brought out even more detail in the hammock and tree bark.

Step 2: COLOR

After adjusting exposure, I move on to the Color tab. Here I always first try the Auto Color button. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't. As they say YMMV (Your Milage My Vary). In this case, I didn't like it and hit the Reset button to start over. Next I adjusted the two sliders available. One for Temperature and one for Saturation. I set up my camera to saturate colors so I usually don't have to add any more. However, my camera settings tends to give my photos a reddish cast to light objects. In this case, the sand and hammock color is off. In some software, you may see a Blue and Red indicator on the Temperature slider. I moved the Temperature slider to the left or blue end to a -5 bringing back the natural colors to those photo elements.

Step 3: SHARPENING

I've been learning about sharpening over the last few days and was surprised to find out most digital photos need to be sharpened. Picnick.com allows for two ways to sharpen: a simple slider and a more advanced Unsharp Mask. Don't let the unsharp mask confuse you, it is a sharpening tool. The name is a hold over from film processing days. The simple slider is great and I have used it with excellent results but no higher than a setting of 10 or less. Beyond that, photos start to look unreal.

There's a whole bunch of ways people use unsharp mask tools in photo editing software. Some are very complicated and require very expensive software. However, I want to share with you three simple recipes as recommended by Scott Kelby in his book, The Digital Photography Book (page 18):

For people, set Amount to 150%, Radius to 1 pixel and Threshold to 4 levels
For cityscapes, urban and travel photography, set Amount to 65%, Radius to 3 pixels and Threshold to 2 levels
For general everyday use, set Amount to 85%, radius to 1 pixel and Threshold to 4 levels

In the example photo, I used the general recipe in Picnik.com's Unsharp Mask tool (note: Picnik.com does not have the Threshold setting).

Now, all these adjustments are to MY taste. Yours will be different. What I have found in reading about photo editing is it is very subjective to the person doing the editing. There are techniques you can learn but no rules to follow. If you own a photo editing software product, I encourage you to find Internet resources, books, and video training for it.

I am much happier with the new version of my example photograph. To see larger versions of the Before and After photos, click on either of them. I hope this gives you some ideas on how to approach your photo editing tasks.

This was Challenge #21:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50, 18-200VR, 1/250s shutter, f8

Only one person knew that this metal hand was part of the ESPN building on the Boardwalk and that was Jessica Romano. Congratulations Jessica! I was certain this would be an easy one. This contest just baffles me (in a fun way). Whenever I think something is going to be hard, someone gets it right away. And when I think my email with be overrun by answers, I have a lonely week!

Well, it just means there’ll be better odds for winning the monthly prize this month. Let’s see how you all do on this next one. Good luck everyone!
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Challenge #22: Where in the world is this?

Do you know? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer by clicking HERE!
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Everyone who sends in a correct answer to a Where in the World Challenge this month will be entered in a drawing at the end of the month for a copy of Hidden Mickeys Walt Disney World by Steve Barrett and some special AllEars® goodies!

This was Challenge #28:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2006 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50, 55-200, 1/400s shutter, f10

The Atlantic Dance Hall is a gorgeous art deco club on Disney’s Boardwalk. I originally fell in love with this place several years back when they played swing music. A local swing dance club would liven up the place on weekends. They wore great clothes from the 1940s and were a lot of fun to watch. Now they have 1980s DJ dance music. Most times that I’ve stopped in recently the place has been fairly deserted. It’s too bad because it really is a beautiful club. I’d love to have a big old party there someday… maybe a fiftieth birthday bash… you’ll all be invited!

Congratulations to Evelyn Cowdell , this week’s winner. Merry Shippee, Kristen Eby, Kim Lawton, Erin, Jim Szlachta, Jude Toups, Gloria Martin, Jaime Thomson, Sarah Haas, Frank F Fincken III, Jennifer Tremley, Noreen Rachuba, Melissa Ruggieri, Gregg Letts, Mike Kaczanowski, Karen Schlumpf, Katelyn Palermo, Nora Beirne, Patty Carty, Chloe' C, Jeanine Yamanaka, Dominic Cooper, Tim Rachuba, Susan, Jared Nishida, April, Leslie Budd, Elisa Dillon, Karen DeSantis, Jennifer Horst, Jane Bradley, Melissa Littman, Ken, Michelle Raimist , Ed Aleszczyk , Sue McDonald , Ann Carr , Jim Senft , Chip Vermette, Melissa DeMonbreun, Heather Young, Neil Taylor, Ruth Cookson, Larry Carter and Suzanne Brown also all gave the correct answer by Thursday and were entered in the February winner's drawing.

Here we are at the end of another month already. We had 191 winning answers this month! Unfortunately, there can only be one prize winner and this month that person is Kathy Love. Congratulations Kathy! You will receive Steve Barrett’s newest Hidden Mickey book, along with some other great AllEars gifts.
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Challenge #29: Where in the world is this?

Do you know? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer, before the end of the day on Thursday, by clicking HERE!
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Everyone who sends in a correct answer to a Where in the World Challenge this month will be entered in a drawing at the end of the month for a copy of Hidden Mickeys Walt Disney World by Steve Barrett and some special AllEars® goodies!

This was Challenge #30:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2008 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50, 18-200VR, 1/60s shutter, f4.5

You just never know… I thought everyone would guess this one right away. Not a single person got it though. Challenge #30 is from the façade of the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort. I took this in January when I was there for the marathon.

This is such an interesting building. It was designed by Michael Graves, who has won numerous awards for his post-modern designs. I am always drawn to take photos of this hotel. There are so many ways you can take really unusual photographs of it. Normally I tend to shy away from taking any photos that are perfectly centered, but in this shot I deliberately lined everything up in a very symmetrical pattern. When you take a photo like this it’s important to be precise about the way you compose it. Even a slightly crooked line will ruin the effect.
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Challenge #31: Where in the world is this?

Do you know? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer, before the end of the day on Thursday, by clicking HERE!
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Everyone who sends in a correct answer to a Where in the World Challenge this month will be entered in a drawing at the end of the month for a copy of Hidden Mickeys Walt Disney World by Steve Barrett and some special AllEars® goodies!

This was Challenge #41:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2008 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50, 18-200VR, 1/60s shutter, f5.6

This amazing chandelier is located in the lobby of Disney’s Boardwalk Inn. It’s breathtaking the first time you see it. This photo only shows one quarter of the massive fixture. There are actually four giant hippocamps* and four angels holding candelabras. It really is an incredible piece of art.

*Creatures with the head and foreparts of a horse and the serpentine tail of a fish are known as hippocamps in Greek mythology. Believed to be the adult form of a seahorse, they were ridden by Poseidon. (I learn the most interesting things when I write this blog!)

Dawn Bach was the first to send in the correct answer this week! Congratulations to Dawn and all the readers who got the answer right: Kim, Nora Beirne, Michael G, Nicole Cyr, Poopymail, Eric, Heather Coursen, Jeremy Hardy, Amy, Damon Carter, Jamie Poynton, Kellie Carter, Noreen Rachuba, Tim Rachuba, Maryann Eckenrode, Ed Aleszczyk, Hillary W, Josh Rohrbach, Katelyn P, Jennifer Horst, Susan Pitts, Heather, Ed Nawrocki, Jacquelyn Law, Austin O'Blenis and Garland Cox. Each of you will be entered in the June winners’ drawing.
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Challenge #42: Where in the world is this?

Do you know? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer, before the end of the day on Thursday, June 19, by clicking HERE!
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Everyone who sends in a correct answer to a Where in the World Challenge this month will be entered in a drawing at the end of the month for some special AllEars® goodies and a copy of PassPorter's Walt Disney World by Jennifer Marx, Dave Marx, Allison Cerel Marx!

Sidelighting is light illuminating from a 90 degree angle to the subject. This gives an almost three dimensional effect to the subject being photographed. As seen below in this photo of The ESPN Club at Disney's Boardwalk Resort, the sidelighting creates shadows in the restaurant's exterior features showing depth in a two dimensional medium.

Sidelight hits The ESPN Club near Disney's Boardwalk Resort giving a 3-D effect.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/800s, f/8, 200 ISO, EV -0.3, 200mm Focal length

Have you heard of photowalking yet? Photowalks are a great way to spend time with other photography enthusiasts, get a little fresh air, exercise, and have some fun taking pictures. Technically, photowalking is defined as “the act of walking [or wheeling] with a camera for the main purpose of taking pictures of things that the photographer may find interesting”. Pretty simple, eh?

You can do solo photowalks, but organized group photowalks are where it’s at! It’s really fun to spend some social time with other photographers, doing what we all love to do – taking photos!

Group photowalks are for everyone. There are no special skills or equipment required. Just show up with a camera, ANY kind of camera, and that’s all you need. You can use a simple point and shoot that fits in your pocket or a fancy dslr with a whole bag of lenses. Really, the only thing you need to join a photowalk is the desire to walk with other people and take photos.

It works like this: someone schedules a photowalk and then invites other people to join in, usually via the internet. On the day of the walk, everyone gets together at the starting place and time and introduces themselves. After a few minutes of milling about and discussion, the group takes off on their pre-determined route to take photos. Everyone goes at their own pace, chatting and chimping* along the way. When they reach the end of the route, there is likely to be a little time to gather and do some more chimping, usually over coffee or beer! Then when everyone goes home, they upload the photos they took to a group site on the internet so they can see what everyone else thought was interesting enough to photograph. And that’s how friendships are formed!

Well, Lisa, Scott and I are all about photography, fun and making friends, so we’ve decided to host a photowalk at MouseFest this year and you’re all invited! You’re all going to MouseFest, right? Of course you are! So, here are the details:

What: Picture This! Photowalk meet at MouseFest 2008
Date: Saturday, December 13, 2008
Time: 7am - 9am (yup – that’s the crack of dawn!)
Where: Disney's Boardwalk - meet at the Wedding Pavilion, finish at Boardwalk Bakery
Who: Everyone is welcome!

We’ve set up a Flickr group with more information, including a map of the route we’ll be following. That is where everyone can RSVP, introduce ourselves and chat about the meet. Afterwards, this is where we’ll share our photos. You’ll need to join Flickr to RSVP but it’s free and safe, I promise. You won’t get any spam from them.

We’re very excited about this meet and hope to see lots of you there. And who knows, there may even be some goodies available for those who attend**.

For a more in-depth article on photowalking, check out this post by Jeff Revell. To find a photowalk in your area check out photowalking.org or just google “photowalk” and your city.

Don’t forget to RSVP on the Flickr site.

*looking at each other’s photos on their lcd screens
**There's nothing wrong with a little bribery!

This was Challenge #45:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2003 Barrie Brewer, Nikon E3100, 18-200VR, 1/470s shutter, f5.6

This lighthouse can be found at Disney’s Old Key West Resort. I took this photo from a boat that Sutree and I rented at Downtown Disney. Tooling around on the waterways near the resorts is a really nice way to enjoy a lazy afternoon.

Anne Hainsworth was the first to send in the correct answer this week! Congratulations to Anne and all the readers who got the answer right: Theresa Rucando, Sharon Pierce, Debbie Hudson, Ed Aleszczyk, Denise, Merrie Tesh, Jennifer Haas, Garland Cox, Tom Armstrong, Chris &Amp Alison, Heather Young, Chris Bertelmann, Sharon Dale, Austin O'blenis, Nicole Cyr, Christie Condit, Neil Roeper, Tim Rachuba, Debra Kuklinski, Jen Cox, Tim Wingfield, Eric Hoffman, Lisa Hoffman, Michael Gainey, John Agnew, Brian Gallant, Lauren Cameron, Noreen Rachuba, Trish Hennessy, Christi Ison, Cameron Lange, April Pangburn, Sue Vanvleet, Jaron Goldberg, Deb Ragno, Colleen Gaudette, Rusty Podbelski, Double Family, Emily Chronas, Dana Hall, Betsy Podbelski, Katelyn P., Amy Miller, Laura Pranaitis, Ken Geiser, Barbara Styles, Michael Barker, Sara Clemenson and Marie H. Each of you will be entered in the July winners’ drawing.

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Challenge #46: What is this young woman doing and where in the world is she?

Do you know? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer, before the end of the day on Thursday, July 17, by clicking HERE!
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Everyone who sends in a correct answer to a Where in the World Challenge this month will be entered in a drawing at the end of the month for some special AllEars® goodies and a copy of PassPorter's Walt Disney World by Jennifer Marx, Dave Marx, Allison Cerel Marx!

This week Lisa, Scott and I will be sharing photos from the Disney resorts in our Pic of the Week series. Disney really does it right when it comes to creating beautiful and interesting resorts. Some are fun and whimsical, while others are just plain gorgeous. From the value resorts to the deluxe, there’s no shortage of fabulous photo opportunities. It was hard to narrow it down to just one photo this week.

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50, 18-200VR, 8.7secs shutter, f8, ISO 200

I decided to lead us off with my favorite place to stay, the Boardwalk Villas in Walt Disney World. This Disney Vacation Club resort is especially pretty at night with all the lights reflecting on the water. It was so quiet and peaceful when I took this shot. It’s hard to imagine all the bustling activity that took place earlier in the evening.

Don’t forget to check back on Thursday and Saturday to see Lisa and Scott’s resort photo picks.

Pop Century Resort's 1950's building and bowling alley pool area.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/60s, f/4, 200 ISO, +0.3 EV, 18mm Focal Length

As an avid bowler, when I came upon Pop Century's 1950's area, I was thrilled. The huge bowling pin stairwells, the sock-hop icons on the buildings and the bowling pin and alley themed pool put a big old smile on my face and perfect for my Disney Pic of the Week Resort theme photo. To come upon it early in the morning with great light and not a guest to be seen was, well, cool. It's too bad those bowling balls are not disguised floatation devices.

Believe it or not, there's a whole lot you can do at Walt Disney World besides spending time in one of the themeparks. Besides swimming at your resort, there are all sorts of recreational activities like golf, minature golf, surfing, tennis, horseback riding, parasailing, waterskiing, driving a race car and fishing. What did you say? Fishing? There are some hardy people who get up early (just like us photographers will for the AllEars.net Picture This! PhotoWalk at Mousefest) so they can go after the big ones.

To lead off this week's Disney Pic of the Week theme on Recreation, I choose this photograph of some fishermen who are not only enjoying some early morning fishing but where else in the world could they see a monorail quietly going by while they are doing it?

Barrie and Lisa will be along with their Recreational photos on Thursday and Saturday.

Fishing on Bay Lake.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/800s, f/7.1, 200 ISO, -0.3 EV, 200mm Focal Length

If you are the photographer of your family, chances are you are not in very many photos for holidays, vacatons, birthdays or other occassions. I would guess I'm in less than 100 photos of the thousands of photos I have in boxes, albums and on my hard drives. You may be in more if other members of your family have picked up the photography bug. I know my daughters both own Point & Shoot (P&S) cameras now so I've shown up in their online galleries the last couple of trips.

I found with a little thinking there's some fun ways you can do self-portraits with dSLRs. I know it's popular to hold small Point & Shoot cameras at arms length but I can't do that with a heavy dSLR too easily.

The first way is to use mirrors. Recently, I found a Got Milk? promotional area when visiting the Dairy building at the New York State Fair with some rather unique mirrors.

Got Milk? Mirror portrait at the New York State Fair.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/30s, f/3.8, 800 ISO, EV +0.3, 20mm Focal length

This second self-portrait uses an IR Remote Control for my Nikon digital SLR camera. If you look real close, it's in my left hand. It's very small. I put my camera on a tripod and pressed the remote to take this photo of me in Letchworth State Park in New York last Fall.

Remote Control portrait in Letchworth State Park.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/40s, f/14, 200 ISO, EV +0.6, 18mm Focal length

Lastly, if you see a fellow photographer walking nearby, it never hurts to ask if they could take a picture of you. I am often asked to do this service and am honored to do so. In the photo of me relaxing in a hammock on the Polynesian Resort's beach, I had my daughter take this with her Nikon Coolpix P&S camera.

Picture This! blogger, Scott, relaxing in a hammock on the Polynesian Resort beach.
Nikon Coolpix 4600, 1/500s, f/4.9, 50 ISO

Next time you are on vacation, find ways to get yourself in the picture! For even more ideas and fun, check out Lisa's Get in the Picture blog from last year.

One of the first things I had to deal with when I first started using a digital camera was how to organize all the files I was creating every time I went out taking photographs. The camera manufacturers think their simple system of a strange prefix followed by a number is what anyone would ever need. Blah! After producing hundreds of image files, I ended up doing folders for each time which got even more chaotic.

When facing this ongoing problem, I first identified the need to name this files so I could easily sort them. I read how others were doing it. Many like to use some sort of descriptive name which includes a prefix of meaning (like WDW for Walt Disney World) followed by a date designation and a sequential number. I tried this type of system for awhile but found the prefix was a bit confusing for me and decided to use a standard prefix for all my photos. Here is what a typical name for one of my digital photo files looks like: STP_20080905_025.jpg. The prefix of STP stands for Scott Thomas Photography then an underscore to separate the date which is in long year, month, day format which is easy to sort in chronological order with another underscore separating the sequential order. This works for me. You may have come up with a different system. I only use one camera right now. If I add another camera in the future, I will add a camera type to the prefix so it will be easy to see which camera took what photo. Don't forget, there's a lot of data contained in each photo's Exif which in future weeks I'll show how that can be used.

Now, how did I get from the camera's name for the files that look like DSC_2345 to my system? For that I use a program which takes my files from the compact flash memory card and loads them onto my laptop. As it copies the files down it renames them using the photo file's date and adds the prefix and sequential number suffix around it. For instance, below is my photo STP_20070524_0008.jpg. This also happens to be the location where the AllEars.net Pictures This! Photowalk at Mousefest will start (click on link for more information and to sign up).

Sea Breeze Point near Disney's Boardwalk Resort.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/500s, f/5.6, 200 ISO, 0 EV, 200mm Focal length

Last time, I went over how I name all the thousands of photos I take each year. Each photographer will come up with his or her own naming system. This week I am going to show you how to organize your image files on your computer systems.

In sticking with my boring, yet simple, system, I start with one folder on my computer system called PHOTOS. Inside PHOTOS, I have subfolders for each year I've been taking digital photographs named: STP_2005, STP_2006, STP_2007 and STP_2008. In each of these folders I have twelve more folders for each month of that folder's year. For this year, they look like STP_200801 through STP_200812. If you recall, I rename each of my photos when I put them on my computer to something like STP_20080912_0192.jpg. This method works for me. Others might create a folder for each topic they photograph. However, don't over do it or your computer will get filled with hundreds of folders.

I know you are asking yourself how do I find something as specific as a photo of Space Mountain or how to pull up just my Walt Disney trip photos from 2006. That is the subject I'll cover soon. This was to get you thinking how to set up your files on your computer system.

Below is a photo from the Pop Century resort named STP_20061213_0006.jpg which resides in folder PHOTOS, subfolder STP_2006 and subfolder STP_200612 on my hard drive. Anyone have one of these phones? I had a touch tone one.

The giant Mickey Mouse Phone icon at the Pop Century Resort.
Nikon D70/18-70G, 1/320s, f/9, 200 ISO, EV +0.7, 18mm Focal length

This was Challenge #52:

And here's the answer:

Copyright © 2006 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50, 18-200VR, 1/6s shutter, f4

This mischievous tiki can be found at the Polynesian Resort. He stands outside the window peering in at his mate who is behind the register in BouTiki. BouTiki is the resort's largest gift shop, located on the first floor of the Great Ceremonial House.

Amy Young was the first to send in the correct answer this week! Congratulations to Amy and all the readers who got the answer right: Deb Ragno, Sharon Dale, Debbie Hudson, Joey Price, Cameron Love, Sara Lewis, Denise, Hillary W, Joy Johnston, Alicia Henderson, Chris Bertelmann, Tim Rachuba, Jennie Connelly, Melea Broekers, Paul Ignudo, Jr., Laura Pranaitis, Gaylin Chev, Derek Carty, Jennifer Horst, Sarah Haas, Sunny Skyes, Jamie Poynton, Jenny Anderson, Heather Coursen, Jeremy Reichelt, Mary Dannahey, Hope Schiemer, Linda Mac, Chris Freeman, James Boyd and Kim Steiner. Each of you were entered in the September winners’ drawing.

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Challenge #53: Where in the world is this?

Do you know? Do you have a guess? Send in your answer, before the end of the day on Thursday, September 18, by clicking HERE!
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Everyone who sends in a correct answer to a Where in the World Challenge this month will be entered in a drawing at the end of the month for some special AllEars® goodies and a cool Disney book!

Everyone has that one special thing that they have to do on every trip to Walt Disney World. It might be a particular ride that can't be missed or a favorite snack that just doesn't taste as good anywhere else. For me, a Disney vacation just isn't complete until I spend some time on the Boardwalk. That's our theme for Pic of the Week this week, my favorite place in all of Walt Disney World - the Boardwalk.

Copyright © 2007 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D50, 18-200mm VR, 1/20s shutter, f5, ISO 800

These rockers outside the lobby of the Boardwalk Inn are the perfect place to take a breather from the hustle and bustle of the parks. Add a good book and a refreshing beverage and you may never want to get up again.

Disney's Boardwalk comes to life after sunset.
Nikon Coolpix 995, 1/15s, f/2.6, 400 ISO, 0 EV

Disney's Boardwalk Resort Area comes alive after sunset with arcade games, entertainers and kiosks selling popcorn, drinks and other yummy snacks. I took this from a balcony overlooking the Boardwalk with my Nikon Coolpix 995 digital camera. Due to the slow shutter speed, I used the balcony's railing to help steady the camera. I think I captured some of the magic you feel walking on the boardwalk as my selection for this week's Disney Pic of the Week theme on Disney's Boardwalk area.

Don't forget, Barrie, Lisa and myself are hosting the AllEars.net Pictures This! Photowalk at Mousefest in the Boardwalk area. Check out the link for more information and to sign up!