our Uncity life

Best "Quick Advice" Photography Book

If you have a dSLR camera and you have yet to use any of the settings beyond "auto" shoot, you owe it to yourself to read this quick digital photo tip and hint book - get it from the library or buy it from Amazon. I bought it and I've found The Digital Photography Book to be my most valuable quick reference of all my photography books. It is simple and to the point, and isn't full of techno mumbo-jumbo that's hard to understand. The author, Scott Kelby, is a well-known author of many computer books as well as Editor-in-Chief of Nikon Software User magazine. He has a rather tongue-in-cheek, humorous writing style which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Sample inside pages - very easy reading format

Chapters included:
Pro Tips for Getting Really Sharp Photos
Shooting Flowers Like a Pro
Shooting Weddings Like a Pro
Shooting Landscapes Like a Pro
Shooting Sports Like a Pro
Shooting People Like a Pro
Avoiding Problems Like a Pro
Taking Advantage of Digital Like a Pro
Taking Travel & City Life Shots Like a Pro
How to Print Like a Pro and Other Cool Stuff

The last chapter, Photo Recipes to Help You Get the Shot, gives a common scenario on each page and then tells you how to capture the shot, step-by-step.

Scott's book is just as informative for those with point-and-shoot digital cameras.

Do give it a look-see. I think you'll find this book will help you to improve your basic photography skills.

Also in my photography library:
The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman
Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson

Nikon D60 Guide to Digital SLR Photography by David Busch

Digital Photography MacWorld SuperGuide
(This book was specifically helpful to me for post-processing since I have an iMac computer.)

Most of these books have been helpful, and I'm sure I will go back to them time after time. But the first one I mention, The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby, is my go-to reference. As you may have noticed in the photos, I have flagged some of the pages for quick reference.

Without further ado, I'm going to read some of my photography books this afternoon and see if I can improve my skills even more!

New Blog Design

Bear with us, we are in the middle of blog design changes. So you may see things moved around in the next few hours, or even deleted, and new blog design elements added.

I guess we're cleaning house, so to speak. It'll be so much cleaner when it's all done! :)

Uber Amazing Blog Award and Some Award Reorganization

I've met some fantastic new bloggers the last few weeks. This is something I love about the blog world; I have met some of the most awesome people since the beginning of this year!

In that vein, I've received the Uber Amazing Blog award from someone I just met a few weeks ago, Alicia of Boyle Antique & Vintage Jewelry. Alicia is addicted to old things - clothing, jewelry, anything to do with fashion. But her blog is more than just fashion - she talks about nature and travelling, with glorious photos of her animals, landscapes, and magnificent places that all of us dream of going to! Do check her out when you have a minute.

Uber (synonym to Super) Amazing Blog Award is a blog award given to sites who:
- Inspire you
- Make you smile and laugh, or maybe give amazing information
- Are a great read
- Have an amazing design
- Any other reasons you can think of that make them Uber amazing!

Now one thing y'all know about me is that I really don't list blogs that I am forwarding this award to - I wanted to make an exception today, but I'm so pressed for time today it isn't even funny! So once again, I will continue my lame streak and tell you that every single one of my followers has an Uber Amazing Blog, and so do all the blogs that I follow!

I'm trying to get my blog more organized so that it's easier for my readers to navigate. I want the home page to be as uncluttered as possible. So I'm going to keep all my awards here on this post. There will be a link to this post so it will be readily accessible if anyone ever wants to view it.

Also, I will be updating my blog roll this week. I think I want to segment it by blog types, and I'm even thinking that I may update it once a month in order to feature different blogs. There are so many blogs out there that are just wonderful to read and I want them all to have their day in the sun.

Here are the blog awards I have been the happy recipient of thus far; please take a minute to check out these bloggers. They are all fantastic blogs in their own right!

Thank you Neil, for our Gold Hydrant award!! Y'all just HAVE to check out Neil's blog, Life With Dogs. It is hands down, THE funniest dog blog on the net!