Jon Sienkiewicz

Article: BUYING GUIDE: Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) Cameras.Experience photography at its best by using the kind of camera pros prefer

If photography is your passion, there is no doubt: You should own a single-lens reflex (SLR) camera.(UPDATED 6/29/10)

Article: Introduction to Interchangeable Lenses.Just stepped up to a DSLR or MILC? Lenses can expand your creative options. Here are the basics about interchangeable lenses.

Your digital SLR or mirrorless interchangealbe lens compact camera probably came with a lens--a zoom lens, no doubt. But one of the most attractive things about a digital SLR is the ability to change lenses.

Article: BUYING GUIDE: Memory Cards.Think you have enough memory for your digital camera?

If you've just bought a digital camera, you need a memory card. Or, memory cards, because you can never have enough memory.

Article: Fireworks Mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Whether you're going to a destination where fireworks are a daily event or are waiting for the Fourth of July, here's a look at a compact camera mode that can come in quite handy...fireworks mode.

Article: Landscape mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

With summer travel time upon us, you may find yourself trying to capture the beauty of scenic vistas. Landscape mode helps you take the guesswork out of properly exposing and focusing on the vast scenes before you.

Article: Beach Mode (or Snow Mode or Beach/Snow Mode).Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Summer's here, and you're probably going to want to hit the beach. Here's a scene mode that is bound to come in handy: Beach Mode!

News: 100 in 100: Landscape mode.

Day 99: With summer travel time upon us, you may find yourself trying to capture the beauty of scenic vistas. Landscape mode helps you take the guesswork out of properly exposing and focusing on

Article: Pets/Kids mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Pets and kids have several things in common, at least as far as cameras are concerned,. Top begin with, they’re both very popular photographic subjects. It’s nearly impossible to find a photo album that doesn’t contain at least a few pictures of kids and pets.

Article: Sports/Action mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Sports happen fast. Good shots appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. Even if every scene during a sporting event is a great shot, it can still be difficult capture great images because the participants are usually moving so fast that it’s hard to freeze the action.

News: 100 in 100: Sports/Action mode.

Day 96: Sports happen fast. Good shots appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. Even if every scene during a sporting event is a great shot, it can still be difficult capture great images be

Article: Close-up Mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Three rules apply to all close-up photos—all are governed by the unbendable Natural Laws of Physics.

Article: Backlight mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

A strong light behind the main subject usually fools the camera’s built-in automatic light meter—and the results can be awful. The subject’s face is often too dark because the camera, in its attempt to achieve correct overall exposure, can be over-influenced by the background.

Article: Text/Text Capture mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Generations ago, spy movies depicted secret agents covertly snapping pictures of confidential government documents with tiny Minox and other “microfilm cameras.” That was all technologically possible, but in truth, the results were probably so poor that the Cold War lasted far longer than it should have.

News: 100 in 100: Text/Text Capture mode.

Day 64: Generations ago, spy movies depicted secret agents covertly snapping pictures of confidential government documents with tiny Minox and other “microfilm cameras.” That was all technologic

Article: Borders (in-camera processing).Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Digital cameras are learning new tricks...and adding borders to images in camera is one of them!

Article: Special Effects (Fish Eye).Your guide to digital camera scene modes

There was a time when using a compact, point-and-shoot camera meant doing without most of the creative versatility that SLR cameras deliver. The advent of digital photography has changed that substantially. Many advanced digital cameras have one or more creative modes built in.

News: 100 in 100: Special Effects (Fish-Eye Mode).

Day 61: There was a time when using a compact, point-and-shoot camera meant doing without most of the creative versatility that SLR cameras deliver. The advent of digital photography has changed

Article: Baby mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Kids are fantastic photographic subjects. But babies and toddlers can be challenging to photograph for many, many reasons.

Article: Food Mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Use a window seat—and a scene mode—to shine a light on edible delectibles. Here's a brief, er, digest.

Article: How to use Auction Mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Images intended for Internet auction sites should be fairly small and relatively low resolution. Some cameras have a specific mode for that.

News: 100 in 100: Using Auction Mode.

Day 18: Images intended for Internet auction sites should be fairly small and relatively low resolution. Computer monitors, by default, display images at 72 dpi (dots per inch), so even an image

News: 100 in 100: Vivid and Neutral Color Modes.

Day 15: Generally, your camera does a very good job of recording the world in accurate, genuine colors—unless you tell it otherwise. There are times when you can improve an image by adding a bit

Article: Vivid and Neutral Color Modes.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Generally, your camera does a very good job of recording the world in accurate, genuine colors—unless you tell it otherwise.

Article: Sepia Mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

To give photos an old-fashioned appearance, use the Sepia Mode. All of the colors will be replaced with varying shades of sepia (sort of a dark brownish-yellow) that’s commonly found in some antique photos.

News: 100 in 100: Sepia Mode.

To give photos an old-fashioned appearance, use the Sepia Mode. All of the colors will be replaced with varying shades of sepia (sort of a dark brownish-yellow) that’s commonly found in some ant

Article: Color Accent Mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Of all of the Color Modes available in my Canon PowerShot camera, the Color Accent Mode is the most unusual.

Article: Coupling (or Composite or Paste) Mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Ever wish you could combine more than one picture into a single image? Like when you and a friend are at the Grand Canyon and there’s no one around to take a picture of the two of you together?

News: 100 in 100: Soft Mode.

Day 11: Flowers are always great photographic subjects. But making a rose look truly beautiful can be a thorny problem. Use the Soft Mode to reduce sharp lines and prickly details. Various camer

Article: Soft Mode.Your guide to digital camera scene modes

Flowers are always great photographic subjects. But making a rose look truly beautiful can be a thorny problem.

Article: Shoot Your Food.A delicious subject!

As photographers we're always hungry for interesting subjects. Often, some of the best photo opportunities are right there under our noses—on the dinner plate. Food evokes visceral responses from us all, and special events are often tied to certain special meals.

News: 100 in 100: Shoot Your Food.

Day 96: As photographers we're always hungry for interesting subjects. Often, some of the best photo opportunities are right there under our noses—on the dinner plate. Food evokes visceral response

News: 100 in 100: Protect Your PC.

Day 87: Lightning, power surges, and voltage spikes can permanently damage anything that is plugged into the wall--including your PC and monitor--and can ruin any image files stored on the hard dri

Article: Protect Your PC.Prevent power surges

Lightning, power surges, and voltage spikes can permanently damage anything that is plugged into the wall--including your PC and monitor--and can ruin any image files stored on the hard drive.

Article: Information, Please.Think Meta

Metadata is a set of information that is written to the EXIF file header of every digital image.

News: 100 in 100: Video Clips With Your Digital Camera.

Day 58: Do you regularly use your digital camera's Movie mode? Typically, folks try it once, use the wrong settings, get poor results, and never fool with it again. Too bad. Making "mini movies" ca

Article: Partial Desaturation for Hand-Colored Look.Create the illusion of a hand-colored print in Photoshop

Black-and-white prints that have been hand-colored have an unmistakable appearance. Because there is a complete grayscale image underneath the pigment, these pictures have a sort of "image infrastructure" that exists nowhere else.

News: 100 in 100: Partial Desaturation for Hand-Colored Look.

Day 54: Black-and-white prints that have been hand-colored have an unmistakable appearance. Because there is a complete grayscale image underneath the pigment, these pictures have a sort of "image

Article: Downsize Photos For Email/Web.Don't be a bandwidth hog

Digital image files can be huge. An image created with a tiny 10-megapixel camera is often 3.5MB or larger.

Article: Hand-colored look? Use the History Brush.A simple way to select a color

Adobe Photoshop includes a wonderful tool called the History Brush. It allows you to Undo virtually any single operation that has been performed on an image—and do it selectively, via carefully applied brushstrokes.

News: 100 in 100: Photographing Mirrors.

Day 24: Reflective surfaces--like windows and water--can be very challenging to photograph. Especially in dim light, when you're tempted to use flash, shiny objects can present real problems. But

Article: 16 flash terms you should know.When your camera's built-in flash isn't enough, here's what you need to know about adding more

If you want to graduate from snapshots to great shots, an external flash unit will significantly improve your pictures. Here are terms that will help you become a strobist.

Article: BUYING GUIDE: Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) Lenses.Expand your creative options with the right lens--or lenses

Learn your lens lines

Article: BUYING GUIDE: Compact Digital Cameras.Ready to go digital?

Start small and you'll be in for a big surprise!

Article: BUYING GUIDE: Graphics Tablets.For photographers, the pen is mightier than the mouse

Imagine being able to draw directly on your digital images to apply special effects or corrective brushes using a pen instead of scooting a mouse around your computer desk. Or being able to create works of art freehand--from scratch--with a stylus that applies more color when you press hard and less when you ease up.

Article: BUYING GUIDE: Film Scanners.Want to digitize your slides and negatives? Here's what to look for when buying a scanner

It's easy to convert negatives and color slides and into high resolution digital images. And isn't it about time?

Article: BUYING GUIDE: Inkjet Paper.Many surfaces, many choices; here's what you should look for

The paper you use is just as important as the printer and ink. From exhibition prints to scrapbooks, learn to match the paper to the purpose.

Article: BUYING GUIDE: Inkjet Printers.Kiss your lab good-bye and say hello to at-home printing convenience

Whether you make them at home or have them done by a lab, prints are the best way to preserve your important images.

Article: Buying Guide: Tripod Heads.There's more than one way to attach your camera to your tripod!

It all comes down to aligning your camera into the exact position you want, repeatedly, with ease, accuracy, and precision. Not a small task. We're talking about Tripod Heads here. Some are designed to hold a camera rock-steady; others allow fluid movement through a smooth arc. There's at least one that will satisfy your specific needs.

Article: BUYING GUIDE Tripods for Photographers.Which tripod will improve your pictures?

You need a tripod. Whether you shoot digital, film or video, you need a tripod.

Article: Tripod Specifications Reference Chart.A summary of tripod characteristics

Use this chart to determine the kind of tripod that's best for your needs.