October 31, 2022

Gold Upgrade - Last chance

Last chance to use this seasons Gold Membership Upgrade opportunity, coming at nice 40% off, a $30 USD value.

There are a few days left on this seasons special on a Gold Membership Upgrade in the community.

As a Gold Member you have access to the Premium Critique forum with NEF upload, your own portfolio, your own Nikonians email address, private albums plus more, such as your custom made Photographer's Card.


Use the voucher "inspiration22" to take advantage of this 40% value. Make sure you are logged in before you access the upgrade page.

Jekyll Island Sunrise by Preston Moochnek (massulo)

Thank you for reading and for your support making our ad-free, independent community an even better place to be for Nikon photographers.



Enjoy the community!

Posted by bgs at 6:24 PM

October 13, 2022

Autumn inspiration?

With a lot of things happening around the world right now, it is important to stay inspired, to find joy in our daily undertakings.
To participate in a photo contest, or to work on an assignment is a way to stay in touch with your creative side, to improve your skills while experiencing joy with other photographers.

We have a constant, good flow of contests and assignments at Nikonians. Our director of this section is Dave Summers (dm1dave) and he has a list of the current contests in the community. More info

If you haven't seen the virtual gallery with the 2021 Best of Nikonians finalists and winners, we strongly recommend that you take a stroll in the gallery, and that you look at the webinar with the winners.

Barn Owl by Pat Husband (Second Hand Pat) in the Best of Nikonians 2020, theme "Animal Portraits".

Autumn is the time to go for Gold

There is a special on signing up for Gold membership throughout this month of October. Just make sure you are logged in and then use the voucher code "inspiration22" when you are upgrading. By doing so, you will get 40% off on a Gold membership. You can use this code if you are on Basic or on Silver level (from Silver level to Gold: whatever value is on your account will be converted to additional days on the Gold level). As a Gold member you can post images for critique, you get your own portfolio, your own Nikonians email address and more. See this for all the goodies. You can take advantage of the voucher by using this link

Nikonians Photographer's Card

We are producing a new batch of our popular Photographer's Card this autumn. If you are on Gold or Platinum, please make sure you apply for yours. Already have one, but it is getting a bit old and shabby? No problem, you can re-order a new card once a year. Gold and Platinum members: Access your Photographer's Card form under My Profile and Membership tab.

All webinars

In case you have missed one or the other of our webinars with team member Eric Bowles (ericbowles), don't fret. We have them all listed on our webinars index page where you fill find (nearly) all of the recordings. Enjoy!

Posted by bgs at 12:06 PM

September 22, 2021

Wildlife with Emotions Video

The video from our webinar with wildlife photographer Kristi Odom is now available. We had a great time with Kristi who taught us how to work on our photography in a different way, resulting in better, more emotionally connecting results.

Kristi's years of photographing personal projects and conservation work have taught her a unique way of seeing emotion and have forever changed how she approaches photographing wildlife.

View the video at Nikonians.

Animals have a different way of showing and expressing emotion. How do you take an emotion and make it two dimensional? How do you get people to connect and feel when they look at an image? Kristi teaches tips and tricks on how to put more emotion into your wildlife photography, ultimately creating an image with more impact.

Are you on basic membership?
If you are on a basic Nikonians membership, don't fret. To get access to all our webinar videos, use this opportunity to upgrade. Right now there is a 1/3rd off on a Nikonians Gold membership by using the voucher WildEmotions during upgrade or after signup.

Upgrade today and join the other members who make our unique community possible.
In the name of the whole team, we want to thank you for your support.
Ramón (jrp) & Bo (bgs) - Founders of Nikonians

Learning to compose
Martin has written a third part of his premium series on learning composition. Enjoy!

Using all available tools to improve your image
Connie has written up a free article on how we can use our available tools to get the most out of our images. Enjoy!

Posted by bgs at 10:30 PM

July 27, 2021

Video on Urban Architectural Photography

Video from our webinar with Photographer, Architect and Urban Designer Rick Hulbert is now available and make sure you don't miss our upcoming webinar with Nikon Pro Dave Black.

The video from the great webinar with Rick Hulbert is now available

Rick presents an illustrated program entitled "Urban Architectural Photography: Buildings, Inside and Out." You will be exposed to 4 challenges designed to improve your urban and architectural photography. The challenges reflect both the history of the two-dimensional arts of drawing and painting along with the sciences of human vision. Rick's presentation is designed to appeal to all photographers regardless of their level of experience and expertise.

Coming up: 29-JUL-2021 7:00 PM EDT is Nikon Pro Dave Black. Dave is no stranger to Nikonians. He is a Nikon Legend of the Lens, Nikon Ambassador, and award winning sports photographer. His photography specialties include sports, landscapes, portraits, and light painting. Make sure you make it for this webinar, it is bound to be very interesting with lots of things to learn.

The link to register for the webinar is located in our webinar forum, available to all members on Silver membership and higher.

If you cannot make it for the live webinar, we will provide a video recording some days after the live event.

Enjoy your community!
Eric, Bo and Ramon

Posted by bgs at 11:33 PM

April 28, 2021

Discover Art by Nikonians

Join us on a virtual gallery tour where you discover the photography artwork of fellow Nikonians in a new way, using this 3D-styled exhibition on your regular PC/Mac.

We have started a new "three dimensional" format to let you discover photography made by Nikonians and in the current exhibition over 70 artworks are on display.

In the 3D-styled exhibition rooms, you can "walk around" using your keyboard and/or mouse and some of the photographs contain additional information on a small plaquette located beside the artwork.

The round icon in the top right corner of the exhibition room is the menu. In the menu you can select "Enter full screen" mode, which allows the images to show even better. There is also a menu item to "Start a tour" to run an automatic show and a "List of works" showing a catalog of all the artists and their work in this exhibition.

Our plan, based upon that this format is enjoyed by many of us, is to expand upon it and to launch new exhibitions throughout the year. We on the team would love to get your feedback on this format and hope you take the time to give us your input, both what you like and what you think could be improved.

Please do use the comment possibility on the exhibition page to let us know your thoughts once you have visited the exhibition.

Scheduled Maintenance Downtime
We have a scheduled maintenance downtime 15-MAY-2021 05:00h UTC+0 - 12:00h UTC+0 (01:00 AM EDT - 08:00 AM EDT) where the community site will not be available. We are keeping our twitter feed (@nikonians) up-to-date on the progress of the maintenance.

Nikon Studio NX webinar fully booked
There is a strong interest in the May 4th webinar with Vincent Versace where he will discuss his workflow using Nikon Studio NX and all of our available webinar seats (500 seats) are occupied.

Even if you have registered for the webinar, you may not be able to join the live session due to this. We recommend that you join the Zoom webinar earlier than the 7:00 PM EDT session starting time since Zoom has a "first come first serve" policy on the access.

Should you not be able to get into the webinar live session, remember that we will provide a video recording of the webinar some days after the live event.

More webinars coming
We have a series of great photographers and digital artists lined up for our upcoming webinars, available to all members on Silver membership and higher.

Adobe expert Julianne Kost joins us 18-MAY-2021 07:00 PM EDT, bird photographer Arthur Morris will be with us 15-JUN-2021 04:00 PM EDT and Nikon Ambassador Ami Vitale is online with us 14-DEC-2021 07:00 PM EST.

Dave Black, Kristi Odom and Pascal Baetens are being scheduled and more great photographers and digital artists are to come.

We are keeping an up-to-date list of all current and future webinars at Nikonians. Make sure you bookmark the page.

Friends of Nikonians
We have started a new feature, Friends of Nikonians, where skilled photographers, formerly or currently on the Nikonians team, are running workshops and online courses in their own capacity. More information in the blog

Posted by bgs at 9:35 AM

April 23, 2021

Learn Nikon Studio NX

Learn Nikon Studio NX with Vincent Versace in our upcoming webinar, 04-MAY-2021 7PM EDT. The webinar will be recorded and provided some days after the live event.

Vincent Versace has graciously agreed to come back for a return presentation on 04-MAY-2021 talk about Nikon Studio NX. The program will begin at 7:00 PM EDT.

Vincent Versace has used Nikon software since the early days of Nikon Capture. He has written books on photo editing - including editing with Nikon software. It is the front end and the RAW converter for all of his images. Before the start of our recent webinar with him, Vincent was talking about the capabilities in Nikon Studio NX, and how he incorporates it into his workflow. He also has some workflow suggestions that may help streamline your work and facilitate work in other programs when appropriate.

Nikon Studio NX is a free editing program from Nikon. It's strengths include excellent colors, matching settings with the camera, and the ability to use Control Points.

You need to register in advance for this webinar. It is available to all Nikonians, also on the basic, free level.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Posted by bgs at 8:03 AM

April 16, 2021

Video w Vincent Versace & Virtual Exhibition

We have our brand new 3D Virtual Exhibition online and the latest video from our webinar series is now available, this time with Nikon Ambassador and Nikon Legend Behind the Lens, Vincent Versace.

If you are not a Gold member yet, this is your chance. Between now and April 20th, you can use the voucher GoldenSight and you'll get 50% off on a Gold Membership.

Vincent Versace discussed photography and a wide array of topics of being a photographer.

The webinar with Vincent Versace was very interesting and he covered a variety of topics. You will find the video on the webinar page. If you are interested in our earlier webinars, you'll find them all on our webinar overview

Nikonians Virtual Exhibition opens its doors with The Best of Nikonians 2020 Annual Photo Contest, displaying over 70 great artworks from the finalists and winners.

Thanks to the team members Tom Jacob (sevendayimages) and David Summer (dm1dave), our new Virtual Exhibition, featuring all of the finalists and the winners of the Best of Nikonians 2020 Annual Photo Contest is now available for you to enjoy.

Make sure you use the full screen mode in the virtual exhibition (menu is top right icon in the exhibition).

Posted by bgs at 7:30 AM

April 3, 2021

Webinar with Vincent Versace 08-APR-2021

Our fifth webinar with photographer and Nikon Legend Behind the Lens Vincent Versace will be held April 8th, 7:00 PM EDT. A video recording will be available after the live event.

His program is "The Future of a Career in Photography: Consider Arc Welding"

Vincent Versace has been a photographer for more than 40 years, and through that period has been a portrait artist, fine art photographer, author, educator, entrepreneur and entertainer. His versatility has created a portfolio of amazing images, and a unique perspective about how the industry and image making is evolving. Vinnie will share his perspective on the industry and image making for the twenty-first century in what is sure to be an energetic and thought provoking program.

Image by Vincent Versace

More information and access link on the webinar page

Posted by bgs at 11:12 AM

March 11, 2021

Webinar Best of Nikonians 2020

Join us in our upcoming webinar with the winners of The Best of Nikonians 2020 Annual Photo Contest, March 18th 2021,07:00 PM EST

Our fourth webinar will be held 18-MAR-2021 07:00 PM EST with the winners of The Best of Nikonians Annual Photo Contest 2020. We get to know the winners, their photography and have the chance to ask questions.

In the webinar session the panelists dm1dave, ericbowles, jrp and bgs will discuss the images.

The link to access the webinar can be found on the webinar page, available to all members on Silver membership and higher. If you are not logged in, please login to access it.

A recording of the webinar will be available to all members on Silver membership and higher, located on the webinar page a few days after the live event.

Here at Nikonians we have monthly and themed contests. The winners of these contests are then eligible for the Annual Best of Nikonians Photo Contest which Nikonians has hosted each year since 2004 to showcase some of our members best work.

In spite of the pandemic, our members gave us great year of contest images and after 76 separate contests, 147 images were advanced to the final round of the The Best of Nikonians 2020 Photo Contest. In February 2021, an international jury of 19 judges from 8 countries scored each of the images and the top 10 scoring members are featured as the contest winners.

Ask a question

If you want to ask the panelists or winners any question, please post in the webinar forum.

Posted by bgs at 9:07 AM

February 22, 2021

Video with Tony Sweet available

The video from our webinar with nature photographer and Nikon Legend Behind the Lens, Tony Sweet from 16-FEB-2021 is now available for you to enjoy.

We had a great session with a lot of interest and Tony was digging into many aspects of composition technique, how to isolate and to simplify to get the most out of your work.

He discussed many aspects of composition and took questions. The webinar should be providing you with both knowledge and inspiration, not only for beginning photographers, but also for the intermediate and advanced photographers in the community.

Image by Tony Sweet

You find the recording on the webinar page - make sure you are logged in.

New article on previsualization
Connie has written a new piece on the importance of vision. How do you go about that? Here is hopefully some inspiration

Specials from Hunt's Photo
Hunt's is making the Nikonians webinars possible. Below are the latest deals that they provide for you as Nikonians member.

Just email Noah (nbuchanan at huntsphoto.com) for custom bundle deals on all Nikon Camera and Lens purchases. If you are interested in the specials below, or you did not find what you are looking for on their website, mail him and request what you need as well.

- 20% off on all Benro Master Variable ND Filters.
- 15% off on all NiSi variable ND filters.
- 10% off on all Pro Media Gear tripods
- 15% off on all Induro tripods
- 15% off on all Sirui tripods
- Manfrotto 230 all weather tripod shoes: $39.99

Posted by bgs at 10:33 AM

February 12, 2021

Webinar with Tony Sweet, Feb 16th 07:00 PM EST

Our third webinar with photographer and Nikon Legend Behind the Lens Tony Sweet will be held February 16th, 7:00 PM EST. A video recording will be available after the live event.

Tony's program will be Compelling Composition: Isolate and Simplify.

Many Nikonians will probably recall Tony from the interview in our very first podcast held back in June of 2005. Nikonians have also participated in his photography workshops throughout the years and read his books, and we are thrilled to have him back with us.

To access the webinar, please see the specific webinar page. The webinar is available to all members on Silver membership and higher.

Image by Tony Sweet

The program: Compelling Composition: Isolate and Simplify

The program will be a "tour de force" of compositional techniques and creative applications for greatest visual impact. The overriding concept is to learn to isolate and simplify the subject.

Among the topics discussed will be

• The power of perspectives
• The power of line in visual design
• Creating visual drama
• Using strong graphics to enhance visual interest and drama

It is the hope that this presentation increases the attendees' attention to detail in creating clean, direct and compelling compositions. Questions are encouraged throughout the presentation and at the end.

For more information on Tony and how to see the live event, or to access the webinar video recording, please see the webinar page.

Not on Silver yet? No problem, just upgrade to access our webinars series.

Posted by bgs at 9:36 AM

January 18, 2021

Video with Marsel van Oosten available

The video recording from our webinar held with award winning nature photographer and Nikonian, Marsel van Oosten is now available for you to enjoy.

There was a strong interest in the webinar with many members having questions and we were not able to discuss them all. We are planning to have a second webinar with Marsel later in the year where he shows us even more of his excellent work, digging into more details on workflow and post-processing.

The video recording of the webinar is available online and on the webinar overview page you have a list of the current and upcoming webinars, plus FAQ.

The webinar with nature photographer Marsel van Oosten (marsel)

Next webinar
Guest for our next webinar is Nikon Legend Behind the Lens, Tony Sweet and is guaranteed to be interesting and entertaining. Mark your calendar for 16-Feb-2021 07:00 PM EST.

Special from Hunt's Photo
Hunt's Photo, who made the webinar possible, are running a special promotion for Nikonians members, valid through 21-JAN-2021:

If you are interested in pre-ordering either of the Nikon Z6ii or the Z7ii, they are including a Delkin 128GB CFexpress card plus reader with each order, just let Noah (nbuchanan at huntsphoto.com) know you are a Nikonians member.

All other Nikon product purchases will receive a 6% store credit to be used towards accessories such as spare batteries, memory cards and filters, etc.

If you are looking for any other equipment, just email Noah for a custom quote.

Posted by bgs at 8:55 AM

January 13, 2021

Don't miss Marsel on Thursday

Join us in our upcoming webinar with award winning nature photographer Marsel van Oosten this week, January 14th 2021,10:00 AM EST (15:00h UTC = 03:00 PM GMT, 16:00h CET)

Marsel has a very full program covering the photographs he makes, how he makes them, and a lot about his thought process. He has an upcoming book scheduled for release in April and will be including many of those images as well.

He'll also be including discussion of other images that involve interesting techniques, context and planning including his Z7 testing for Nikon with the initial release of the Z series.

One of the things he really likes is Q&A, so please make sure you post your questions to him in the Webinar Forum

The webinar will be held as a Zoom meeting. Important: The access link has changed. You'll find the link and more information on the webinar page. A recording will be made available if you can't make it for the live event.

By Marsel van Oosten

The webinar is available to all members on Silver level or higher. Not on Silver yet? No problem, just upgrade your membership and get access to all of our premium articles, assignments, contests plus more.

Great photography sites
We are starting a new project where we are capturing great photography websites on the net. We will highlight some of these sites from time to time in our newsletter and in the community.

If you know of a resource or site that should be included, please post that in the Nikonians Cafe including motivation as to why the site should be included.

Contests
The November 2020 contest winners have been announced

Posted by bgs at 10:08 AM

December 16, 2020

Nikon Z6ii & Z7ii webinar video available

The video of our webinar held December 8th with Nikon Ambassador Michelle Valberg is now available.

The video of our webinar on the Nikon Z6ii and Z7ii is available on this page

If you have not taken the chance to upgrade your membership to Gold using the voucher WinterGold20, this might be a good time to do so.

The Nikonians Gold Membership gives you access to our Premium Advice & Critique section, your own portfolio, NEF upload and more. PLUS, you can participate in our new series of webinars. Next webinar will be held January 14th with nature photographer, Nikon Ambassador and Nikonians member, former moderator Marsel van Oosten.

Talking about Gold: If you have not ordered your Photographers Card yet: Deadline for providing the data required for this years last batch of cards is Sunday 20th of December, 2020. You can order your Photographers Card under "My Profile/Membership tab" using the link "Go to create your photographer card ID".

Enjoy the precious light!
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

By John Driessen (johnnie5). See his complete portfolio

Special from Hunt's Photo
Hunt's Photo, who made the first webinar possible, are running a special promotion for Nikonians members:

If you are interested in pre-ordering either of the Nikon Z6ii or the Z7ii, they are including a Delkin 128GB CFexpress card plus reader with each order, just let Noah (nbuchanan@huntsphoto.com) know you are a Nikonians member. They also have some instant rebates on Z lenses and NPS priority delivery.

The Intimate Landscape
Connie has a new premium article out, the intimate landscape, where she discuss taking "images within images", close-ups of nature. Worth a read.

Posted by bgs at 11:32 AM

December 3, 2020

Nikonians Webinar on Nikon Z6ii and Z7ii

Several things are happening in the community: A new webinar series is starting December 8th, our Behind the Image feature is drawing attention and we have announced 15 winners in two contests. Plus, there are some good reads available to further strengthen your photographic skills and a discount on our Gold Membership.

1) Our new series of webinars starts December 8th with Nikon ambassador Michelle Valberg (Nikon Canada), moderated by Eric Bowles (ericbowles). All members on Silver and higher can participate. More info and registration link to the webinar on this page.

2) Our "Behind the image" feature is popular, providing details about the creation of a photograph. This is also a great opportunity for you as a Contest Winner or Editor's Choice participant to chime in to reach out and help other photographers.

3) If you are new to photography, or need to freshen up on certain skills, or maybe reluctant to ask a question, make sure you visit the New to Photography section.

4) Right now you get a 3rd off on an annual Gold Membership. Use the voucher "WinterGold20" when upgrading. As a short reminder: As a Nikonians Gold Member you get access to our Premium Advice & Critique section, you have your own portfolio, NEF upload and more.

Enjoy your community!
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

Spring pasque flower. Pulsatilla vernalis. One of the earliest spring flowers in Sweden and not very common.
By Frode Wendelbo (frwe). See his complete portfolio

Articles
Connie (Via the Lens) writes about things to consider if you are having focus issues in her latest premium article and with Martin (Martin Turner) we can learn the various aspects of composing.

Contests
15 winners have been announced in two contests.

Posted by bgs at 10:15 AM

August 5, 2020

Behind the Image plus a basics refresher

We hope you are safe and healthy in these uncertain times, that you have time to spend on your photography, to further nurture your skills and that you achieve results you are thrilled about.

Celebrating our 20th anniversary, we have several new features at Nikonians to help you grow as a photographer.

1. The Behind the Image feature provides details about the creation of a photograph.
This is also a great opportunity for you as a Contest Winner or Editor's Choice participant to chime in to reach out and help other photographers.

2. In New to Photography we have started a series of popular photography basics posts where you can learn more about certain photo techniques with lots of sample images. Right now it is all about shutter speeds and aperture.

New educational posts are added over the next weeks and months, so if you are new to photography, or need to freshen up on some of the basics we can strongly recommend this area of Nikonians.

Btw, if you are not a Gold member yet, celebrate with us and get 50% off on a new Gold membership.

Stay safe and healthy,
Bo (bgs), Bonnie (BChrisRad), Dave (dm1dave), Ramon (jrp) and the whole team at Nikonians

From the portfolios

Cafe in Lisbon by Cavy2. See her complete portfolio

Articles & Books
There are several new premium articles available in the "On Assignment" series by pro photographer Matt Bradley (mbradley). See his series

DigitalDarrell is writing a new book in the NikoniansPress series, this time on Mastering the Nikon D780. As always, as a member you are invited to participate with your great D780 shots.

Contests
The Nikonians Portrait Challenge 2020 is open for entries until August 15th. This is a Special Edition Contest, an extension of our big annual contest. Up to five images from this challenge will be advanced to the finals of The Best of Nikonians 2020 Photo Contest.

The segment 2 winners in The Best of Nikonians 2020 have been announced

Posted by bgs at 9:45 AM

May 20, 2020

Importance of previsualization & 5 tips for finding gems in your archive

There is lots of activity in the community while we are celebrating our 20th Anniversary.

The 200 Limited Edition Nikonians Memento Caps in black have been ordered with the manufacturer and we will keep you up-to-date on the shipping. If you have not gotten yours yet, there are only a few left. More information in the Nikonians Cafe

Are you a Platinum or Gold Nikonian? We are running a new batch of the Nikonians Photographers Card aka "ID" and the cut-off date for the batch is this Friday. You can request yours, with your good looking mugshot, under "My Profile" and "Membership" tab.

Not on Gold yet? The voucher 'nik2020' for 50% off on a new Gold membership is still valid. Take advantage of this.

Some more members have chimed-in and celebrate our anniversary in this new, second video.

In his first part of our new premium series on photography, member and retired pro Matt (mbradley) emphasis the importance of previsualization to get the shot. Matt has written several books throughout the years and worked on assignments for the National Geographic magazine. Please let Matt now in the articles comment section what works for you, and not.

Mike (mkhurder) is sharing his workflow with us, what he is looking for to find potential gems in older images and how he is using a simple, yet effective three color labeling scheme for sorting.

Please stay safe, stay healthy and enjoy our community and the friendship.
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

Cornflower by Doris Johnson (DcamZ). See her complete portfolio

Community
Martin (Martinkross) asks an interesting question in the Nikonians Cafe: "I am going to put myself out there and share some uncomfortable and embarrassing feelings. Anybody have their spouse decide to take up photography too? How did that work out?"
Join the discussion

Current Contests and Online Assignment
As most of us are spending more time at home, we may need some extra inspiration to pick up the camera and get in some shooting. We have just the thing!

First we have the "Lockdown 2020 Photo Challenge" We are challenging our members to get creative and create some interesting or wall worthy photographs - without leaving home.

Any subject is acceptable, but photos must be shot in or around your home, including your yard or garden. We want the shots to be current so, all images must've been shot between March 10 and June 15, 2020.

Then, we have a perfect online assignment for shooting wile stuck at home. The theme is "In the Kitchen" and we are looking for creative photography of items found in your kitchen. This can be kitchen tools, appliances, food, or anything that you normally find in your kitchen.
There are no other restrictions except that your images must be taken during the months of May and June, 2020.

The first segment of The Best of Nikonians 2020 Photo Contest has been extended to May20th and the theme is "Nostalgia or History Today". Its focus is on things of old that are still with us today. Whether it's historical buildings, places, artisans working with traditional tools, or other remembrances of the past. You find it in our Contests & Assignments / Special Edition Contests forum.

Of course, we have our regular monthly contests as well. A list of all our current contest can be found here

Posted by bgs at 9:26 AM

April 30, 2020

Turning 20, new caps and 50% off on Gold

Make sure you get your unique Nikonians photographers card aka ID. Any member on Platinum or Gold level is entitled. We are running a new batch soon and you can order yours in "My Profile" and "Membership" tab.

We have more good stuff coming up in the next weeks and months, stay tuned.

Celebrating our 20th Anniversary, we have a special for a 50% discount on the annual Gold membership, starting today through May 20th. Use the voucher 'nik2020' to take advantage of this offer ($37.50 instead of the regular $75.00).

For the anniversary, we are running a limited series of 200 Nikonians Memento Caps. First come first serve. More information in the Nikonians Cafe.

We have written up a small thank you note to all of you who have supported the community in the past 20 years. Several members have done a video which is on the page and members have posted their thoughts and congratulations in the About Nikonians forum.

Talking about writing things up, that is exactly what several authors have done. You may want to start with Photography in unusual times, listing several articles that you might find helpful, or you head over to Marsha's interview with Paul Blais (PBlais).

Long Live Nikonians
Bo (bgs) & Ramon (jrp)

From the portfolios

Image by Don L Williams (donlwilliams1966) photographed with a Nikon Z6 at 105mm. See his complete portfolio

Contests
Make sure to check out the latest contests.
In The Best of Nikonians 2020 Photo Contest the current theme is "Nostalgia or History Today" while our Special Edition Contest is "Lockdown 2020 Photo Challenge".

Posted by bgs at 1:52 PM

October 23, 2019

It is (f)all in the colors - Go for Gold!

Many things have happened in the Nikonians community in the last months. Now the summer is over and we are again working more indoors, having the chance to post-process the images we have captured. Today we have a wrap-up of several articles we have written in the hope they'll help you in your photography, plus a voucher on a Gold membership.

Some of us are still outdoors though shooting great landscapes in beautiful autumn colors, such as Reed George (rgeorge911) who met up with other members on the ANPAT19 fall edition and wrote about it.

To celebrate the last days of autumn and Halloween, we have a special membership campaign for you: From now until November 1st, 2019 you'll save a third ($25 USD) on a Gold Membership using the voucher "GoldenHall19" on the upgrade page

As a Gold Member you have access to our premium articles, you can participate in our contests, get your own portfolio, access the Premium Critique forum with NEF upload, your own Nikonians email address plus more, such as your custom made photographer's ID.

I am wishing you a very good rest of the week, and... may the colors be with you.
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

Misty Sunburst by Richard Duval (WineMan55) See his complete portfolio

Learning
David H. Roberts (dhroberts) has written a premium article on how to use focus stacking to extend the depth of field of an image while David Goldstein (dagoldst) expands on astrophotography with two new premium articles, one on types of telescopes and one on the camera and software to use.

Robert Zanzalari (zanz34) has started a new series of premium articles on sports photography. In the first part he teaches us the basics and in the second part he is bringing us a set of cheat-sheets for basketball, baseball, football (American) and football (European aka "soccer").

Using the Nikon Z
Darrell Young (digitaldarrell) has written up how to use the eye detection auto focus on the Z6 and Z7 cameras.

Community
Marsha Edmunds (meadowlark2) has interviewed long term member Geoff Baylis (GBaylis) in this latest I Am Nikonians series while Alan Mosley (mosley_alan) is sharing some of his travel photographs from a photo trip to the Pantanal, Brazil.

Contests
David Summers (dm1dave) has announced the winners of the Best of Nikonians - Segment Three with the theme of "Symmetry".

The winning image is "Swan Lake" by Carolyn Dalessandro (nikocarol). In addition to our overall winner, we have four members earning an honorable mention. All images will advance to the final rounds of the Best of Nikonians 2019 at the end of the year. They are:

"Yellow Porsche" by William Middleton (wrmiddleton)
"British Museum--Main Hall" by Darryl Hodson (skibreeze7)
"Salt Pan" by Pakku (niknac37)
"Towering Atrium" by Jody Camacho (Jodys98Torch)

Editor's Choice
In case you have missed some of the great shots that our Editor's Choice team is selecting daily, visit the main Editor's Choice page and enjoy!

Posted by bgs at 7:49 AM

June 13, 2019

Nature Photography Day 15-JUN-2019

Join us and celebrate Nature Photography Day, June 15th.
More info in the blog.

We also have three new articles out: One on wildflower photography, a new series on printing your photographs plus one on astrophotography using tracking telescope mounts.

Enjoy your reading week!
Bo (bgs)

We have three new premium articles out, all dedicated to improving skills. Connie (Via the lens) has written a new, great article on wildflower photography with several good, inspirational photographs. Read her article

Ernesto (esantos) has started a new series on printing photographs, see the first part of his series and David (dagoldst) has written up what you should know about tracking mounts if you are into astronomy and photography. See his article

Balsam root and Sunset by Connie Cassinetto - from her latest article
This grouping of Balsam root, with the setting sun behind it, was shot with a Nikon Z7 24-70 lens at 1/1600 second at f/22, ISO 800, and a focal length of 40mm. I was attempting in this image to balance my desire to get a sun star with declining light, a lot of wind, and avoiding poison oak! Due to the f/22 aperture (to get the sunstar) I got a lot of noise in the bottom right corner; if I could do this shot over, I would be more careful with the balance of the settings to see if I could get the image with less noise. I was happy with the overall composition.

Contests
The latest winners have been announced and there are updates on the ongoing contests, in the blog.

Posted by bgs at 8:08 AM

May 2, 2019

How do you recover lost images?

Have you ever lost images kept on a hard disk? I guess I am not the only one that would reluctantly answer that question with a "yes". Were they maybe even on a redundant disk array, a "RAID" system for extra safety? Member Geoff Baylis (GBaylis) experienced that dreadful moment when he lost all of his images, several TB of data due to a Windows 10 glitch prior Christmas 2018.

Read how he kept a cool head and managed to restore the images, which tools came in handy and how to prevent this from happening to you in the first place. See his article

I am wishing you some great captures and a data-loss-free upcoming weekend,
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

Orchid Study 3.1 by Jim Donelson (jcdonelson). See his complete portfolio

Improving your photography
Getting better group photographs: Pro photographers Frank Villafañe (frankmv) & Rose Rios tell you what works and what not in this premium article using five easy-to-remember "rules" with examples. See their article

Interested in digital art? Preston Moochnek (massulo) shares some good thoughts on the topic in his new article

Inspiration
Marsha Edmunds (meadowlark2) has interviewed another of our members in the I Am Nikonians article series. This time Gary Paige (JazzDoc) is in the limelight. Gary is a recent winner in the Annual Best of Nikonians photo contest. Read the interview

Talking about contests... We are calling all Nikonians who shoot with non-Nikon cameras.

The first of two non-Nikon camera contests is now open for entries. It is open until May 31, 2019 and the theme is simple: People & Culture.

So, get out there with your non-Nikon cameras, have some fun, and enter for your chance to win. Five images from this contest will be advanced to the finals of the Annual Best of Nikonians 2019 contest. It is open to all Silver, Gold and Platinum members.

More info on how to enter.

Posted by bgs at 8:39 AM

April 14, 2019

Why life is so good being a Nikonian

This week we have a major improvement to announce in the "back-end of things": We have substantially improved the image uploading at Nikonians and it is now easier than ever to get your images uploaded and shared with others, both inside and outside of the community.

Even on the free "Basic" membership level you have your own Nikonians Gallery gaining from the improved upload, though the improvements are really felt if you are a Gold or Platinum member: On these levels you can upload NEF, DNG and TIFF files and share these as well. Your gallery creates JPG representations of your raw files on-the-fly, for sharing and for collaborating with others (ranking/rating/chatting & download).

More information about the new upload can be found here

This week we have the last episode out of Russ' great premium series on photographing Iceland, with good tips and lots of inspiring photographs, there is a promotion on Gold membership valid thru the week and Chris has interviewed pro street photographers, see below.

I am wishing you a very good start of the new week
Bo (bgs)

Travel photography - Iceland
In this final part of the series Russell Whittemore is taking us to Jokusarlon, Lomagnupur, Fjaðrárgljúfur, Vik, Seljalandsfoss and Geysir. Read his premium article

Street photography
Street photography is a genre that can be practiced by just about anyone, anywhere. You can grab your camera and find an interesting place where people gather and start shooting. In his latest article, Chris Horn (HotSpur369) has been interviewing multiple pro's and shares their methodical advice on how to practice the craft. Read his article

Community
What's the main benefit of a gold membership? Well, except for supporting the community...
You have your own portfolio, you can post NEF and JPG images for critique and post-processing help, you have NEF, DNG and TIFF upload in your Nikonians Gallery, you get your @nikonians.org email address and the Nikonians photographers ID, to mention the main items.

There is a promotion right now on Gold saving you a 1/3rd on the regular amount using the code "GoldSpr1953". It is valid thru 21-APR-2019. Take advantage of this

What to get: A Nikon D850 or Z7?
Gold member Gupta wonders shall he get a D850 or a Z7 ... lots of good advice in this thread

Posted by bgs at 8:30 AM

April 4, 2019

How to work with textures in Photoshop

This week Dan Wiedbrauk (domer2760) teaches us how textures and texture layers can transform digital photographs into digital artwork. His article includes links to two of his Creative Commons images so that you can follow along with the Photoshop tutorial. Read his premium article

In his latest episode of photographing Iceland, which is truly full of inspiring images and information, Russ takes us to Egilsstadir, Djupivogur, Eystrahorn, Vestrahorn and Jokusarlon -- Enjoy!

We also have news regarding our Best of Nikonians contest, make sure you participate.

Enjoy the warmer weather for the rest of the week - At least that is what I am doing here in continental Europe.
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

Lower Falls in Yellowstone by Norm Solomon (ctnorm7). See his complete portfolio

Contests
The first segment of the Best of Nikonians is underway
This segments theme is Shallow Depth of Field, it will be open for entries until May 15 and winners will be announced no later than May 30. More info in the forums

February Contest Winners Announced
Please join us in congratulating our most recent contest winners in the blog. All winning images will be entered in the annual Best of Nikonians 2019 contest.

Posted by bgs at 6:40 AM

March 28, 2019

Why Astrophotography? Nikon HQ & improved sharing

This week we are getting into Astrophotography with David (dagoldst), there is a new episode out of Russel's Iceland travel report (episode #4) and we have an update for you regarding storing and sharing your images.

In case you've missed it, John (TokyoJohn) has shared some interesting images from the Nikon museum in Tokyo including a good capture of the lobby at the Nikon headquarters.

I am wishing you plentiful opportunities for good captures over the next few days,
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

Old, dead trees in the Dead Vlei area of Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia
By Michael Parmacek (parmacek). See his complete portfolio

Learning - Astrophotography
You may have seen and marveled at the images of the sky by David Goldstein (dagoldst) in the Astrophotography forum. His article helps you jump into Astrophotography: What equipment and budget is required without risking big mistakes or falling into the fangs of salesmen. Start looking up into the night sky and your vision will probably expand. Read the article

Community - Uploading and sharing just got better
Starting today you can store and share NEF, DNG and TIFF files in your Nikonians Gallery. You can also use the new forum image upload with these file formats as well, getting JPGs automatically created and included in the forum post. More info

Posted by bgs at 8:20 AM

March 21, 2019

Sharing your work with your clients, Iceland & more

As we're getting more daylight to work with on the northern hemisphere, we are digging into this weeks trove of new articles. Since our last newsletter we're having two new episodes out of Russel's Iceland travel report, while Connie thinks about what judges do in photo competitions.

We have made it easier for you to share your work with clients using private albums with ZIP downloads (more info below), and for the studio photographers in the community, Martin finalizes his series on shooting the $2 million image, this time discussing post-processing and DAM systems.

I am wishing you a great rest of the week and, let there be lots of good and inspiring light in front of your lens.
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

Another unplanned sunrise image taken near Welshpool, Wales, UK
Peter Taylor (PeterSVP). See his portfolio

Iceland
In this second part of his five part series, Russell Whittemore (rosewood_ltd), takes us from Reykjavik to Grundarfjodur and Kirkjufell, via Hraunfossar. A must-read with lots of tips for anyone interested in landscape, travel photography or the beauty of Iceland. Read the article

Sharing your work with your clients
We have improved the way you can share images with clients using albums in the galleries. As a Platinum or Gold member you can create private albums. Enable the "Allow ZIP downloads" for an album to allow visitors to download either individual images or all of the images in the album at once. You and your client can use the chat/comment area of an image to discuss it and when your client makes a new comment, it will show under the "heart menu" at Nikonians. Your client can use the "heart icon" and also rate images, if you have enabled that.

Private albums are password protected and the system automatically sets one for you. You can easily change the password of an album.

Images uploaded to the galleries can now be up to 100MB each.

Community
When a forum post contains an embedded video, we are now showing a small thumbnail in the topic list indicating that a video is included.

The March contests are open:
Wildlife: Beak & Talon / Fang & Claw
Landscape: Beautiful Cityscapes
Macro & Close-Up: Vintage
Travel: Roadside Attractions
Digital Artistry: Liquid
More information

Travel
Last call for the 19th ANPAT in the Spring. Don't miss the opportunity to photograph the largest bird migration in the US and more. More info

Posted by bgs at 6:13 AM

March 7, 2019

Iceland photography tips

Some of us dare to leave the comfort of our homes and venture out to far-away places, coming back to share the images captured and the knowledge gained.

One of these photographers is team member Russell Whittemore (rosewood_ltd). He has been writing up an extensive travel report with quite a few tips.

Russ takes you on a trip to Iceland in this five part premium article series, published weekly. It is a must-read with lots of tips for anyone interested in landscape, travel photography or the beauty of Iceland in general. Read the article.

Another team member that just came back from a photography excursion is my dear partner and co-founder, Ramón (jrp). He has been scouting for next years ANPAT in the Eastern Sierras, while this years ANPAT spring takes the participants to Cape May and Southeastern Pennsylvania photographing the red knots at Cape May among others.

No matter if you stay home-bound or planning a trip this spring, I do hope you enjoy the camaraderie in the community.
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

Wisconsin Barn by David Summers (dm1dave). See his complete portfolio.

Contests
January contest winners have been announced: Please join us in congratulating our most recent contest winners. All winning images will be entered in the annual Best of Nikonians 2019 contest. More info

Behind the image
Coming: This month we are starting a new series of articles on the process behind the creation of an image. Please stay tuned.

Fundraising
Quite a few members have joined our current fundraising -- Big thanks! Please make sure you support your community as well.

Learning is so much easier and much more fun together, letting us inspire each other and share our joy, and sometimes mistakes. We are ad-free and independent. With your support, we can improve the community further.

Throughout 2019 we want to ensure that our members are getting improved exposure of their work plus enhanced critique/feedback possibilities.

Posted by bgs at 6:31 AM

February 21, 2019

Krueger National Park & importing images in LR

Many of our members will be familiar with Aart Louw's exotic wildlife shots from South Africa and Kruger National Park. In Marsha's latest "I Am Nikonians" article she is interviewing Aart (AartPapaya) and it is well worth a read.

Connie has some good tips for us all regarding importing images into Adobe Lightroom Classic CC. Read her premium article.

I am wishing you a good, photogenic rest of the week
Bo (bgs)

Gloriosa Superba by Aart Louw
Nikon D500, 20 shots stack, 105mm f/2.8G @ f/8, 1/10s, ISO 125

Community - Easier image posting in forums
New buttons in the forums are being provided later today to simplify upload of images and to include these in forum posts. By using the button "Upload images" in the top of any forum, you can select multiple images for upload. The images will be uploaded to your gallery and linked in the post you are making.

You can also decide to not show the images in your gallery, but only in the post. In this case the images are still uploaded to the galleries, but rather than under your own gallery, they will be placed in a system-specific area.

More information on this in the About Nikonians forum.

Contests
We are proud to announce the Winners of the Annual Best of Nikonians 2018 Contest. Once again, the quality of the images submitted this year has been outstanding. We are extremely proud of the level of photographic accomplishment of our membership.

Please stop by to see the full images and congratulate the winners.

Posted by bgs at 6:36 AM

February 14, 2019

Nikon Z cameras book deadline & State of photojournalism

If you are shooting with a Nikon Z7 or Z6 and you want to get published, Darrell says the content submission deadline for the two NikoniansPress books on mastering the Nikon Z cameras is getting near. Want a chance for your image to be included? You better move fast. See our Nikon Z cameras forum.

Photography as a profession
What is the state of the art of photojournalism? Where is the profession going? Read what member Chris Horn (HotSpur369), journalist and former newspaper photographer has to say about the journey todays PJ's have to take to make a living. Read the article

I am wishing you a splendid rest of the week, with some good light and great subjects.
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

Red & Black. Caught This Anhinga flying - I tried to create an abstract.
By Preston Moochnek (massulo). See his complete portfolio.

Contests
The winners of the Best of Nikonians 2018 contest have been announced. Once again, the quality of the images submitted this year has been outstanding.

We are extremely proud of the level of photographic accomplishment of our membership. An international team of Judges, from eight countries, were drawn from the Nikonians Master's Society to grade the one hundred and twelve qualifying finalist images. See all winners.

Photo trips
Several members have already registered for the 19th ANPAT in the Spring but there is still room for you. Don't miss this opportunity to capture the extraordinary birds migration into Cape May, NJ and very interesting scenery in Pennsylvania. For details check the Nikonians Annual Photo Adventure Trips (ANPATs) forum.

Posted by bgs at 6:26 AM

February 7, 2019

3 tips on how to get ready for this season

Are you getting ready for this season of outdoor photography? If you are one of us not shooting outdoors already, but rather still preparing yourself we have some tips for you.

In case you are in stand-by mode, here are three tips to get yourself up-to-speed for this season:

1. Upload one or two of your 2018 raw (NEF) images to receive helpful critique and processing advice. You do this in the Premium Advice & Critique forum, available to all Platinum and Gold members. If you are not on a Gold membership yet, just use the voucher below.

2. Dust-off your gear. Make sure your lenses are clean and ready to go, and check older lenses for compatibility with your current bodies. If you have a Nikon Z7 or Z6 camera, check with your fellow Nikonians for compatibility using the FTZ adapter. Resources:

• The Nikon Z cameras forum
• The Nikon Camera & Lens compatibility chart

3. Read Daniel Stainer's (spiritualized67) great article on how to chase-away the winter blues.

I am wishing you good posting, new friends & great reading!
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

Salmon Berry by John Landolfi (johnlandolfi). See his complete portfolio.

Voucher to save on Gold
The voucher "SpringPrep19" is valid thru Feburary 11th, 2019 and entitles you to a significant deduction on a Gold membership ($50 instead of $75 USD). Use the voucher on the upgrade page.

In addition to the Premium Critique with NEF upload access, your new portfolio awaits you. You also have your own Nikonians email address, photographer's ID plus more.

Going professional: Taxes
If you are selling some of your work and it is more than a hobby, this discussion on taxes in the US might be of interest to you. See the complete thread.

Contests
The final polls have been closed, the winners have been advanced, and the jury has been seated. We are in the process of choosing the winners of our premier contest, the Best of Nikonians 2018. All the images that have won in our forum contests during 2018 are eligible for this annual contest. We expect to announce the finale winners before February 15th.

We have posted detailed information about the judging process in the Nikonians Blog. And, the February contests are on their way.

Are you a bird photographer?
If you are interest in bird photography, this trip might be for you. The ANPAT 19 Spring is ready for booking and takes you to Cape May and Southeastern Pennsylvania. You will also have the chance to shoot great flowers, landscape and architecture.
Dates: May 18th (arrival) to May 25th (departure), 2019. Starts at $2.999 USD

Posted by bgs at 5:35 AM

January 30, 2019

How to improve your photography?

To participate in photo assignments and contests is a great way to improve your skills while getting inspired by the work of others. The end of the month is approaching fast, please take some time and stop by the contest forums and vote for your favorites.

While, you are at it, please go ahead and participate with your own shots in the January 2019 contests, see below for more information on our various themes.

One of the strong points of the Nikonians community is our ability to come together and help each other become better photographers. Learning, sharing and growing together we increase the joy we find in photography.

I feel that the Nikonians Photo Assignments are a hidden gem within our community. Participation in the assignments is a wonderful opportunity for both beginners and advanced photographers to teach, learn, and to expand their photographic horizons.

The assignments challenge new photographers to build both technical, compositional, and artistic skills. More accomplished photographers will benefit from the assignments by tackling challenges that are outside of their usual photographic genre and expanding their skills.

Dave (dm1dave)

From the portfolios

Old Lady at National Memorial Chorten, Thimphu, Bhutan by Robert Wyatt (sulkyrob).
See his complete portfolio.

Learning: Can our Ability to Respond to a Scene Improve Over Time?
Connie Cassinetto is answering the question "Can mental quickness in responding to a changing photographic scenario be learned or improved?" Read her premium article

Jim Donelson helps us better understand the various trends and styles, from painting to photography demonstrating there is nothing new in the controversies surrounding our passion for photography. Read more

Nikonians Contests
Wildlife: Vanishing through Camouflage
Let see how wildlife uses camouflage to hide in their environment.

Landscape: First Light - Last Light
This is a contest for Early Birds or for the Photographer who stays after all the others have gone home. Images have to be taken very early or very late in the day with the sun just above the horizon in the Blue Hour or Golden Hour (depending time of day). You can choose to have the sun in the picture or not.

Micro, Macro & Closeup: Odonata - Dragonflies and Damselflies
Dragonflies and Damselflies are some of the most interesting and varied subjects for macro photography with interesting patterns and colors.

Travel: What lies beyond...?
Please submit your finest images of places taken round that corner, down that alleyway, over the next hill brow etc. Let's see pictures that portray a sense of intrigue about what may be just out of sight.

Digital Artistry: Invitation
Images are often used as part of, or backgrounds for Invitations--all kinds of invitations including weddings, parties, workshops, you name it. Invitations contain images and text. This month, the challenge is to create an invitation to an event. That's it. Any photographic genre is acceptable so long as the images meet the the Nikonians Terms of Use.

Making your community better
As the community for Nikon users, together we are making photography better: We know that through our continuous dedication to help each other, no matter skill-level or background, we become better.

Learning is so much easier and much more fun together, letting us inspire each other and share our joy, and sometimes mistakes.

Join our fundraising - With your support, we can improve the community further.

Posted by bgs at 8:10 AM

January 17, 2019

7 rules of getting the $2 million image

There are many things one need to pay attention to and manage when shooting professionally. Martin has wrapped it up in seven vital items, the seven key aspects. If these are managed well they will increase the chance of your image becoming a success.

Even if the focus of his article series is on studio work, I believe you will find ample ideas and help for other shooting environments in there as well. Read his premium article.

I am wishing you lots of success on taking your photography to new heights this week, month and quarter.
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

Image by Larry E30. See his complete portfolio.

Your personal Nikonians presentation card
Print out your personal presentation card (aka business card). A good item to share with other Nikon photographers to spread the word about your community. You'll find the link for that under "My Profile" and "Membership" tab. The presentation card is available to all members on Platinum and Gold membership level.

How do you use video for oral history recordings?
A forum post by member f5titan explained what he was up to: To record the oral histories of Hawaii Island residents who lost their homes to volcanic eruptions and lava flows. If you are interested in providing your insight on the topic using Nikon Video, please do chime in.

Making your community better
As the community for Nikon users, together we are making photography better: We know that through our continuous dedication to help each other, no matter skill-level or background, we become better.

Learning is so much easier and much more fun together, letting us inspire each other and share our joy, and sometimes mistakes.

Join our fundraising - With your support, we can improve the community further.

Posted by bgs at 5:55 AM

January 10, 2019

Winter photography plus D850 focus stacking

The team behind our community is as busy as ever, working behind the scenes to make some new, good things available to you as an amateur, semi-pro or professional photographer and videographer.

We have started a new fundraising campaign to further improve image feedback & critique possibilities, image sharing & exposure plus to consolidate our knowledge-base.

Donate today to support your community. Any amount is helpful.

A big thank you goes out to all of our past supporters, but especially the first ones in this new round.

Through your personal support you safeguard our mission to provide a friendly, vibrant, open and inspiring environment for all of you to improve your photography, to create your very own path while making new, real friends.

Join-in and support your community.

Thanks for reading and have an excellent rest of the week :-)
Bo & JRP

From the portfolios

Bobby Sox Tree by Judith Dunn (topper1946). See her complete portfolio

Wintersports photography
You might have missed Pascal Baetens in-depth learning article on how to get the most out of your winter vacation photography. He provides you with a lot of information while out in the snow. Read the article

For the ones of us looking for ideas without snow, this post about focus stacking software in the D850 forum may provide inspiration.

Membership certificates
All of you on a Platinum, Gold and Silver membership can have your membership certificate printed out (as JPG and PDF). You find the link under "My Profile" and "Membership" tab.

Contests
The latest winners have been announced.

Posted by bgs at 5:32 AM

January 3, 2019

Using Nikon Z7 for street photography

A new year has started and we are full of inspiration, kick-starting it with some great photography while learning new things.

Connie has been to Cuba using her Z7 for street photography and she shares her story with us in her latest premium article, while JRP has found a study claiming that making a picture a day and sharing it improves well being -- We both believe the authors of the study are onto something.

I am wishing you a terrific start of the new year,
Bo (bgs)

From the portfolios

Portrait of a playful Maine Coon cat by Cindie Fearnall (Gypsi) See her complete portfolio

Community
Our core values: Quite a few members have posted their thoughts on what is most important being a member. See the full thread

Want more exposure & you are on twitter or Instagram? See this post on how the community can help.

Your own portfolio: As a Platinum or Gold member you can have your best work being showcased at Nikonians at high resolution to make it look great under an easy to remember Internet address with contact possibility.

There is no limit to the number of images you can store in your portfolio, but we recommend that you include your very best work only. How to get started

Nikonians merchandise: We are planning to produce new series of our most popular merchandise, such as our Pro Camera Straps, Caps and T-Shirts. More info soon -- stay tuned.

Posted by bgs at 6:10 AM

December 20, 2018

How do you dress up in the cold for photography?

How do you prepare for the outdoor shoot when it is getting colder outside? For us on the northern hemisphere of our beautiful, blue planet this might be a relevant question this time of the year.

A basic truth for nearly any outdoor activity is that it makes sense to dress in layers. Doing so helps you to shed some insulation when you are getting warmer, and it is easier to stay dry that way.

I personally prefer fabrics made of natural fibers over synthetic ones when feasible, but there are great synthetic materials available. Gloves is one major area for us photographers. The big, warm ones can hardly be worn when shooting while the thinner ones are keeping the fingers agile only as long as they are not too cold.

You may enjoy jrp's thoughts on this topic in our articles.

The whole Nikonians Team is wishing you a great holiday season, with lots of hard parcels and golden boxes.
Bo (bgs) and Ramón (jrp)

From the portfolios

Image by Hans Ztz. You can see his portfolio here.

Contests & Assignments
Make sure that you check out the updated contests for December. These six-monthly contests are the final rounds leading to the annual Best of Nikonians 2018. All monthly contest winners are automatically advanced to the annual contest. Contest entry is open to all Silver, Gold, and Platinum members.

Voting in the contest polls is open to all registered members. Please let you voice be heard, vote for your favorite images in each of the monthly contest. Polls are now open for the November Landscape, Wildlife, Close-up/Macro, Travel, and Digital Artistry contests.

Links to all contests and polls can be found here.

Community
Chime in with your Holiday Season Greetings in the Café

What are the values Nikonians most enjoy? More

New, weekly updates coming. For the ones of us not logging in that much, but still want to stay up-to-date, this new weekly update might be of interest.

Posted by bgs at 7:00 AM

December 13, 2018

How to tackle the steep Z-series learning curve

As Nikonians, we are not merely Nikon users, but we are members of a community where we are trying our best to help each other.

What does it mean to be a Nikonian to you personally? What top five values do you think are important as a member? Let us know.

This was printed on the back of a t-shirt (no longer in production). The idea came from former team member Jason Odell (DrJay32) for the PMA in 2006 where we had a small booth.

I am wishing you an enjoyable, hopefully photogenic rest of the week
Bo (bgs)

Gear: Nikon Z-series learning curve
Nikonians team member Eric Bowles has some very good input on the somewhat steep learning curve for DSLR shooters who are starting with the Nikon Z7 (or the Z6). Read his thoughts on this in the Z cameras forum.

From the portfolios

Arches by Darryl Hodson (skibreeze7). See his complete portfolio.

Contests and Assignments
The November/December Assignment is "Animal Portrait". This is a fun assignment that most everyone can participate in. Let's see your pets, farm animals, and wildlife. Show us your creativity with some interesting perspectives on animal portraits.

Membership ID cards
We are doing the last batch of ID cards this year. All applications in by this Friday, 14th of December will be processed prior the holidays. You apply for your card using the form found in "Your Profile" under "Membership" tab, top area of the page. Our cards are printed in standard badge format and can be used with e.g. a lanyard. Available to all Platinum and Gold members. Btw, thanks to the large amount of members that have already applied for their cards in the last days, we have found and fixed some issues with the form. It should now be easier to use.

New "top favorite forums" email is coming
Starting coming week we will be sending out a weekly "top postings in your favorite forums" email, highlighting the most popular post in each of your favorite forums. We will include a small setting to disable this feature in your profile should you rather not have that weekly "top postings" email.

A forum is marked as a favorite forum by clicking on the star located after the forum name. A favorite forum is shown above all the other forums in the "forum lobby".

Posted by bgs at 5:30 AM

December 9, 2018

The specs of the next digital cameras

Our community has experienced a tremendous change on the internet, from being an early player back in the year 2000 where many were still "not connected" to today with billions of internet users.

Today we have a glut of information, provided by many for free, or paid by someone, often a less visible party in either cash, crypto-coins, equipment or favors. In this large "volume of data", whom can one really trust? What is their agenda? Why are they telling me X -- is it because they want to sell Y? What is really "good information" vs. "I am not totally, 100% sure what I am talking about, but I say it anyway" type of content?

Most platforms, and most content creators in general, are anything but independent and for nearly all it holds true that they are either A) dependent on advertisers for their survival, where the border between fact and want-to-please-the-sponsors is fluid or B) that you - as the visitor or user - are the product (your behavior and any data you have provided is repackaged and sold to third parties). Often it is C), both of the above. You are served paid content plus your data is captured and sold. Say hello to e.g Facebook, Youtube or Instagram.

There is a reason marketing professionals have been so hot on "Content Marketing" (jargon for producing content to sell you something) that it has become a commodity in the marketing industry, now easily bought from someone, somewhere where salaries are low.

"Influencers" on "Social Media" for example are trying their best to do just that, for an agenda. Did you know that each fourth image or video you see on Instagram is paid advertisement?

Our agenda is to safeguard the community's existence in this harsh environment and to become as relevant as we can be to you, to our members: To help and to provide assistance where you need it the most. To ensure we are a clean, friendly place where you can make new friends and expand your network.

We are going to send out a request to all of our members to give us feedback on this in the next few weeks. We will be doing that in the form of a short (yes, promise, a short!) survey.

Thanks for reading and for being a part of this wonderful community
Bo & JRP

Community: Upgrade to Gold

By using the voucher GoldNicholaus18 on the upgrade page, you save $25 USD on a Nikonians Gold Membership. This offer is valid thru December 12th, 2018.

As a Gold Member you have access to all of our Premium Articles, the Premium Critique forum with NEF upload, you have your own Portfolio, your own Nikonians email address, your custom made Photographer's ID plus more, such as access to Contests and Assignments.

Take advantage of the voucher

From the portfolios

Blue Angels in Action by Bob Chadwick. You can see Bob's portfolio here

Gear
There is a new article available that you might find interesting: The (near) future of digital cameras by Nikonians member and digital imaging sensor professional Guy Eristoff.

More from the community
1. Homepage now loads faster - especially the many images in the "matrices"
2. Increased Smiley Liberty in your forum posts. More info
3. Politeness: Can one ask to see the original? Read the post by Ferguson regarding "Is it rude to ask?"
4. Are you interested in time-lapse photography? See our time-lapse forum where members share videos like this one by DeanAZ from Arizona

Posted by bgs at 9:00 AM

November 29, 2018

Get published & How-to on lighting

This week we have information on how to get published in our upcoming books, how to improve your lighting technique plus more.

Learning
In his latest premium article series "Shooting the $2million image" Martin Turner teaches us more about lighting while John Nadelberg discuss how to use tele-converters with longer lenses.

Inspiration
Team member Diane L. Simmons (coolmom42) has been interviewed by jrp for this latest "I Am Nikonians" article.

From the member portfolio's: Wordscapes Photography by David Turner (wordscapes)

Contest Winners
The winners in the Best of Nikonians Segment 4 - The Wonders of Old and New Technology - have been announced: Overall winner is Godofredo Baylon (GBaylon) while Honorable mention goes to John Hernlund (Tokyo_John), Bill Klipp (billklipp), David Goldstein (dagoldst) and Dave Soderlund (DaveSoderlund).

Congratulations! More info on our winners in the forums.

Get published
Are you a Nikon Z camera owner and you have some excellent images? Great! This is your chance to get published in our NikoniansPress books on mastering the Nikon Z7 and Z6. For more information on how to proceed, see the pinned posts at the Nikon Z cameras forum.

Community
In case you have not noticed, we now show the original posting date as well as the modified posting date in discussion threads. We have also fixed an item in the galleries: Sorting your own, or any other members gallery, using the sorting feature at the bottom of the gallery has been improved, now behaving as expected.

Enjoy your ad-free, independent and friendly community - brought to you by all the members supporting it with a paid membership. Want to chip in and support the community as well? Nothing could be easier.

Curious about the team behind the community making it all happen? See our team page

Posted by bgs at 9:37 AM

November 19, 2018

Going for a Nikon Z7? Plus selling your images

A new week has begun and we have some good reading and inspirational photography for you.

Connie Cassinetto has used her Nikon Z7 for some time now and gives you her thoughts on it together with the new 24-70 in this latest premium article. She's also been trying out the adapter with her 80-400 and 24-120. Read her article

I am wishing you a terrific, productive week
Bo (bgs)

Fall Color, Hwy. 395 using the Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70 mirrorless lens, 1/200 at f/8, ISO 400, shot at 70mm. It was the usual slightly windy day as I was looking for fall color shots off of Hwy. 395 in Northern California.

Inspirational photography
Excellent images are being selected as the Editor's Choice where the team are selecting inspirational work, posted by you in the galleries and in the forums. By participating in the discussions in the forums, including your images, you increase the chances of getting an image of yours selected. See the latest images.

Community: Say hello
As a member, please let others in the community know a bit about yourself and your photography by making a post in the New & Returning Members forum.

Going professional: Selling images to magazines
Member vangophotos asked about selling images to magazines and got some good input.
Read more in the forums

Posted by bgs at 5:39 AM

November 9, 2018

Inspirational autumn landscapes & Nikon Z7 impressions

We are entering this autumn weekend with some good, inspiring landscape photography and there is a hands-on, first impressions review of the Nikon Z7 by one of our team members.

Member Scott Ashley (scottashley) has been interviewed by Marsha (meadowlark2) in this latest part of our "I Am Nikonians" series. Scott shares some of his great landscape photographs with us.

Read the scottashley Interview

Spruce Flats Falls by Scott Ashley
Nikon D7100, Sigma 8-16mm @f/19, 6s, ISO 200, tripod

Nikonians moderator Jonathan Kandel (JonK) has written up his first impressions after having been using his new Nikon Z7 camera for a few weeks. No matter if you are considering buying your own Z7 right away or not, Jon's premium article is a good read.

Member Guy Eristoff (geristoff) has written about how he applied an analytical approach, an "in-home comparative test" to figure out which of his existing lenses would best suit street photography. Read about his test.

More good portfolios have been added by our Platinum and Gold members. Have a look at the portfolio overview.

I am wishing you an excellent weekend,
Bo (bgs)

Posted by bgs at 7:26 AM

October 11, 2018

Z7, tracking your keepers and composition for architecture

Photokina in Cologne, Germany was again an exciting show with Nikon showcasing the Z7 in all its glory with many visitors having the chance to try out a larger number of available Z7 and Z6 cameras on the stands.

Z7 and monster wall shot
The Z7 seems to be a very versatile camera while great to hold even with my large hands and it comes with splendid AF - it was a joy to use in different lighting.

One truly large exhibit wall was dedicated to a great shot done by Marsel van Oosten (Marsel) while in Africa, depicting workers on a field taken by, you guessed it, a Nikon Z7.

New Z series books
Two new books are due out mid 2019 on the Z6 and Z7 written by DigitalDarrell under our NikoniansPress banner, thanks to the US publisher Rocky Nook. The sister (or rather mother) publisher, dpunkt Verlag has scheduled two german books on the Z cameras as well. Any book under the NikoniansPress banner contains a voucher for a discounted Gold Membership at Nikonians and members have the chance to showcase their best images taken by the specific camera in question.

If you want to participate with your great shots in one of the books, make sure you keep an eye on the corresponding forum at Nikonians. Only images that are qualified through Nikonians end up in the NikoniansPress books.

Keeping track of your keepers
Talking about Nikonians Gold memberships, more members have set up their own portfolios at Nikonians available to all members on Platinum and Gold levels. This is a great way to keep track of your own, best shots while showcasing them to others under an easy to remember internet address.

3D lens for common cameras
At the photokina show I had the chance to meet up with Matthias, the founder and Klaus, the CTO of K|Lens, a startup that wants to bring out a new 3D lens plus software plugins to render the captured, three dimensional data. They have a few prototype lenses and expect to go into production in 2019.

This is definitely interesting technology and based upon that the optics will be great, this can be a very interesting product for us photographers, turning our regular cameras into 3D capturing machines with a set of new possibilities for still photography as well, such as extended DoF, tilt-shift, bokeh simulations, segmenting the image in depth-layers with editing such layers separately, plus more.

I have created a k-lens discussion thread on this technology in our forums.

Working Pro
In his second installment of the premium article series on Shooting Real Estate and Architecture, Miguel is discussing composition.

Red Knobs on Wolf Range by Miguel Lecuona

Tips & Tricks: hand-holding long lenses
My dear partner and co-founder of Nikonians, Ramon (jrp) has wrapped up the do's and don'ts hand-holding longer lenses. Read more

Inspiration
Our Editor's Choice team featured the 100th member, Voltaire (Alaz) some days back with a great shot he took.

Contest
In the final segment of the Best of Nikonians 2018, "Wonders of old and new technology" we are celebrating the 200 years of technological evolution from the industrial revolution through today.

This is a Special Edition Contest, an extension of our big annual contest and it is open for entries up until November 15, 2018. Participate with your image.

Community enhancements
Thanks to all of our supporting members on a paid membership and those of you joining our fundraising, we are capable of continuously improving Nikonians - here are some of the latest changes:

Video linking
You can now include video links in your forum posts and a video player shows when you post the link. This works for vimeo and youtube videos.

Easier avatar upload
Your avatar (preferably a "mugshot") can now be uploaded at larger size and you can crop it online prior final upload. Don't have an avatar set yet? This is a good time to do it. Just go to "My Profile" and click on the "avatar" image top center of the page.

OP date is back
Original Posting date is back for larger views (smaller views, e.g. on mobile devices do not contain it).

Member username clickable
The username of other members now clickable on many locations showing a new menu for easy visiting the members portfolio, profile, gallery or to follow the member.

Sort and filter followers and activities
It is now easier to sort and filter both the members and the activities of the members you are following and the members following you. A maximum of 90 days of activities of the members you are following is being shown.

Gallery sorting
Sorting in the galleries, semi-broken as it was, has been fixed, plus the images in your favorites collection in the galleries are now clickable again to see the larger, original image.

Private message confirmation
A confirmation page is now shown when you have sent a private message to another member.

Enjoy the weekend, may it bring you good colors and great shapes.
Bo (bgs)

Posted by bgs at 12:20 PM

September 20, 2018

Which lens with a Nikon Z camera?

Meeting other members face-to-face is a great thing and some members get the chance to do just that, either by just posting a message in the forums and asking if anyone in their area is interested in an informal get-together, or by participating in the more organized events, such as our annual photo trips, the ANPAT's.

Some members are already looking forward to meet up for a week on the ANPAT in western Colorado Sep 29th, whereas some others are meeting up at this years Photokina show starting Sep 26th in Cologne, Germany.

If you are still on a Silver or Basic membership, these are the last days to use the voucher "indiansummer18" to save a third on a Gold Membership.

As a Gold Member you have access to our premium articles, you can participate in our contests, get your own portfolio, access the Premium Critique forum with NEF upload, you have your own Nikonians email address plus more, such as your custom made photographer's ID.

Photography is more enjoyable together :-)
Bo (bgs)

Working Pro
Miguel has started a new, premium series of articles on Shooting Real Estate and Architecture. In this first part, he discuss equipment.

Sunrise over the estate vineyard at Hawk's Shadow by Miguel Lecuona. Nikon D500, Nikkor 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6 @ f6.3, 1/1600 sec and ISO 500

Equipment
Good discussions and questions being answered on the new Nikon Z7 and Z6 in our dedicated forum for Z cameras, such as "Shall I bother to order a Z-mount lens with my new Z camera, or use my regular F mount Nikkors and the FTZ adapter?"

Inspiration
The September contest is nearly done and this month's challenge theme, chosen by Peter Milton, is "time". You may want to participate with your work.

Posted by bgs at 10:45 AM

September 11, 2018

Nikon Z7 field test

Hope your week has started well with good photo opportunities as we are nearing Indian Summer.

Former team member Marsel has been active field testing the new Nikon Z7 in Africa. His report includes his experiences with the camera and three lenses using it on an assignment and is well worth a read.

I am wishing you a great rest of the week
Bo (bgs)

Membership opportunity
From now until September 25th you'll save a third ($25 USD) on an annual Gold Membership using the voucher "indiansummer18" on the upgrade page.

As a Gold Member you have access to our premium articles, you can participate in our contests, get your own portfolio, access the Premium Critique forum with NEF upload, your own Nikonians email address plus more, such as your custom made photographer's ID.

Take advantage Go Gold and Be Proud: You are helping our ad-free and independent community.

Inspiration
Marsha (meadowlark2) has interviewed a member who's producing good, inspirational work -- herself.
Read the article

Sparkling Strands of Crystal Beads - Moose - by Marsha Edmunds (meadowlark2)
Nikon D800, Nikon 200-500mm @ f/16m 1/320s, ISO 1500, on tripod

Karen (scenicshutterbug) has produced a tile mural now decorating her outdoor kitchen area. She received good input from other members in the Digital Artistry forum in the process of creating her great looking mural.
Read how she created it.

Karen's composite image transformed into a mural

Contests
Open to all on Silver membership and higher: All of our contest themes have been updated for September.

The Best of Nikonians Segment 3 is quickly coming to a close. The theme is pretty easy and broad ranging: We are looking for photographs depicting the wonders of nature, such as mountains, canyons, waterfalls, storms, etc., all of the wonderful sights of the natural world. Let's see your best work! Participate

Posted by bgs at 12:59 PM

September 5, 2018

Nikon Z & Why bother about digital contest rules?

A lot has happened at Nikonians since last time I wrote. As you probably have read by now, Nikon has provided us photographers with two new mirrorless cameras, the new Z series. We are discussing the Nikon Z6 and Z7 in our Z cameras forum and we have a new, dedicated Z lenses forum as well.

Enjoy the available light for the rest of this week
Bo (bgs)

More on learning
Connie (Via the Lens) is discussing why there are digital photography contests rules in her latest premium article and many members have commented.

Yosemite, Morning at Tunnel View by Connie Cassinetto
Nikon D800, ISO 100, 1/45 of a second at f/22, Nikon 24-120. This shot was a combination of a shot taken for the bright early morning sun and for the foreground landscape. I used Lightroom to merge them together as an HDR image and then edited as needed. The HDR was needed to keep the sun from showing as a white blob with no detail.

My dear partner Ramón (jrp) has written a new piece in his premium articles series on the seven deadly sins in photography, this time discussing "missing distractions".

Still on basic membership?
Boost your learning now easier with a monthly Silver - You can now sign up for a monthly Silver membership at $3.90 USD to enjoy our premium articles plus more. The annual Silver is as always $25.00 USD.

Inspiration
Larry (elcee) has been interviewed by Marsha (meadowlark2) sharing his photography and background, while the team behind our popular, daily Editor's Choice have been busy selecting outstanding images.

Challenge
We have a new, special edition to our annual contest: The cell phone photo challenge and it is open for entries until September 30, 2018. More on this challenge

Community enhancements
Not only have we been active fixing issues in the community, such as solving the Apple Safari forum attachment/upload problem, but we have done a lot more. This has been possible thanks to all of our supporting members on paid memberships. Below are some of the highlights.

Read new messages improved
The "Read new messages" window now remembers your last settings used, it lets you select your favorite forums and remembers which messages are new across different devices and browsers between your visits. More info on "read new"

New "Follow members" feature
We have replaced our former "Friends" feature with a new "Follow members" feature, available to all members. Any of your former friends relationships have been converted to mutual follower connections. More info on followers

New gallery homepage
We have a new gallery homepage while the rest of the galleries will be re-designed later as well. Talking about galleries, we have fixed the issue with sharing your galleries with others using email, which now works fine.

Export of your data possible
You can export all of your data that you have at Nikonians, such as (1) your profile information, (2) all of your forum posts including attached images, (3) any article comments and gallery comments you might have made plus (4) all of your gallery images. The exported data is contained in a single ZIP file provided in two formats, XML and CSV. Latter format can be used for import into e.g. spreadsheets. You reach the export function under "My Profile" and "Membership" - top section "My Membership".

Setting your timezone
Something we have had for some time now, but often missed by many members it seems: You can set your timezone in "My Profile" top right corner. By doing so, we show all posts in the forums using your timezone, automatically adjusting for any daylight savings which might be relevant for your location.

Posted by bgs at 12:04 PM

July 25, 2018

Nikon mirrorless teaser, voucher & inspirational photography

Hope you are having the chance to get outdoors early (and late) to use the available light for your photography.

Many Nikonians are living in areas experiencing a very hot summer right now. Make sure you are well hydrated before and during any photographic trips you undertake. In digital times we do not need to worry about keeping our film cool, but electronics do like cooler temperatures as well, so do not let your gear be in direct sunlight for too long.

If you are not a Gold member yet, you can now upgrade using the 25% voucher "summergold18", valid thru August 1st, 2018. As a Gold member you have access to individual photo critique with NEF upload, your own nikonians.org email address and your photographer's ID card among others.

Hills Brothers by Tom Ferguson (tekneektom)
D800, 300mm @ f/11, 2.5s, ISO 100, Gitzo tripod

If you are still on the Basic membership level and feel you're not ready for Gold yet, there is a new Silver membership with monthly billing that you can take advantage of; First three months are $9.90, fourth month onwards $3.90 per month. Just select "Monthly" as membership duration. Upgrade to Silver.

I am wishing you some great outdoor opportunities and, in between the shooting, see you in the community :-)
Bo

Products: Nikon releases teaser video on their new mirrorless camera
A new teaser video, "Travel of light", has been released by Nikon on their site showcasing the silhouette of a new, mirrorless camera. The camera has been discussed for some time, especially after this spring when CEO of Nikon Imaging Japan, Kimito Uemura, confirmed that Nikon develops the camera.

The camera can be seen in the last seconds of the video and the lens mount seems different than the regular Nikon F mount.

We discuss this camera in our mirrorless forum where we will also keep you up-to-date on all aspects of it.

Learning: Two new premium articles available; Connie Cassinetto debates RAW or JPEG and Martin Turner provides good information on composition in his latest article in the series "Shooting the $2million image".

Inspiration: Editor's Choice
Our Editor's Choice team are selecting a daily, inspirational image showcased on our homepage and in the forum lobby. All images selected so far can be seen on the Editor's Choice overview page. By clicking on any thumbnail, you will see a larger version of the image with the comment by the team member that selected the image.

Inspiration: I Am Nikonians: Member Tom Ferguson has been interviewed by Marsha in her latest article.

Contests: Dave has announced the winners of the second segment of The Best of Nikonians 2018, "Wondrous World of Fun and Games" and the winners of our first ever Nikonians Portrait Challenge.
Read more

Posted by bgs at 8:19 AM

May 25, 2018

How to build a portfolio, Ansel Adams & more

This week is a hectic one for many sites. The reason is that a new data protection regulation kicks in from May 25th onwards. We as a community are also affected by this, so please read on.

Another important item for this week; we have kick-started our new "Editor's Choice" selection of images with an image from member Larry Mannino (Larry E30) now shown on our homepage, congratulations Larry!

Enjoy your weekend and remember to take a camera or two with you, no matter where you go.

Bo (bgs)

Inspiration
Marsha has interviewed Member Thomas Sprunger (Melman59) who shares his photography and story. Some great inspirational photography in this latest episode of "I Am Nikonians". Read the article

Mastering the art of photography
Connie's latest premium article, "Ansel Adams: His contribution to Photography and Nature" is well worth a read. It is available to all members on Silver membership or higher.

Ancient Bristlecone by Connie Cassinetto (Via the Lens)
Nikon D800, 1/500, f/16, -1EV, ISO 400, 14mm Rokinon lens.

Going Pro - Building a portfolio
Our "Going Professional" forum has an interesting discussion on wisely building your portfolio.

Gold and Platinum members showcase their portfolios here:
nikonians.org/portfolio

$25 USD voucher available
In case you have missed it, our eBook "Inspirational Photography #1" is free for all registered members and contains a $25 USD voucher for a Gold membership ($50 instead of $75).

In the book, seven talented amateur photographers share their photographs and personal stories, hopefully as an inspiration for you to further explore your own photography.

You can download the eBook in two different formats.

Your personal information
Our privacy policies have been updated to reflect the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation. We do suggest you read through our privacy policies to stay up-to-date on how we protect your personal data and more. See our privacy policies.

Editor's Choice
We are starting with a new selection of good photographs.

The Editor's Choice team will continually review images posted in both the Forums and Nikonians Galleries to identify executional work produced by the members of the Nikonians community.

The most recent image that is chosen as Editor's Choice will be featured prominently on the home page. All images will appear under the Editor's Choice tab on the homepage and in the galleries. They will also be permanently labeled with an Editor's Choice badge.

Posted by bgs at 12:34 PM

May 3, 2018

Printing your image big, really big

In this weeks update I have four items:

1) Community: There is a time-limited opportunity for all Basic and Silver members to go for an annual Gold membership at a 33% discount to up their photography.

2) The working photographer: Chicago-based professional Nikonian Darryll Schiff shares how he did a really big, 56' x 24' (17m x 7.5m) print decorating a building in the city.

3) Inspiration: ANPAT18 Spring Edition is over and the participants are back home processing and sharing their lovely images from their Smokies trip.

4) Community: We've just turned 18 years old, a pretty amazing age on the Internet time scale. Ramón and I say thank you, it is you we are celebrating!

Enjoy your ad-free and independent community this weekend.
Bo (bgs)

Community
Between now and 12th of May 2018 you get $25 USD (25 EUR) off on an annual Gold Membership at Nikonians using the voucher "goldenmay18"

As a Gold member you have your own portfolio showcased at the Nikonians homepage plus under your unique address nikonians.org/portfolio/YourUserName

You further have access to the Premium Critique forum with NEF and large JPG uploads, where you get advice and critique to bring your photography to new heights, plus you get your unique @nikonians.org email address. More info

The working photographer
Darryll shares how he did a really big print decorating a building in the South Loop, which is immediately next to Chicago's booming downtown as a part of the Wabash Arts Corridor, an urban lab for "creative expression, innovation and excellence in the arts". Read the article

The final artwork took half a year of dedicated effort to get on display.

Inspiration
The participants of the ANPAT18 Spring Edition are back from the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and the first images are up in the galleries. Enjoy.

Community
On April 30th, 2018 the community turned 18 years old. For many young Nikonians that birthday is often of major significance. Turning 18 is pretty amazing for anyone that started out on the Internet as well, especially in these times of rapid glory and quicker bust.

Ramón and I cannot say it often enough: The community would not be what it is, or be at all, without all of you dedicated supporters, helpers and members from all walks of life and from all places on our beautiful, blue planet. It is you that are the community. You are the center of our universe.

Big, sincere thanks to you all for pushing and nudging us, for believing in us and in the core plan of being a friendly place with a true community spirit on the Net, for helping and supporting that vision, both with your time and financially through paid memberships and donations. Btw, we have this timeline document on the community that you might find interesting.

Posted by bgs at 11:14 AM

April 26, 2018

Your portfolio on homepage & which lens for birding?

This week we have three items:

Inspiration: ANPAT18 Spring trip has completed its third day and Eric shares some good images from the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

Exposure: Member portfolios have been enhanced and are now shown on the homepage.

Howto: Lens recommendation for birding based upon budget and image results.

I am wishing you a terrific weekend with lots of inspiration and photographic opportunities
Bo (bgs)

Inspiration: The ANPAT18 Spring edition is under way and we have images from each day to share. The tour is lead by Eric Bowles and he says about day three: "We have had another fantastic day in the Smokies, started our day on Foothills Parkway and continued in Cades Cove and Tremont." Enjoy the images from day three

Even some excellent sports photography possible in the white water. Image by Eric Bowles.

Exposure: Your portfolio on the homepage
We on the team are pushing hard to give you as a member more exposure of your work. Member portfolios are now showcased on our homepage as well, and we are providing further exposure possibilities of your work and art in the coming weeks and months. Read more here: To get started with your portfolio and more details on how this works with discussions.

Member portfolios can be seen on the homepage of Nikonians

Howto: Which lens to get for bird photography?
JRP compares different kinds of Nikkor lenses for birding in his latest premium write up. He is including the latest lenses available, with and without teleconverters, based upon budget and image results. He is digging into the discussions held in the forums to make certain conclusions, which might be helpful when you are considering buying a new, or used lens. Read the article

Liquid Perch - By Barry Schirm (bschirm)
Nikon D3s, Nikkor AF-S 300mm/4 D IF ED + TC 14EII @ f/11, 1/100s, ISO 1200

Posted by bgs at 4:17 PM

April 12, 2018

It is all about you, Hercules

In the community, it is all about you. Your photographs, your skills and your gear.
Granted, it is also something about us, the platform of things we need to maintain and expand upon to stay up and around as a community.

But... from there on, when the platform is there, when Nikonians.org is up and running and humming, it is indeed all about you.

In the "I Am Nikonians" series Marsha Edmunds interviews you, the member of Nikonians. To date Marsha has interviewed 27 photographers (we don't count JRP), talented members that share their background and some of their work with us.

Grand Teton National Park by Carol Freshley (PhotoSpydie). Latest member to be interviewed.
Nikon D800, 24-120mm f/4 @ 98mm, ISO 400, f/11, 10s

The first seven photographer's of Marsha's series made it into our eBook "Inspirational Photography #1" with meanwhile over 10k (legal) copies in circulation. We will continue to expand our ways to publish our members work, eBooks being one channel.

If you too want us to look at your work and potentially highlight it in the I Am Nikonians series, please do give us a nudge. Best is to send JRP a private message in the forums.

One member that no longer nudge us is former beginner (ha!) and team member, award winning Marsel van Oosten. Marsel lent his appearance to Nikon for their booth at this year's National Association of Broadcaster's NAB show and has been working with Nikon on one of their D850 promo videos late last year, producing the time lapse "Nikon D850: Hercules Rising" (video on YouTube), background stuff on the video in Marsel's blog.

Through serious dedication, hard work and talent Marsel is not only a (role) model, but a great photographer. We recommend his workshops, which he and his team hold throughout the world. Check out his site for more information.

Let us all be Hercules.
Bo (bgs)

Posted by bgs at 9:20 PM

April 5, 2018

Sigma AF fails on Nikon with latest firmware

This weeks update comes with information on issues with Sigma lenses not autofocusing on Nikon cameras using latest firmware and Connie Cassinetto sharing some excellent tips on shooting indoors in her latest premium article, using light box photography to achieve very pleasing results.

Plus, we have the monthly winners announced.

Read Connie's article "Shooting indoors - When Getting Outside Does Not Work for You"

Mixed Flowers by Connie Cassinetto. First Attempt; Nikon D800, Nikon 105mm, ISO 100, 8.0 sec at f/8.0.
Shot in aperture priority mode in natural and added light.

From the forums

Sigma Lenses not autofocusing on Nikon cameras
Some Sigma lenses, such as the 50mm/1.4 DG HSM and 50-500/4.5-6.3 DG APO HSM do not AF on latest firmware V1.13 on several Nikon's including the D4s, D610, D800 and D810. Sigma lenses on Nikon D500 seem to work all fine.

Some other Sigma lenses, such as the 50mm/1.4 Art, 120-300mm/2.8 DG HSM and 150/2.8 EX DG APO HSM do not seem to be affected.

The solution is to update the lens firmware by sending it in to Sigma. Complete discussion thread

Portrait lens recommendation using a Nikon D300
Many recommendations in the forums in this thread

Monthly winners announced

Wildlife > Ian McNicol (Scotty45)
Landscape > Tom Egel (tegel)
Macro & Close-up > James Buch (jimray)
Travel > Richard Faris (Rrfaris)
Digital Artistry > Godofredo Baylon (GBaylon)
Online Assignment > Robert Wightman (robwig)
More info

I am wishing you a very productive, photogenic rest of the week
Bo (bgs)

Posted by bgs at 1:18 PM

March 29, 2018

Give your work more exposure

We are launching several new things in the community today, 29-MAR-2018. Please give the team your feedback on this in this thread.

The main focus of our work has been to give your work more exposure, in and beyond the community.

Big thanks go out to our recently founded System Beta Group which has been working with the improvements throughout the last three months, including of course our developers and administrators.

The current improvements are:

1. Beta Homepage
To help you as a member getting more exposure of your work, we are starting a public beta (test phase) of showcasing images on the homepage of Nikonians. This is not the final version of the homepage, but rather "work in progress". The homepage will be decluttered and once we start with that, you will have a chance to see this progress as well. You can see the beta page here:
nikonians.org/beta2018

If you scroll down on that page you will find a new "image box" at the bottom with multiple tabs. One of the tabs is titled "Portfolios". This tab contains images from member portfolios.

"Image box" with multiple tabs on beta homepage.

Clicking on an image on any tab except the portfolio tab leads to either the galleries or the forums. This behavior will change in due time for images from the galleries and we anticipate you will no longer be lead to the galleries, rather you will have the chance to comment and see more information right in the popup.

Clicking on an image top left corner (icon showing for image expansion) shows a popup with a larger view of the image. Here you can navigate between images, start/stop a slide show of the images and see more information including "liking" it.

Liking an image means (a) that it is added to your favorite images in the galleries and (b) that the photographer is informed about it under the "heart icon" at Nikonians.

2. Portfolios
Portfolios are available to all members on Gold and Platinum levels. Images in your portfolio are showcased on our homepage and will be included on another site of ours, greaterphoto.com as well. That site will be available end of April, 2018. More exposure capabilities of your best work is being planned as well and some further customization possibilities of your portfolio will be available.

Your portfolio is available under the address with the format of
nikonians.org/portfolio/YourUsername

Some sample portfolios:
nikonians.org/portfolio/dm1dave

nikonians.org/portfolio/Ferguson

nikonians.org/portfolio/GBaylis

All available portfolios are shown here:
nikonians.org/portfolio

Please do start using the portfolio functionality today. Doing this ensures we are getting this right for you.

You can enable your portfolio in "My Profile" tab "Preferences". Adding images can be done directly from your gallery using the "Add to portfolio" link under your images or by using the "Add images" link on your portfolio page.

3. Editor's Choice
We will launch Editor's Choice in the next few weeks, where a team is selecting excellent photographs which then are shown on various locations, including on our homepage. There is a tab for this on the beta page as well. Currently included images on the beta page are only for test purposes and have not been going through our Editor's Choice process.

Other improvements

4. Follow a member instead of "friends"
The friends functionality will soon be replaced by a "Follow a member" functionality, a simpler way to be able to see posts and images done by fellow members, not needing a friendship request to be sent. For now, you can see the tab "Members I Follow" on the beta page, listing friends activities.

5. Worksafe browsing
We have introduced a worksafe mode, which you can set by using a small toggle in the galleries and on the beta homepage imagebox area. Any member can set the "Not safe for work" flag when uploading images into the galleries that might be sensitive for viewing in a work environment. The team can also set specific images as not being "safe for work". This is typically done for e.g. glamour-type photographs.

6. Shortcut buttons on top of homepage
For new visitors to Nikonians, we have some common "task buttons" at the top of the page currently leading to some intermediate pages, which will be improved in due time:

• Learn more about my Nikon
• Critique my photographs
• Post a question
• Display my photos
• About Nikonians

Once the buttons are no longer needed, the cross at the top right corner can be used to "collapse" the button area.

7. More menu expanded
The top menu "More" has now gotten revamped, containing all the items of the footer.

Posted by bgs at 12:28 PM

March 13, 2018

Nikon photographers read

We Nikon photographers are a lucky bunch. We have so much to read and there is always a lot to learn, no matter our current skill level; if we are professionally shooting, if photography is "only" our part time profession, or if it is a dear hobby to us.

Members Bonnie Christensen, Wasil Khan and Carol Freshley have been interviewed by Marsha, sharing their photography experiences, background and work in our I Am Nikonians series.

Connie Cassinetto helps us working towards getting successful wildlife photos and how to achieve our artistic photographic vision in her two latest, premium write-ups.

Jim Donelson tells us about the Japanese term Shoshin in photography and Darryll Schiff let's us do black and white photography in our own backyard.

Bella Wedding by hary21 from Indonesia is one of the many inspiring images you can find in the Nikonians wedding and social events gallery

Did you know that you can find articles at Nikonians based upon their key topics or "keywords"? This page helps you sort and find articles in a different way.

Behind the scenes
We are working hard behind the scenes (yes, really) and the testing team are busy reviewing new functionality. We are making it easier for members to get more exposure on their work and expect to go public beta with some good stuff really, really soon.

We are now sending out this email from a different server, hoping it does not get stuck in filters as much as it did earlier. Please do make sure you add our email address to your address book to ensure it comes through ok.

We went advertising free last year and that was taken very positive by many members. Our current fundraising campaign recently got a good boost by members Mike Sherwin and Mick Klass, big thanks! If you can, please participate and help out too, any amount is helpful.

Some other minor changes;

1. For the forums, you can now enable or disable "auto-jump" to oldest unread message in a message thread - more info

2. If someone likes an image of yours in the galleries marking it as a favorite, you are informed about this under the "heart" icon.

3. The gallery menu now contains a new section listing the main gallery categories.

I am wishing you a terrific rest of the week
Bo (bgs)

Posted by bgs at 9:38 AM

February 28, 2018

Firmware Updates & More...

Firmware updates, Shh...Silent Show, Wasil Khan (WK) Interview

This week Nikon released a number of firmware updates.

Cameras with updated firmware include: D4, D4S, DF, D800, D800E, D810, D810a, D7100, D7200.

You can find the new firmware at the Nikon Download Center.

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I am Nikonians, Wasil Khan (WK) Interview

Wasil Khan (WK) joined Nikonians early in 2004. Not only he is a good example of the members who live our motto, learn, share, inspire, he also gives us a lesson to find beauty in subjects we would rather run from. Read more...

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Shh...Silent Show

Gold Member Sarah Boser (Sara9) has introduced the concept of the 'Silent Show' to Nikonians.

"I recently had a conversation with an accomplished photographer about how he puts together an exhibit with a museum curator. He talked about how his process is based solely on visual impact and the emotional response, minus a linguistic component/ discussion of the images."

Join Sara in the A Picture I Took Forum to learn more and add your images to the Silent Show.

Posted by dm1dave at 9:57 PM

January 17, 2018

Using dedicated blur in your photographs

The team has been busy and written several articles, starting with an inspirational piece by Marsha interviewing member Russ Glindmeier (russg). He shares some of his beautiful work for your inspiration.

Russ says "I am primarily a landscape shooter, but I've always owned a boat of some type or another, and I've found that a boat is an excellent platform for landscape photography, with an often unique perspective. The two activities go very well together."

Read the article

Four Peaks from Saguaro Lake, Arizona by Russ Glindmeier.
Nikon D300, Nikon 16-85mm VR @ 58mm, f/5.6, ISO 200.
Hand held from a boat. Three exposures two f-stops apart and merged in Photomatix Pro.

I am wishing you a terrific rest of the week.
Bo (bgs)

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The other items for this week are:

Getting artistic: Dedicated blur
Say welcome to our new author Darryll Schiff (DSchiff). Darryll writes up on sharpness and how using blur can be a good tool.

"...Generally most photographers desire their main subject to have that crispness. An out of focus background and/or foreground can add to the effect. But what about purposely making the whole image soft, out of focus? How about adding movement to the picture and enhancing that out of focus feel, and adding more interest to the photo..." Read Darryll's article

The learning pro: Planning the shoot
Martin has written a new episode in his premium series on studio photography.

..."Most photographers are not natural planners. If you come from a landscape background, you expect to be inspired by what you find. Photojournalists look for the decisive moment. Press photographers were always told 'f8 and be there'. But even the most spontaneous photographer needs at least the basic planning of having their equipment ready when the moment happens..." Read Martin's article

Learning and earning: Photo contest
Let's see your best work! The January contests in the Wildlife, Landscape, Macro, Travel, and Digital Artistry Forums, as well as our Online Assignment are ready for your submissions. Contests are open to Silver, Gold and Platinum members. More info

Moving about: Kick scooter or larger platform?
Tokyo_John decided to get a kick scooter to transport gear in his busy city. See his forum post

Whereas glxman from Australia decided to use a larger platform for his photography. See the forum post

Posted by bgs at 8:28 AM

January 6, 2018

Is the Nikkor 50mm/1.2 any good?

I hope 2018 started off well for you. Snow sprinkles the fields outside my window while I am writing this years first newsletter here at the northern camp with temperatures a few degrees below zero C. The wind that made itself heard last night is resting its muscles and some black birds are fighting for top positions in a large tree nearby.

In the fifth part of "Mastering the art of photography" article series we are discussing a few more aspects of the "controlled spectrum", with thoughts on decision-making and consequences of our actions, or inactions. We are looking into taking risks, and freedom as a foundation for creativity. We are also coming back to physical exercise for helping creativity to flourish. Read the article

A ballet dancer in the Primate's Palace of Bratislava, Slovakia. By Pascal Baetens (pbaetens).

I am wishing you good reading and a terrific, photographically pleasing week/end :-)
Bo

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The other items for this week are:

Lens review
Jon is looking into what his Nikkor 50mm/1.2 achieves on a full frame DSLR body and he enjoys the results, which he shares in this premium article. Read the review

Santa in front of a tree using the Nikkor 50mm/1.2.

Photo contest
Dave has announced the winners of November's contest.
See the announcement and images

Posted by bgs at 9:41 AM

December 21, 2017

What's your favorite image?

We have four short items for this week;

1. The voting for the monthly contest is open. Please make sure you place your vote in wildlife, landscape, macro, travel and digital artistry.

2. Wintersports photography. Read Pascal Baeten's premium article on how to shoot skiers and snowboarders. To the article.

Val D'isère, France by Pascal Baetens (pbaetens): in backlight conditions snow splashes look spectacular, shot high on a northern gradient (on the northern hemisphere). Position yourself so that the sun stands just above the horizon. Either wait for the right 'passenger', or give your model precise instructions about where exactly to pass and in which phase of turn he should be in. Ask him to watch his own shadow, it should point towards you. Don't forget to choose a safe spot, preferably at the side of a wide slope. (my good, old D70, 80-200mm/2.8 at 200 mm f9, 1/1250 sec, 200 ISO)

3. Now is a good idea to include the 18th ANPAT in the Spring on your shopping list, taking advantage of the early bird discount. More information (login required)

4. The whole team at Nikonians is wishing you and your family the very best for the holiday seasons and that you'll find plenty of opportunities to shoot some good photographs to share with others in the forums. We are back with the next newsletter January 4th, 20...18!

In the name of the whole team
Bo & Ramón

Posted by bgs at 11:54 AM

December 14, 2017

What is that "something" we take photographs of?

There is always something happening in the world of Nikonians. This week we have rolled out further improvements in the community: (1) it is now easier to see articles related to a specific topic (aka keyword/theme) (see this post) and (2) we are now showing small "overview thumbnails" of images linked into a discussion as well, not only for those that are uploaded.

Say welcome to our new writer Connie Cassinetto (Via the Lens). She starts out with an interesting article about photography rules and "Putting Our Subject in its Place".

She says: "Many people advocate that we 'throw away the rules,' or use them 'with a grain of salt.' But it is my belief that if you are a photographer, like me, who wants to go that step above the mundane or ordinary it is imperative to learn all of these compositional rules and to know them so well that they can be used without conscious thought. Then, and only then, can you forget about the rules and toss them to the wind." Read her article.

Over to Marsha who has been interviewing Karen Willshaw (Marjani) for this weeks inspirational I Am Nikonians article, coming with some great images and background info.

Manta & Divers by Karen Willshaw
Nikon D300, Tokina 10-17mm @ f/10, 1/320s, ISO 160, Seatool housing

The team is working hard on new articles and there are more good ones due next week.

I am wishing you good reading and interesting light :-)
Bo

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Posted by bgs at 11:03 AM

December 7, 2017

How do you work with other people?

Welcome to this weeks newsletter.

A new episode of Martin Turner's "Shooting the $2million image" premium article series is available. Martin discusses the "human factor" and how vital this is for successful professional photographers. He adds "One survey across many industries suggested that technical skills only accounted for around 20% of career success. The other 80% ? Ability to work with people." Read the article

This time of the year we might want to go through our gear, weed out what is no longer needed, maybe donate some of it and fine tune the arsenal in general. Ramón's article on filter systems might come in handy to answer questions you might have about one or the other filter system, which one to keep and what to get.

Ernesto Santos has a good write up on why one should bother about neutral density (ND) filters and why, if you have a circular graduated ND, you should definitely consider not keeping it: "Circular screw-on graduated neutral density filters are absolute rubbish. Do not buy one. If you own one, sell it to your worst enemy."

Final eye image by Martin Turner

We have some minor changes in the community:
1) You can now navigate between forum overview pages by either (a) using the button arrows or (b) by directly entering the page number you want.

2) If you are using Skype as a messenger and want to show other members that they can reach you via this channel as well, you can store your Skype name in "My Profile" and "Preferences" tab. The previous settings for AOL messenger and ICQ have been removed.

As always, if you have feedback on anything in the community, please do use our About Nikonians forum.

I am wishing you a good rest of the week :-)
Bo

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Posted by bgs at 10:22 AM

November 30, 2017

Are you a beta user?

It is snowing this morning at my "southern" basecamp and I am looking forward to get out this afternoon hoping for some animals against the white backdrop.

The "motivation thread" from last week got some very good input. If you haven't read that yet, I suggest you do that. See the discussion on motivation

For me personally, motivation is not so much about using good gear as to really dig in and understand what went wrong, when it does; being failure-driven so to say. By trying to learn from my failures, I expect that my work can improve over time.

From failures to guarantees of continuous success; The development team at Nikonians is looking for dedicated volunteers that want to participate in our new "System Beta Group". The group will be limited to ten members, granted special access rights to testing grounds and it becomes an integral part of our future expansion.

For more information on this, please see my post in the About Nikonians forum

This might be a good time of the year to create your own custom signature that you can apply to your photographs. Team member Dave Summers walks you through how to achieve that. Read the article

Starry Sky in the Death Valley National Park by J. Ramon Palacios (jrp)

Another good (re)read might be Ramóns how-to on starry night photography with the "500 rule".

I am wishing you a good start on the upcoming weekend, where ever your photography and the light might take you
Bo

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Posted by bgs at 10:18 AM

November 23, 2017

How to stay motivated?

Back to my southern basecamp looking through members images in our "Master your vision" galleries, something I seriously enjoy doing since it gives me a lot of good inspiration. I encourage you to do the same :)

Our Master your vision galleries contain a total of 18 main categories with everything from Astro, Glamour and Landscape to Travel, Underwater and Wildlife photography.

Please do welcome our new writer Kim Brasel (kjbrasel). She has been writing up a short article on playing tourist in your local area and that you don't need to travel far to get good shooting opportunities.

I am wishing you a great rest of the week with plenty of usable light :)
Bo

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The other items for this week are:

Inspiration
Member Bill Naiman (pixures) was interviewed by Marsha for this week's I Am Nikonians article. Good photographs to get inspired by! To the article

Bald Eagle
I loved the body position as the eagle began to swoop down for a snag.
Nikon D600, Nikon 80-400mm, @ 400mm, f/8, 1/1600s ISO 320

Motivation
What is keeping you motivated? Read what other members say about staying motivated. If you have any tips & tricks, do share them (login required).

Mastering the art
In the fourth part of mastering the art of photography series, we dig into the areas we have under control vs. the ones we don't. There are also a few action items mentioned worth trying out. Let us know your thoughts - and actions - in the Café.

Nikonians Community - It is all about you
Thanks to recent member feedback, we have improved the "Read new messages" page. It now shows small thumbnails in case a thread contains images and has the new page navigation arrows as well.

We have further improved the mobile display in forums and articles, making sure that the read new link and related ones are at the top of the screen.

Do you have anything you feel we should have and that you are missing, please do let us know in the About Nikonians forum.

Posted by bgs at 9:18 AM

November 16, 2017

We have improvements for you

Thanks to additional traveling this week, I am keeping this one "short and sweet".

We have some new articles that are due out next week, including another Mastering the Art of Photography, please stay tuned. If you still have not read the first three you might want to do that.

Ramón has gotten some great input on his Premium article "Incorrect Focus" in his Seven Deadly Sins series. No matter what your thoughts on DOF are, his Kabul girl is a great idea to be inspired by.

Our ballet dancers keep on jumping high in the air thanks to all of you creative, inspiring photographers supporting us through your postings, feedback and also by your direct financial help in our fundraising and by your contributing memberships.

A ballet dancer in the last evening light with the Danube river behind her, as seen by Pascal Baetens (pbaetens)

Not only have the community backend team been working on articles, but some improvements have been launched as well (see below). If you have feedback on these, please let us know in the About Nikonians forum. We are working hard to improve some major areas relating to give your work more exposure and I expect to have more information on this mid December.

I am wishing you many pleasurable photography moments for the rest of this week :-)
Bo (bgs)

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The other items for this week are:

The community - It is all about you
Posting messages improved

Clicking on a word or selecting multiple words with the keyboard when posting/editing a message allows you to select bold, italics, unordered list, ordered list or linking. If linking selected, a separate window opens up where you can enter the URL (address)

We hope this makes it easier for you to format your messages.

New navigation buttons
We have improved the navigation (a) when looking at a forum and (b) when reading a message thread.

a) You will find new left/right arrow buttons at the top of the page, to the left of "Post new message" (or on top of it on smaller screens) and at the bottom of each page.

These should make it easier to navigate between forum pages. This navigation replaces the older version showing page numbers.

(b) In addition, and at the same location, we have introduced left/right arrows on message pages, for easy navigation between messages when reading.

Posted by bgs at 9:37 AM

November 8, 2017

Is incorrect focus a deadly sin?

Hope your photography is doing well, no matter outside temperatures and the weather conditions that you might experience at your location. I am packing up at my nordic getaway heading "down south" to continental Europe this week and expect some good shooting opportunities along the way. We have lovely foggy mornings with plenty of roe deer and the odd moose out browsing and I will for sure keep some of Ramón's (jrp) "photography sins" in mind while shooting.

He has extended on his "seven deadly sins of photography" series with a new article, covering the sin of using incorrect focus. This is a premium article available to all members on Silver membership and higher. Read more

I am wishing you enjoyable photography moments behind the lens or screen for the rest of this week :-)
Bo (bgs)

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The other items for this week are:

Inspiration

Cattle Egret by Judie Dunn
Nikon D7100, Tamron 150-600mm @ f/7.1, 1/800s, ISO 800