In the past there have been discussions about the extent to which we post vertically or horizontally, but I don't think there was discussion about when it might make good sense. This spolight is meant to showcase not just a single photo, but also how it works in its situation. I have more to say, but don't want to say it before you've seen it. (My additional comment will be in the thread.)

http://kosoof.com/archive/2004/Nov/12/168.php

Here's an interesting photoblogging project that took place this last Friday and Saturday.  Check it out:

24in48.org

"this is a group moblog event, sharing the lives of 24 people over 48 hours in new york city."

This might sound really stupid, and may also be seen as unnecessary here, but I want to post it.

What music do you think is the best to listen to for your visitors while they are looking through your photoblog?

I always listen to music since that is what I study, and then I came to think what music which fits best for photos? Or for a specific type of photos.
I think maybe some old, classic music would be great for nature scenery and maybe some modern rock for "city photos".

Let me know what you think is the best type of music for photoviewing!

Edit:      LET ME MAKE IT CLEAR THAT I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT ADDING MUSIC TO A WEBPAGE! THAT IS NOT MY POINT. I WAS TALKING ABOUT WHAT KIND OF MUSIC WOULD YOU RECOMMEND YOUR VISITORS LISTEN TO, ON THEIR COMPUTER OR WHATEVER. NOT MUSIC ON A WEBPAGE. SEEMS LIKE MANY HAVE MISUNDERSTOOD.

Kjetil M. Bergem
Photoflood.net

I've never really done a Photo Spotlight before, but I've really been enjoying the photos over at artcoup (www.artcoup.com) for quite some time.

The photos, displayed in a flash environment, are never short of amazing. I'm completely blown away each time I visit his site.

They are often quite bleak, portraying the streets of Brooklyn (by means of crack, gangs, protests, subways, skinheads, etc) in a way rarely seen from the outside.

It's amazing how beautiful his shots can be, when faced with such ugly content.

Here's to you, Boogie.

I've had a few requests to add RSS or Atom to my site. I notice these are far from universal out there, and wondered if folks in general think it's a worthwhile feature to add.

Also, can anyone recommend a good RSS/Atom client for Mac OS X? I tested a few, and they were not wonderful.

Terry Anderson and Greg Sharp have launched a new photomeme website:

"fotopia.org is a free online venue built to explore the convergence of photography, dialog, and community. One part virtual gallery, one part salon, ultimately it's an ongoing exhibit created collaboratively by photographers (amateur or professional) and other contributors who have an interest in celebrating and understanding our world."

Check it out.

I am going to finally set myself up with a digital watermark system and was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of the best place to do that. Photoshop has a link to a site but I am wondering if I can find a better deal. I tried to search for info on photo.net but figured I would ask for your expertise as well. Thanks!

I'm interested to hear tales of digital camera malfunction
and the subsequent repair.   I ask for your indulgence as I relate my
own rather lengthy experience with broken cameras and the battles to get them
fixed.

My first digicam was a Nikon CoolPix 950 I bought because I was off to spend a
year teaching English in Japan.
Before this, I wasn't very interested in photography but having the camera and
lots of cool Japanese stuff to shoot got me excited.  It's fair to say I
was a little upset when the 950 got bumped off a bench and into a koi pond in Sydney.  After
draining the battery compartment, I took the camera to a repair shop. I wasn't surprised
when told all its circuit boards were fried and I'd be better off
buying a new camera.  This wasn't an immediate option and I was going back to Japan anyways; it’d be better to get a new camera there.  A week into the Australian
tour (the camera went swimming on the second day) I was repacking my bag, came
across the 950, and decided to switch it on.  It worked.  It worked
perfectly.

Feeling good about the indestructible nature of Nikon products and photography
in general, I bought a CoolPix 5700 in Japan before coming back to Canada.
I enjoyed the camera very much until the day the LCD came up with "lens
error" in unfriendly letters.  A little research told me that this
was not such an uncommon error and I'd need to send it in for service.
Because the camera was bought in Japan,
Nikon Canada would not honour the warranty.  I didn't want to send the camera all the
way back to Japan for service so I waited the six weeks and paid the $250 to get a working
camera.  The camera did work when I got it back, but the zoom was about
three times louder than it was before repair.  This was annoying, but I
could live with it.

I happily took photographs with the 5700 for quite some time.  That is until I was shooting in some sand
hills and happened to get a good blast of airborne sand into the zoom
mechanism.   I decided that the gritty grinding sound as the lens retracted wasn't a good thing and I should send the camera in for
repair.  As luck would have it, the 950 finally died a few days
later.  I knew that getting the 950 repaired would be more expensive that
what it was worth, but it had some sentimental value attached so I sent it in with the
5700.  This time the repair for the 5700 would
be $300 and another $200 for the 950.   Another six week wait and I got the call
to pick up my camera. After a significant bank balance reduction I was
taking pictures in the alley behind the camera store.  This is when I
noticed the top LCD wasn't working.  It was fine before the 'repair', so
back to the service depot it went.

At this point I was mad, but at least I'd be getting the 950 back soon and
could resume my digital photo-pursuits with that.  The next day I got a
call reporting that Nikon service found water damage in the flash circuit (of
course they did) and could not repair the 950.  Nikon offered to replace
it with a refurbished 4500, but the price on this was not much different that what
a new unit would have run.   I was getting frustrated and called
Nikon service directly to complain.  After several discussions and
e-mails, Nikon agreed to replace the 5700 with an 8700 free of charge and give
me a good rate on a refurbished D70 body.  This was acceptable.

I still had to wait couple of weeks before the D70 arrived.  I was giddy with anticipation
when it arrived, but I didn't have an opportunity for a couple of days to
really get out and shoot anything.  It was finally the weekend and I had
big plans for an extended photo-jaunt.  I loaded up a compact flash and
turned on the D70 and the green 'write' light just flashed constantly.  I tried three
other cards with the same result.  I wasn't even getting an 'E' on the
display when the camera had no card in it.  After trying the paperclip
activated emergency reset button a few times I grudgingly came to the
realization that the camera was screwed.  I wasn't happy, not at all, and
there was still no sign of the 8700 that Nikon promised.

I have to credit Nikon that they did make things right in a prompt
manner.  I got a new D70 body directly by courier shortly after and they
threw the 8700 in with the same package - both work great so far.  Through this ordeal I was told
that Nikon's service depot was going through growing pains.  They've been
selling a lot more digital cameras and haven't made any considerable expansions
to their service department.  The retailer I was dealing with switched
from sending their repairs to the Vancouver depot to the Toronto one because of quality issues.  It seems as though Nikon Canada at least
should do some expanding.

I apologize for the long winded post. I'd be interested to hear what experiences
folks have had getting their cameras fixed.

-Mike Scullen
Sublimate

It started snowing here in Norway today. A lot.
Like 10-12 cm in 8 hours or something. Then I realized: I have no idea about how to take pictures of snowy weather!

I haven't really tried it out, since I got my new camera this summer. And before I start shooting, I was hoping people had some suggestions about shutterspeed, ISO and things like that. And maybe some examples of how it should or could be done.

Can't wait for your comments!

Kjetil M. Bergem
Photoflood.net

I take notice of every post, here at PhotoBlogs.org, that mentions a photo/image contest or a new site to post on.

I always enter the contests...why the heck not, you never know when the image you submit may turn up a winner. 

Well, this past summer I submitted this image to the Popular Photography & Imaging’s 11th Annual International Picture Contest and I wanted to pass along the info that it won in the Sports/Action category (honorable mention) and will be published with all the winners of all the categories in next month's issue of Popular Photography & Imaging.  The issue comes out in mid-December.

I am only supposing the winners of all the categories should outstanding and worth viewing, the International Picture Contest usually yields incredible shots from fotags across the globe.  I wanted to pass along my "thanks" to those who post the links to various photography contests here on the blog portion of the site.  I can only say that entering the contests can be worth it, so don't hesitate to pass along the links!