A friend of mine is teaching a course in Digital Imaging and Photography this semester and asked for suggestions for a list of related resources she's compiling, and of course my first thought was that you folks would have all sorts of things to contribute, so:

What are your favorite resources?
Which books or sites do you turn to when you want help improving your photographic and digital techniques?
Is there a particular Photoshop tutorial that became part of your workflow?
A photo that inspired you to try something new?

Entry update
Cameron set up a wiki page so please consider leaving your responses there:
http://wiki.photoblogs.org/Indispensable_Resources%2C_Books_%26_Tutorials

A couple to start:
The Ansel Adams Photography series and London & Upton's Photography textbook.
Luminous Landscape's tutorials and Understanding... series.
photo.net's Learn Photography section (the forums are great, too, but can be a bit overwhelming).
The Compositional Dos and Don'ts article here awhile back has some great (though contradictory!) advice.
Flux + Mutability highlights a wide range of (mostly modern) photographers.
(and a little self promo: I keep a links blog of photos and tutorials and other things I find useful when I'm feeling uninspired.)

I crave (I can’t say that enthusiastically enough) - CRAVE - tasks or goals that help me grow as a photographer. And I was wondering if there’s anyone else out there like me. I was thinking as a community, it might be fun to have someone set a weekly lesson or task, and those interested in participating come back in a week and post links to their photographs in the comments field here. Topics could include portraiture, panning....anything. Authors might be anyone who feel they would like to write an essay or maybe just someone who wants to read up on a topic and share it with us..

I guess like a photo friday..but a 'photoblogs weekly task' that is more aimed at specifics? I’m fairly new to photography, so I’m not at all suggesting I author the tasks, I guess I’m just brainstorming.. I also don’t mean to give Brandon more stuff to do LOL…a communal effort would be required
Wotcha think? Bueller?

I've finally decided which college I'll be attending which happens to be the same that Rion attended herself; the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. I'll be working with creating a specialized portfolio with three counselors and taking a number of classes in order to improve my work to gain admittance.

This, however, is not what I'm querying about. My question relates to what I'll be dealing with once I get in. The curriculum in the photographic major is as so. For the first two semesters I'll be working in nothing but black and white with a large format 4x5 camera, the third semester I finally go into color, by the junior year I'll be studying niches in photography, and by the senior year I study the business classes and dabble in a few other interrelated classes. The thing I look forward for my photoblog is that it will document my progression as a photography major in college - as that I'm not aware of any other photoblogs like this and would actually like to see them if anyone knows of them.

I've seen large format cameras, but I'm afraid that's the extent of my interaction with them. What exactly should I expect and what tips should I be aware of in their usage?

Do you ever feel like you've exhausted your favorite shooting locations? How do you go about finding a new place to explore photographically?

One of my recent ideas is to find a junkyard and ask them if I could poke around with my camera for a couple of hours. They may think I'm a little strange, but it seems like there would be a lot of great photo opportunities there. I've also noticed that carnivals and fairs are a fun place to find inspiration.

What other kinds of interesting and possibly overlooked locations do you know about?

I recently started using this amazing piece of software called DxO Optics Pro and I thought you might find it interesting. It's the perfect and a must have tool for serious DSLR serious and fixes distortion and chroma aberation of your photos according to the body/lens combination you use.

I shoot mostly with Canon 300D + EF-S 18-55mm lens and they support this combination, and I have to admit the results are unbelievable. It makes my photos look like they are taken with a sharper much more expensive glass.

they have trial versions too, check it out, and make sure they have the body/lens combination module of your ineterst.

Unfortunately there is no RAW support at this time but apparently they'll be relasing that very soon, but it does an amazing job with JPEGs out of the camera.

UPDATE:

Examples:
These are straight out of the camera and then the Optix Pro versions. Optics Pro has no settings, it figures everything out with a press of a button!. I recommend downloading them and flipping back and forth with your image viewer:

Example one - The Door:
Before
After

Example two - The Corridor:
Before
After

I'm going to remove these in a few weeks for saving bandwidth.

Hi, all. I've been reading this blog for a long time, and it's my first time posting here, mainly because I saw some tips from John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide and wanted to share them.

Though these tips are for nature photography, I thought that they applied to everything else too.

Compositional Do's

• Please yourself first, not someone else.
• Wander around to find the best subject.
• Handhold your camera to find the best composition, then set up your tripod.
• Preview the depth of field.
• Check for background distractions.
• Check the edges of the frame for distracting brightly-lit hotspots.
• Check for merging tonalities and objects accidentally sticking up into the frame.
• Control or enhance the light if needed.
• Be deliberate about camera placement and lens selection.
• Position your camera as the subject matter dictates, not as your knees or back want you to.
• Simplify, simplify, simplify.

Compositional Don'ts

• Do not photograph the first subject you find; look for the best subject.
• Do not mount your camera on your tripod before you've found a good composition.
• Do not extend your tripod legs until you've found your subject and composition
• Do not photograph contrasty subjects in bright sunlight.
• Do not bull's-eye your subject in the frame.
• Do not tilt horizons or place them running through the middle of the frame.
• Do not try to capture everything with one picture.
• Do not photograph low objects from a high perspective.
• Do not let objects barely touch the edge of the frame.
• Do not pick a flower (or harass an animal) to move it to a better spot (with the exception of humans, lol)

These are practical tips for good photographs but sometimes you tend to forget them in your haste.

Street photography and photojournalism in general has always appealed to me. They are definitely my preferred categories of interest photography-wise.
Although, in the recent past, I have found myself in search of new subject matter outside my normal realm of comfort. I felt a need to diversify and explore & to improve my technical abilities (of which I must admit I have never concerned myself with to any great degree).

I have sought out, in addition to other new avenues, shooting macros, mostly of floral subjects and butterflies.

*You can reach the macro category by clicking on this link*

I feel as if I have a fair amount to learn while shooting these subjects in the future...composition, color, DOF, etc. - I was hoping, with the advice of those who have a far greater grasp on the how to's and such here @ photoblogs.org, that I could improve on my future attempts and results.
I would appreciate any open, honest and constructive criticism on the 17 images I have posted to date in my macro category on WTHHLN.com/photos/ - any and all advice is welcome in the form of a comment on any specific image!

One of the greatest attributes of this blog is the advice we can all give one another, so I thank you all in advance for your assistance!!

~btezra~

A great little one-pager that lists your rights as a photographer. Initially reported by BoingBoing.net. Grab the 148k PDF here before their server explodes destroying all within a two mile radius.

The previous post raised some interesting points about Photoshop usage, and one of the main conclusions seemed to be that it wasn't the use of Photoshop that was an issue, rather whether it was used well. With that in mind I thought it might be worth pooling our resources regarding how best to use this program.

The previous post finished up with a couple of book recommendations but there are also numerous online resources and tutorials that many of us would probably benefit from. So, to start the ball rolling, here are two that I think are particularly useful (both of which I originally came across on Emese Gaal's links page):

Introduction to the Curves Command (if you only master one tool in Photoshop this, IMO, should be the one).

Levels Adjustment

I seem to have misplaced my inspiration recently. In the past few months, thanks to my camera, I have trained my eye and mind to view the world as though I am looking through my camera's viewfinder. The most mundane scenes are framed as though I have the camera in my hands (steady without a tripod, of course!), ready to capture the moment with a speedy press on the shutter button. Unfortunately, my training seems to have taken a vacation lately, and I'm no longer seeing things like I used to.

I want to know what you do when you lose your inspiration. Do you make it a point to participate in a meme? Do you look around your home, office, or backyard in seach of something new to photograph? Maybe you just take a break from it all.

While I can't speak for everyone, I have a suspicion most every photographer has experienced this. If you're one of the lucky few who hasn't, I especially want your feedback. How have you managed to keep your creative eye fresh?

Either way, please share your thoughts!