|
There are probably thousands of other sites useful to the
photographer. Described below are just a few I have found to be
interesting and/or valuable resources.
Whether new to digital photography or a veteran you will have heard
about this site:
www.kenrockwell.com. I
mention it first not because of merit but because it may be the best
known photography site out there. It is controversial, to say the least.
Rockwell
does a good job of exposing photo-hype and the perils of
techno-obsession but I am increasingly hesitant to recommend more thana
rare visit - and that only to satisfy your curiosity.
The site offers a lot of contradictory advice, bullying as to what
you should or should not photograph, hyperbolic
opinion and flat-out errors. Rockwell claims to make his living
on the "cut" he receives from the online sellers he promotes. As a
consequence you will find a huge amount of commentary and product
discussion aimed at massaging you in the direction of
purchase from those businesses he has a relationship with. This is hardly the best
prescription for objectivity. On one page he will tell you "The camera
doesn't matter" but then, on the next, he remembers this is no way to
generate sales so insists
a $10,000 Leica is your best choice. And so it goes. Lately, he has
become a Canon "fan boy", which suggests his cut from sales of those
products may be better these days than from others.
Quite frankly, I find his fanatical advocacy of online photo-shopping
(and patronage of specific businesses in particular) an influence of
dubious value at best. My personal experience is that the best deal can usually be
found locally with the enormous benefit of customer service only minutes
away should there be a problem. Furthermore, you are supporting the
local economy.
You might pick up something useful at his site but ...
watch your
step as you might if walking through a cow-pasture and - beware the "bull".
no special order
www.dpreview.com Hosted by British
photographer Phil Askey and his army of colleagues. Askey has tested and compared a vast
number of digital cameras using consistent, accurate and repeatable measures of
performance and posts photographs taken with the units he tests. He
doesn't just shoot test patterns but interesting landscapes, portraits and urban
scenes. A nice combination of art and technology. Very up to date. Very
commercial and self-congratulatory for my taste but worth a regular visit If you
want to keep abreast of technology developments. Hosts
many huge forums with vast memberships, contests, tutorials etc. A bit of a
circus but always useful.
www.photozone.de Excellent technical
reviews of Canon and Nikon lenses plus much more. Hosted by Klaus Schroiff.
www.normankoren.com: Excellent resource for the
avid photographer - many topics in digital photography, "how to" -
including working from scanned film. Don't miss this. Koren covers every
important aspect of making fine images. Unfortunately, he has moved on to other
activities and the site is gradually falling behind the times. Needs some
serious updating to reflect recent technology advances.
www.bythom.com: Thom Hogan caters
for Nikon enthusiasts but most of his excellent material is generally applicable
to digital photography regardless of what you are using. Unlike Rockwell,
there's nothing insane or off the wall here and remarkably little
partisanship - just solid information and a lot of
experience. I wish Hogan would post more pictures as his work looks very
interesting but all we get are a few offerings at postage stamp size. Criticism:
for some, maybe, a bit too much space devoted to photo equipment market analysis
and trends.
www.cambridgeincolour.com: A finely crafted site both visually and
technically. Covers a wide variety
of photo topics including an excellent section on color perception and
color management. Hosts
forums and an active visitor community. Highly recommended. One of the
best looking photo sites on the Web.
www.photographylife.com: Hosted by photographer Nasim Mansurov and
colleagues, features a large number of equipment reviews, photo
tutorials and commentary. Mansurov knows what he is doing. You can learn
a lot from him.
www.luminous-landscape.com: Hosted by Michael Reichmann and
colleagues. This site has a lot of everything. There are numerous
technical articles by a variety of photographers, equipment reviews and
featured guest commentary on subjects of interest to photographers.
There's quite a bit of promotional material but it's off to the side
where you don't have to look at it if you don't want to.
The following two are more mainstream/commercial in terms of content. You will
find news, shopping links, forums etc. Lot's of interesting "stuff".
www.steves-digicams.com
www.imaging-resource.com
Nikonians should bookmark the following for Nikon's own technical
tests ...
http://imaging.nikon.com/
Nikon owners can also do themselves a lot of good by joining this Forum:
www.nikonians.org
There you will find professional quality moderating, a lot of really useful
information, photo galleries, contests, technical articles, answers to questions
and ... some malarkey as well.
http://www.dpbestflow.org/
Recently discovered ... American Society of Media Photographers. Many
excellent articles and references. Funded in part by the US Library of
Congress.
Most photo sites host forums, blogs and commentary sections. These
are always entertaining, sometimes useful but frequently a waste of
time.
- Many participants are there simply for the purpose of satisfying
their lust for blood by criticizing in the rudest ways they can
think of those comments made by others. They are the "drive by shooters" of the Internet, out for
sport and not much else.
- "Fan boys" - those uncritically loyal to a certain product -
populate many forums for the purpose of defending their choices as a
means to constructing and publicizing a self-image. We all know how
that goes. Choosing product "X" informs others I am a more
discerning purchaser than the average idiot and/or I am so well
established in life I can afford and will have only the best. This
sort of thing plays out in many other life contexts - choice of
automobile, home, clothing, computer, audio gear. It's 99% a "guy
thing", as well - something we could do with less of.
Many other scenarios thrive in these places, their workings best left
to the examination of psychiatrists than to be taken seriously by real
photographers. You will find some thoughtful, objective contributions,
of course, but it may take a lot of sifting through the uproar, noise
and chest-beating.
As for your own participation, resist fuelling confrontations that
waste time and discourage responsible visitors. Avoiding response in kind to unpleasant contributions
is a good discipline to cultivate although this may be difficult when
you are yourself the subject of an attack. This way sets a
constructive example and helps build a positive atmosphere for sharing
information and experiences.
The best forums exercise some control over content/behaviour and
attract those who value civilized discourse (while not ruling out having
some fun). These can be very useful places. You'll find questions
competently and respectfully answered and ignorance recognized as
something we all harbor to some degree rather than a flaw in character
to be ridiculed and made sport of. A good example of such a forum is
nikonians.org.
Back to top
of page
|