Webshots Blog

Imagine this: You’ve been out taking photos all day, enjoying your “me time.” When you get home, all you want to do is upload them to Webshots and share them with your friends and family. But first you have to find the cable to connect the camera to your computer. Or you have to walk the dog. Or a million other things….

But what if you could walk the dog and upload your photos to Webshots at the same time? The folks at Eye-Fi had the same idea, and they just launched the new Eye-Fi SD card, a wireless memory card for your camera that uses Wi-Fi technology to automatically upload your photos to Webshots.

Some Webshots members, including myself, participated in the gamma round of testing for the Eye-Fi card. The feedback I got was great: Members said it was easy to set up, and the photos uploaded to Webshots faster than they imagined.

When you use the Eye-Fi card, your photos are uploaded into a private Webshots album. You can add captions and tags when you have time, and then make it public if you want to share it with the Webshots community (and we hope you do!).

The best part about the Eye-Fi card, though, is how easy it is to use. If you have a home Wi-Fi network, all you have to do is come home and turn on your camera—you don’t even have to turn on your computer! The built-in Wi-Fi technology transfers the photos from the Eye-Fi card right to Webshots and also your computer’s hard drive if you choose that as an option.

Plus, Eye-Fi offers free phone and e-mail support as well as online self help with a 90-day limited warranty. If you have any questions about how the Eye-Fi card, read their FAQ.

The Eye-Fi 2 GB SD memory card (for both PCs and Macs) is retailing for $99, and you can buy it at numerous online retailers like Amazon.com and Buy.com. If you’re looking for a great holiday gift for the shutterbug in your life, this is definitely it!

To put it simply: Eye-Fi lets you say good-bye to cables and long upload waits, and hello to getting your photos up on Webshots faster and timelier. And who doesn’t want that?

Let’s flip the switch on black-and-white photography: Find an object that’s black, white or a bit of both, and photograph it in color. The challenging part is to make us think that your photo is a black-and-white picture, so make sure that the dominant shades we see in the photo are black and white.

OFFICIAL ENTRY RULES
To officially enter the Creative Challenge, you must tag your three submissions with creative-challenge-bwcolor. You can then view them and everyone else’s submissions on the DISPLAY PAGE (it updates about every hour). To find out more about this, read the Using Tags on Creative Challenges post.

Submission Guidelines
1. Our editors look for sharp, clear horizontal images that are at a minimum resolution of 800×600 (submissions can have larger resolutions than this). Currently, vertical images cannot fit in the homepage template. Therefore, we cannot publish vertical or narrow panoramic images.

2. Images with added text or images, including watermarks, logos, copyright symbols, graphic borders, frames and time stamps, will not be considered. Collages, however, are acceptable.

3. Please do not submit pictures that have already been featured on the homepage.

4. The Creative Challenge runs from 12:01 a.m. on October 31 to 3:00 p.m. on November 5 (all times PDT).

5. 3 pictures per member tagged with: creative-challenge-bwcolor
Please edit your work—show us only the best!

*Note: Images that don’t meet the exact guidelines can be submitted and viewed for everyone to enjoy, but please understand that we cannot publish images that don’t meet minimum guidelines on the homepage. Also, now that you’re tagging your entries, you don’t need to post links in the comments section anymore.

NEXT WEEK’S THEME: Music
Can you capture the essence of music in a photograph? Challenge yourself to interpret the theme of music, looking at sheet music, musicians, instruments and more! Thanks to member andrei_sky for the idea! Got an idea for a Creative Challenge? Let us known on the blog!

We’re all in a fright over here at Webshots thanks to the scary pictures you submitted for the Creative Challenge: Spooky! Our editors looked through all the entries, and these three sent chills down our spines:

#1. We all did a double take when we saw member jacrabit4’s spooky submission. Is this house haunted? We’re not sure, and we love that! The shutters off their hinges and the blur across the monster’s face are nice touches for this spectacularly spooky scene. Congrats to member jacrabit4—we’ll feature your photo on the homepage on Halloween!

#2. The black-and-white composition of member keithandlaura’s eerie entry lends a particularly haunted and creepy atmosphere to the overall graveyard scene. Check out the caption to find out why this place is creepy in real life, too.

#3. The glowing moon and snow-kissed tree make this picture mysterious and beautiful at once. Excellent job by member rbennett64!

Thanks to everyone for having fun with this one! To see all the entries in the Creative Challenge: Spooky, visit the DISPLAY PAGE.

Halloween is fast approaching—are you (and your camera) ready? While you’re out trick-or-treating with the kids, why not take photos of your favorite jack-o-lanterns along the way? Follow these tips to ensure that your photos turn out wicked…in a good way!

Tips for Capturing Jack-o-Lanterns

1. Lighting on the Inside
While you’re carving your pumpkin, make sure the holes in the design are large enough to emit a good amount of light. Once you have your jack-o-lantern, light it from inside with a bright light source: Try a flashlight or a battery-operated light—instead of the traditional candle—for best results. Be sure to position the light so that it doesn’t shine directly out of the holes and into the camera lens.

2. Lighting on the Outside
Turn off your camera’s flash, and set your ISO to 400. Then, allow your camera’s meter to recognize that the jack-o-lantern’s glowing expression is the brightest highlight of the scene. If you desire to show more details of the jack-o-lantern itself, light some candles near the outside of it, turn on a lamp, ask a friend to shine a flashlight at it or turn on the porch light. My favorite time to photograph a jack-o-lantern is at dusk, when you can take advantage of the natural light.

3. No More Blurry Photos
To avoid blurry photos, use the cable release or the timer to trip the shutter. You can also try a tripod to keep the camera very still. Also, you don’t want to get too close to the jack-o-lantern as your camera may have difficulty focusing on a subject that’s less than two feet away. Instead, try standing about four feet away and zooming in to fill the frame.

4. Spooky Effects
For an added special effect, photograph your jack-o-lanterns on a shiny surface in a dark room—they’ll look extra spooky!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is this weekend, so by now everyone’s decorations are up! Get into costume and snap some spooky shots inspired by this festive holiday.

How it works: Each Friday at noon, we’ll post the criteria for the picture, and you’ll have until Sunday to take new pictures featuring all three criteria, upload them to Webshots and post a link to them in the comments section. You can submit as many photos as you like, so get off the couch, grab your camera and start snappin’!

Criteria
1. Spooky lighting
2. Halloween colors (black and/or orange)
3. Something scary

P.S. Your entries won’t be judged—this is just for the fun of it!

***Tag your entries with: Weekend Warrior 19, Weekend Warrior***

The Webshots staff has put together an editors’ collection of photos from the various fires in Southern California, many of which are still burning.

Please spread the word about this disaster by emailing the collection to all your friends and family, and show them the power of photography—some of these images will move you to action.

We’ve also included links to the Red Cross and the Humane Society in case you want to donate to these organizations that are helping victims (both people and animals) of the fires.

Thank you to all the Webshots members who uploaded photos and videos and sharing them with the community…and the world.

Halloween is probably one of the biggest holidays for Webshots members because there’s so many interesting things to photograph: glowing jack-o-lanterns, scary costumes and treats galore! For this Creative Challenge, we’re broadening the topic to spooky things in general for those members who don’t have Halloween festivities where they are. But here’s the best part: The winning photo will be featured on the homepage on Halloween, so millions of people will see it! So make sure your photo is the spookiest of them all!

OFFICIAL ENTRY RULES
To officially enter the Creative Challenge, you must tag your three submissions with creative-challenge-spooky. You can then view them and everyone else’s submissions on the DISPLAY PAGE (it updates about every hour). To find out more about this, read the Using Tags on Creative Challenges post.

Submission Guidelines
1. Our editors look for sharp, clear horizontal images that are at a minimum resolution of 800×600 (submissions can have larger resolutions than this). Currently, vertical images cannot fit in the homepage template. Therefore, we cannot publish vertical or narrow panoramic images.

2. Images with added text or images, including watermarks, logos, copyright symbols, graphic borders, frames and time stamps, will not be considered. Collages, however, are acceptable.

3. Please do not submit pictures that have already been featured on the homepage.

4. The Creative Challenge runs from 12:01 a.m. on October 24 to 3:00 p.m. on October 29 (all times PDT).

5. 3 pictures per member tagged with: creative-challenge-spooky
Please edit your work—show us only the best!

*Note: Images that don’t meet the exact guidelines can be submitted and viewed for everyone to enjoy, but please understand that we cannot publish images that don’t meet minimum guidelines on the homepage. Also, now that you’re tagging your entries, you don’t need to post links in the comments section anymore.

NEXT WEEK’S THEME: Black and White in Color
Let’s flip the switch on black-and-white photography: Find an object that’s black, white or a bit of both, and photograph it in color. The challenging part is to make us think that your photo is a black-and-white picture, so make sure that the only shades we see in the photo are black and white. Thanks to member Kezzarama for the idea! Got an idea for a Creative Challenge? Let us known on the blog!

The wildfires in Southern California are burning out of control and have forced thousands of people out of their homes. To keep up-to-date on the story, follow News.com’s coverage and watch Webshots for the latest photos and videos from our members. If you’d like to donate, you can go to the Red Cross or The Humane Society of the U.S.

If you have photos and videos of the Southern California wildfires, please post a link to them in the comments section as we are working on an editorial collection.

Agua Dulce Fire

San Diego Wildfire 2007 Pictures

Fire in Southern California

California Fire 10/23/07

Santa Clarita Fire Oct 21, 2007

October Fire Storm 2007

Malibu Fire 10.21.2007

We read all the entries in the Creative Challenge: Signs, and they all pointed to these members as our top three winners:

#1. The shot of the famous Route 66 by member luvnartusa caught our eye with its sharp focus and interesting placement—we hope you were careful when you jumped out of the car to get this one! Congrats to member luvnartusa—we’ll feature your photo on the homepage tomorrow!

#2. Member cmb1944 did a wonderful job of capturing a colorful display of old car signs. Do some of those car makers even exist anymore? Thanks for preserving this moment in history, Chris!

#3. By shooting in sepia and blurring the edges, member groflow does an excellent job of conveying the sign’s harsh message of “No Access.” Nice job!

Thanks to everyone for having fun with this one! To see all the entries in the Challenge, check out the DISPLAY PAGE.

Looking for that perfect holiday card? Why not make your favorite Pro Shot the star of your season greetings! Right now, you can save 15% on all greeting cards. We have all kinds of stunning images to choose from:

Make your holiday cards stand out this year, but hurry—these savings end on October 31. Order now!