Photography enthusiasts were atwitter at the ninth annual All Things Digital conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., when Twitter CEO Dick Costolo announced on June 1 that the 140-character company will begin to offer photo sharing and improved search capabilities.

Through a partnership with Photobucket, users will be able to upload images directly from Twitter or directly from a mobile device. Hashtag keyword searches on Twitter will now bring up two new category results: top images and top videos listed in a gallery format with their corresponding tweets below.

Video upload and storage capabilities, however, are still a no-go, Twitter said.

With the success of photo sharing on Facebook, it is no surprise that Twitter has tapped into this technology niche. At the moment, Tweeters must upload and store images through third-party sites like Twitpic, Yfrog, Instagram and Flickr.

These external clients reportedly generate millions of dollars in revenue by selling advertising on image pages.