Steve Broback defends the JPEG format, providing tips on adjusting optimal settings.

Today, much debate surrounds the two main file formats that digital photographers have at their disposal. Serious photographers are hearing from various camps about the respective advantages of JPEG and RAW, resulting in a lot of confusion. 

I have been following this debate closely for some time, and have been asked by several photographers for guidance regarding which format they should be using...

Richard McEnery discusses the various continuing education options.

A father gets a new digital camera for Christmas. He sets out to learn more about his camera, reads about the Nikon School’s one-day digital photography classes and decides this is for him. Now he’s hooked.

An amateur nature photographer does a weekend field workshop with Darrell Gulin and gets some amazing images of an osprey feeding its young. She decides to attend the annual Nature Photography Summit and Trade Show, sponsored by the North American Nature Photographers Association...

Can you see me now? The high points and hang-ups of cell phone cameras.

I finally found at least one reason to have a camera in my cell phone. Recently, my wife gave me a shopping list that included some knee-high stockings. The description on the list didn’t match anything on the shelves, so I called her to get more information. She gave me a better description, but I still couldn’t find what she wanted.

It then occurred to me: “I wish I could send her a picture of the products on the shelves so she could choose...

James Bond has "Q." Sydney Bristow and Vaughn have Marshall. Every good field operative has a genius back at the home office who provides the really cool toys that mean the difference between the success and failure of a mission.

When you are shooting on location, whether that location is in your neighborhood or some remote, exotic destination, it's the little things that can make the difference. As Gary Voth points out in his story earlier in this issue, planning and preparation are the keys to success. Gary mentions several tools that are essential when shooting digital in the field. Two important things to deal with are power and storage.

There are still lots of places you can go where power may not be...

When accessorizing your digital darkroom, remember that a few basic items are better than the flashy gizmos.

When I was in high school, I decided to set up a darkroom in the attic. I started by getting a Jobo “two-banger” tank to develop my film and later added an enlarger to do the really cool part of printing my images. One thing I remember from that experience was that I continually spent money on accessories, all the things that “every good darkroom should not be without.” It seemed that there was always some new tool that I needed to make my darkroom look professional and my prints look better, but I found that the latest and greatest new gizmo didn’t make me a better photographer...

Printing digital photos may seem cheap, but are you taking all the costs into account? Seattle photographer Serge Timacheff lists some line-items you may have missed.
It is tempting to assume that printing photos from a digital camera will be a snap, and cheaper than a film-based process. Anyone who has tried it, however, knows that it inevitably becomes a bigger challenge, and expense, than anticipated...

You’ve stored thousands of digital images, but can you find the right one when you need it?

The hottest topic in digital photography today isn’t the newest digital SLR announcements, how many megapixels can fit onto a new chip or even how many images a blue laser DVD can hold. No, the latest, greatest and hottest acronym in the digital industry is DAM: digital asset management.

And DAM, there are a lot of products trying to get a piece of this exploding market. Even Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are trying to get a foothold in this area. Just look at Microsoft Plus Digital Media Edition or Apple’s iPhoto to see what I mean. So, how do photographers, professional or amateur, sift through all the tools out there and figure out what they need?..

Whether you're a casual shooter or a working professional, how and where to store your digital images is a growing concern.

For my fifth—grade English class, I had to write my autobiography, complete with photos. So one evening after dinner, Mom and I sat down to work on this "huge" project, thoroughly documenting the first 10 years of my life. Mom pulled out this old shoebox that contained all of our family pictures. Everyone, in those days, had a shoebox full of envelopes from the photography store. Each envelope contained negatives and a set of black—and—white or color prints, with scalloped edges and the month and year printed in the border...