As in anything, there are terms often bandied about under the presumption that we all know what the term means, what it refers to, and how to do it!  Living with such blinders on is often dangerous and I fell victim to it recently when I gave someone an answer about hosting their photos online that referenced FTP.  I presumed they knew what I meant, knew what FTP was, and had their own method for using FTP, when the truth is – FTP can be very confusing, especially if all you do is take pictures.

So, in the interests of helping people get a clearer picture of what FTP is, how it relates to being a photographer, and how to use it to share your images online – keep on reading!  For the rest of you – keep on reading anyway, as I might get something wrong, and I need a lot of people to double-check me and keep me on the straight and narrow! 🙂

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and it’s really just a fancy name for moving your files and photos from a local storage device (like your computer) to a remote storage device (like a website).  You can run FTP through your browser, (think uploading images to places like Flickr or MPix), but this is slower, and more clunky – a dedicated application can do it much faster, and handle more files!  These are called FTP clients.

So, which FTP client should you use?  It depends on a couple things – first off, what type of computer you are running.  Windows and Apple have different systems and some applications (like FTP clients) aren’t universally designed for both.  So, your OS matters.  I look at 2 on each system in a companion article I will attach to this post.  Pick whichever one works best for your budget and work flow.

There’s only one more point I can think of regarding FTP that you should probably consider – security.  Some applications allow you to store your FTP site connection details  – the web address, your logon credentials, within the client.  While this may make connecting easier for you – now anyone can do it.  So watch out where you save this stuff.  if it’s on a computer that you have constant control over that is one thing, but if you are portable, or using a web-based client, that could be dangerous.  My recommendation there is not to save these credentials.  Doing so just opens a security risk – and your website being compromised could be a serious problem.

Security of the client application should not be confused with the security of the protocol – remember, FTP stands for file transfer protocol, and it’s an open format.  Depending on how your website is hosted, you might be able to transmit content over a secure connection (it’s called SSH, but you can think of it as a “secure file transfer protocol” or SFTP if that makes it easier), and while this is the preferred method, some hosting companies don’t like it.  So, before you decide on a host – shop around and ask if they have port 22 access (the number specifically associated with SSH).  Another thing to consider – even if you don’t think you need to know now – down the road is another story!

That’s it for today.  What are your favorite clients that you use for website content?  Share your own thoughts in the comments, and feel free to download my article on “Choosing an FTP Client” that goes into all the details!   Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow.

As always, don’t forget about the monthly contest series.  This month, be sure to post your best Height shot to the Flickr Community thread

 

Believe it or not, people have asked me in the past to give links out to some of my preferred vendors for things like books, gear, and other photography-related items. Since I don’t like to single out vendors usually, I’ll tell people to find the best deal nearest them so that they don’t have to pay for shipping things too far. I did notice when pricing some things recently through one of my preferred vendors though – that it was not the cheapest (which is what I was used to).  So I did a little research on a few products typical for a person like myself – that likes gadgets, understands that you often get what you pay for, but with the realization that the market is much more competitive now, and things may have changed.

Sure enough – it was more expensive on every count.  Boy was I shocked when Amazon was the lowest by comparison.  For the same product!  So, I am actually coming out and saying that my new preferred vendor for tech things like gear, books, and gadgets, Amazon is ruling the roost these days.  So much so, that I even created a widget for some of my own favorite products to include in the sidebar.  My concern though is whether people think it’s in their face – or are you blind to sidebar “ads”?  The reason for the quotes is because I think I am sometimes blind to these things too…the fancy splashy colors or changes that appear and change on my favorite reads either are blind to me, or I am not even seeing them because I get the feed.

So – couldn’t help but wonder – has anyone even seen the new Amazon recommended readings?  Were you “blind” to it?  Or do you pick things up through the feed?  I promise a better post is coming later today with the podcast and some great photography goodness for the weekend, but wanted to put this out there for some reader feedback.  Have a great day and there’s more tk…

Well, I ran out of time to compile the podcast segments in the day, so figured I would answer another listener question via blog post today.  The question came in inquiring how I produced video, and what my recommendations are.  While this is a great question, especially given the trend towards convergence between still and video formats, the simple answers to the question are:

Q:  What do I shoot my video with?

A:  I shoot my video with a Canon Powershot AS500 IS.  These are nice little compact cameras and the built in video option is a handy feature to have in a P&S grade camera.  As you can tell from previous videos, the quality isn’t stellar but it can get the point across nicely on a budget.  For additional reviews on a pretty extensive array of P&S cameras with the video and other features, I happened across this site that seems to give a nice variety:  iGadget Life. Feel free to read through the content there and even share your own reviews…

Q:  What would I recommend for video cameras?

A:  This is a tough call because my experience has been somewhat limited.  I would say it does depend on what your budget is…I understand the Flip cameras produce nice quality videos and the price is very reasonable.  You can get more features when you start throwing more bills at the product, so it really just goes up from there.  Given my limited experience with video, I’ll defer the rest of this question to the listening and reading audience.  What would you recommend for those interested in recording video?  Sound off in the comments!

In some other blog news and notes, after doing several book reviews here on the blog, it seems appropriate to offer people direct links to online resellers so if they are interested, they can get the book on their own, so I’ve added an Amazon “Recommended Readings” link to the sidebar.  To check out the books I’ve read through and recommend, feel free to stop in via the link to your right – a few pennies go in the tip jar, but nothing extra comes out of your pocket so it’s a win-win scenario! 🙂

Last, but not least, the February contest is now alive and kicking, so stop into the Flickr thread to check out the subject, guidelines, and to submit your own photos!  Given the talent from January, February has some big shoes to fill!  Looking forward to seeing what people come up with!  🙂

That’s it for today – happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

I never get sick…well, almost never.  I have run-ins, cut myself, or otherwise put myself in harms way, but bugs, viruses, flu, all that stuff – never happens to me.  Well, never say never, right? 🙂  After CAT scans, x-rays, blood work, and pretty much every test you can think of, the doctors still don’t know what happened to me.  And all that time in a gurney, I kept thinking – now that’d be a cool stock photo! (The stethoscope, the light, the thermometer, etc.)

Have you ever had such an experience?  Clearly your mind should be elsewhere, but for some reason, all you see is a photo op?  When Tracy asked me what I was thinking about and I told her (big mistake), she said I was nuts. 

Oh, so no major post today – it was going to be the podcast, but for now obvious reasons, that will have to wait another day…so, today, simply take a breather, get out and shoot, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

Kicking off the month of February, I am making good on a promise to feature more of the photos that are being shared so generously by the reading and listening audience in the Learning Digital Photography group pool.  There are so many good shots in there, and some really exciting dialogs are starting in sub-threads too!  Keep up the great work folks -we all learn from one another and inspiration can come from anywhere!

Thanks to everyone for contributing all the wonderful photos.  For everyone that has been following the January contest thread – that should also look familiar, because it was submitted by sdbaird in that thread.  Congrats to her for the submission as this is also the winner of the monthly giveaway!  She’s got some great photos in her online photostream too, so be sure to follow the link to her winning image.  To see the full complement of entries, be sure to visit the January thread and let everyone know how great their shots were – I loved all the ideas of circles!  For sdbaird, please send me an email to coordinate getting your copy of Photomatix Pro from the folks over at HDR Soft.  Also, finally, thanks go out to them for their support of the LDP monthly giveaway series…support from vendors like HDR Soft are what makes the series so much fun and so valuable!

This means we are now into February, and a new contest.  The month of February is going to be a fun one, because the giveaway prize is one of your own photos! The generous donation from Rich Charpentier of his well-known and respected online printing service is donating the cost of a 16×24 gallery wrap canvas of a print of the winners choice!  This is an incredible donation, and the quality of Rich’s printing services is rapidly becoming known as one of the better services out there, especially for HDR (high dynamic range) work.  Given the style, it seems only fitting that the theme of this month should tie into that a little bit:

Height

So, get your cameras ready, and get shooting as this is an awesome prize and a great way to get your work really output in an amazing format and ready for hanging on any wall!  Thanks go out to Rich Charpentier for offering his services for the February giveaway.  The typical rules for the giveaway also apply:

• One image per person
• Only 30 days back in your own archives
• Posted to the Flickr thread for the contest month
• The longest side of your image should be between 600-800 pixels.

Rich is also going to join me in the judging this month, so it’s a chance to really shine and give a printing expert with a keen eye for talent a taste of your potential.  For more information on Rich and his services, be sure to visit his website for more information at http://www.richcharpentier.com or stay tuned for the next podcast as we had another chance to sit down and chat again recently with the recorder going.  It should be out either tomorrow or Wednesday!

That’s it for today folks, have a great one, happy shooting, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow for more photo goodness.  Don’t forget about the feedback post I made on Friday where you get to share your thoughts about the future content that you’d like to see here on the blog, over in the contest, and on the podcast!