If you’ve ever tried to take pictures after a snowstorm or on a ski trip, you probably noticed that your photos don’t come out quite right. Cameras on auto often underexpose snowy photos, turning your white snow a dull gray. This happens because your camera’s light meter thinks every photo you take should have the perfect balance of light and dark areas, to average out to a middle gray tone. When you shoot snow, there is a lot more white than black in your photo (or light colors than dark colors) so your light meter darkens the entire picture so the final photo will still average out to a medium gray.

Fixing Exposure

Some point-and-shoot cameras have ‘snow’ or ‘winter’ settings that will automatically adjust for these conditions, but even if your camera doesn’t, it’s easy to compensate for them with a couple of settings on your camera.

• If you are shooting under a cloudy sky you’ll want to adjust the exposure compensation (EV) on your camera to +0.7 or          +1.0 stops.

• Under sunny skies you’ll probably need to adjust the EV by up to +2.0 stops. Most digital cameras have an easy way to         do this, but if yours doesn’t, you can switch it into manual mode and adjust your shutter speed or aperture. Luckily, with         digital cameras, it’s easy to use trial and error to find the correct exposure.

Custom White Balance Settings

Snow can also confuse your camera when it comes to white balance. If you’re shooting snowy scenes under a sunny blue sky, your photos are likely to have a cool blue cast to them. The most reliable way to fix this is to make a custom white balance setting. Most cameras take a meter reading of a scene, and then use that reading when you take subsequent pictures.

• When you’re creating a custom white balance setting for shooting snowy scenes, be sure to fill the frame with a clean,          well-lit patch of snow.

• Avoid shadowy areas because they’ll bring that blue cast back into your shots.

Once you have your custom setting you should be able to shoot all day and get perfectly balanced images.

Custom settings on digital cameras can seem daunting but becoming familiar with them can really take your photography to a new level. Here are a few examples of great winter photography.

bryce by F.S.M., Birds in the wintertime by Stig Nygaard, Matanuska Glacier by jswieringa on Flickr.

On a recent trip through the pages of Flickr I came across the prolific photographer Felix Jaegle (felix388). Browsing Felix’s photostream is like taking a tour around the world, with stops in Spain, Scotland, Mexico, and Germany just to name a few places. I caught up with Felix and asked him a few questions about his photography and his travels.

TravelMuse: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Felix Jaegle: I am from the southwestern part of Germany and continue to live in the southwest, but of a different country, [France]. Being fascinated [with] airplanes (maybe this is because they take you to fascinating places), I became an aerospace engineer and ended up a Ph.D. student in Toulouse, the capital of aeronautics. My field is computational fluid dynamics, something like the Pixar studios of the scientific guild, which means that producing colorful images is now my job and my hobby.

TM: What got you interested in photography, and why do you continue to enjoy it?

FJ: I have traveled a lot and seen great places, thanks to my parents who always took the kids with them on vacations. The whole family was taking photographs when traveling, and this is how it all started for me. My first camera was an instamatic with a funny kind of film cartridge and square pictures. Then after a while I have got the old all-manual SLR of my parents, which is how I learned about f-stops, etc. But what really got me addicted was digital photography, with its instant learning effect and the lack of the feeling of “wasting film” when experimenting. Photography in a great way congregates the fascination of the technology, art and aesthetics. as well as keeps the memory of great adventures alive, in the most vivid colors or—better still—in black and white.

TM: How long have you been using Flickr, and what do you like about it?

FJ: Since early 2007, which does not make me a pioneer on this field, which is quite a shame actually. What I really like about it are the minimalistic yet unique aesthetics of the site, its ingenious tools and—most obviously—having regular visitors who motivate me to try out new things in photography!

TM: What kind of responses have you gotten to your photos on Flickr?

FJ: Mostly encouraging comments, and from time to time my brother leaving a witty remark. All are very appreciated!

TM: What kind of equipment and software do you use?

FJ: Practically all my photos on Flickr have been made with a good old Canon 300D. This may not sound very exciting, but it definitely is still the same amazing toy it was on the first day [I used it]. What really counts in a camera is that there is an “M” or an “Av” symbol on that dial at the top, the rest is luxury (very generally speaking at least). Not that I have anything against luxury—on the contrary! I also have some strobist gear (remote flashes) which are great fun to experiment with. On the software side, I tend to keep it simple and mostly in the cloud using “picnik”, a picture editing web-app.

Actually, having a mild form of color-blindness, my picture editing would not be stellar anyways, which is why I thought it’d be wise to put the color part entirely into the trusted hands of Canon Inc.

TM: How does photography change how you travel?

FJ: This depends entirely on my fellow travelers. If they are not too much into photography themselves, I try not to do epic shooting sessions, because I know how boring this can be for others. However, when alone or with other photographers, I can wander around at length waiting for something that inspires me and then spend a great amount of time on a motive to get it right.

TM: What is your favorite subject to photograph? What inspires you?

FJ: I don’t think I have found a pet project in photography yet. I still want to try everything that is possible at least once. Inspiration comes from friends, out of the blue, but also to a great extent from the web. Some time ago, for example, I saw a video of someone strapping a camera with an ultra-wide angle to the chest of a race cyclist, which resulted in great action photos. As I do cycling as a sport, I might try this out some time!

TM: What is your favorite photograph that you’ve taken and why?

FJ: I do not tend to rank pictures and decide which one is the best. But if I had to make a choice, it would probably be a totally unspectacular one. It shows some apron vehicles in the great 70s style pastel colors of the Munich airport, sitting idly on the tarmac just after a rain shower. I particularly like the composition and the atmosphere, abandoned, almost desolate in that kind of weather, but on the other hand optimistic, waiting in anticipation for that Airbus flying in from the United States or Asia, already close somewhere in those clouds.

TM: What advice do you have for aspiring photographers?

FJ: Don’t force yourself into wanting to produce good pictures. You might already have to produce results in your job all day, so take it easy—it’s your hobby! Don’t be disappointed if you come back from a tour with only lame ideas or great ones that are all blurred or underexposed. Take your time and enjoy the learning, you will be rewarded!

It’s official. More people use the iPhone to upload pictures to Flickr than any other camera phone, and the gap is widening, according to Flickr's Camera Finder data. The Nokia N95 was previously the top camera phone, but thanks to the faster uploading capabilities of the 3G iPhones, it soon fell behind. Another factor that gives the iPhone an edge is the ease of submitting photos to Flickr while on the go and the ability to geotag your photos.

If you have an iPhone and a Flickr account, follow these easy steps to submit your photos through e-mail.

1. Get a Flickr e-mail address by going to www.flickr.com/account, and clicking on the e-mail tab. Click the link on the “Your Flickr upload email” line to create your Flickr e-mail address. It should read something like example@photos.flickr.com.

2. Once you have your Flickr e-mail address add it as a contact in your iPhone so you don’t have to type it out every time.

3. When you have a picture that you want to post, tap on the arrow/box icon on the left side of the slideshow navigator bar. Choose ‘Email Photo’ and the iPhone will automatically open a new e-mail with the photo attached.

4. Add your Flickr e-mail address as a recipient and the title of your photo in the Subject field. If you want to include a description, type it in the body of the e-mail below the photo.

With a couple of minutes of setup, you can join the ranks of iPhone owners using Flickr to show off their photographic talent!

A few recent iPhone photos uploaded to Flickr

View from the tent by NatalieHG, Ice skating at 30 Rock by Daniel Vuillermin, Glacier perito moreno by NatalieHG

Shooting with a digital SLR has always meant you had to carry a second camera, usually a point-and-shoot, because one thing that SDLRs have always lacked is video capability. But that's changed with Nikon's introduction of the D90 in August.

The D90 is the first consumer digital SLR to have video capabilities. (Canon has also announced a DSLR that can take videos, but it is one of its high-end cameras, well out of the price range of most non-professionals.) Video capabilities, along with other innovative features, are propelling the D90 to popularity among first-time DSLR owners and DSLR veterans alike.

High Image Quality, Low Noise

The video that a D90 takes is different than that you would get from a consumer video camera. The sensor on the D90 is much larger than that in most video cameras, so you get very high image quality and very low noise. You have the option of shooting in HD720p (1,280 x 720 pixels), 640 x 424 pixels or 320 x 216 pixels in MPEG format.

The variety of looks you can get with different lenses, such as from fisheye to long zoom also sets the D90's video apart. Unlike with traditional video cameras, you can stop down the aperture to get narrow depths of field. Watch this video for a demonstration of this capability.

What Works

This camera has many improvements over previous Nikon cameras and is ahead of the curve in the DSLR market in general. With many of the improvements introduced with the more expensive D3 and D300, but a lighter body and improved ergonomics, this camera is getting a lot of attention. At 12.3 megapixels the D90 has the same sensor as the D300, and many reviewers have reported that it has even better image quality. The 3-inch, high-resolution screen makes the camera a pleasure to view images on, and the live-view mode lets you compose your shots on the screen, rather than through the viewfinder only. Features you probably won't use as much are face-recognition auto focus, which can track up to five faces at a time, and in-camera editing.

How It's Different

The D90 does not behave like a typical video camera. It does not autofocus while you are shooting, so you'll need to focus manually and probably plan out your shots in advance a little more. It's not ideal for fast moving action, like sports games, because chances are you can't focus fast enough to track the movement.

Worth Buying?

With the features and ease of use it offers, the D90 is reasonably priced at $999, and you can save some money on a lens if you buy a bundled package. Overall the D90 is a very good DSLR with the added capability of video, which will open new doors of creativity for photographers used to shooting only still images.

A few images shot with the D90

true red by ientu on Flickr

KL Bird Park by chee.hong on Flickr

Stockhold by night by ientu on Flickr ientu

In celebration of my grandmother’s 82nd birthday in September, my mom and I flew to Michigan to take her on a multigenerational road trip. We started in Holland, Mich., and headed north, toward the Upper Peninsula. Some of the places we stopped were Traverse City, Petoskey and Mackinac Island. Below are several pictures from our travels.

On the first day of our trip we stopped in Traverse City and wandered around downtown, shopping, having lunch and coffee. We were lucky to get a beautiful day. (Read more about Traverse City and its festivals.) That evening we arrived in Petoskey, a city famous for the fossilized coral you can find on the beaches there. After we checked into our hotel we immediately headed to the beach to find our own Petoskey stones. My grandma was the first to find one, and it was the biggest one any of us found all day!

The second day we headed north and crossed the famous Mackinac Bridge, arriving in St. Ignace. It didn’t take us long to find a ferry to Mackinac Island, and we had a beautiful trip over. The Grand Hotel on the island was visible long before we arrived. Our first stop once we were on the island was, of course, at one of the famous fudge shops. Despite supposedly being mature adults, we had a hard time resisting buying a ton of fudge, but we justified it by promising ourselves we would share!

There are many beautiful places on the island to sit and relax. We headed to some picnic benches on the shore and tried each kind of fudge we had bought. Simple chocolate walnut was my favorite. Mackinac Island is completely free of cars of any kind, so the main ways of getting around are by horse and carriage, or bicycle. There are great sights to see around the island, like the Arch Rock, a short climb up a trail from the bike path. (Read more in our Mackinac Island article.)

It didn’t take much convincing to get my grandma to get on a bike and embark on the bike trail circling the perimeter of the island. I hope I’m as active on my 82nd birthday!

Our last stop before heading home was at the Indian Village, a kitchy touristy spot that my mom remembered from when she was a child. Naturally we had to pose behind the silly sign!

Our Cayman Island’s issue author, Anne Kazel-Wilcox, wrote about her participation in an underwater photography class, taught by one of the best underwater photographers in the field: Cathy Church. Church has been doing underwater photography since 1967 and is one of the world’s foremost teachers of the art. She has received many awards, including the honor of being inducted into the Woman Divers Hall of Fame in 2000.

Although Kazel-Wilcox had a mere day for instruction—read about her experience in our Fish Paparazzi on Grand Cayman article—she was able to capture some great shots on one of her Cayman Islands dives that she wanted us to share with you. Let’s see if you can tell the difference between a photo she took and a similar one by Church.

If you guess that the one on the right belonged to Church, the pro, then you’re right! (Photo by www.cathychurch.com.)

Now, take a look at the rest of the photos that Kazel-Wilcox took. While she may not be an underwater photo pro … yet … she definitely managed to capture some great shots on her first try!

  A squirrel fish

A christmas tree worm

A scorpionfish

Chances are if you use a digital camera within view of your young children they want to have a turn taking pictures. You may be reluctant to hand over your expensive digital camera to a 3- or 4-year-old, but wouldn’t it be fun to see what kind of pictures they would take?

With the increasing affordability of digital cameras, it might just be worth it to buy your son or daughter a digital camera of their own. There are many easy-to-use and durable “kids cameras” on the market now, and some of them offer special features like built in games and specialized software tailored to kids. Adding silly hats or cartoon characters to pictures can keep some kids entertained for hours.

Things to keep in mind when shopping for a camera for your child are durability, resolution, and ease of use. Most kids cameras are very durable, which sets them apart from regular cameras. The resolution and image quality is often significantly less than you would find in a regular digital camera, so keep that in mind if you would like to print the pictures your kids take. VGA resolution, offered by many kids’ cameras, is only 640x480 pixels, which is not big enough for even a 4x6 print, but it is the perfect size for e-mailing shots from your budding Ansel Adams to family members.

1. Fisher-Price Kid-Tough Waterproof Digital Camera

Featuring a two-eye viewer, big buttons that are easy for little fingers and rugged waterproof construction, this camera is good for toddlers who are just starting to take an interest in cameras. A 1.5-inch LCD screen lets kids see the pictures they’ve taken, and 64 MB of internal memory can hold up to 500 images, though they won’t be of amazing quality. The suggested retail price is $50.

2. VTech Kidizoom Camera

This camera comes with interchangeable faceplates and has simple games built in. Also included is picture-editing software that allows kids to add frames, funny hats and accessories, or monster features like wings and horns. With 16MB of internal storage. it can hold up to 200 pictures, or a few minutes of video. Try this one out in the store if you get a chance though, as some users have reported that the buttons are hard to push on some models. The suggested retail price is $59.99.

3. Polaroid Pixie 3.0MP Kids Digital Camera with Games

Intended for a slightly older audience, this camera features 3.0 megapixel resolution, enough for an 8x10 print. With a two-eye viewfinder and built in games, it’s easy and fun for kids to use. The internal memory isn’t sufficient for more than a few pictures though, so you’ll want to buy an additional SD card. Also be aware that this camera is known for going through batteries quickly. The suggested retail price is $79.99.

For toddlers and young kids, these cameras are ideal since they can withstand being dropped, and the buttons and menus are intuitive enough for young minds. A simple modification can make these cameras even more kid friendly: When taking pictures, children often get too close to their subject, causing the flash to be too bright and the image to be overexposed. A simple fix for this is to put translucent tape or tissue paper over the lens, diffusing and softening the light.

Once a child is old enough that you don’t have to worry so much about them damaging or losing the camera, they might be ready for their own regular point and shoot camera. It’s not hard to find a good quality camera, with much higher resolution and more advanced features than the children’s cameras offered, for less than $100. And there’s always the option of buying yourself a new camera and handing your older, but still functional, camera to your kids. You might be surprised by the creativity of the pictures they come up with!

In our search for great photography for the TravelMuse site we sometimes come across extraordinary photographers. They aren’t all professionals, some are hobbyists that have a great passion for the art, and strive to learn everything they can about it. While looking for images for our Québec City issue I came across Flickr user dancl, and immediately recognized the quality of his work. He was kind enough to let us use one of his images for the cover of that issue, and was excited about the opportunity to be interviewed for our photoblog. Here's what dancl, or Daniel Fuentealba, had to say.

TravelMuse: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Daniel Fuentealba: I’m from Concepción, Chile. I’m a wood engineer who studied for a Masters of Science at the University of Bío-Bío (Concepción, Chile). I moved with my wife in 2004 to Québec City, Canada to study in a Ph.D. program at Laval University. Last year we became parents of a beautiful little boy named Benjamin. Since we are far from our family and friends in Chile, we maintain a blog in order to share his growth.

TM: What got you interested in photography and why do you continue to enjoy it?

DF: In 1996, my sister Mariely gave me her Zenith 122 manual camera. As I started studying at the University of Bío-Bío, I joined the university’s photography club, which is where I learned the basics of photography and darkroom techniques. It wasn’t until I came to Canada in May 2005 that I picked up the camera again. At first I used a point and shoot Canon Powershot A510, just to document our new life and share it with our family. I still use that same camera sometimes and have taken some prize-winning pictures with it. (Canon A510 gallery)

"Grands Feux Loto-Québec", Finalist | Centre de Congrès photography contest “Nouveau regard sur le Québec”

Fireworks

1st place Club Photo Optica exposition "Rouge" | Université Laval

Technical ability mention | Interuniversity photo contest 2007-08 Montreal University

Water Drops

Finalist | Photography contest at Laval University

During this last contest I had some good friends who encouraged me to join Laval University’s photo club, Optica. A few months after I joined Optica in September 2006, I bought my first D-SLR, a Nikon D70 with a Sigma 24-135mm f/2.8-4.5 lens. This club influenced me greatly, helping me to improve my technique and increase my interest in sharing my photography. Nowadays I share my work on a photoblog at , a blog at  and as always my Flickr account.

TM: What is your favorite photograph that you've taken and why?

DF: If you see my photo blog you will see that I have many, but I would say the one with the water drops on my office windows would be the most important for me as it led to my joining Optica. Through the club I have met many great photographers who helped me to recover my passion for photography and who keep me reading, learning and practicing to improve my technique and artistic side.

TM: What is your opinion on post-processing in Photoshop in terms of enhancing photos?

DF: That is a big question. I think post-processing is necessary because digital photographs are not as good as slide film right out of the camera. Digital photography is faster, cheaper and better for improving your technique though, because you can see the results instantaneously. I prefer digital photography for my own work.

Personally I would say that all my pictures have passed through Lightroom and/or Photoshop. Usually I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to correct the color temperature and then Photoshop for details and adding the signature, among other things.

I have to say that I still keep some cameras in order to shoot film because, in my opinion, digital photography has taken some of the beauty out of the essence of photography. It has eliminated the need to take the time to observe and view the picture before making it, paying attention to the framing, etc. With digital and RAW files, you do one part of the work when you shoot, but it is not finished. You have to spend some time on the computer to develop your digital pictures. Because you have a memory card which you can fill, you are able to take test shots, which, I think, can start to erode your technique. That’s why I try to balance both technologies: film as well as digital photography.

TM: How long have you been using Flickr, and what do you like about it?

DF: I’ve been a Flickr member since October 2006. I really like to share what I do with people, even more so when I know that they are also interested in photography. It’s a pretty good way to improve your photography since you can usually get the technical information of a picture (EXIF information). It has many qualities that I like so I think DanCL (Dan: Daniel + CL: .cl from Chile) will be on Flickr for a while.

TM: What kind of responses have you gotten to your photos on Flickr?

DF: As I said before, Flickr has really helped me to improve my photography. The feedback that you get in Flickr helps you a lot. There is always the “good picture,” “nice colors,” “love the framing,” but also you get real critiques that let you see your pictures from a different view point that you could never see on your own. I already have more than 25,000 visits, and I really enjoy having my pictures commented on.

TM: What kind of responses have you gotten to your photos that have appeared on TravelMuse?

DF: It’s funny, but when I originally posted the picture on October 2007 I didn’t have any comments at all. I started getting good comments from people when they knew that the picture was on the cover of your article about Québec City. I have received some e-mails in the past asking for permission to publish my pictures for free, but this is the first time that I accepted, and I think it was mostly because it was for a cover.

TM: What advice do you have for aspiring photographers?

DF: I’m not the one to give advice, but if I have to say something I would say to practice (using digital) but keep fresh on the basics (using film). And of course seeing/observing lots of pictures … and sharing your opinions and critiques so other people will do the same for you.

Concert / Fête du Canada

hahn on blue + fan on red + chester on white

mountains map