Photography is amazing, it is one of the only hobby's that can capture moments in time that will last a lifetime and allow you to recoup some, all or even profit.  Unlike say, snowboarding, where you need to not only pay for the gear you use but a drive to the mountain and buy a lift ticket every time you want to actually snowboard, photography only has the initial investment; beyond that, the world is yours to capture. Every few years a story breaks on the news about someone finding a priceless painting or artifact in their basement or attic worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.  While we all dream for this to happen, what if you had a hidden gold mine in your photo collection stuffed away in a shoe box or hidden on your hard drive somewhere?  Photography is becoming an increasingly great way to earn a little income on the side, both passively and actively. What You Should Know About Stock One of the best ways to earn passive income is through selling stock photography.  Stock photographs can be used for anything from inner-office memo's and company email newsletters to product packaging and billboards.  Basically, anywhere you see a photograph ...

Photography is about capturing light though lenses, but choosing the right lens for the job isn't always cut and dry.  Lenses for landscape photographers can be particularly difficult to choose because the vast array of options available. First and foremost, there is no one-size fits all, do everything lens.  New photographers often look for the one lens that will do everything and then some, this doesn't exist.  There are options to fit your specific needs though, and that's what we're going to explore.  The real answer is 12mm-500mm, it really depends on what you're shooting and where you are in relation to it. Size and weight are also a factor for some photographers.  Because most landscape photographers are also hikers, campers and travelers, carrying around twenty or thirty pounds of gear can be daunting, so choosing faster prime lenses instead of a larger, heavier zoom lens means you won't have as much flexibility as a zoom lens provides but the trade off is a significantly lighter load to carry with you. Fast lenses, or those with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or faster aren't always needed either, because the sweet spot of most lenses, or where they are sharpest and perform the best, ...

Photography is an art, much in the same way painting and sculpting is, however the initial investment to produce art is usually much higher compared to painters or sculptors.  Oddly, you rarely hear of a painters saving money to buy the newest, latest and greatest paints, brushes or canvases to take their art to the next level; why should photographers always look into their wallets to produce better photography?  Lets explore some ways to improve your photography without spending any more money. Photo by notsogoodphotography Utilize the rule of thirds. One of the easiest ways to improve your photography is to frame subjects differently.  Rather then placing the subject directly in the middle, move them to the right or left third of the frame, or horizontally to the top or bottom third.  This can make a dramatic difference in photographs of the horizon, especially during sunrise or sunset.  A great example of how the rule of thirds works is in the photo below where the subjects are both to the right third and to the lower third of the frame, as shown by the window jams. Photo by Rock Harris Fill the frame.  Don’t be afraid to fill the frame when shooting.  There is ...

As somebody who finds it very challenging to manipulate light in photographic scenes to suit my tastes - especially as I tend to travel light without much lighting equipment, I was quite happy to stumble accross a guide by Mitchell Kaneshkavich called 'Seeing the Light' and devoted to 'making the most of available light and minimal equipment.' Like me, Mitchell is somebody who loves travelling and knows the value of taking as little gear as possible. Lugging around a huge pack even in your own home town isn't fun, but it can be torture overseas. I was therefore hoping that his guide would help me out. A quick google of Mitchell's name revealed that he has been the winner of the 2009 Sony Exposed competition as well as being an excellence award winner from "Color" magazine in the USA. He also shoots for Getty and has been on the cover of or featured in half the photography magazines I read! In short, he knows what he's talking about. The book itself is intelligently divided into three sections corresponding to the three main lighting situations you are likely to find yourself in - The Flash, The Reflector and Natural Light. The Flash Michell covers both ...

Some subjects make it very difficult to take a poor shot. European castles tend to be one of those subjects where even the lower quality photos you find are still very interesting due only to the nature of the subject. These photos of castles however, get almost everything right with great composition and solid post-production. Evoking everything from thoughts of fairy tales through to horror, a castle is one of those things that a photographer can really make their own. We think these photographers did a pretty good job. Photo by David Bunting Photo by Pear Biter Photo by Xavier Fargas Photo by Allan Gourlay Photo by Maz Hewitt Photo by Tomanthony Photo by Karl Randay Photo by Karl Randay Photo by Fatboyke Photo by Nicomedes Photo by Lorenzo T Photo by Simpologist Photo by Wolfgang Staudt Photo by Cinzia Rizzo Photo by PixieSticks23 Photo by Nikomedes Photo by Koert Michiels Photo by Fr Antunes Photo by NickPix2010 Photo by Sam Snook Photo by Saturn

The location of most lighthouses allows us keen photographers a unique opportunity to practice all the skills associated with seascape or landscape photography in a setting that is likely to produce some spectacular results. These photos of lighthouses show that if you're willing to wait for the right lighting and compose your shot well, the resulting images can be fantastic. We put this collection together from the great creative commons photographers of Flickr. We love these shots and hope you do too! Photo by Garry Photo by Xavier Fargas Photo by Viamoi Photo by Mic Stolz Photo by John Curley Photo by Macropoulos Photo by Wild Pianist Photo by Stuck in Customs Photo by Wild Pianist Photo by Karl Randay Photo by Jim's Outside Photos Photo by Orvarati Photo by Christopher Chan Photo by Lapidim Photo by James Jordan Photo by Janusz Photo by Xavier Fargas Photo by Caese Photo by Lapidim Photo by Christopher Chan Photo by Giorgos Photo by Taivasalla Photo by Terry Grealey Photo by NapaneeGal Photo by Sachman75 Photo by AGrinberg

Whether you’re a pro photographer or an aspiring amateur, you cannot ignore the fact that one of the most popular places to share photos, talk about photography and learn the art is the internet. And if you’re on the internet, you’re probably going to get a lot of the best photography interaction on social media sites. Here are our list of social media applications that make life so much more pleasant for we photographers – pro and amateur alike. Flickr – No other site has yet come close to it in terms of popularity. This is about the easiest way to share your photos online, not to mention comment (or get comments) on them as well as chat and connect with other photographers. The privacy settings also mean you can keep everything away from public eyes and just use it as a place to store your images. And we even have a LightStalking Flickr group which is awesome! [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Photo by Zanastardust"][/caption] Picasa – Probably the only real challenger to Flickr at the moment is Google’s Picasa. While the site itself is great, it’s the free downloadable software that really makes this setup attractive. It is probably the best free ...

If you’re into landscape photography then you will almost certainly know that clouds can have a massive impact on the atmosphere and beauty of a shot. Whether they are whispy and light cirrus clouds or thick and smoky cumulus, a cloudy day is often the perfect time to pull out the camera. But how do you photograph clouds to get the perfect result? Let’s take a look at some methods you will want to learn and also take a look at some stunning examples! Photo by Garry Let’s Talk Lighting and Camera Filters Perhaps one of the trickiest parts of getting a great cloud photograph is the fact that often, clouds will emit a large variance of light. From the deep dark greys of a storm cloud, you might find that the edges are bright white, especially if the sun is behind the cloud. This can make it difficult to meter the light. If you’re shooting digital, then it won’t be so much of a problem as you can see the results instantly and know if you’ve over or under exposed the shot. You can minimise the chances of getting it wrong by getting your filters right though. The first thing you are going ...

A lot of great photographers struggle to get the word out about their work, if the amount of messages and Tweets we get is any indication. And in the end we think photographers should be doing what they do best - taking photos! Well, we put our heads together and decided to come up with a partial solution. You see, the LightStalking Twitter account is doing remarkably well and is on the cusp of 30,000 followers with close to 500 new fans each and every day. Up till now, we have been trawling the internet for good stuff to tweet to our followers. Now, that's where you come in. If you write a great article on photography or put a new photo (or collection) up at your website and you want a little extra traffic, then here's what you can do. Go over to your twitter account and log in, make sure you’re following @LightStalking, tweet the title of the post and its link and add the hashtag #LightStalking For example, SmashandPeas.com might tweet something like this: 50 Really Impressive Washed Up Photos http://bit.ly/7Mrxch #LightStalking There is no need to @ us or direct message us on Twitter. We will do a search on the hashtag #LightStalking ...

Unfortunately, the contemporary western view of Iraq has been shaped by the terrible events of the last several years. One of the shames of that is that Iraq is such a diverse country with stunning natural beauty - a natural destination for photographers! Even so, a few fantastic shots manage to make it to us. Check out these stunning photos of Iraq. Photo by William Allen Photo by Kurdistan Kurd Photo by William Allen Photo by US Army Photo by Kurdistan Kurd Photo by Gustaf Wallen Photo by Kurdistan Kurd Photo by US Army Photo by Nukeit1 Photo by DVIFSHUB Photo by Gustaf Wallen Photo by WISAM Photo by Nukeit1 Photo by Brown Bear Photography Photo by Ob1Left Photo by Suresh Gundappa Photo by Studeio 5.55 Photo by William Allen Photo by Christine K Photo by Yater