Wow, I seem to have been posting a lot about phones and broadband a lot recently. Sorry about that. I seem to have neglected that the summer is here and that you guys want to know about summery things. I doubt that you’re interested in me rambling on about getting broadband in the flat.

So, without further ado, let’s get on with writing about things that you want to read about.

I’ve been wanting a monopod for a while now and it seemed like a goot time to get one, what with the weather being good I thought. I decided on the Velbon UP-400 Monopod, because a friend of mine, who’s an avid photographer, recommended the brand to me.

I’m not disappointed with it at all. The Velbon UP-400 Monopod is lightweight, but sturdy enough to handle most SLR and Digital SLR cameras easily.

The thing about tripods is, whilst they are an extremely essential part of any photographers’ lit, they are bulky to carry around every where. I’ve found that the Velbon UP-400 Monopod gets much more outings with me than the tripod ever did and I’ve only had it a short while.

Using the Velbon UP-400 Monopod, or any monopod, is a bit weird to begin with, but once you get the hang of it taking pictures becomes a breeze. There will always be a situation where you need a solid surface for your camera but you find that a normal tripod won’t fit in the space, the Velbon UP-400 Monopod sorts that problem out for you. A monopod is much more manoverable too obviously.

I’ve also found with the Velbon UP-400 Monopod is that you can use it as a makeshift walking stick too if you’re out on long journeys. Excellent for the terrain we have around here. In the part of Wales where I live, there are many mountains, which is great if you like walking and photography (as I do) because you can combine two hobbies. It does however mean that the old legs get a great workout and sometimes the aid of a walking stick is advantageous. There have been a few occasions recently when the Velbon UP-400 Monopod has come in handy.

So, if you’re a budding photographer I would recommend you get a monopod as soon as you can. You won’t regret the purchase and will wonder how you did without it all these years.

Recently I’ve been doing a lot of filming as part of my degree course and needed to get a small camcorder high into the corner of a room. Having tried using all sorts of methods to get the camera in the right position someone suggested the Gorillapod.

The Gorillapod has been designed for use with compact cameras. But they have an SLR version too. That is the version I went for because I needed that little bit extra strength.

So what is a Gorillapod I hear you ask. I’m going to tell you now what a Gorillapod is.

The Gorillapod is a tripod, but a tripod with a difference. It still has three “legs”, but those legs are flexible. You can position a Gorillapod practically anywhere. Even those awkward positions that you thought you could never get to can now become possible.

The Gorillapod is truly a magnificent invention. I don’t know how we managed for so long without it to be honest. Sure, you could carry a conventional tripod around with you, but you wouldn’t get the flexibility that a Gorillapod offers you. With pricing ranging from £16.99 up to £39 there’s a Gorillapod out there for everyone (OK, maybe not absolutely everyone, but pretty much any amateur photographer).

It really got me out of a sticky situation when I was doing my work because the shot could never have been gotten. I highly recommend this one. It’s probably going to be the last compact tripod that you will ever buy. Ideal for taking on holiday with you too.

Oh, and don’t forget, it’s Fathers Day soon!!

I’ve mentioned a negative scanner in the past, but this is a different model, and I think it’s much better. The Film 2 SD Negative Scanner is better than the one I wrote about before because you don’t need a computer to use it.

The Film 2 SD Negative Scanner uses an SD card to save your scanned images. This makes the whole process much easier for the end user by removing much of the fiddling which would usually take place if you were to do it on a traditional negative scanner.

The process of scanning a negative in on the Film 2 SD Negative Scanner involves pressing one button and takes only a few seconds to complete. The Film 2 SD Negative Scanner comes with a 1Gb SD card which can hold about 700 pictures because of the resolution the Film 2 SD Negative Scanner scans the images. If you’re wondering, it’s 5 Million Pixel resolution.

Because you don’t need a computer with the Film 2 SD Negative Scanner you can pop the SD card straight in to your digital picture frame and view the images instantly.

The Film 2 SD Negative Scanner costs just under £110 which is great value for a negative scanner; I’ve seen some costing three times that amount for less resolution. If you have a drawer full of negatives and want to get them in digital form you won’t go wrong by buying this scanner. It’s probably the best value negative scanner that’s available at the moment.

Now this is one cool gadget that I would love to own. The Polaroid PoGo Instant Photo Printer is one of those devices that you really need if you take a lot of pictures with your mobile phone and digital camera.

The PoGo Instant Photo Printer lets you transmit your pictures from your mobile phone over Bluetooth to the device, or via a USB cable from your PictBridge friendly digital camera. There’s no need to carry anything else with you. This is a dream for someone like me who already has pockets full of gadgets.

The images that the PoGo Instant Photo Printer produces are 2″ x 3″ and are printed on sticky backed photo paper in less than 60 seconds. And unlike the Polaroid cameras of days gone by, you don’t have to shake the picture to see the result. The PoGo Instant Photo Printer uses a special heat activated Zink paper to produce its images, so you don’t have to worry about costly ink cartridges.

The PoGo Instant Photo Printer is powered by a rechargeable battery or directly from a power socket with the supplied adapter and can hold 10 sheets of photo paper at a time. Measuring just 12cm x 7.2cm the PoGo Instant Photo Printer is small enough to fit in your pocket.

Ok, it isn’t going to produce 6″ x 4″ prints that you can share in bulk, but it’s definitely worth getting if you want to have a fun night out with your mates and maybe see the results of your snaps instantly. This is exactly why I would buy one. At just under £100 the PoGo Instant Photo Printer is a technological marvel that is at the forefront of photo printing.

This morning I was testing my compact digital camera and found that it was broken. It always seems to be the case that things break just before Christmas in this house; it was the tumble dryer last week. So I had to get a new compact camera. The one I chose was the Sony W110 Digital Camera.

It’s only 7.2 Mega Pixels, but it’s sufficient for pictures up to A3 size which is fine by me. It’s a compact camera and one that I’ll be using as an everyday camera. I’m aiming for a Digital SLR camera for serious photography, maybe a Canon EOS or a Nikon?

Anyhow, the price was right on the Sony W110 Digital Camera at under £100. I’ve already spent far too much on gifts this Christmas and didn’t want to fork out a lot for a camera so this one looked like the ideal solution. Reviews I’ve read about the Sony W110 Digital Camera all give a positive impression.

The camera has some pretty good specs too:

• 3072 x 2304 resolution
• 2.5″ LCD screen
• 4x Optical Zoom
• 8x Digital Zoom
• HD output
• Focal distance: 5.35 - 21.4 mm
• f (35 mm equivalent): 32 - 128 mm
• BIONZ image processor
• Colour enhancement and noise reduction system
• Automatic face detection for children and adults
• Automatic smile detection

I’m pretty excited about some of the features in the Sony W110 Digital Camera and look forward to trying them out when I get the camera. This leads me to my only gripe. The Sony W110 Digital Camera will not arrive until the 24th December. I hope that I’ll have enough time to charge the batteries and figure out the controls of it.

There are a pile of old 35mm negatives gathering dust in various drawers around this house. So when I saw the USB Negative Scanner my eyes began to glaze over and my credit card started twitching in my pocket.

Every single person I know have 35mm negatives lying around. It is after all what we used before the digital revolution took over.
Precious memories held on thin and flimsy pieces of plastic. There has been a need for the USB Negative Scanner for a long time.
Sure there are other negative scanners out there, but none at the amazingly low price of under £80.

The USB Negative Scanner is childs play to use; at the touch of a button you can have your negatives scanned into your computer and fabulous digital images on screen in seconds. You can then manipulate them in any way you see fit. Another cool thing about the USB Negative Scanner is that you don’t need a seperate power supply as it draws it from the USB port.

You are going to save time and money with the USB Negative Scanner too. No more trips to the photo shop to get copies done of your negatives as you will be able to do it yourself from the comfort of your own home. And lets face it, we all prefer to stay indoors in this cold weather.

I seriously doubt that there is anyone out there who couldn’t make use of the USB Negative Scanner, so why not order yours today.

So with spring well and truly upon it’s easy to see the dramatic change in the landscape outdoors. You get a real sense of the rising temperatures when you take a closer look at some of the creepy crawlers that are emerging from their winter hide-aways. It’s at times like this that if you are into your photography at all you may want to consider a macro lens. A macro lens will open up a whole new world of photography, and even subjects which perhaps looking dull and uninteresting using a normal lens will come alive under the treatment of a true macro lens.

If you are considering a macro lens then you could do a lot worse than looking at the Sigma 105mm (this one is for the Canon mount) The 105mm zoom is particularly useful if you are interested in taking shots of bugs, especially those such as dragonflies which are easily spooked (remember when positioned on a digital SLR body this 105mm will actually become closer to 160mm). A maximum aperture of f/2.8 will allow for greater control over your close ups without having to always resort to using a tripod.

I find autofocus on a lot of macro lenses to be notoriously slow but most reviews show this one to be useable under normal circumstances and although not silent, it is not so loud as to be annoying (again useful when you are trying to get a shot without scaring your subject away) I’ve also held this lens myself and it’s lower price perhaps hides the fact that this is an extremely well put together bit of kit, feeling quite solid in ones hand.

If you are considering getting into macro photography, and I for one would recommend it, for the upcoming warmer months then this would be my lens of choice.

So as you may be aware I’m quite into my photography and find myself using up quite a lot of my spare time heading out on photo walks. I first got into photography about 18 months ago after I realised I had taken over 10,000 photos with my little point and shoot. It was time to upgrade and I’ve since had a Canon 350d and now a Canon 40d. Before I go any further I just have to say the Canon 40d is a fantastic camera and in my opinion really does feel as though you are using a proper grown up camera compared with the entry level models, without having to pay for the likes of a Canon 1d. The screen is fantastic, integrated cleaning system a nice touch, and the photos are vibrant and alive. A great choice, especially if you are thinking about an upgrade but can’t face paying 4 figures for the top of the line models.

Anyway I digress from my original thoughts, which were of course to do with Flickr, and especially to do with the algorithm they call Explore, or Interestingness. So far I’ve had 5 of my photos featured on Explore, the highest being in the low 50s. Over the past few months I’ve been trying to work out what makes a photo interesting and this is what I’ve come up with.

• Don’t spam groups with your photo, at least initially- if you want to try to get your photo into Explore then limit the amount of groups you send it too, especially those which force people to comment on your photo. I find around 8-10 groups is fine.
• Choose your tags carefully - if you photo is a building, then try and be descriptive about that building. I’ve noticed every time I’m on a site that is connected to Flickr people search for tags rather than just browse the photos, and you want yours to be picked up.
• Time of day - Flickr bases its top 500 photos in a 24 hour period. Now I’m not too sure when that time starts, but your photo will have more time to build momentum if you put it in closer to (after) 12.00 at night, rather than 11pm the night before.
• Get peoples attention - I quite often find myself heading to the Explore page and from this I add a few additional contacts, especially those who have an outstanding photostream. Given that Flickr is such a friendly place they will quite often add me back, meaning more eyes on my photos.
• Keep your best until last - if you are uploading a batch of photos, then keep the one you would like to get into Flickr Explore to last. Quite often your contacts will have their settings to display only the last photo you uploaded.
• Quality of the photo - last, but by no means least, make sure you take a good an interesting photo. At the end of the day this is what will drawn peoples eyes to your photo and from there the Explore magic can start to happen.

Let me know if you have any other tips for getting your photos into Explore, add me as a contact or if you have any other questions let me know.