Everyone's favorite newsletter Photojojo has written an article that should clear up most of the questions about What the Hell is the Unsharp Mask?

Nikon D3 Drop Test [YouTube Video]—allegedly it survived. I wouldn't recommend trying it

One Exposure HDR

There's been much talk about HDR in the last year and how you have to take multiple shots of exactly the same thing. Unfortunately there are times when this isn't possible, whether it be because you are tripodless at the moment, or there's some action in the shot. Fortunately, if you're shooting RAW files there's hope. (You are shooting RAW right?) Eirikso has a technique for creating HDR images from one RAW file.

Nikon D300 (Updated)

Engadget is predicting that a new set of professional grade DSLRs are expected from Nikon perhaps as soon as tomorrow. The new bodies, D300 and D3, presumably replace the D200, and D2 series, and add new features such as the potentially battery sucking live LCD display, and up to 11 FPS on the D3 (8 possible on the D300).

EDIT: It appears that Nikon has infact released two new cameras and a bunch of new lenses. The D3 and the D300 have been introduced and look incredible. Also introduced (in the D3), is a new full frame sensor, which is capable of adapting to the DX style lenses seemlessly. Those users who have invested a ton to outfit their D2's with DX lenses aren't out of luck, but you will only get 5.1 megapixels instead of the 12.1 of the full size FX sensor. Great to see that Nikon didn't render the DX lenses entirely useless though.

Top Photography Blogs

If you're just learning about digital photography (or film) in your spare time, as I am, or are a full time studio shooter, traveler, or other paid camera-slinger you undoubtably subscribe to some photography magazines. I for one keep getting Outdoor Photographer even though my subscription ran out; thanks! I also subscribe to ShutterBug. I find that ShutterBug is insightful for thinking about new techniques and equipment to buy, whilst Outdoor Photographer is mostly just inspiring with some sprinkles of technique. Both magazines, I think are geared more towards learning than say, American Photo or any of those artsy or journalism ones. (Note: I love "artsy" photography, I just don't subscribe.)

However, the purpose of this blog isn't necessarily to point out good magazines that you can get in print, although I guess that might not be a bad idea for a future article about off-screen learning, but in fact it is about the numerous resources of the World Wide Web. There are many great blogs out there that update their content much more regularly than I, and in fact with much more insightful and useful tips and articles. That isn't to say that you should stop reading Photub of course. If you've been a reader of Photub for any length of time, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

The blogs that I am listing in this post, are blogs that I consider great additions to your RSS subscriptions—those blogs that probably have enough new content for books or bi-monthly magazines in themselves:

In no particular order...

1. The Online Photographer: The Online Photographer packs a wallop of new commentary, reviews, techniques and personal adventures into a blog that is updated fairly frequently.
2. Photocritic: Perhaps one of my favorite blogs, is this one. The authors always have something interesting to share, and do a good job presenting it. The critiques that are occassionally done are quite helpful to new and upcoming photographers, and the DIY attitude helps create some really useful and fun tools. Of note is the DIY Pringles can macro lens, that I have been wanting to try out.
3. Strobist: Everything you'd ever want or need to know about effective flash photography is right here in this blog. Literally courses of information are contained on the pages of this blog. It's also not all about flash photography. Consider the recent series about Flickr and what it can do for your photography career. Insightful articles, interesting topics and amazing techniques make this truely one of the best photography blogs on the internet.
4. Photojojo: While not really a blog per se, Photojojo's unique style and unique media (email newsletter), make it in a class of it's own. I include it in this list because they do have an RSS feed, making it "blog like." I have just one complaint about Photojojo and that is that they often seem to post stuff late, after it's already been posted elsewhere. Nevertheless, Photojojo has knocked my socks off more than a few times with interesting ideas, it's creative writing style and overall growth.
5. Digital Photography School: Anyone looking for tips can always find something at DPS. Choose a "Random Tip" or read them all. It's easily becoming an encyclopedia of techniques, buying tips, etc. for the beginner, casual student and the advanced amateur.
6. Andy Frazer's Night Photography Blog: Taking pictures at night can yeild some extremely interesting results, but not many will give you insight on creating breathtaking images at night without the flash. Andy Frazer does. You'll see lots of examples of compelling night imagery, if nothing else.
7. After Capture: The only site listed here, that actually is a monthly publication, actually has a decent blog. The blog talks, interestingly enough, about post production of your images. Becomming a "post production prince" might not happen overnight, but it'll probably happen faster with the reading of some of the articles here.
8. DIYPhotography.net: Face it, photography equipment is expensive, and we see time and time again, that a cheap light tent provides excellent results. DIYPhotography.net is all about creating cheap equipment to aide in the creation of great photographs. It's a wonderful collection and continues to grow.

The web is full of great content, and with RSS being used by nearly everyone, there certainly isn't any reason (other than time) that you can't be informed of the latest photography happenings, techniques and ideas every 15 or 20 minutes. Surely there are other great blogs out there that I did not address, but these are the ones I read on a semi-daily basis. If you think your blog should be on this list, please submit it for review, and I'll take a look.

Deconstructing the Megapixel Myth

This semi-old article by David Pogue, Deconstructing the Megapixel Myth, upset a lot of people despite the fact that his point is spot on.

Building a Digital SLR System

Phillip Greenspun now and then writes about photography. Some of his articles appear on photo.net, including the original film version of How to Build a Digital SLR System.

Pentax, Canon Release New Firmware

DPReview reports that both Canon and Pentax have released firmware updates making improvements to SDHC (SD HIgh Capacity). The Pentax updates are only in Japanese at the moment so, unless you're Japanese, it might best to wait a bit longer.

Earthbound Light talks Nikon preset white balance and rescuing images.

Compact Digital Macro Tips

Digital Photography School has a bunch of tips about how to shoot "macro" with a consumer compact digital camera. Being somewhat general, these tips should provide you just enough to get your feet wet and be able to explore the power that lies within that tiny camera. Macro Photography Tips.

Getting Rid of Tourist Pixels

Nothing worse than tourists in your tourism pictures. Or, if you live in a big city and would like to just go out and take pictures of it... Same thing goes. Not to worry anymore, How to Remove Tourists from Your Photos takes a look at getting rid of those pixels that muck up a perfectly good shot.

Wired has a look at the best digicams available this fall. Is Pentax the best again? They seem to be getting lots of praise regarding their new DSLRs.

How to Make a Digital Toy IR Camera

Zach Stern makes beautiful infrared images, and with this article, you can make your own Digital Toy Infrared Camera to make your own infrared images. Check out some of his work on Zach Stern on flickr