Stories by: Dave Johnson

Back in the days when photographers used film and darkrooms, you could control the look of your prints with techniques called dodging and burning.

It's digital photography's very own catch-22: You can't e-mail a full-size 10-megapixel photo to Aunt Carol, because many ISPs don't allow file attachments that large. But when you resize it to a slim, trim 1-megapixel image, it's too small to print at anything bigger than wallet size. When Carol tries to print it out at 8 by 10, she calls you up to complain that the photo is a pixelated mess.

We used to say that seeing is believing. These days, when almost anything can be made to look photorealistic, that quaint expression lacks the sincerity it might have once had. Can you really trust the images you see on magazine covers, on television, and on the Web?

Razor-sharp focus is not always the right prescription for a perfect photo. Adding subtle blur effects can impart a surreal or a romantic tone to your image.

In a perfect world, all the photos we take would emerge from the camera perfectly formed, sharp as a tack, and ready for framing at the Louvre.

For some people, "efficiency" brings to mind a hotel room with a kitchenette. When other folks hear the word, they think about ways to work faster and smarter. I suppose I fall into the second category.

It's ironic that I am so preoccupied with photographing motion, essentially capturing the essence of speed and dynamics in what is by its definition a static medium.

A million factors can affect the intensity of the colors that you see in your photos.

Many old photographs--especially those made in the 1800s--were colored with a brown pigment known as sepia during the development process. Not all antique photographs are sepia toned, but it turns out that sepia (which, believe it or not, comes from cuttlefish) is especially resilient. As a result, it's the distinctive sepia-tone photographs that have survived into modern times.

Summertime evokes timeless images of fire hydrants spraying water into the air, ice cream trucks rumbling down neighbourhood streets...and Fourth of July fireworks illuminating the night sky (if you're in the right country...). This year, you can capture a slice of summer forever with your digital camera by photographing a fireworks display.

Maybe you love working with images on your PC-- but if so, you're probably an exception rather than the rule. Most people I know would rather be taking pictures than fiddling with them in an image editor.