I was given a Sigma lens for a Nikon 70 (film SLR) years ago, and then started using it on my Nikon D80 (digital SLR) this past year with mixed results. I won’t go into why I felt short-handed with the old lens, but will say that I was not entirely unhappy when I dropped the camera right on the lens while cavorting with the dogs down by the Yellowstone River. The ground was pretty soft, and the D80 is unscathed, thank goodness. However, I now have an excuse to buy a new and better lens. (I will confess that I am neither a patient or a gifted amateur photographer, but I know very well that fine pictures can be achieved with inexpensive or inferior lenses. In short, I will not blame my tools.) In the process of deciding what to get in a new lens–something that can be overwhelming if you need to brush up on everything you ever sort of knew about lens behaviors, from focal lengths to vibration reduction–I came across this great Web site: http://www.kenrockwell.com. Ken Rockwell is a photographer who knows a wide range of equipment, and–best of all in my former-tech-writer/instructor heart–he knows how to talk about it. I’d zeroed in on the Nikon 18-200mm for its versatility...

SlideshowPro Director offers an inexpensive and elegant solution for image galleries on the Web. Since I started using it last year, I have seen its use proliferated in many different formats all over the Web, from artist portfolios to lodging virtual tours. SSP Director has to be installed and used on a server, and it requires Flash. It is available as a component for Flash and gallery extension for Lightroom. [There is a standalone version that eliminates the need for owning Flash, described below.] If you have a Web site hosted on a server and know how to get access to it for uploading and installing Director (or as a first step, the free test software that determines if the full product will work on your server), or if your Web designer/Webmaster can guide you through the process, the installation is pretty straightforward. Getting the Flash software is the hard part because it is so expensive. But once you’ve got the look you want, and upload the Flash files (a .swf and .html file), then you are good to go. That means you can get someone with the Flash software or your Web designer to create the flash “engine” for you. You’ll need two SSP products: SlideShowPro...

I’ve had a lot of opportunities to explore Web gallery and slide show software, and I use a variety of tools for different clients. Some clients want to be able to create, prep, and update their own portfolios, and I am always delighted to see a client who doesn’t necessarily feel very technical get comfortable with tools that empower them to do things for their own Web sites. In that vein, here is the first of some tools that will differ in both technology and output, but that deliver good-looking and user-friendly portfolio Web galleries/slide shows, even for the novice user. Galerie is a winner for Mac OS X users (the Web site says 10.2 to 10.4) who don’t have PhotoShop or who want something simpler and more easily customized than PhotoShop’s Web Gallery capability. I am running Galerie on an Intel-based iMac with Mac OS X 10.5.1 (Leopard), so it is compatible with newer versions of the Mac operating system. Available for free download in a universal binary (runs on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs), Galerie works with iPhoto and a set of customizable templates to generate Web galleries and slide shows with index pages and individual image enlargement pages....

I’ve noticed over the months that a number of visitors have come to this site as a result of a Google Image search for “vintage robot” or “vintage toy robot.” I’ve used the robot image in one place or another on Sparkling Dawg for well over a year, most recently in the “Search Engine Optimization” post. I also use it on my spam tips site: ctrl-zweb.com. Here’s where I found this image: iStockphoto.com. If I’m not using one of my stock photographs, or creating a new illustration, I often use iStockphoto to save time and client expense. It’s free to join, and then you pay whatever amount you want in credits. Each image download is a certain amount of credits. Most of my downloads are for Web use, so they are low-resolution and just 1 credit. A high-resolution vector illustration can be 5 credits. With bulk credits, downloaded images only cost from a little over a dollar for web sizes to about 6 dollars for vector illustrations. In addition to photos and illustrations, you can get Flash animations and video. iStockphoto’s catalog is pretty large, the images are always high-quality, and downloads are straightforward...