I am really impressed by the tool. If you like me strugle to create a correct XHTML code and use many different CSS (where you could lose yourself easily), then this tool will give you the X-Ray look into your code. It's so easy to find what is wrong with your code and what style and CSS affect this particular element. The only sad thing about this tool is that you cannot edit the text, though you have the ability to launch an external editor. And the last sweet thing is that the cost is only $19.99. Oh, I almost forgotten about the list of great bookmarks, which will help you with HTML and CSS design (tutorials and tips mostly).
But you have to be Mac user to work with it.

One of my tasks to-do is to incorporate a shopping cart, so the visitors could by my photographs. Such endevour requires a merchant function enabling the visitors use credit cards. Currently I am looking closely on PayPal services. One of which is the Shopping Cart. PayPal is widely used and trusted; and visitors would not need to provide their credit card information as it is stated in PayPal's The e-Commerce Safety Guide:
"When purchasing something using PayPal, users simply carry out the transaction through their PayPal accounts, rather than a credit card. PayPal then charges each purchase to the individual’s credit card or checking account. Because all PayPal transactions are based on the user’s e-mail address, merchants never have access to the user’s account information. This method is safer, more secure and more convenient than providing financial information to multiple sites of individual sellers."
This guide provides a lot of information on online fraud, identity theft and similar topics.

Yahoo guys released their User Interface library with a lot of components, which you could use to enhance the design of your website. Here is what it is all about:
"The Yahoo! User Interface Library is a set of utilities and controls, written in JavaScript, for building richly interactive web applications using techniques such as DOM scripting, HTML and AJAX. The UI Library Utilities facilitate the implementation of rich client-side features by enhancing and normalizing the developer's interface to important elements of the browser infrastructure (such as events, in-page HTTP requests and the DOM). The Yahoo UI Library Controls produce visual, interactive user interface elements on the page with just a few lines of code and an included CSS file. All the components in the Yahoo! User Interface Library have been released as open source under a BSD license and are free for all uses."

There is a very good article at "A List Apart" (as almost any published there). This article explains why we loose clients that want to recieve what we offer them (through our websites), how we can improve their experience and finally make them do what we want them to do (buy, sucbscribe, provide opinion, etc.) That applies to any kind of websites - it's about transfering the energy and reducing the friction.

Are the existing standards and tables to calculate DOF correct for current equipment (considered the technology advance through out the years)? Harold M. Merklinger says "No". He says that "... one could expect to achieve about seven times the resolution usually assumed in that wisdom (current approach to calculate DOF)".
"According to the theories of geometrical optics, a lens focused at distance ‘X’ will require that, for maximum sharpness, the subject be positioned exactly at distance ‘X’. In practice, it is found that if the subject is a little closer or a little farther away, even the best scientific instrumentation will not be able to detect the difference in sharpness. So, in practice, there is a zone within which any subject will be imaged “sharply”, or with acceptable sharpness. That zone of lens-to-subject distances is the depthof-field." - That was the excerpt from Harold M. Merklinger's article called "Adjusting Depth-Of-Field". This article was posted in Shutterbug magazine through several issues (there are four parts). At his website Harold keeps this article for people to read (which I strongly recommend). Here are the links to it: Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV. There is one more web page that compliments this article, it is called "Depth of Field Revisited", which you probably would want to read as well.

Yesterday I had problem with tethering the Canon 1D Mark II and Mac PowerBook. I've installed all the latest software and updates. And when I tried to control the caemra from the laptop, I could do almost everything (change the exposure settings, ISO and exposure correction), but I could not make to relase the shutter. It took me a couple of hours to try all imaginable choices, looking through the manuals and searching on the web. It seemed that everyone else was able to do it without problems.
My EOS Capture window looked as in the screenshot to the left. I pressed the spacebar or the shutter button in the window, but nothing happened. The only thing that changed is that small message in the status bar. It is saying "Quiet, delayed shutter". The message appears for a few seconds and then it is gone. So finally I gave up, I could not find the solution to this problem.
My last resort was the Rob Galbraith Forum on Canon 1D cameras. After a few hours I was relieved to get a hint on the problem. Actually I got the solution - This message was about one of the personal functions set to make the shutter sound quiter. So, first the shutter opens up, closes and only when you relase the shutter button the mirror goes back to its place. And after changing the personal function back everything started working as it suppose to. I am very grateful for the help I got from the guys at the forum. And for those who may encounter similar problem I post this message.

Many photographers use flash as the main source of light or to fill-in and add special effects. This post started with the look at Neil Turner's website, who does a lot of portrait work using flash. There you can see a series of techniques on how to use flash in such work.
If you are interested to know more about the flash and how it works, I suggest to take a look at a great article about Canon Flash. Nikonians can read more about almost the same subject in another articles: "Flash Photography with Nikon F4, Nikon F5 and/or other Nikon AF SLR models" and "Notes on using Nikon TTL flash".
You may be interested in more flash techniques, which are described by John Lehmann. He explains very interesting effects that you can do with flash. For those who just wants to start with basics I recommend the article "Greap Pictures with Flash" at About.com or "Flash Basics" by Guy Parson.
And here are several more links, which cover various flash usage:

• Controlling the Background Exposure
• Flash in Nature and Landscape Photography
• Smart Flash Outdoors
• Flash in Wedding Photography
• Bird Photography Tip #16
• Wildlife Photography and Fill-in Flash
• Another article on Wildlife photography with Flash
• What is the best flash for macro photography?
• Cross-Polarization Flash Macro Photography
• Novoflex Macro Flash Lighting System

With time you learn new things, find out how better handle different situations and generally how make your life better and easier. There is no difference with my wedding photography thing. But if my previous article “My Wedding Photography Experience” I tried to address immediate technical issues, such as flash, lenses, battery, focusing and metering, etc. This article is more about what drives and makes the wedding photographer. Of course, I cannot make any standards in the industry or suggest any guidelines for those who start in this field. This only my view on the wedding photography and what I find makes it better and easier for everyone – clients and photographers. Though you may find it useful in you ventures and even in day-to-day situations.

I am glad to present a new article about High Dynamic Range file creation using Smart Objects in Photoshop. The article could be easily called “Shoot once, Use it twice”, because this article explains how to use a single RAW file to get most data out of it. Usually the dynamic range of the camera (or JPG file) doesn't allow capturing all the details in highlights or in shadows. But the RAW files have this information and a few steps would allow us to retrieve and use this information. And these steps are explained in this article.

There is a list of 20 Best Photo Sites (winners) posted at FWA. Those websites present not only good (or great) photographs, but their design is close to exceptional. Take a look, it's a pleasure to browse through those websites.

Many people know and do certain steps in digital photography, which get them closer to the ultimate photograph. Some of those steps are more like misteps or jumps. I am no different from any of you and I read about or "invent" (like anothe bycicle) some of such techniques. So I decided to look into this subject a bit deeper and here are several articles that could help us out in search of the utlimate photograph:

• The Ideal Digital Photographer's Workflow (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• Interviews about Digital Photography Workflow
• Digital Workflow by Chris Gamel (Parts 1, 2, 3)
• Sports Illustrated's digital workflow
• Nikon Digital Workflow and Asset Management

Eric McFadden keeps a very big list of useful links to internet resources related to photography. Actually there are two pages. The first page contains everything except "Guides to Photography". Check it out - there is a lot to dig out.

New York Institute of Photography (NYIP) publishes various articles on its website. The articles cover all kinds of topics from equipment and photographer's website development to photography techniques. There is only one catch. If you miss the moment when the article is published and time passes, it's near to impossible to find the article. At least I could not find any kind of index or a sitemap. Though William Eric McFadden on his page of Ohio University website posts a list of articles from NYIP (along with other links) - just scroll down to "New York Institute of Photography" section.

For last few weeks I often watch TV series shown on UPN and VH1 channels. The show is called "America's Next Top Model". The host of the show is Tyra Banks. It's not only entertaining and pleasure to watch (check out out those girls). But there is a lot interesting and useful information for us photographers.
OK. The show is about selection of girl, who will have a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl company and most probably will launch her modeling career. The selection is a contest based one. Through series of tests from dances and acting to photoshoots the girls fight for the first place. The photoshoots are the most frequent test they take. And there are various sets and goals for those photoshoots.
May be not all photographers will find that should such usefuls as I did, though I learned a lot about what is required from a model, certain standards and requirements, used props and lighting setups. And again it's just a pleasure to watch. For example, look at the photographs in the girls' portfolios - Nicole (one of the best) and others.