By BEN DOBBIN, AP Business Writer

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – A novelty item just four or five years ago, the digital camera is shaping up as the most popular electronics gift in 2004, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. It was runner-up last year to the DVD player, the No. 1 gift since 2000.

Catapulted by cutthroat competition, digital technology is transforming the $85 billion global photography industry by creating new ways of capturing, developing and storing pictures. At age 75, Marilyn Smith discovered a wealth of reasons this holiday season to switch to a digital camera.

(more…)

By MAY WONG, AP Technology Writer

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Adobe Systems Inc. plans to introduce a new format for digital photos on Monday in an attempt to create an industry public standard to make the archiving and editing process compatible across all types of cameras and photo software.

Most consumer digital cameras today capture images in the JPEG format, but a higher-quality raw photo format is gaining in popularity among higher-end and professional camera models.

(more…)

By RICHARD PYLE, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK – Eddie Adams, a photojournalist whose half-century of arresting work was defined by a single frame — a Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press photo of a communist guerrilla being executed in a Saigon street during the Vietnam War — died Sunday. He was 71.

(more…)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Pharmacy chain CVS Corp. on Thursday said it would offer the world’s first disposable digital camera with a bright color viewing screen that allows consumers to instantly preview pictures.

(more…)

By ELIZABETH M. GILLESPIE, Associated Press Writer

SEATTLE – Ian Spiers had just hours to finish an assignment for his photography class. He was taking shots of a railroad bridge near the Ballard Locks when an officer with a German shepherd approached him, asked him what he was doing and requested some ID.

Later, he was questioned and photographed by a Homeland Security agent. It was the second time in less than two months that Spiers had been questioned about taking pictures of a landmark that attracts hundreds of tourists a day, many of whom snap photos of the ships passing between Lake Union and Elliott Bay.

Read rest of story

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Millions of consumers have started to store their photos on Web sites offering unlimited free storage capacity, and the providers are racing to capture the booming demand.

Read rest of story

It only happens every 17 years and they are about to invade the mid-Atlantic region once again. This is the year of the locust and we are about to be invaded by a huge swarm of them. These big ugly prehistoric looking bugs, with bulging red eyes, have been emerging from their underground holes and will be feeding upon our orchards and forrests, filling the air with their deafening roar, and just generally causing a ruckus.

(more…)

Probably the best shooting tip ever given to me was, “F8 and be there,” which basically meant being in the right place at the right time. From framing to composition, and perspective to timing, there are many tricks of the trade a photographer can use to make better pictures.

So if your looking to brush up on some basics, or just looking for some good, quick photo tips — Kodak has lots of information, tips, and fun ideas to share with you on their website. Kodak’s Taking Great Pictures

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. contractor and her husband have been fired after her photograph of 20 flag-draped coffins of American troops going home from Iraq was published in violation of military rules.

“I lost my job and they let my husband go as well,” Tami Silicio, who loaded U.S. military cargo at Kuwait International Airport for a U.S. company, told Reuters in an e-mail response to questions. The Pentagon tightly restricts publication of photographs of coffins with the remains of U.S. troops and has forbidden journalists from taking pictures at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the first stop for the bodies of troops being sent home.

(Read full story)

By Alicia Karen Elkins

If you publish much work, chances are good that your work has appeared online without your permission. Recouping your losses is an aggravating and lengthy procedure, but it can be executed successfully. Here is the procedure for getting your fair market value from sites that infringe upon your copyright or illegally use your intellectual property.

(more…)