Tip #14 - School of Hard Knocks:  All my color work has been on slide film, but ever since I tripped and banged my 80-200mm lens on the ground in Yellowstone National Park, I always carry a roll of color print film.  I use this to test equipment that has suffered a blow to see that it is still functioning correctly.  There are more one-hour mini-labs that cater to the print market than there are labs that process transparency film.  I went out and shot anything that allowed me to check that the focus was OK across the entire frame and that none of the internal lens elements had worked loose.  The whole pisode -- buying the film, exposing it, and seeing the processed prints -- took just 80 minutes.  Outdoor Photography 101 Tips & Hints by Heather Angel.  (November 2002, "TTL")

Tip #11 - Prevent a Disappearing Act:  How many times have you dropped a small black cable release into leaf litter or long grass and spent hours searching for it?  Simulating warning colors of noxious tasting animals and snakes, the author adds stripes of yellow insulating tape to cable releases, Allen wrenches and other small essential tools to make them easier to locate should they happen to fall.  Outdoor Photography 101 Tips & Hints by Heather Angel. (October 2002, "TTL")

At times we all find ourselves feeling like there is nothing really new to photograph.  The quest to shoot things that are different .....  that unusual image so to speak ..... becomes more and more difficult.  Well, the next time you find yourself with camera in hand and nothing to shoot, pull this list out and light a fire under your imagination ! ! !  SHAPES, LINES, PATTERNS, TEXTURES, COMPOSITION:  FOLLOWING THE RULES, COMPOSITION, BREAKING THE RULES, STILL LIFE:  CANDID\STUDIO, COLLECTIBLES, MINOR DETAILS, PEOPLE, FACES, BODY FEATURES, FRAMING, ANGLES:  HIGH/LOW, THE POWER OF COLOR, CONTRASTING COLORS, B&W CONTRAST, MUTED COLORS, HIGH/LOW KEY, EARLY & LATE IN THE DAY, RIMLIGHTING, SHADOWS, SILHOUETTES, SUNRISE/SET, MOONLIGHT, OVERCAST DAYS, FOG, STORMS, RAINBOWS, FIREWORKS, NIGHT LIGHTS, NEON, TAIL LIGHTS, SKY LIGHTS, TIME MESSAGES, STAINED GLASS, REFLECTIONS, MIRROR PORTRAITS, PHOTOS THROUGH WATER, WATER REFLECTIONS, LENS FLARE, SELECTIVE FOCUS, SOFT FOCUS, PANNING ACTION, FREEZING ACTION, MULTIPLE EXPOSURES, PANORAMAS, WINDOWS, WHEELS, ...... THIS SHOULD GET YOU STARTED AGAIN !!  Bob Hill, ACC.  (September 1997, "TTL")