I have started the winter shooting season with a couple of 8 pointers - I jest - with a trip to Tak and Mae Hong Song to catch the sights and see the annual Thai "sunflower" blooming near Khun Yuam. It was a bit of a surprise to find out the sunflowers are actually from Mexico and were brought to Thailand by missionaries many years ago.

Of particular note was Tham Phu Toei. A small but immaculately kept cave, by its resident monk, that is a little of the beaten

After a bit of research I decided to head back to one my favorite provinces in the whole of Thailand, Ratchaburi. I would make the journey via Phetchaburi so I could finally see the Tham Khao Luang site and also indulge in some food at Hat Chao Samran. My stomach is also close at heart when travel decisions are being made.

I have been musing where to travel to this weekend but its difficult at this time of year (August) as the weather is always verging on poor in Thailand with the sun breaking through a few times but never, seemingly, on the weekends. It must be some divine curse! Its even hard to get any shots at this time of year to portray the rain or at least the rainy season as you need at least some light or highlights to set the photo off, to make it interesting. Its a very difficult time of year to try and make photographs in Thailand.

I am considering heading down to Phetchaburi to see Khao Laung or maybe up to Uthai Thani just for a scout. I think its preferable to go with an open mind and have the camera in the back of the car in case the opportunity arises. BUT not rely on the opportunity arising as I will just get bogged off if it remains cloudy and overcast for the whole weekend.

Its funny really. When you think of Thailand you think of sunshine, exotica and beach scenes. The reality is that the window for decent photographs is not so big in terms of season and time. This azure blue skies seem to be quite rare and at this time of year extremely rare!

Never mind. November will soon be upon us with its good weather. October is literally next month and the Chonburi buffalo races will be taking place. Lets hope I can make the most of the winter season and get some decent photographs of Thailand.


I think I should make the most of September just for scouting around and plotting the winters photographs.

As you may have noticed for the last year or so I have been using advertising on the site to see how good internet advertising is at making income for website owners. One often hears, or sees, claims on the internet that serious money is being made by website owners simply by allowing advertising companies to place a few links, or inventory as they call it, on your site.

I started with Google's Adsense but I was uncomfortable with the whole experience as adsense seems to be designed on the basis of taking visitors away from your site rather than complimenting your site and your visitors experience. In money terms I made enough for 2 cups of coffee a month and then, to my surprise Google just banned me. Turns out I had clicked on one of my own adverts, I must have been thirsting for a third cup of coffee! Anyway 2 cups of coffee a month was not enough for me to warrant an argument over. I packed my proverbial publishers bags and headed over to a competitor, Adbrite.

I have been using Adbrite for both listings and banners for quite while. I did try their interstitial method that would put up an advertisers website to each of my visitors after their 3rd click on my site but I found that it was annoying the hell out of me so I presumed it was actually bad for web traffic and visitors experience rather then beneficial so I stopped using Adbrite Interstitials. I am currently running Adbrite for banners and text ads but to be honest my traffic level is just over 100,000 hits per month so the result is an income that would pay for one cup of coffee a month. Ah, I look back longingly at those heady days of 2 cups a month with Google.

My usage of Adbrite has been nearly caffeine free free but the problems have not really been Adbrite's but my own. My site does 100,000+ hits a month on 2000 unique vistors and this is not enough traffic to make Adbrite pay well for a publisher. Adbrite protect their advertisers (and rightly so!) so as long as you are selling direct text ads you are OK, but with CPM and CPC the ad does not show up every time a page loads so say you have an CPM running at $2.00 per thousand, then you would think the payout would be 100,000/1000 = 100 therefore $2.00 x 100 = $200 BUT in reality the ad is only going to show a few times and you would be lucky to make a dollar off those 100,000 pages served.

So I have decided to drop Adbrite and have a try with Text Link Ads instead. The Text Ad Links system is similar to Adbrite but the monthly price is higher (and more realistic I think) and only advertisers who wish to specifically place an advert on my site can, at a cost. I like this because it means any ads can be kept very relevant to the sites visitors. Saying that I don't expect many ads to be forthcoming (hopefully 2 or 3 a year), but lets see.

I have now also started to trial affiliate marketing on the site. My first venture was with Amazon but I have decided to go a very unobtrusive route and use CJ (commission junction) and Kolimbo. This allows me post banners and links on the site that compliment the users experience and do not take way from the site. I get paid nothing if you follow one these links or click on one of the banners. But if you decide to purchase from the site within 30 days (normally) and the computer memory gods shine in my favor I get a miniscule percentage of your purchase price (normally 1% to 3%). So in essence, its paying for leads if the lead results in sale. That's not good odds for website owners but a) I think it fits in with my morals more and b) I have not been making any money through CPC and CPM advertising to speak of.

So what is my conclusion with web based advertising and publishing so far. Well you really need a lot more traffic that I am generating. 2000 unique visitors a month (or 70 a day) is not enough to even bother with CPC or CPM. Additionally I think cost per click, cost per impression and cost per thousand are really detracting from the visitors experience IMHO as the ads are largely irrelevant to the subject of the site and also the income generated is laughably small.

So lets see how the future goes - I will keep you posted.

D300 Professional Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) - Just Announced - Buy Today!

By placing your Nikon D300 Digital SLR Camera order today, you can firmly establish your place in line for this exciting new product.Our orders are always filled in the order that they are placed, and your credit card will not be charged until your order has shipped. Order today and be the first to get this exciting new camera!

Nikon today introduced its most advanced DX-format digital SLR camera, the D300. Engineered with pro-level features and performance, the 12.3 effective megapixel D300 combines brand new technologies with advanced features inherited from Nikon's newly announced D3 professional digital SLR camera to offer serious photographers remarkable performance combined with agility. Similar to the D3, the D300 features Nikon's exclusive EXPEED Image Processing System that is central to driving the speed and processing power needed for many of the camera's new features.

The D300 features a new 51-point auto focus system with Nikon's 3D Focus Tracking feature and two new LiveView shooting modes that allow users to frame a photograph using the camera's high-resolution LCD monitor. The D300 shares a similar Scene Recognition System as found in the D3 that promises to greatly enhance the accuracy of auto focus, auto exposure and auto white balance by recognizing the subject or scene being photographed and applying this information to the calculations for the three functions. The D300 reacts with lightning speed, powering-up in a mere 0.13 seconds and shooting with an imperceptible 45 millisecond shutter release lag time. The D300 is capable of shooting at a rapid six frames per second and can go as fast as eight frames per second when using the optional MB-D10 Multi-Power Battery Pack. In continuous bursts, the D300 can shoot up to 100 shots* at full 12.3 megapixel resolution. Nikon's D200 digital SLR camera was a runaway success for because it embodies everything that performance-conscious photographers demanded. With the D300, Nikon has raised the bar with remarkable new features, greater resolution and speed, and even higher image quality. The D300 delivers an unmatched combination of quality, performance and value that's hard for discerning photographers to resist.?

The D300 incorporates a range of innovative technologies and features that will significantly improve the accuracy, control and performance photographers can get from their equipment. Its new Scene Recognition System advances the use of Nikon's acclaimed 1,005-segment sensor to recognize colors and light patterns that help the camera determine the subject and the type of scene being photographed, before a picture is taken. This information is used to improve the accuracy of auto focus, auto exposure and auto white balance functions in the D300. For example, the camera can track moving subjects better and by identifying them, it can also automatically select focus points faster.

D300 Professional Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) - Just Announced - Buy Today!

D3 Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) - Just Announced - Buy Today!

We are Happy to offer the Just Announced Nikon D3 Digital SLR Camera for Sale Now!

By placing your Nikon D3 Digital SLR Camera order today, you can firmly establish your place in line for this exciting new product.

Ritz orders are always filled in the order that they are placed, and your credit card will not be charged until your order has shipped. Order today and be the first to get this exciting new item!

Eight years after Nikon's D1 camera changed professional digital photography forever, Nikon today introduced the D3 - a new digital SLR camera that is poised to once again revolutionize photography for professionals. The 12.1 effective megapixel D3 features Nikon's new FX-format CMOS sensor, measuring 23.9 x 36mm, which is nearly identical to the size of 35mm film.

With the fastest startup time, shortest viewfinder blackout time, and shortest shutter lag of any digital SLR camera as well as the capability to shoot up to nine frames per second at full FX-format resolution, the D3 is the world's fastest digital SLR camera in its class.* Designed with sports photographers and photojournalists in mind, the Nikon D3 introduces an astounding list of brand new features and technologies that make it the most sophisticated and advanced Nikon digital SLR to date. In addition to the new FX-format CMOS sensor, the D3 incorporates Nikon's new EXPEED Image Processing System that is central to the blazing speed and processing power needed for many of the D3's new features. Images taken with the D3 reflect exceptional overall quality, broad tonal range and depth, along with extremely low-noise throughout its normal ISO range of 200 to 6400. By setting the camera to its built-in options of Lo-1 or Hi-2, the ISO range of the camera can be expanded to the equivalent of ISO 100 or ISO 25,600 respectively, offering unmatched versatility in practically any shooting situation.

The D3 also features an entirely new 51-point auto focus system with Nikon's 3D Focus Tracking feature and two new LiveView shooting modes that allow photographers to frame a photograph using the camera's high-resolution LCD monitor. The D3 uses the world's first Scene Recognition System to greatly enhance the accuracy of auto focus, auto exposure and auto white balance detection in the camera by recognizing the subject or scene being photographed and applying this information to the calculations for the three functions. Sports, commercial and press photographers are increasingly demanding higher ISO sensitivity, better resolution, wider dynamic range and a familiar depth-of-field in relation to picture angles. With the D3, Nikon is excited to deliver a solution that represents an ideal unification of unsurpassed image quality, high-speed operation and professional durability, without compromise.

Nikon fully expects the D3 to positively affect the photographic community in a way that hasn't been seen since the introduction of the Nikon D1.

D3 Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) - Just Announced - Pre-Order Today!

Identifying the animals in ones photographs be they fish, insects, mammals, birds, crabs, shrimps, whatever is a daunting task and is done through the purchase and use of specialized ID books or laboriously searching through specialized online resources and websites.

But the whole process may get simpler in the future. In a whale-sized project, the world's scientists plan to compile everything they know about all of Earth's 1.8 million known species and put it all on one Web site, open to everyone.

I seem to be constantly in a never ending search for the perfect bag to carry my photo gear in. So far this search has cost me a small fortune and resulted in a room full of camera bags that seem to be ill suited to general usage but have a specific use. I had given up the ghost of ever finding my perfect solution but for now I seem to have found a nice solution for my hiking trips and journies into the Thai forest and jungles as well as about town.

So exactly what is or what are my thoughts? Well its a new section of the site for me to introduce you to some of the things I may be working on, my be considering, may find interesting, may just have found whilst scouring the web. Anything really. Anything I think you may be interested in reading or seeing.

The D3 is a competitor for the Canon 1DMk3, and does an admirable job in pipping Canon when you take into account that Nikon has now levelled the playing field with AFS and VR 2 being added to the new 400, 500 and 600 long lens. But in leveling the playing field Nikon will not tempt back the sports and nature photographers who already made the move to Canon. This is what is surprising me so far as I don't see any benefit other than to keep the loyal Nikonians from jumping ship at the 11th hour. Unless, and it is a huge unless, Nikon can inspire new customers through very competitive pricing.

The D300 is the replacement of the D2x. Let me rephrase that, the Nikon D300 is a Nikon D2x but better and it comes in a nice portable sized body.

What was supposed to be a relaxing weekend trip turned into quite an educational trip but for altogether the wrong reasons. The Queen's birthday weekend coincided with a particulary high tide and what was left on the beaches after the high tide was quite shocking. Serious pollution in Thailand.

Khao Ang Rue Nai is just a short drive (2.5 hours) from Bangkok in Chachoengao province and a quick glance at the location on Google Earth shows you it's main problem, it is primarily lowlands and forest under 250 meters that is being encroached from all sides except the mountainous region of Eastern Forest to the south.

Although it is expensive, today it is considered an essential program for anyone working with graphics, whether it’s in print, on the web, or even in television and movies. This has led to a huge number of cheaper competitors (who have been largely ignored), as well as rampant piracy of Photoshop itself. To counter this, a cheaper, simpler version of Photoshop called Adobe Photoshop Elements is available, which is especially good for beginners and has an easier learning curve.

How did Photoshop get into this dominant position? Well, development started in 1987, with the first release in 1990. Since then, Adobe

has been improving the software continuously, constantly taking advantage of advances in hardware power. Even now, to get the best performance out of Photoshop, you should buy as much RAM as you can afford.

It is not just Adobe’s efforts that have got Photoshop where it is today, however. The program’s plugin architecture has allowed there to be are all sorts of plugins available for more advanced work, including some plugins that actually cost more and do more than the program itself. In this way, Photoshop is often used much like Windows, as a platform – and it would be a huge effort to get these plugins to run on any other software, making competitors effectively useless to anyone who relies on a plugin.

Today, you can get Photoshop for Windows and Mac OS (both OS 9 and OS X). If you want to use it on Linux, however, you will have to use Crossover Office, Codeweavers’ program that allows some Windows software to run on Linux, but it will be quite slow.

Adobe Photoshop, the top choice for digital darkroom use, can be a complicated program to use. Many options and possibilities, some of them completely unexplained, make Photoshop as once mysterious, intriguing, and downright difficult to use. Photoshop enjoys a lot of buzz on the Internet, and there are plenty of myths associated with the program. Get to the bottom of these Photoshop Myths.

Adobe-Photoshop – THE imaging editing software

Photoshop is widely considered the best image-editing software in the world today by a long way, and it is not difficult to see why.Photoshop offers incredibly advanced effects which would previously have taken days or weeks to accomplish, and reduces them to the level of a few settings and a few clicks.