As a photographer, public liability can help you take care of the financial side of your business by making sure that you don’t lose all of your money because of an accident that involves the public. If you were to accidentally damage someone else’s property or injure him or her whilst working, public liability coverage would help you pay for any expenses related to the incident, including legal and medical fees. This is a tremendous help to most small and medium-sized business owners since even having to pay a lawyer in such an incident would deplete them financially.

However, many photographers have yet to understand the case to be made for getting this important kind of insurance because they are often put off by the idea of having to pay a premium. With finances already stretched tight, they may see public liability as just another bill to pay. The key concept that these photographers are not keeping in mind is that the little financial resources they have now will quickly disappear if they are found liable for public damage and don’t have sufficient coverage.

Public liability can also give you peace of mind whilst you’re working so that you only have to focus on the quality of your photography. The job may require you to haul around heavy and expensive equipment, such as tripods, backdrops and large frames, which can also become liabilities when it comes to the safety of those around you. You’re a cautious photographer, but that doesn’t mean that you will be able to prevent all accidents. With public liability insurance, you can be assured that your business will be financially covered even if you suffer a mishap whilst you’re working.

Another job aspect to keep in mind when considering public liability coverage is whether your job as a photographer takes you to potentially riskier places than the average worker. Some photographers go to new heights – and depths – to get the perfect angle, and if you’re one of them, you’ll want to secure a little more coverage when you’re working out your public liability policy to reflect the increased risk that you take on whilst working.

To get started on a public liability policy, you should first do a little research via the Internet to figure out what the most important points of the policy will be for your particular work situation. With a little further investigation, you can also find helpful hints about what questions to ask and get business insurance quotes. However, once you’re ready to commit to a policy, remember to contact a professional insurance agent.

The 1967 Shelby Mustang is a legendary muscle car built by Ford between 1965 and 1970 and the GT500 was the pick of the class. The name Shelby comes from Carroll Shelby who was famous for taking Ford cars and upgrading them into something powerful and exotic.

Tim Wallace has always produced exceptional car imagery and these pictures continue the style that has made Tim such a sought-after car photographer. If you are a fan of American muscle cars and the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 then these prints will look great on your walls as either canvas print, acrylic print or poster print. Click on an image to see a larger picture and see our purchase options.

Classic Muscle

Mustang Muscle

Shelby Mustang

Shelby GT500

If your camera has video shooting abilities this can be very useful but it is a huge drain on battery life. Shooting the video and viewing it back is one of the quickest ways to empty your battery. The LCD screen also takes up lots of power. It is possible to turn this feature off unless you really feel the need for it and using the camera’s viewfinder will help conserve power. Another big power drain is the flash. Whenever you can, use natural lighting to take your photos and turn off the flash. This will help save your battery for times when you absolutely need the flash. A third drain on your battery is constantly using your zoom. It takes more power zooming in and out than it does keeping your zoom in one place. Try to find a setting you like and sticking with it as much as possible or use the manual focussing option.

Here are some more tips to make your camera battery last longer:

• Make sure Power Saving mode is on, or simply switch off your camera when you’re not using it.
• In cold weather, keep your camera and batteries warm in your jacket or camera bag until you are ready to use them. Cold temperatures drain batteries very quickly.
• Store batteries in a cool, dry location away from sunlight and other heat sources.
• Avoid unnecessary playback of your already taken images. Try to decide when you take the picture if it is a “keeper” or needs deleting and then refrain from reviewing until the pictures are downloaded to your computer.
• Use the AC adapter. Most digital cameras have an adapter that allows you to plug directly into a power point. If you don’t plan on moving around a lot and are near an outlet, the AC adapter will increase the life of your batteries.
• If you are not going to be using your camera for a long period of time, remove the batteries as they will drain if left in.

Most pro photographers will carry several batteries with them in case of failure or battery drain so always take at least on backup with you. The other benefit of this is that you can use the second battery whilst the other one is being charged. Another tips is if your camera uses standard AA batteries it makes more sense to buy some rechargeable ones. This will save money and help the environment.

Recharging your battery is something you won’t be able to avoid completely, but with a few precautions you can make your batteries last much longer. If you have any further tips for our readers please drop us a comment at the end of this article.

We are looking for guest bloggers to write photography related articles on this site. Contact us if this is something you are interested in. We’re not going to pay you but it will give you some added promotion for your photography business or event. All photography press releases will be considered as long as they are well written and on topic.

So what exactly are we looking for? Product reviews, tutorials for taking photographs, techniques and software/retouching, workshops, photography holidays, best of lists etc.

So if you have some interesting words that would suit our photo blog then let us know. We can’t guarantee your article will be published but if we feel it is good enough for our readers then we’ll add it. If it is just cut and pasted from elsewhere it will be rejected. Only original content will be accepted.

You article must be a minimum of 500 words and include an image for our ‘Featured’ section which needs to be 580W x 258D pixels.

Contact us >

We are going to be updating the photo blog much more from now on so stay tuned for a lot more juicy photography related articles and useful tips. Drop us a comment and let us know if you have anything you would like featured on the blog in the future.

If you are looking for black and white canvas prints for your walls then take a look at Fotoviva Art Prints. We have a large range of photographic images for sale and a black and white canvas prints collection. This section offers stunning photographic images from our team of professional photographers who bring you artistic imagery with a black and white touch.

Black and white images have a timeless appeal which can suit interior designs with strong colour themes. The simplicity of the black and white can enhance the features of the image, drawing the eye to see more details than if it was a colour print. Black & White Photography has its own place in the world of art and many of the greatest photographers specialise in this field. It does more to evoke an emotion and freeze a moment in time than any other medium and has helped elevate it to a fine-art form.

Once you remove the colour from a photograph it’s like stripping a scene down to the bare bones, removing the layers and leaving the perfect form. They work perfectly as large canvas prints.

Black and white canvas prints come in all shapes and sizes to suit your wall space. We can even print the canvases at other sizes to ensure you or your client receives their print in the perfect size. Canvas prints take around 7 working days to arrive but if you need a canvas printing quicker just contact us and we’ll see what we can do to help. And if you are a photographer and have your own image you would like printed as a black and white canvas then we can do this too.

ePhotozine
http://www.ephotozine.com/forums
This is a very active photography forum with a large amount of members (their record stats for members online at one time is 4074!). Together with the photography forum there are lots of camera equipment reviews, photo techniques, photography news and even an online store. The forum software isn’t the best though and we’d like to see it updated to make it more user-friendly.

PhotoSig
http://www.photosig.com/go/forums
PhotoSig is another great photo forum with lots of members from around the world that helps create a diverse yet ultimately helpful community. You can also get your own gallery space and ask for critiques on your photography to help you take better pictures. Unfortunately this forum software is lacking too which makes it difficult to navigate.

DcResource
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/
The Digital Camera Resource site was founded way back in November 1997. The DCRP is designed to be an unofficial resource for current and future owners of digital cameras. It is aimed more towards the consumer end, rather than the high end of photography. The forums are nice and clean with plenty of active members that help to make a vibrant community.

Talk Photography
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk
This photography forum is one of the most active we have seen, with nearly 3 million posts! Whatever day you visit, there are tons of active members and discussions going on. You can upload your own gallery images and ask for critiques to help you learn better techniques. The forum software is simple and easy to use, whilst the basic template design doesn’t detract from the main thing – discussion! We like the general lack of advertising that sometimes ruins other forums.

Forums are a great way to interact with other photographers. You can even find photographers that are local to you and organise meeting up for a shoot. Try joining one today, they are all free and full of people just like you that are looking to improve their photographic skills!

Do you know any other photography forums that are worth a mention? Do you run a forum for photographers? Write a comment to let us know…

Ten of the pioneering photos of snowflake crystals that American farmer Wilson Bentley began taking more than a century ago are to be sold in New York.

Wilson A Bentley (1865-1931) is thought to be the first photographer to capture images of single snowflakes on camera. He made thousands of the jewel-like prints, and came to the conclusion that no two snowflakes were the same. This concept caught the public imagination and he published other articles in magazines, including National Geographic, Nature (Journal), Popular Science and the Scientific American. His photographs have been requested by academic institutions worldwide. Bentley poetically described snowflakes as “tiny miracles of beauty” and snow crystals as “ice flowers.”

His photomicrography technique involved a microscope and a bellows camera. Snowflake expert Kenneth Libbrecht said the photos did not meet modern standards because of the “crude equipment” Bentley used.

“But he did it so well that hardly anybody bothered to photograph snowflakes for almost 100 years,” Mr Libbrecht added. He perfected a process of catching flakes on black velvet in such a way that their images could be captured before they melted.

Ironically, Bentley caught pneumonia in a blizzard and died just weeks after the publication of his book Snow Crystals.

Chicago art gallery owner Carl Hammer is selling them along with 16 of Bentley’s winter scenes at an antiques show at New York’s American Folk Art Museum.

“They’re remarkably beautiful,” said Mr Hammer.

“There are imperfections on the outer edges of the image itself and on the paper, but the images themselves are quite spectacular.”

Bentley, who was known as The Snowflake Man, wrote in 1925: “Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others.

“Every crystal was a masterpiece of design, and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost.”

Bentley also photographed all forms of ice and natural water formations including clouds and fog. He was the first American to record raindrop sizes and was one of the first cloud physicists.

That’s right, we’re now Twittering for you guys from Fotoviva HQ!  This is a great way for us to keep our customers up to date with new photographic work, special offers and news from the world of Fotoviva Art Prints.

We will also be Tweeting about interesting and fun related news we find such as the arts and photography in general so why not ‘follow’ us to keep in the loop? If you don’t have a Twitter account give it a try – it’s free and fun to use. Just click the logo above to open our Twitter page and click the ‘follow’ button to ensure you have the latest information about our canvas and acrylic prints. As a bonus for following us you will get some of the latest special offers before anyone else so if you’re looking for discount codes and vouchers our Tweets are the place to watch!

If you have a Twitter account already post your details in a comment here and we’ll follow your tweets too

Wunderbars’ constant tension stretcher bars are even easier to construct than normal stretched canvas prints. Wunderbars are precision machined so there is no need to measure the frame to get it square or  hit the frame with a mallet to keep it square during stretching, it will always remain square.

The Wunderbars system is touted as a natural progression from traditional stretcher bars and has been developed for photographers and framers from the hobbyist right up to the production canvas framer.

The wood used for Wunderbars is Tulip wood which, unlike pine, is a hard wood with a top quality look and feel. It’s a heavyweight timber with very little knotting. It helps give the completed frame a top quality professional feel. Wunderbars ticks all the environmental boxes too – the wood comes from sustainable sources and it is possible to reset and reuse a frame. FSC wood does cost a little bit more but not so much as to affect a purchasing decision. FSC wood comes from sustainable forests which help protect wildlife and the environment.

Wunderbars canvas frames come in packs of four in a range of sizes from 8inch to 48inch which will limit the canvas print sizes you can offer, but for most people this will be a good starter. It will be interesting to see if photographers try this system or continue to use established canvas printers such as ourselves. Obviously you still need a large canvas printer in the first place to print onto the canvas material. You then have the packaging costs to factor in, not to mention your time taken creating the canvas.

Full marks to Fujifilm though for trying something new. What do you think about the Wunderbars? Will you use them yourself or would you rather not get involved in the canvas printing side of things?