zeb andrews

I quite enjoy using Flickr, even more so than Photo.net. Sure you have to surf through many more "mediocre" photos there, but the people on Flickr also seem to be much more open-minded and accepting of experimental photography, something I have not found to be as true here on Photo.net. I actually had one person criticize a photo for having soft corners and too shallow of a depth of field, even in the description I clearly stated it was Holga work. I hate to generalize but one trait I have witnessed here at Photo.net is a photo has to be traditional and sharpness is too highly valued. The other thing I like about Flickr is that people readily view and comment on photos. I don't necessarily want critique, maybe I just want to share, and Photo.net makes that much harder without groups. Sure you can post a photo for critique but that lasts all of a few hours and then you cannot post it again.

Photo.net and Flickr are decidedly two different communities, but it is silly and condescending to write off Flickr as being amatuerish and somehow beneath Photo.net. I see a great deal of photos on both sites that inspire my photography even more. I don't see how it really matters what a person photographs, how they photograph it, or where they post their pictures. If it works for them and makes them happy, then you should pat them on the back, encourage them, and be thankful there is someone else out there who loves photography too.

I went through Lulu recently for a book and had mixed results. I love the way they have things set up. You have complete control over design, which was so much more attractive to me than most of the templates used by other sites. Lulu was easy to figure out, cheap to use, and fast. My big complaint was print quality, but I printed on the matte paper which seems to be the consensus that it is not the best. I will try again on glossy. I also wish they used a oh so slightly thicker paper, but I am not really complaining, especially when I do not have to pay out 5 figures to begin with. I had no problems with the brightness on my images, but did have color casts on some, especially in areas of the photos that were supposed to be white and instead were a bit magenta. There are many many things I like about Lulu but they are certainly not perfect. They have their shortcomings as well as strengths. Just thought I would add my experiences with them. I plan on trying a couple of tweaks and trying again, I will let you all know the results.

I recently used Lulu, and while I like many of their services, well heck I like everything about them except their printing. They are basically doing color Xeroxs and that is the quality of their work. I have seen much better quality out of other companies, but Lulu is great because you can have complete control over your own design and layout, well in fact you have to, plus you can offer downloads of your book through their site for a royalty that goes to you. But alas the print quality is just not great... Keep an eye on them though if they ever get a new printer, they will be an excellent site. I am in the same situation as you, checking out various publishers, preferrably those without the standard cheesy cover that most seem to offer.

I was wondering if anybody has a good lead on screw-in 100mm filters

or lens caps? I am shooting with the 55mm 3.5 (I think). Anyway it

is the 55mm that has the 100mm filter thread. I really would like a

good UV or skylight for protection and from there plan on using

square filters. Also I am beginning to appreciate the trouble in

finding an appropriate lens cap, be it a snap-on, screw-in or push-

on. I cannot find a snap or screw 100mm at all, have seen 100mm and

105mm push on caps (too small and too big by my measurement, would

need about a 102mm or 103mm push on). Anybody else shooting this

lens and have a good source for protecting this lens?