Summer is here and maybe you're thinking of vacationing in far away lands or perhaps relaxing in the comfort of your own home. During this time, you may wish to take photos of your trip. A little planning and consideration of the details will keep you from sweating over summer vacation photos. For great summer photos we would suggest these three things:

1. Prepare - Before you travel, there are many factors to consider. Where are you going, how will you get there, what kind of weather will there be, will you be around sand or soil? All these things need consideration before you go. The answers to these questions can help you determine what kind of case your gear may need and how much gear you wish to travel with. If you are hiking you may want to use a backpack case and carry a light weight camera. If you are going to a foreign country (or most places in the U.S.) and are concerned about theft, avoid camera bags that advertise that you have a camera. You have so many options when choosing a case that it can be a little overwhelming. There are cases that are water tight, cases that float if thrown overboard, cases that can stop a bullet, etc. You want to make sure you choose one that protects your investment from the elements and would be thieves. Additionally, consider how long you will be there and what you will do with the images you have shot. If you are shooting film, watch out for airport x-rays, extreme heat, and take plenty of film. I would say that if you think you have enough film pack 10% more. It is better to have some left over than having to buy it at a premium at your destination. If you shoot digital, take plenty of memory cards for your images or you may choose to take a laptop to download your images from your card each day.

2. Composition - Whether you are hiking in the Amazon jungle or roaming around the urban jungle, feel free to experiment with different shots. Do your share of "Me in front of The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices" (it's in St. Paul, Minnesota), but also get shots of different perspectives, close ups, and any thing else that looks interesting. Sometimes the most interesting photos from vacation are not the ones of national landmarks.

3. Execution - This is the final phase. Having prepared yourself with forethought and careful consideration, you can begin to take those vacation photos. Of course, sometimes the best photos can occur by accident. However, I don't think of it as accidental but as opportunity and opportunity favors the prepared.

So while the unmerciful sun charbroils you, these tips should help you be cool in the face of summer photo fever.

Join us on Facebook in our Facebook Page!

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - At Image City Photography Gallery, Gary Thompson delights in pointing out qualities of light, contrast and clarity in one of his best-selling prints - a winter-sunset view of Yosemite National Park's El Capitan peak shot with a hefty Pentax film camera he bought in 1999 for $1,700. His wife, Phyllis, a latecomer to fine-art photography after they retired from teaching in the 1990s, favors a Hasselblad X-Pan for panoramic landscapes, such as a time-lapse shot of a harbor in Nova Scotia. Of 11 partners and resident artists at the private gallery in Rochester - the western New York city where George Eastman transformed photography from an arcane hobby into a mass commodity with his $1 Brownie in 1900 - the Thompsons are the only ones left who haven't switched to filmless digital cameras. But that time may be near.

"We made the transition after getting a glimpse of what Mangiante could offer us on a project basis. From my perspective, there was no transition; it was that good!"

Woodland Presbyterian School - Adam Moore

Not many of us will risk our lives racing into the path of a tornado to photograph the funnel, like cameraman Jim Reed, but many of us will risk our cameras in the rain trying to get a shot of a kids' soccer game or an impressive cloud formation. Mr. Reed offered some tips to help snap shooters operate in inclement weather. While some of these tips are for shooting video, they apply to still photography as well.