First, I download my pictures as soon as possible. End of the same day if I can, into a folder whose name is the date they were shot (for instance, January 11, 2012 would be 20120111, so the year always comes first). During that download I have the software managing the download re-name the files with that date, plus a bit more information. One of the photos from a recent night shoot in Boston (you can see the photos at http://www.Facebook.com/KCphotographer, in the Current Work album) has the filename 20120107_Boston_037. This makes it easy for me to know where and when a photo was shot.

Next, I copy those folders to two hard drives. One for long-term backup (that gets rotated off-site), one to a server in my office that I can access immediately. And every so often when I have time I go through the most recent photos, pick my favorites, and copy them to a “Best of” folder for that year.

And that brings me back to January. That’s when I go through the “Best of” folder for the previous year and cull it. I’m always a better judge of my pictures after some time has passed. So come January I re-visit that collection and narrow it down to those photos that really belong there. Then that year’s “Best of” folder gets burned to DVD and goes into my safe-deposit box. This year that was 2 DVDs, which is far easier to manage than all the DVDs that have everything I shot over the year. They can stay on a shelf at home. If they’re lost, but the “Best of” collection is safe, I’m happy.

So if I have a New Year’s resolution each year, it’s to stay organized, stay on top of all the photos I shoot, and make sure that the best of those are stored for the future. And that’s a worthwhile resolution for every photographer to have.

Since then most of Nikon’s mid-range cameras do that, from the D90 through the D700 currently, supported by their main strobes (the SB-600, SB-700, SB-800, SB-900 and the just announced SB-910). And other companies like Sony, and more recently Canon, have included that ability too.

Which is a great thing for us photographers. We live and die by light, and the quality of it. Because being able to get the flash away from the camera doesn’t just mean better light, it means better pictures.

The autofocus systems on our cameras rely on light, so doing in-focus night shots can be hard for them. My preference is to turn off the autofocus and manually focus. I can usually find something in the scene that’s bright enough to do that. If it’s going to be really dark (like it will be for the northern lights, or star fields), then I try to set my focus on a far distant object before dark, then tape down the focus ring.

And speaking of the northern lights or star fields, they’re even tougher to shoot because there’s much less light, requiring a lot of exposure. I’d suggest shooting with the lens nearly as wide open as possible (f/4-5.6), and an ISO of 1600. Then try a thirty-second exposure first and see what happens. Remember that if you need to go longer, you have to double the exposure to let in twice the light. In other words, two-minutes will give you twice the light of one minute, but you’d have to go to four-minutes now to double that again. Long-exposure noise (image degradation) can happen with exposures beyond one minute, but the cooler the weather, the less that’s a problem. So there’s at least one advantage to doing night shots in cold weather.

Most people don’t shoot pictures at night, so it’s a great opportunity to do something unique and different. Cook up a pot of hot chocolate, fill the thermos, grab your hat and gloves and get out there!

The next problem can be focus. Cameras need light to focus, so they can struggle at night. If yours is, then simply turn it off. By switching to manual focus you can adjust it yourself, and it’s usually fairly easy to do that.

The other thing your camera will want to do at night is use its flash. Don’t let it. If you have Scene Modes, there’s often a “No Flash” mode. If not, try the Program exposure mode. In that, the camera will only use the flash if you tell it to (by popping it up).

If your camera has any kind of image stabilization technology (VR, IS or SteadyShot), turn it off. When doing long exposures (night shots for instance), that can actually add blur to the photos, by creating movement where there isn’t any.

Your camera creates color using something called White Balance. Most cameras are set to Auto, and you can leave it there if you like the results. However, when I’m doing shots at night that include artificial lights (instead of the moon), I often change the White Balance setting to Incandescent (sometimes called Tungsten) or fluorescent. I think that gives a more natural look.

Now all that’s left is to find a scene worth shooting. Pay attention to your framing. In other words, consider the whole rectangle of the viewfinder to be valuable space, and make sure that what you’ve got framed in there is what you want. When possible, move closer, When you do, you usually end up with a better picture. And look for places where you can get a different angle from eye level. Parking garages are great for that.

And don’t forget to play. Try zooming the lens, or even shaking the camera when taking the picture. Remember the photographer’s secret – If you make a mistake and it looks good, say you did it on purpose!

Next you’ll need to use software to create the poster. You’ll want what’s called “layer-based” software because it will let you put multiple photos onto one document and move them around. The least expensive common program for this is Adobe’s Photoshop Elements (under $100). The more expensive Photoshop CS (any version) will do this too, of course. Before you decide on a size for the poster, check around and see how large a print you can have made at local stores (or online, like Mpix.com). I find that lots of places can make poster-sized prints for around $20. In my case I have a large-format printer that will handle paper up to 24-inches wide, so I create a new document that’s 24-inches wide by 36-inches deep. I set the resolution for 160PPI (pixels per inch) because I know that’s all I need for good print quality.

Now for the fun part, making the poster. With Elements you’ll want to use the “Place” command in the file menu to bring each image in. Once it’s on the page, you can grab any of the “handles” on the four corners of that photo to make it larger or smaller, and grab the center of the photo to move it around the page. When you’ve got it where you want, the size you want, hit the return key. Make sure you have your “Layers” window open on screen, so you see each individual photo as its own layer. That lets you click on that layer at a later time and change its size or position, or even delete it. You can use the Type tool to create a type layer with words, and handle it the same way as the other layers.

If you’re doing this in Photoshop CS, the process is similar but not exactly the same. With this program you can just drag-and-drop the photos onto the document, no “Place” command needed. When you grab a handle to re-size the photo, though, make sure and hold the shift key down too, or you’ll end up stretching the image instead of just re-sizing it. And if you want to change it later, first select it (click on it) on the Layers palette (or click on the photo while holding down the Control key) and then choose “Free Transform” from the Edit menu to get the handles back. Again, hit the return key when you’re done sizing and moving the picture.

Be sure and save your work occasionally, and do that as a “PSD” document. That keeps the layers intact so you can change them later. However, when you want to get it printed, you’ll need to save a copy as a JPEG file (most printers won’t be able to work with a PSD file, and it will be VERY large). Be sure and keep a version as a PSD, in case you want to make any other changes in the future.

Last step is a quick trip to buy a frame. I’ve had good luck getting frames 50% off at Michael’s, and have bought those 24 X 36-inch frames before, one of the reasons I chose that size for the poster. About ten minutes to put it in the frame and you’re done. A great keepsake to hang on the wall.

In most situations, these cameras will give great quality with very little fuss – comparable to an entry-level DSLR with consumer zooms. In a very, very small package. And that’s the key here. I’ve got a DSLR and lenses. Actually, many DSLRs and many lenses. But this is the first camera I’ve had where I can get the kind of photos I want, while carrying very little. In fact, it’s the first “real” camera I’ve had that I don’t even notice having around my neck. And I like to joke that my camera bag is now my pocket. The two lenses that came with my J1 are the 10-30 and 30-110. With the camera’s 2.7X “crop” factor, that gives me an equivalent of 27-300mm. The lenses aren’t particularly “fast” (f/3.5-5.6 and f/3.8-5.6), but they both have very good image stabilization (what Nikon calls VR).

I’ve been traveling much of the past month, and so had the chance to shoot this camera in Baltimore, DC and Boston. I also had a D7000 with me, and the first two times out shooting I carried them both. But once I found out how much I liked the J1, I left the D7000 behind. I love the size and weight. The AF is fast and accurate, the camera’s very quick to shoot when I want. The Continuous rate of 5 frames per second is a blast (and up to about 18-frames when shooting NEF (RAW) + JPEG Fine mode). I’ve found I really like the Auto ISO setting of 100-3200, because it uses the lower settings whenever it can but doesn’t hesitate to boost them when the light gets low. Just like I would. And the high ISO quality is very impressive. Yes, there’s noise at 3200, but very reasonable and usable. When shooting video (full HD), I can also press the shutter button and get a nearly full-rez JPEG (I’m shooting video in full HD, 16:9 aspect ratio instead of 3:2) without any interruption in the video. Nice. And Nikon’s announced a whole bunch of new lenses on the way, plus an adapter that will let me use my current F-mount lenses on this tiny camera. Can’t wait to put my 800mm on it!

Dislikes? Yes, a couple. In Single mode it pops up a preview of the image just shot, briefly, whether you want it or not. And that delays taking a second shot. That’s the main reason I switched the camera to Continuous, so I can fire a burst without pausing. And I’m not a fan of LCD-only as a viewfinder. I’m old-fashioned – I like putting my eye up to a viewfinder. Outside on a sunny day it can be challenging to frame carefully, and using a long telephoto is tough while holding the camera out from your face. So that has me looking forward to getting my hands on a V1, with its built in electronic viewfinder.

Bottom line? Image quality is excellent, considering the size of the camera, lenses and sensor. Feature set is strong, camera’s easy to use. And that means I’ll have a real camera (not a crappy cell phone camera) with me more often. This is the camera I’ve been waiting years for. Good times ahead!

But more important than all of that, it means I’m just carrying one camera and lens, with the second in a small fanny pack (Thinktank Speed Demon). And I’m on vacation with my wife, who doesn’t want to wait more than a few minutes if I find a picture I have to shoot. Not all photography requires a ton of gear and time. Remember, good pictures come from knowledge of photography, not the amount or cost of the equipment you’ve got. Looking for good light and interesting angles, I also shot panoramas and HDR images. No tripod? I used tables, bridge railings, or simply raised the ISO. No flash? Well, I had the built-in one, and for the most part just looked for shots where I wouldn’t need flash. And there’s one last benefit to going light like this. No one thinks you’re a professional photographer. People with large cameras, lenses and bags get more attention, which isn’t always good. I just looked like the average tourist.

Italy was beautiful, the people and food great. We had a wonderful time. And I got some nice photos, without making a lot of work out of it. That’s a great combination.

I got a couple of shots where the sky was partially lit up, and those were okay. And there was a bolt of lightning between shots. And one bolt outside the frame. Arrgh. After 63 frames, though, I got lucky. There was a burst during an exposure, and in the frame. Bingo! I kept shooting, thinking I might get something better, but then my luck ran out. It started raining. After waiting at a nearby newsstand for the worst to pass, I headed back to the hotel. And during that walk thought about how important it is to be prepared and know your gear when going out to shoot pictures. But the one thing you can’t prepare for is the unexpected. You just have to hope it’s the good kind, and get lucky.

Sharon accessorized her dress and heels with a lightweight Slik carbon-fiber monopod and Nikon SB-900 Speedlight, mounted on top of it. Shooting a Nikon D3S, I had an SB-900 on it, in Commander mode, to trigger the flash Sharon was carrying as well as adding its light to the scene. The combination worked great. With Sharon staying 90 to 130-degrees off from me, her light pumped in a nice strong side/backlight, which helped separate the subjects from the background and add some depth to the scene.

The combination worked great, and gave me photos not possible with just on-camera flash or available light. The only trick was keeping the remote flash in a position where it could“see” the signal from the Commander unit. If it got too far off to the side, or behind me, it wouldn’t fire. There are ways around that with some radio triggers that still let you use Commander mode, and those are on my wish list. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to write a blog post about them in the near future.