One may see Kurtis Kronk as a creative person, but he himself admits that he is not one. But it does not take an artist to be a great photographer, right? And Kronk's work-related start with the camera has led to a lasting relationship.

Kronk painted his first date with photography: a challenging quest for setting up "a very cheap studio" while trying to decipher manual camera settings. From then on, he never left manual photography. Many may ask why Kronk let himself be stuck with modifying camera settings manually when the camera has an automatic mode that takes pictures 'just fine'. Kronk provides a nice answer, "It is certainly possible to get a nice photo just snapping away in automatic mode, but more often than not what you’ll end up with is a snapshot rather than an expressive photograph."

Indeed, the images that a camera's automatic settings may capture are not always as dramatic or as expressive as the ones captured by settings that you yourself set. With that said, Kronk decided to release a manual that will provide beginners (or automatic settings veterans) a good starting point on embarking on manual photography.

The manual that Kronk has released is just an introduction to manual settings and focuses on Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO sensitivity. More tips on manual settings may come our way in the following days. But for now, read the manual (by clicking on the link below) and who knows, with the info Kronk has provided you may already start churning out great photos. Snap away!

The wonders of nature - most of them invisible to the naked eye. But some scientists, out to prove that they do have an artistic side, have captured these wonders in images (via light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, etc.) to make us all realize the beauties that nature throws our way.

The Medical Photographic Library has just selected the winners of the Biomedical Image Awards, which promises a "striking display of shapes and patterns, and illustrates the microscopic structures of living organisms in a spectacular variety of ways". Here are some of the amazing photos that made it to the 2006 list:

Hugh Sturrock has captured the Anopheles stephensi, more popularly known as a mosquito, with its abdomen brimming with blood. This mosquito is known for killing "more than half the humans that have ever lived" due to its role in transmitting malaria and yellow fever.

This is a confocal micrograph by Ludovic Collin showing a cluster of special nerve cells called cerebellar granule cells.

The black spot represents the optic disc, where blood vessels in the retina are shown emerging. This image is called a "blind spot" as no light receptor cells are present. This image was captured by Freya Mowat via confocal micrograph.

Check out the rest of the Biomedical Image Awards Gallery 2006 here.

Expect a 4GB SD card from SanDisk to drop this month. SanDisk's upcoming product will be based on version 2.0 of the SD standard, also known as SDHC. This 4GB card will deliver a minimum data transfer rate of 28MBps, making it a  'Class 2' under the SDHC specification.

As there is a scarcity of devices having SDHC slots, SanDisk is planning to bundle their 4GB SDHC memory card with a compact USB adaptor. No word yet on the price and exact release date for this SanDisk product.

Summer usually brings the most memorable trips. And isn't it sad that sometimes the trips that we want to etch most in our minds are the ones without visual memories? In this age of digital cameras and camera phones, that shouldn't be a problem anymore. Now you might already have all those summer getaways and activities documented, but have you already taken time to chronicle the trip itself? Well, Seb Chevrel has.

Chevrel has taken time out to actually take pictures of a five day Portland-Oregon-New Hampshire trip in June 2003. With 12,397 pictures taken automatically every 10 seconds from the backseat of the car, he was able to produce a 'short film' from the original, unprocessed shots assembled at 15 frames per second. Check out the outcome at Chevrel's website.

Use of simple geometric forms placed in non-illusionistic space combined with nonobjective compositions equate to geometric art. And John Powers' work embodies this definition.

Born in Chicago in 1970, Powers began his art career in Washington State as an apprentice to sculptor Tom Jay. His time with the sculptor opened him to bronze casting and the works of the northwest native carvers (whom he also worked with). An alumnus of both Pratt Institute and Hunter College, Powers also studied anatomy while learning to pull the ropes of art with Jay.

If you like John Powers' geometric art works and sculptures, view more of his works via his official website.

Almost two weeks ago, we gave you a lesson on concert photography. Although there were really good tips provided in there, they mostly apply to big concert events. What will one have to do then if he wants to take home a visual memory of a concert held at a small venue? Let your dilemma end with this second lesson on concert photography...this time out, we'll focus on capturing moments on smaller concerts.

Onno shares with us some tips on how "to end up with some nice photos that at least you (and hopefully someone else) will be happy with". First he tells us of THE One Rule, by which all other rules follow: DON'T BE ANNOYING.

He warns that this is not easy. A suggestion from Onno on how one can avoid being annoying during concerts: have someone with you who'll act as your spotter, telling you when you start to annoy other people or even the band members.

As for the equipment to use, Onno suggests that one put into mind that concert halls are dimly lit and the complete light show may pose a problem to a photographer. It is therefore recommended that light-sensitive equipment be used. He goes on to add that an SLR is highly recommended.

The full article awaits after the jump!

In connection with the planned release of the Leica rangefinder camera, the Leica M system lenses are getting a new code on the bayonet ring. This will enable the coming digital Leica M camera to recognize the lens type, helping the camera to optimize image quality.

All Leica M lenses to be released from July 1 of this year will bear the 6-bit coding. This coding has the six fields in the bayonet ring marked in black and white to represent a number from 1 to 64 in binary code, which will help the planned digital Leica M camera to identify the lens.

All Leica lenses bought in the past can be converted to bear the same coding. This can be done at the Customer Service of Leica Camera AG in Solms or the Leica agencies of other countries and will come with a EURO 95 ($120) price tag. Many of the lenses from 1963 onwards can be converted.

Although the upcoming lenses may now be considered 'digital', they will still be compatible with current analog cameras LEICA MP and LEICA M7, as well as classic models built after 1954.

They say necessity is the mother of all invention. And year after year after year, it seems like people's "needs" are growing with more and more technology being deviced. Since technology changes so fast, with new ones offering better results and services, people are anxious to be out with the old and on with the new.

Hence, these pictures by Chris Jordan. He's captured images of the "old technology" that we have literally thrown out. Click on the thumbnails of the images to see Jordan's Portraits of Mass Consumption. Above is a 44x90" photograph of cellphones thrown. Images below show circuit boards, cars and cellphone chargers.

For more of this "Intolerable Beauty", as Chris Jordan has dubbed them, visit his website here.

A picture can speak a thousand words. That's why there are actually some camera-captured images that elicit more than the usual "Oohs!" and "Aahs!". Here are some LIFE photographs that created a big impact and affected the world.

Anne Frank, 1941

More than just a classic, easy read, The Diary of Anne Frank was a testimony to the hardships that the Jews experienced during the Holocaust. Anne Frank's story showed hope and humanity in Thai face of danger. This ordinary portrait of a girl of 14 shows the brave Anne Frank staring with big eyes, wearing an enigmatic expression, looking on to a future that we now know never came for her.

More life-changing pictures after the jump!

Nothing is really what it seems nowadays...especially when it comes to advertising. Most of those picture-perfect girls and boys we see on print ads don't normally look the way they do in real life. In my advertising classes in college, we were taught how some clients can become really demanding. Since models represent their products, they want these models' photos to look flawless. Lines are removed, hair color made luster, curves etched in nil perfect areas. This is called the art of "retouching".

Brian Dilg showcases some of his work made better-looking under the powerful tool of Photoshop. Now the next time you see that oh-so-beautiful girl in the pages of Cosmo and feel so insecure, you'll know that without Photoshop and a skilled photographer, nobody is really perfect.