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Today's update for severa, of the 2010 Panasonic plasma TVs (including the VT25 3D series) adds Netflix to VieraCast. So fire up that TV and download the update! The Netflix menu is on the second page after clicking on More on the main VieraCast screen.

Since Greg got himself on ABC television talking about the Lumix ZS7, I figured I'd post my experiences with this camera which was the only camera we ended up bringing to Europe with us. The camcorder and GF1 just seemed like overkill. The ZS7 has a great lens, excellent zoom capabilities, plenty of modes (including intelligentAuto), and does HD video as well (AVCHD Lite). We figured GPS would come in handy since we would be traveling around quite a bit. The camera records latitude and longitude information, and will also look for nearby landmarks and display the nearest landmark on the screen. I'll need to see where that information is recorded and see how I can use it to help me remember what all the buildings were that were drove past :-/

Once uploaded to a geo-tagging site, like Picasa,

Rather than filling the frame with just the animal, include some of the terrain or location in which it resides. This establishes a sense of place and educates the viewer about where and how the subject dwells. Refrain from fully zooming the lens or getting too close. While it feels great that an animal trusts you to get close enough, it may not make the best image. By all means, get in tight and create the head shot as explained above, but learn to back off a bit a go wider. A more common flow of events is to progressively let the animal gravitate closer to you or slowly enter its world to get the head shot. Should this be the scenario, even as you’re getting closer, think about the perspective of the shot if while you were close, you went wide and get a unique

Ah, who said you can't go out and play in the rain with your camera? Especially when exploring a new camera, rain or shine is my motto! In fact, the overcast skies and slight darkness are a perfect time to learn a few tricks for shooting in low light.

I spotted these two amazing flowers while walking along a lake road—utterly glowing with color. Diffuse light (from overcast skies) is terrific for flowers as it evens out the light and produces rich saturated color. I opened my lens fully to ƒ2.8 and bumped up my ISO to 200 to get a 1/40th second shutter (right at the edge of being safely handheld).

I could have used ISO 400 for more stability, but didn't want more noise/grain as those petals should look velvety. Instead of faster ISOs, try this extra steadying technique

The environmental image tends to be more of a story teller as it denotes a sense of place. The head shot is powerful as it provides an up close and personal look at the species. Both have their place in wildlife photography and I strongly encourage you to capture both options. Regardless of the one you choose, adhere to the compositional rule of thirds.

For the head shot, the eyes should fall into the top third of the frame. For the environmental image, position key elements into the power points that constitute the position of a third to create balance and intrigue in your compositions.

Flat lighting is not the end all be all of a good photograph. By doing a simple levels correction in Photoshop, a flat image can be turned into a photograph with good contrast and nice lighting.

Lenses: Bring your longest lens and a macro. The long lens will be used to try and fill the frame with your subject. They can also be used to throw foreground bars out of focus when you place the lens right up to them and shoot with a wide open aperture. The macro will come in handy for the smaller animals who reside in the indoor exhibits behind glass. If the rules allow you to get right up to the glass, press the lens against it to eliminate as many reflections and as much glare as possible. The closer your subject is to it the better as it will allow you to fill the frame. Be sure you’re shooting in RAW as the image will take on the color of the glass. By shooting in RAW, this cast can be corrected more efficiently using Photoshop or other RAW editor of

Many, many moons ago, I came across an online application to become a “Living in HD Family ” for Panasonic. It wasn’t a blogging contest, or a sweepstakes.  In fact, it was much different than any other promotion or campaign than I had ever witnessed.  I found myself making friends with other families and individuals in the community and learning more about photography, technology, and their own lives through interacting with them on the community site.

Many months later, I found out our family had been chosen to become the 80th LiHD Family. It’s such an INCREDIBLE opportunity!  Our family will be a “test family” for an assortment of Panasonic HD equipment and  provide feedback that will  help improve existing and future