A Guest post by Saul Molloy from Shotslot.

I recently took my DSLR sailing for a week on a yacht off the West Coast of Scotland. Now my camera, though heavy and rugged-feeling, is not the most waterproof of objects, in fact there’s no real weather sealing at all and the combination of salt-water, rain, repeated physical bumps (from the waves) and the general chaos generated by having five people in an enclosed space for a week is about the worst thing I can imagine doing to my precious camera, short of introducing it repeatedly to a lump-hammer.

I know that some people are really, really careful with their cameras and I can’t blame them for being precious over such an expensive piece of kit, but I feel I need to be a bit more

…

Weekly Assignment
This week our photography assignment took us into the heart of the home when we went In the Kitchen. The kitchen is so often the source of fond memories. The baking, the smells, the smiles… all of it reminds us why the kitchen is the heart of the home. Our winner this week was Carina for the shot of the incredibly cozy mugs. There was just something about the strong leading lines, the reflection, and lighting that drew us to the shot. Not to mention those are some cozy looking glasses! Then we had a 3 way tie for the runners up. So, in no particular order (and with a bonus photo), first up we have zetson‘s Kitchen with a …

Image by Drewski Mac

This week your challenge is to take a ‘photo walk’ and share a favourite image or two from it.

We’re doing it this week as on Saturday is the world wide photowalk. You might like to join one of them (it’s pretty last minute but not too late) or just do your own alone or with a friend.

So grab your camera and…. take a walk. Where you walk is up to you – it might be around your neighborhood, it could be in the countryside or it could be around your house. It’s totally up to you.

Once you’ve taken your “Photo Walk” image, upload it to your favourite photo sharing site and either share a link to it below or embed it in

…

…

And before those of you in the Southern Hemisphere jump all over the title, with its clear Northern Hemisphere slant, don’t worry, I’ll be talking about the Southern Cross (Crux) as well.  There just wasn’t room in the title to fit in all of that.

Let’s start off with the ‘why’ and then move to the how.  For those of you well versed in astronomy this may all seem very simple to you and you’re welcome to skip right over.  But as I’ve traveled I’ve been amazed at how many people, while sitting around a campfire or on a beach, can’t find the North Star or Southern Cross.  I’ll admit, for most people, it doesn’t matter.  They just like seeing stars overhead, making up constellations and looking for shooting stars.  And that fine.  …