Photography is one of the most popular hobbies today thanks to the availability and affordability of digital cameras. Everyone has something they can take a picture with, even if it is just a camera on a phone, and these are uploaded by the millions to social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo all around the world. Unfortunately, this has lead to a decline in getting real pictures printed. Inspiration comes in a new form however, and we take a look at mediums such as photo calendars as a new format for printing in photography.

As an avid photographer for many years, I still remember the excitement that came from getting a film developed. The process used to take up to a week, and as it was a fairly pricey process, sometimes a roll of film would be sitting around for a few weeks before it even got taken to the developers. Using film also meant that pictures were taken sparingly. There was no preview screen so another picture could be taken immediately if one didn't look right; and a roll of film was limited to either 27 or 34 frames of exposure.

It's not uncommon for some people to take in the region of 500 pictures in a weekend, many of them identical to one another. These will get loaded onto a computer and saved in a file to occasionally come out when visitors come over. This process has served to take the magic out of a good photograph. A repercussion of a different printing process. By deciding to get some pictures printed, it gives a chance to study the photographs, and actually appreciate the quality and aesthetic beauty present in the special ones.

Photo calendars are a great way to get back into printing out pictures. Rather than choosing an exceptional picture and getting it framed, photo calendars offer a template to get a series of pictures done that will each be appreciated for their aesthetic quality for a reasonable amount of time. For something more permanent, having pictures printed on canvas is a fantastic way to show off photographic talents.

Many artists as well as photographers are turning to canvas as a medium for photography. Software applications such as Photoshop mean it is easy to create exceptional quality high definition pictures from digital photographs. As a way to bring back the selection process after pointing the lens, the variety of printing mediums available are certainly a source of inspiration.

Dom Donaldson is a photography expert. Find out more about Photo Calendars and printing digital photos at Cewe Photo World.

Tags: digital photography, photography, hobbies, photo calendars, personalised calendars, appointment calendars