Why Your Camera Kit Should Include the Nifty Fifty Lens

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Background

When buying a camera you normally need to purchase a lens to use with it. Some lenses vary in price from cheap to expensive. With the amount of lenses available, it's sometimes difficult to know which one to choose. The lens that I normally have on my camera is the 50mm f/1.8 Lens also referred to as the Nifty Fifty. The well-known photographer Peter Mckinnon posted a video on why your camera kit should include the nifty fifty lens. You can view Peter Mckinnon's video below:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdHV7Uzw2E4

Why Your Camera Kit Should Include the Nifty Fifty Lens

Here are a few reasons to add the Nifty Fifty to your lens collection:

• Light Weight

Compared to most lenses, the 50mm f/1.8 is incredibly small and light-weight. Most DSLRs are very heavy to carry. Putting the Nifty Fifty lens on your DSLR makes your camera light and easy to carry around.

• Wide Large Aperture

Having a Lens that has a large aperture allows you to sharply focus on your subject as well as blur out your background.

• Affordable

The 50mm f/1.8 can currently be bought for under $125 for many resellers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the 50mm Nifty Fifty is a great choice if you're on a tight budget. If you're not a Canon shooter, Nikon offers their own Nifty Fifty the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G Lens. It is slightly more expensive currently selling for $216 but still affordable compared to most lenses. Sony's 50mm F1.8 Lens is the most expensive of the three priced at $250. Either brand option you select you should be happy with a Nifty Fifty lens in your camera bag.

The Easiest Way to Add Google Analytics to Wordpress

THE EASIEST WAY TO ADD GOOGLE ANALYTICS TO WORDPRESS

Google Analytics is one of the most insightful statistical software in the field. In addition to being free of charge, Google Analytics offers fantastic features. Most noteworthy is that it allows you to segment your visitors by location, referral sources, their page preference. The easiest way to add Google Analytics to Wordpress is through the use of a plugin called MonsterInsights. The benefits of using a plugin for Google Analytics is that it stores information in an easily accessible place. That way if you wanted to change the theme of your Wordpress site in the future, you can retain your Google Analytics setup data.

Why Your Site Needs Analytics

Gathering statistics for your website are important to have as a market strategy. Primarily because statistics help in determining what type of content works well for your site. They can also assist in helping what doesn't work for your audience. Therefore, you can spend your time on what matters on your site and less time on what doesn't.

Step 1: Sign Up for a Google Analytics

Sign up for a Google Analytics account if you do not have one.

• Navigate to the Google Analytics Website
• After you have setup your new account, select the Get Tracking ID at the bottom of the page.

Step 2: Add the MonsterInsights Plugin

On your Wordpress Dashboard add the MonsterInsights plugin.

• Navigate to Plugins
• From Plugins, Select Add New
• Search for MonsterInsights
• Select Install Now
• After the Installation Completes, Select Activate Plugin

Step 3: Activate the MonsterInsights

From the WordPress Dashboard, Select Insights > Settings

Authenticate with your Google account

In the popup that appears, click the Next button.

Click To Get Google Code

Copy the code, and then paste it into the field and click the Next button

Select Insights > Dashboard to see how your site is doing

Conclusion

In Conclusion, Google Analytics is a powerful tool. I feel that Google Analytics can help you deliver better content in the future. One example would be seeing where what social media site delivers the most traffic. Perhaps Facebook delivers the most traffic to your site, while Twitter lags behind. You can work on different strategies the following month to improve traffic coming from Twitter. Or if a blog post generates the most views maybe turning that popular post into a video would gather other audience sources. Overall having the data available to make different marketing decisions with your website is very useful in delivering content to your audience.

Responsive Web Design Course

Why I choose to Enroll in the Responsive Web Design Course

In January 2017 I decided to take the Responsive Web Design course to learn more concepts about interaction design. Responsive web design has become increasingly important now that audiences view websites on various devices. Responsive web design is an approach to web design that makes web pages render well on a variety of devices and/or screen sizes. This course is the second in the Responsive Web Design specialization from the University of London. In the following review for the Responsive Web Design course, I will discuss thoughts and opinions on the course below.

Price & Length

In terms of cost, you have two options to choose from. The free option allows you to take the course without the benefit of a grade or credit. Coursera refers to this as Auditing. The paid option is $79 USD in which you get the chance to earn a certificate upon completing this course. As a result, you can add the certificate to your LinkedIn profile and use it to aid in your job search. The length of the Responsive Web Design course is four weeks.

Workload

I thought the workload for the Responsive Web Design course was manageable. During the four week course, you can expect quizzes, assignments, and peer-reviewed projects. There are four quizzes in total from the four-week long course. There are two projects and two peer-reviewed projects. Each of the video lectures last under ten minutes. On average there are between ten to twenty videos each week.

What You Get

I found the Responsive Web Design course beneficial in terms of providing hands-on project experience. There are two potential projects that you can add to your portfolio. The first project is to design a website using the responsive framework called Bootstrap. Bootstrap is an open source front-end framework. It is helpful for faster web development and to create quicker responsive web designs. The second project is an image gallery using javascript to dynamically display images.

What You Won’t Get

I felt that the projects could have been more intensive. A week to complete a project feels short in my opinion. I think more priority should have been put into the projects in this course rather than quizzes. Since the course is four weeks long, the class moves at a fast pace. I would have thought it would have been useful to dive into the subject of templates more thoroughly.

Final Thoughts on Responsive Web Design Course

In conclusion, I think any web designer would benefit from taking the Responsive Web Design course.

What You Should Have in Your Emergency Travel Bag

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What You Should Have in Your Emergency Travel Bag

I have always wanted to set up a go bag that is packed and travel ready. This is because having a packed and ready bag not only makes sense for travel but also emergencies as well. KQED's forum recently wrote an article on What You Should Have in Your Emergency Travel Bag. I have summarized their list below including some choices of my own that are may be useful in a go bag:

• Medication
• A copy of your ID
• An extra set of keys
• Eyeglasses or contact lenses
• Hearing aids
• A change of clothes
• Water
• Snack bars
• Cash in small bills
• First Aid Kit
• Flashlight
• GlocalMe U2 4G Mobile Hotspot
• A Portable AM/FM Radio
• Portable Cellphone Battery Pack
• Charging Cables: IPhone | Android
• Respirator Face Mask

Baggage Choice

In addition to items to pack, I would choose a reliable bag to carry your items. For bag choice, I choose Away Travel's Carry-On bag. Most noteworthy about Away's products is that their luggage contains built-in battery pack. This allows you to charge your electronics while on the road. The Carry-On also has a built-in lock on the luggage for security. In addition to this case, another great accessory is the tile luggage tag allows you to locate your luggage's location.

Added Security

Since your emergency bag will carry important items, I think it's best to secure your bag in your home. You can use the Abus Combiflex Bike Lock to secure your bag inside your home to prevent it from being taken via theft. As a result, having your emergency bag secure will relieve any concerns about having your documents stolen while away.In conclusion, it's always great to be prepared in the case of emergencies. You never know when you will need to leave in a rush and it's always helpful to be ready. Having a few frequently used items can greatly reduce the stress of leaving at the last minute.The KQED Article can be found here: Source