Hoover Dam lies just south of Las Vegas and manages the flow of water down to the Colorado River, as well as producing much of the electricity for southern California and Nevada. The recently constructed Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, an engineering marvel, stands in stark contrast to the rugged geology of the canyon. Boat tours of Lake Mead are available from Hoover Dam or further downstream on the Colorado River. A number of casinos dot the highway headed toward Hoover Dam, so if you want to combine nature with nightlife, you can easily do it just south of Las Vegas.

Mount Charleston lies northwest of Las Vegas about an hour’s drive away. This massive mountain range is a refuge from the heat in Las Vegas during the summer and the favorite of many downhill or cross country skiers in the winter. Visitors can stay at lodges on this mountain range or enjoy camping in the wilderness areas. The highest elevation on Mount Charleston reaches nearly 12,000 feet. If you’re fortunate enough to be in Las Vegas just after a winter storm and have snow tires or chains, you can drive up the hill into this island in the sky.

The last striking natural treasure surrounding Las Vegas is the Valley of Fire, Nevada’s oldest state park. It lies 55 miles northeast of the city and offers year-round hiking, camping, day trips and photography. Temperatures in the summer can top 120 degrees F, so if you’re there in the summer, wear sunscreen and have enough water along for both you and your vehicle.

Available for Android

The long awaited Android version of this very popular Android app was launched on April 3th 2012. The first 24 hours that it was available in the Google play market  it was downloaded 1 million times.  This was not a surprise because 410.000 people were already on the waiting list, but still impressive. Now a big share of all smartphone users can use this photography app that gives you the opportunity to customize your photos and share them with the world.

Bought by Facebook

Just after launching its Android version, Instagram got bought by Facebook. On the 9^th of April Facebook announced their purchase of Instagram for 1 billion dollar. Instagram stays an independent brand with its own app separated from Facebook but they will increase ties to each other. The founders of Instagram were Instamillionaires.

Photo sites

Now that almost every smartphone owner can make beautiful pictures and give them a great look with Instagram, the question is; what are you going to do with all these great pictures. One of the possibilities is printing them on canvas to decorate your home. A site that offers the possibility to do this is Prentu. A German site that has customers all over the world.

Source: Bits

Canon provides for up to 200 euros return on different lenses, flashes and extenders. The cashback offer runs until 30 June 2012. The cashback can be claimed until 31July 2012.

The following models are participating:

• Speedlite 270EX II,
• Speedlite 320EX,
• Speedlite 430EX II,
• EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II,
• EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS,
• EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM,
• EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM,
• EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS,
• EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM,
• EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM,
• EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM,
• EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro,
• EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM,
• EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
• EF 17-40mm f/4L USM,
• EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro,
• EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM,
• EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM,
• EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM,
• EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM,
• EF 70-300 f/4-5.6L IS USM,
• EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM,
• EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
• Extender EF 2x III,
• Extender EF 1.4x III

Retro Camera.
Take stunning old-school pictures with this app. It contains 5 different cameras, 5 sets of vintage vignetting, film scratch, black & white and cross processing effects for that analog look!
This app is inspired by Lomo, Polaroid and Instragram (iPhone)

FREE APP (with ads), full version €2,49!

FxCamera
This FxCamera enables you to take a picture with various effects. It contains a Toycam, Fisheye, SymmetriCam, Warhol, Polaroid and a normal camera.
FREE APP (with ads) .

Paper Camera.
See the world through a novel, original, stylish  and captivating lens. Real time cartoon and painting effects displayed on your camera feed!  Discover how the world looks in cartoon!
This ultimate collection of cartoon, sketch, comic book, half tone etc. are painted directly in your camera.
This app costs €1,49

Pudding Camera
Puddingcamera offers many kinds of effects and settings. You can use any combination of these options for FREE!

Pixlr-o-matic
Add retro effects to your photos in a snap! Turn your photos into cool looking vintage images. Editing is as easy as, one, two, three. With this fun and simple darkroom app, you can layer filters, lighting and borders to get that retro grunge look in three simple steps.
FREE APP!

So, Lomo cameras have made photography a rather fascinating field of art. However, till very recently, the range had been limited to only still-photo cameras. Now, those, who want to shoot entire movies, can try out the new Lomokino motion-picture camera. This camera can be used in shooting 35mm films. As with any still-photo Lomo camera, you can use this with the same creativity and absence of ground rules. In fact, the new Lomokino motion-picture camera would be used according the 10 rules of lomography. These are not rules actually. They allow you to use the Lomokino more creatively.

What can you do with a new Lomokino? One thing is that you can shoot entire 35mm films with this camera. The Lomokino is supposed to make filmmaking more personalized. The Lomokino can be used anywhere to shoot any kind of motion from any angle or spot. Moreover, it is quite easy to carry around as well. You can take it to the rooftop and shoot movies with a bird-eye view. You can also sneak you way into crowded alleys to shoot the hustle –bustle and traffic as well. So, you can just go wild with your natural talent for ingenuity.

The new age Lomokino comes with simple shooting procedure. You can adjust the settings and simply rotate the crank to get rolling. The aperture controls are also easy to handle. You can adjust the right aperture setting while you shoot. You can also light up your images with the flashes simultaneously as well. The Lomokino also comes with a fast focus zoom. So, while you are shooting a movie, you will be able to zoom in to the minute details of a faraway object. You can always check out how the film shooting is going on with a view finder as well.

There are a lot of must have accessories for your SLR camera. A good case will protect your camera and carry all of your gear. Choose a nice one with padded shoulder straps for comfort and plenty of compartments to store your most used items. A memory card is a must to store your digital pictures. Be sure to choose one that will hold the amount of pictures you desire. It is always a good idea to carry an extra card in case you do run out of room. It is good to have an extra battery to be sure you get all the pictures you want. The SLR camera’s come with a rechargeable battery but you do not want to end up missing a good shot due to a dead battery. There are different lenses you can purchase as you become more familiar with your SLR camera. A telephoto lens is perfect for long distance shots. This lens can range up to 200mm. A good wide angle lens is good for taking photo’s of a large group of people. Consider a macro lens for extreme close up pictures. Imagine a close up picture of a beautiful flower or a hummingbird feeding on the flower. Your imagination is endless. With the proper care of your SLR camera it can last a long time.

Consumers that are looking for a smart phone with a great camera should not be surprised that Apple’s iPhone 4S fits the bill. Apple still displays the brilliance of Steve Jobs in his passing through their latest offering of the iPhone. The camera has 5 megapixels and quality that beats some other phones that have higher megapixels. Apple focuses on picture quality with their “tap to focus” feature.

The Nokia N8 also has a smart phone that will make consumers stand up and take notice. It has been promoted as the best smart phone on the market. There may be some legitimate claims to this because it is packed with a ton of features.

The Nokia N8 has some great zoom and red eye reduction features. The still frame photos look good, but he Nokia N8 is really awesome for those that want to take video. The video of moving objects is smooth and resolution on these videos is amazing. This camera has 12 MP. This is enough to make most people leave their cameras at home.

The HTC Desire is another phone that has some serious quality for videos and pictures. The high definition is the best selling point for this phone. People that want 720p video recording are in luck with the HTC Desire. These phones are raising the bar for other smart phone vendors. Consumers like phones that do it all.