Bird Cams Around the World

A word about pictures on the BCAW Forum

Pictures are an integral part of this forum. They enable us to capture a moment, a triumph, a miracle...then share that experience with other forum members who may not have "been at the right place, at the right time". We all know a "picture is worth a 1000 words!!"

This section will explain the "How-to's" of Pictures...but before you post that first picture, please review the information provided here:



Pictures are not stored on the forum, but are rather linked to an Image Hosting Service, such as PhotoBucket. Before you begin taking pictures and posting, you must establish an account with one of the Hosting Companies.

PhotoBucket (free hosting site) Get it here--------->

Table of Contents:

1. PC "How To"------------------------------>

2. MAC "How To"---------------------------->

3. Editing------------------------------------->

4. PhotoBucket "How To"------------------>

5. Using VISTA's Snipping Tool ----------->

6. Windows Media Player "black box" Fix

Forum Picture Etiquette:

If you use a picture from another forum, blog, message board, website, photographer, etc. and you post it on the BCAW Forum, you MUST credit the source. If you are unsure of the "author", you may "link-back" to that picture. Otherwise, please do not post that picture! Thank you..

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: A HUGE thank you to SusanE for researching a lot of the information you see here, to Catbird, for her MAC expertise, and to Joanne, for teaching us how to best use the VISTA Snipping TOOL.

Thanks Ladies!!!

PC BASICS

Since there are two types of cams – refreshing and life streaming – below are BASIC instructions for capturing and posting images from each:

To capture, save and post photos from refresh cams:

1. Right click on the photo
2. Click “Save Image As”
3. Give it a name and note which directory it is in.
4. Upload photo to an image hosting service, such as PhotoBucket (instructions below).

OR (2nd method)

1. Press the Print Screen Key on the top row (right side) on your keyboard. It may be labeled [PrtScn] or [Prnt Scrn] or [Print Screen/sysRq]. This key takes a snapshot of your entire screen and you will need to edit by using one of the methods listed below.

To capture, save and post a shot from live streaming video:

The process varies depending on which editing software you use. Below are instructions for some of the most popular. (If your computer’s operating system is Vista, and you have the Snipping Tool, see special instructions below)

Now you're ready to EDIT your capture.

Paint (already on your PC): Editing Tool

1. While viewing refresh cams or streaming video, press the Print Screen key on the top row of your keyboard. It may be labeled [PrtScn] or [Prnt Scrn]
2. Open Paint by clicking Start – All Programs – Accessories – Paint
3. Click the Edit menu and choose Paste (or CTRL+V)
4. Click the “Select” icon (the rectangle with dotted line border)
5. Place cursor in top corner of the area to be cropped, then click and drag diagonally to the opposite bottom corner (this will create a dotted lined box around the area you will post as your photo)
6. Press the ESC key if you need to do #5 over
7. Click the Edit menu and choose Copy (or CTRL+C)
8. Click the File menu and choose New (click “no” when asked to save changes)
9. Click the Edit menu and choose Paste (or CTRL+V)
10. Go to the File Menu and choose Save As.
11. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the image.
12. Type a file name for the image.
13. Under “Save as type” select “JPEG”
14. Click the Save button
15. Upload photo to an image hosting service, such as PhotoBucket (instructions below)

Note: Just because Paint comes installed with each Windows operating system, it doesn't mean you have to use it. There are much easier Editing tools available. These are listed below.

Other editing tools:

Picasa (free download) It crops, fixes color, gets rid of red eye, organizes all the pictures/videos on your computer, etc.
Get it here---->

Fraps (free download) Get it here-------------------->

PhotoFiltre (free download) Get it here---------> (Instructions listed below)

CaptureWizPro (free download-may require a later purchase) Get it here------>

Snagit (free 30-day trial period, then $49.95) Get it here------------------------------>

PhotoBucket--you may now edit your pictures in PB after upload

How to Use PhotoFiltre:

1. Open PhotoFiltre on your computer
2. To capture a shot during streaming video, press the “Print Screen” button (aka “Prnt Scrn” located in the top row of your keyboard)
3. Return to the PhotoFiltre window and click Edit
4. Click "Paste as new image" (if your image does not appear, go back to #2 and try holding down the ALT or CTRL key while pressing Print Screen)
5. Using your mouse, click and drag around the photo portion
6. Click Image
7. Click Crop
8. To resize the photo: Click Image
9. Click Image size, then set the width to about 450 or 500 (all other numbers will adjust)
10. Click ok
11. To save, click File . . . click Save as . . . type the name of your photo . . . set Type as JPEG (Be sure to note which directory you saved it to)
12. Upload photo to an image hosting service, such as PhotoBucket (instructions below)

UPLOADING: To post your image on the BCAW Forum, it must first be uploaded to an image hosting service. Below are instructions for using PhotoBucket, ImageShack and TinyPic, but other hosting services may be used.



PHOTO SIZING: Our forum is configured to accept any photo up to 785 pixels wide. If your photo is larger than 785 pixels wide, the post will be rejected with this statement: "Your images may only be up to 785 pixels wide." Photos may be resized using any photo software (such as the ones listed in the post above) prior to uploading to a hosting service. (Instructions for resizing photos using PhotoFiltre are listed in the post above.) Alternatively, you may set your photo hosting service to resize your photo automatically upon upload. Instructions for auto resizing using PhotoBucket are below.



PhotoBucket – a free image hosting service --

1. Log into your PB account (or for first-time users, set up your free account)
2. Click the green “Upload” button
3. Click the green "Select photos and videos" button
4. Navigate to your computer's directory where you saved your photo
5. Select one or multiple photos, then click Open
6. When the screen displays "Upload complete!" click the blue "View album" button
7. Hover the mouse over the photo until the Codes appear. Move the mouse to the box next to the words IMG Code. Click anywhere inside that box, and the word "Copied" appears.
8. Return to the Forum where you wish to place the photo and press CTRL + V (or right-click, then select “Paste”)
9. To check your photo prior to submitting, press the Preview button below the post. If all looks okay, press the Submit button.
10. Finally, don’t delete your photos from PhotoBucket or the link to your post will be broken, and your photo will disappear from the Forum!

Auto Resizing During Upload:
1. Log into your PB account
2. Hover the mouse over your user name until you see a drop-down box. Select "Account Settings"
3. Click the tab, "Album Settings"
4. Next to Upload options, click "View upload options"
5. Select 320x240 or 640x480
6. Click Save

Note: You may also EDIT your picture in PhotoBucket.



ImageShack – a free image hosting service --

This is a great substitute for PhotoBucket when it is "out of order." Registration is free but you can upload photos without registering if you wish. However, you will not have organizing capabilities. If you are registered, your files will be available forever. If you are not registered, any file that you upload will continue to be available if it is accessed by anyone at least once per year.

Directions:

1. Go to http://imageshack.us/ and Register (or not) then next to Upload: tick "images/videos"
2. Click Browse and locate your photo and select it
3. Under Email (Optional) click "Upload Options/Resizing" and be sure "Do not resize" is selected
4. Click the Upload Now button
5. Copy the "Forum code" and paste into BCAW message box
6. When you are ready to upload another image, click "Media Upload" which takes you back to the original screen.

To upload multiple images, follow Steps 1-4 above, then continue here:

5. Click on the image to be posted
6. Over to the right locate the Forum code under the section "Embed this image," then copy and paste it into the BCAW message box.
7. Click your browser's back button and repeat Steps 5-7 until you have posted all of your images.

TinyPic – a free image hosting service --

Directions:

1. Go to http://tinypic.com/
2.
3.
4.
5.

Using Vista’s or Windows 7's Snipping Tool (available only with Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate Editions or Windows 7)

To see if you have the Snipping Tool on your edition, click on the Start Menu and start typing “snipping” into the search box. Snipping Tool should show up in the Programs list above the search box, and you can click on it to start it. Better yet, send it to the desktop then drag it onto the TASK BAR left side (always easier to grab!)

1. To capture an image on your screen, click the Snipping Tool icon.
2. Your screen will dim, and you can click and drag your cursor to select an area to copy. As you drag, the selected area will be darker, and surrounded by a red border if you've never changed the Snipping Tool options.
3. When you release the mouse button, the captured area will open in the Snipping Tool window. If you're not happy with the selection and need to try again, click the "New" button.
4. After you have selected your desired area, a dialog box opens. Click on File and Save As.
5. Navigate to your desired directory and type a name for the file.
6. Choose File Type “JPEG”
7. Click Save
8. Upload photo to an image hosting service, such as PhotoBucket (see instructions)

Windows Media Player - the “DREADED BLACK BOX”

If, after capturing a shot from live streaming video from Windows Media Player, you are seeing a black box or moving video in your editing software, here is how to correct it.

1. Open Windows Media Player
2. Right-click on the black bar at the top in the space beside the words “Windows Media Player”
3. Click on “Tools” and then “Options”

A box will open that has a bunch of tabs at the top that look like file folder tabs.

4. Click on the “Performance” tab

At the bottom you will see a section called “Video Acceleration.”

5. In the “Video Acceleration” section, click on the “Advanced” button

Another box will open up called “Video Acceleration Settings.” The second section is called “Video Acceleration.” In this section you will see something called “Use Overlays.” There is likely a checkmark in the little white box to the left of the words, “Use Overlays.” If so . . .

6. Click that little white box to remove the checkmark.
7. Click “OK” and then “Apply”

A box will pop up telling you that any video you are playing may restart. It will ask you if you want to continue. Click on “Yes.” Then click on “OK.”

Take another screenshot and see if this fixed the problem.