On your next trip out of town, take a copy of The Ledger along and send a picture of yourself or your group reading the newspaper to:

cody@gaffneyledger.com;

or editor@gaffneyledger.com.

PHOTO TIPS

If you take the time to read and follow these picture taking suggestions, the chances of your photo appearing in the newspaper will be greatly increased.

While the advent of digital cameras and the autofocus feature have helped make us all better photographers, there are still some basic rules that should be followed:

Lynn and Scott Black read The Gaffney Ledger while on top of Blarney Castle in Ireland. 1. If outdoors, always — and we cannot stress this strongly enough — make sure your subject is looking toward the sun. Just remember to always have the sun behind the person taking the photo.

2. Avoid taking photographs under any covering that casts dark shadows, such as awnings, porches, etc.

3. If shadows are unavoidable, don't be afraid to use a flash to get rid of them. Most cameras have a setting that will allow you to switch from auto-flash to manual. Don't be afraid to use it.

4. Try to avoid "the shakes." Many digital cameras nowadays have built-in "anti-tremor" mechanisms. If you have time and can do so without placing anyone in harm's way (don't take a long time snapping photos near busy thoroughfares, etc.) use a tripod to steady the camera. You can pick one up for just a few bucks and the improvement in your photos will be immediately noticeable.

Barry Brown took along a Ledger to read while wife Becky attended a medical conference at the Equinox Resort in Manchester, Vermont. 5. If you can, re-size your photos before you email them to us. We prefer something in the 4- to 6- inch wide range at a setting of 200 dots per inch. Of course, if you don't have access to photo-editing software (you can pick up a copy of Photoshop Elements 7 for about $90) we'd still be happy to do the editing for you.

Jerre Dixon and Paula Smith of Blacksburg took The Gaffney Ledger with them on a recent trip to Dollywood and Pigeon Forge, Tenn. 6. It's important that you actually have a copy of the newspaper somewhere in the photograph. It's also helpful if there is something in the picture that identifies your location.

7. Please don't submit photos taken with cell phones. Their quality is too poor to reproduce on newsprint.

God bless, and happy shutterbugging.

Pictured here are (left to right) Josh Parker, Tim Guyton, and Wayne Brown. They are firefighters who represented Cherokee County at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, during the weekend of July 31-Aug. 2. The Gaffney Ledger was read all over Kuwait, from the girls at the Hard Rock Cafe on the Gulf of Kuwait to a Kuwaiti police officer reading it 120 meters above Kuwait City in the famous Kuwaiti towers. Ilaria and Angelina Allison, the daughters of Kenny and Ileana Allison who reside in Kuwait, and the grand-daughters of Ken and Gail Allison of Gaffney and Ion and Constanta Sunei of Romania. Lauren Kirby the daughter of David and Dee Kirby. The grand-daughter of Ken and Gail Allison and Howard and Shirley Kirby and Linda and John Richardson all of Gaffney.