If you're in the U.S., did you reset your clocks to standard time, but forgot to reset your camera's clock?

If your location in the U.S. changed from Daylight Time to Standard Time this past Sunday, you need to remember to change the clock in your cameras too. If you didn't remember, you can change it today.

To change your camera's clock to Standard Time, set it back one hour, or if it has a Daylight Time adjustment, turn it off.

On Sunday, November 7, 2021, most, but not all of the U.S. switched from Daylight Time to Standard Time. Some parts of the U.S., including Arizona, except for the Navajo Nation within the state, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands never switch to Daylight Time. They stick to Standard Time throughout the year.

The switch between Daylight and Standard time isn't universal among nations across the globe. More than 100 countries never change to Daylight Time and of the countries that make the switch, many do it on different dates than the U.S.

Travelers in Mexico are often confused by the back and forth disposition of the swap between Daylight and Standard time there. That's because Mexican border cities near the U.S. generally keep their clocks synchronized with the U.S. to reduce confusion, but if you travel further into Mexico, you quickly find that most of Mexico resets their clocks in April and October, not March and November, as is done in the U.S.

The time of day in the U.S. could become more disparate in the future.

When we changed to "daylight" time Sunday, I remembered to reset my camera's clock

On Sunday, March 14, 2021, most of the U.S. switched to Daylight time from Standard time. Not all of the U.S. makes the change. Arizona, except for the Navajo Nation, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands don't switch to Daylight time in the spring nor back to Standard time in the fall. Their clocks are always set to Standard time.

Few of us are traveling internationally at this time due to the COVID pandemic, but when we do again, it's important to be aware that the Daylight/Standard time change doesn't universally occur across the globe. More than 100 countries never change to Daylight time and more than a few countries switch between the two on different dates than other countries.

Changed to "daylight" time Sunday? Don't forget to reset your camera's clock

On Sunday, March 10, 2019, most of the U.S. switched to Daylight time from Standard time. Not all of the U.S. makes the change. Arizona, except for the Navajo Nation, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands don't switch to Daylight time in the spring nor back to Standard time in the fall. Their clocks are always set to Standard time.

If you travel internationally, it's important to be aware that the Daylight/Standard time change doesn't universally occur across the globe. More than 100 countries never change to Daylight time and more than a few countries switch between the two on different dates than other countries.

2018: It's Standard Time — November 4

If your location in the U.S. changes from “Daylight Time” to “Standard Time” this Sunday, November 4, 2018, don't forget to change the clock in your cameras along with your watches and clocks at home and/or on the road 

To change to “Standard Time” set your clock back one hour.

On Sunday, November 4, 2018, most of the U.S. will switch from “Daylight Time” to “Standard Time.” That's most, but definitely not all of the U.S. Arizona, except for the Navajo Nation, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands don't switch to “Daylight Time” in the spring, and back to “Standard Time” in the fall. They stick to “Standard Time” year-round.

If your location in the U.S. changes from “Daylight Time” to “Standard Time” this Sunday, November 5, 2017, don't forget to change the clock in your cameras along with your watches and clocks at home and/or on the road 

To change to “Standard Time” set your clock back one hour.

On Sunday, November 5, 2017, most of the U.S. will switch from “Daylight Time” to “Standard Time.” That's most, but definitely not all of the U.S. Arizona, except for the Navajo Nation, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands don't switch to “Daylight Time” in the spring, and back to “Standard Time” in the fall. They stick to “Standard Time” year-round.

If you change to "daylight" time Sunday, don't forget to reset your camera's clock

On Sunday, March 12, 2015, most of the U.S. will switch to “Daylight Time” from “Standard Time,” most, but definitely not all of the U.S. Arizona, except for the Navajo Nation, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands don't switch to “Daylight Time” in the spring, and back to “Standard Time” in the fall. They stick to “Standard Time” year-round.

The switch between “Daylight” and “Standard” time doesn't universally occur across the globe. More than 100 countries never change to “Daylight Time”, and more than a few countries switch between the two on different dates than other countries.

In Mexico the switch between “Daylight” and “Standard” time can be very confusing for travelers. Mexican border cities near the U.S. typically swap their “times” on the same dates as the U.S., but the remainder of Mexico changes in April and October, not March and November.

Did you change your camera's clock when you changed your home clocks to "Standard" time?

This morning, Sunday, November 6, 2015, most of the U.S. switched from “Daylight Time” to “Standard Time.” Arizona, except for the lands of the Navajo Nation, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands never switch between “Daylight” and “Standard” time. They're always on “Standard Time,” so right now the entire U.S. including its territories are on “Standard Time.”

The switch between “Daylight” and “Standard” time doesn't universally occur across the globe. More than 100 countries never change to “Daylight Time” and many countries have chosen different dates to make the change than other countries.

Don't forget to reset your camera's clock if you change to Daylight time

On Sunday, March 13, 2015, most of the U.S. will switch to “Daylight Time” from “Standard Time.” That's “most,” but definitely not “all” of the U.S. Arizona, except for the Navajo Nation, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, don't switch between “Daylight Time” in the spring, and “Standard Time” in the fall. They stick to “Standard Time” year-round.

The switch between “Daylight” and “Standard” time doesn't universally occur across the globe. More than 100 countries never change to “Daylight Time”, and more than a few countries switch between the two on different dates than other countries.

Safely post your vacation photos while you're away, especially of your children

You're away from home on a “trip of a lifetime,” or perhaps just an ordinary outing to the summer seashore, but whichever vacation you're on, you've decided to post some photos of it, showing how much fun you're having. For family vacations, you decide to post photos of your kids for their grandparents, and the rest of your family and friends, to see and enjoy.

So, you pull out your smartphone or camera, and get some great images of your family on vacation, having the time of their lives. You log into Twitter or your Facebook account or Flickr, or Smugmug, and upload the photos.

“Does that make sense?”

“Is it safe to post vacation photos, which may include your children, to the Internet, while on vacation?”

Travel Photography: Geotagging, Part 1

Have you ever wondered what all the geotagging fuss is about, or what it actually is? Have you ever heard the expression, "Find your photos," and wondered what the heck that was all about?

Have you ever returned home from a long vacation, and started scanning through your photos, only to forget which church was which, or exactly where you took that great photo? We all have, at one time or another.

Year's ago I took detailed notes whenever I took photos on trips. More recently, I dictated the information into a digital voice recorder.

Here's the thing though, I can go on a trip for a couple of weeks and easily take several thousand photos, especially if they're wildlife photos. Not that long ago, on a "trip of a lifetime" to the Galapagos, I took more than 5,000 photographs in just a week of hiking, cruising, and snorkeling.

The best solution in the 21st century, I've found to record exactly where each of my photos was taken, is geotagging.

"Geotagging is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media such as photographs, video, websites, or RSS feeds and is a form of geospatial metadata. This data usually consists of latitude and longitude coordinates, though it can also include altitude, bearing, accuracy data, and place names."

Geotagging photographs can be done manually or automatically. It can be accomplished via a GPS device, geocoding, geotagging, or Exif editing software. Some Point & Shoot camera manufacturers have added GPS modules directly into their cameras, while other cameras, especially professional quality DSLR's, are GPS capable and can have portable GPS devices plugged directly in to them.

Geotagging my photos has become a crucial step in documenting my journeys. It enables me to be able to precisely inform interested parties where the photograph was taken. By geotagging my photos I can easily use them to create a narrative of my travel experience.

Moreover, when I travel to places few have had the chance to visit, I can use the geotagged photos to help answer the question, "Hey, exactly where is that?" Using online mapping software like Google Maps or Goggle Earth, I can literally "map" my geotagged photos so everyone can can see the photo coupled with both topographical and geographical data displayed on the map.

My Nikon DSLR is GPS capable. It keeps GPS information in each photo's Exif data. I could enter the data manually, collected with one of those handheld GPS units, but that's just too much work, so I bought a GPS receiver for my DSLR. It's definitely the best travel photography accessory I bought last year!

I purchased the Solmeta DP-GPS N2 unit (from Nikonians) which plugs directly into my Nikon DSLR. Every time I take a photograph the camera pulls the GPS information from the Solmeta unit and stores it with the photo.

I use RoboGEO software which can read the GPS data (longitude, latitude, elevation) from each of my photos directly. I can then create a Google map which shows each of the chosen photo locations, or create a KML or KMZ file to import directly into Google Earth. Many photo display websites such as Google's Picasa, Yahoo's Flickr, or SmugMug can take your photos and map them for you in your photo area of their site, if the photos contain GPS data.

I highly recommend any traveler geotag their photos to enhance their memories of their sojourns.