Y'all know I love to run around with a camera or two in hand. And I hate to admit it, but most of the time the fancy settings and fun buttons go unused while I point and shoot in the auto settings alone. Well, I just signed up for a series of five photography and camera classes that I hope will change that.

On Aug. 27, I'll be starting my new classes with "Introduction to the Digital Age." This class will cover basic camera operation, file formats and exporting images for editing and sharing. I'm sure it will be a great refresher on what I've picked up on my own, and I'll be sure to share some of the highlights with you here.

My class lineup also includes a Rebel XT-specific class, a couple of imaging classes that will cover topics such as composition and aperature, and class all about lighting.

I have the camera, and after these classes I will just need the lights and the action!

I'm no scientist, but I conducted a little experiment over the weekend. From the comfort of my couch, I had one picture printed at four different local printers to try to choose the best quality for the price and speed. (When I say "printers," I actually mean a grocery store, a discount department store and two drug stores.)

Why did I choose the four printers that I did? They were all comparable in price ($.19-.20 for each 4x6" print); they were all close to my house, the furthest only four miles away; and they all allowed for online uploading for pick up in the store.

Here are the pros and cons of the four I tested:

Target:
Pros: The big advantage here is that Target direct prints through flickr.com. We use flickr here at Hammock and I also use it for my personal photos. You simply choose the photos you'd like to print, pick your Target location, and show up there in an hour to get your prints.

I like the paper they use. It's called "glossy," but it's not too shiny.

Each 4x6" print is $.20.

Con: The red looked a bit pink compared to the others.

-----

Walgreen's:
Pros: There is a brand new Walgreen's about a mile from my house here in Austin. Although they forced me to register on walgreens.com, their online uploader was fairly simple to use.

Each 4x6" print is $.19.

Prints can be ready in an hour.

Cons: Their paper is very shiny. Very.

They forced me to register on walgreens.com.

The navy blue printed with a very dark teal print.

-----

CVS:
Pros: They earned points immediately by not making me register on cvs.com.

Their prints are ready to be picked up in an hour.

Each 4x6" print is $.19*.

Cons: Their photo uploader is very awkward and was slow for me.

Their paper is very shiny. Very.

Colors were a bit darker than I would have liked.

*Because my total order was less than $5.00, they charged me a service/additional fee of $1.49. So, a single 4x6" print came to $1.68 total.

-----

HEB: (This is my local grocery store. I love HEB, but I wasn't sure about having photos printed there.)

Pros: Easy to upload photos at heb.com.

They offered the option of matt or glossy finish. I printed one of each.

Each 4x6" print is $.19.

Honestly, the best color quality of the four.

Cons: They aren't printed there in the store, so one-hour processing isn't available. The flip side of that is that they are printed by Kodak and shipped to the store for pick up.

-----

My scientific conclusion? I will use HEB in the future when I need great quality prints at a great price but am not in a hurry. I will stick with Target for quick prints and just hope the pink/red problem works itself out with a new printer cartridge.