If you are an AOL user, you may find that the photographs on this site (and others) look blurry or distorted. Please be assured that there is nothing wrong with your eyes, your computer, or your monitor. My images really are sharp and colorful.

AOL’s software automatically compresses any graphics it gets from the Web. This compression is probably intended to make pages and images display faster, particularly on slow machines or those with slow connections to AOL.

Because AOL wants to make its service very easy and friendly for users who are not interested in technical issues, they do not publicize this compression. But you can disable it and greatly improve the quality of all displayed images:

Since I’m not an AOL user and don’t have access to their latest software, I can’t provide specific instructions for versions 8 and 9. But the principle is similar even though the specific menu options might be in different places. AOL’s customer service should be able to guide you through the steps of disabling compression for your particular version.

If you have some computer expertise there is another option. You can install another browser, such as Netscape, Firefox, or Opera, and use it for viewing graphical Web sites. When you enter a Web address (as opposed to an AOL keyword) in the AOL software, AOL actually starts Microsoft Internet Explorer. The compression is built in to the interface between AOL and Microsoft Internet Explorer, so graphics will get compressed even if you start Microsoft Internet Explorer from your desktop instead of within AOL. But running any other browser will bypass the compression. AOL provides a compatible Internet connection for another browser (or for an application such as Real Player) as long as you start it first.