Monthly Archives: June 2009
Let me count the ways…
The age old phrase of “let me count the ways” seemed like as good a theme as any to announce the newest contest from the blog here for the Learning Digital Photography podcast. I just got word from the folks at OnOne software that they really liked the post on Genuine Fractals – so much that they would like to participate in a giveaway! Can you guess the prize? Yup, that’s right, the entire OnOne Plug-in Suite: 4.5! This is an amazing offer, as the package normally retails for $500! That’s five hundred big ones! I don’t know about you, … Continue reading
Wacom Bamboo Fun: Hardware Review
The good folks at Wacom were kind enough to donate a Bamboo Fun to me for review on the blog a while back. In order to really get a full handle on it though, I wanted to use it within the context of my at-home work flow. You see, I’m not a newcomer to tablets, as at work and through previous experience, I’ve grown quite accustomed to their usage. I’ve had to instruct people on how to use, configure the basics, and such on their computers. as well as used them in many of their varying sizes (most recently being … Continue reading
Painting with Light
About a year ago, Joe McNally gave a talk at Google where he referenced the roots of the word photography. The two roots are photo and graphos, and the meanings are light and write. We so often hear of people “painting with light”, and after seeing a few people demonstrating how they use flashlights to paint and write with light, I thought it might be fun to give it a whirl. So, I set up in my den/basement room/office/man cave with the camera on a tripod and went about the goal of writing with light. To set the scene, I … Continue reading
And the winner is…
Blooming Orchid, by photographer John Dunne, of Ireland. He’s got quite a nice portfolio of images too over on his Flickr photostream, so do stop over and give him a little kudos, pat on the back, congratulations, etc. as he’s won the Adobe Lightroom Contest here at Learning Digital Photography! His winning image (surprise surprise) is a blooming orchid, shown below: Congratulations again to John for this beautiful shot. I know I said it before but it is worth saying again that the decision was a very difficult one to make as there were so many excellent images contributed! Thanks … Continue reading
And then there were three…
First off, some software news that we all may want to stay abreast of – Adobe has released the latest updates for Camera Raw and Adobe Lightroom. The ACR update applies to CS4 users, Elements 7.0 users, and Premiere Elements 7.0 users, and includes raw conversion algorithms for the Canon 500D, the Powershot XS1 IS, the Nikon D5000 and several Hasselblads, as well as some other camera updates for Olympus, Sony, and Pentax. It’s version 5.4 and is now out of beta and available for download. The updates for Windows and Mac are available here: Camera Raw Windows Macintosh For … Continue reading
Software Review – Genuine Fractals 6.0
Don’t get too excited – no software giveaway on this one folks, as I’ve not had a chance to call OnOne yet and see if they’d be interested in participating in a contest. Instead, I am working off a trial version of one of the premiere up-sizing software programs on the market – Genuine Fractals from the good folks over at OnOne software. Available for both Mac and Windows, this product really has developed a good name for itself in the industry. While reputation may precede it, I have been wanting to give this product a try for some time … Continue reading
Rocket Man!
Cleaning your gear is a maintenance ritual each of us must develop that suits our own style and behaviors. For me it’s lists…logical lists that I formulate after thinking about what makes sense to me, so I can do things the same way every time. For me it’s all about consistency and repeatability. While this same technique is something I recommend for others, it may not always be the best course of action if you don’t like that kind of rigidity. However, regardless of what styles or approaches you use to clean your gear (and I’ve talked about my approach … Continue reading
Extra Extra, read all about it!
It’s a rare Saturday that I make a blog post, but while waiting on a contractor to install some wireless at work, I had some time to do some writing and in the process, I came across an article I put together back in 2008 titled “5 Ways to improve your Photographs”. Though the article is dated, the ideas behind it are the essence of timeless content – this will always apply to photography. So, I’ll throw this back out there, a year after the fact, for everyone to enjoy! 5 Ways to Improve your Photography Happy shooting and we’ll … Continue reading
Friday Fab Five
For something new here on the blog, I thought it might be fun to share some of my favorite keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop. The idea here is that people will share their top five in the comments area and we can get an idea of many more keyboard shortcuts than we ever could have found out on our own (unless of course you are some Photoshop guru like The Photoshop Guys and the trainers/instructors of the world that do this for a living and already know all the shortcuts.) So, anyway, here’s my Friday Fab Five Photoshop shortcuts and what … Continue reading
Seven Super Summer Tips
Since the podcast went live yesterday, the compositional theme was kind of put on the back burner, so I’d like to bring that back to the forefront today with something everybody likes…a list! For some reason lists of bullet points seem to generate a lot of feedback, and garner the most interest, so here we go with a set of what I am calling “Seven Summer Super Photo Tips” Shoot early, shoot late – it’s the “Golden Rule” – and I think we all know about it, so this is just a reminder. Shoot often – seriously, the eye does … Continue reading
Reviews, Interviews and Vista Views
The latest episode of the Learning Digital Photography podcast is now live and for those of you picking this up in your feeds, make sure you stop over to iTunes or the via PLM to download the show. This week, I go into a little more depth on how I conduct reviews of hardware and software as there have been quite a few listener questions about that particular subject matter. Thanks to everyone who wrote in to share their thoughts and feedback! In the second segment, an interview with fellow photog and NAPP member, Erik Bernskiold where we talk about … Continue reading
The Un-review Software
This week I am going to talk about the lack of software in the weekly software review. That’s right – the lack of it! You may be sitting there wondering which software item I am going to talk about, promote, or diss in some way shape or form, but instead of that, I actually want to talk about the general trending of software, hardware, and system resources. Why? Because we demand a lot from our computers these days. Think about it – we want our computers to do many things from surfing the internet, to designing graphics, office functions, building … Continue reading
Hardware review: Sigma 10-20mm
The review you’ve all been waiting for – the one to compete with my Canon 10-22mm review from a few weeks back! Well, there is no clear and decisive winner, so the wind is probably taken out of all the sails of those who were waiting for some smack-down talk. The reason? Some aspects I like better on the Sigma, and some on the Canon version of this lens. So, I’ll refrain from declaring a “winner”, and just give you the lowdown on this lens, what I like, and what I don’t. So, without further ado:
Finally some good news – it’s Friday!
Well, there’s some other good news too. Wacom delivered the something to me door yesterday to review here on the blog. I’ll be doing a more detailed write-up for both Windows and Mac in the near future, but thought y’all might be interested in the unboxing – seeing what you get from the good folks at Wacom when you order a: BAMBOO FUN! So, here’s a little teaser video for those that are interested: This might be fodder for an upcoming contest or giveaway, but only time will tell, so keep your fingers crossed. In the meantime, here’s the rest … Continue reading
Write it down!
Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday folks – for those of you that Twitter and have me on follow, you’ll know that we had our cars taken out from under our noses (literally while we slept) early Tuesday morning. By the time I woke up and got dressed for work (at 6) they were gone… Suffice to say, the wind has kind of been taken out of my sails here, and after an entire day of dealing with police reports, insurance claims, DNA testing (yes, they took DNA from us), finger printing, and pretty much feeling like our … Continue reading
The Business of Selling Your Photos
As economic belts are cinched, and we start spending our dollars more carefully than ever before, I am getting email a lot from photographers asking “What should I be charging for this event?”, or “A client wants a digital negative, what’s a fair rate?”, and even, “How much is my work worth?” Truth be told, the economics of photography sales are just as much a mystery to me, and I don’t have all the answers. But I know a few things about where to start, and how to research. First and foremost, is to know your market. Are you working … Continue reading
Hardware Review: Sigma 18-250
// < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ google_ad_client = "pub-3565134799530909"; /* 468x60, created 2/25/10 */ google_ad_slot = "7247311792"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60; // ]]> First off, my apologies at the sudden absence on Friday – it was a day off, but not so much as a podcast recording that should have taken 30-45 minutes took 2 hours so my plans for the day were pretty much canned after that. But anyway, on to the subject of today’s post: The Sigma 18-250mm lens review! You read that right – Sigma has a lens that covers the range … Continue reading
A dash of splash
First up – another web gallery of water drops – this time with a neutral black background that I developed in Lightroom. I am tellin’ ya – this product is just too cool! Photo management, editing, tagging, and gallery production all in one – what’s not to love? Also up today, a little shout out to Dave Zarzacki, who owns a like new Canon XSi in mint condition, but just doesn’t need it in his gear bag (he’s trying to round out his collection with an SLR that will take all his current lenses). It’s a great deal which includes … Continue reading
Coulda beena contenduh
Actually, all 53 of the images that were submitted to the Lightroom Giveaway I’ve been taking entries for on the blog were contenders. Truly some great images were submitted to the Flickr Thread for the giveaway I’ve been hosting for the past month. Some really great images. The rules were simple: Take any two pictures you like in May, share them on Flickr thread (& be family/work-safe) and you are eligible to win a copy of Adobe Lightroom – courtesy of the good folks over at Adobe (especially Tom Hogarty who was kind enough to make an appearance on the … Continue reading
Airtight Viewers – Web Gallery Options Reviewed
Initially, this week was supposed to be the second in a series of software review posts to take a more detailed look under the hood at Photoshop Elements as an alternative to Photoshop Creative Suite. Truth be told though, the more I poke under the hood with Adobe’s Lightroom, the more hooked I get. One of the absolute best features (in my opinion) is the web gallery options available to you in Lightroom. The options are endless! You can go from standard HTML, to Flash-based templates, and hybrids, with customizations galore. One of my favorites though, is how Adobe integrated … Continue reading
Sigma Lightstand – Hardware Review
This week’s hardware review is the Sigma Lightstand. Specifically, the Impact 8 foot Air Cushion Lightstand. While you may think that this is something that wouldn’t garner much discussion – I actually have found this to be a very handy tool. “Tool?”, you ask. Yes, a tool. Sure, it’s primary function is to hold lights, but look at the variety even there – I’ve used it for small flashes (like my 550 EX II), studio strobes from Smith Victor, and water bags. Lest you do a double take, that’s right, I used it along with a makeshift boom (arm that … Continue reading
