Monthly Archives: January 2010
5 Tips to Better Landscapes
The most common questions I get here on the blog center around the idea of how to take better pictures. Whether those “better pictures” are better landscapes, or portraits, wildlife or events, everyone wants suggestions on how to approach the practice of taking pictures better. Esoteric and creative considerations aside, there are some fundamental “tricks of the trade” that, by and large, will almost always improve your craft in pretty much any genre. So, today, I thought I would take a moment to share 5 “tricks” I’ve learned that always lead to better landscapes:
Against my better judgement…
For those of you that have been following the blog for a long time (and let me know who you are, because I want to ask why!), you may recall that I used to put out video tutorials on how to do various things inside of Photoshop. After plodding around with that for a while, I came across the gurus of NAPP and realized that several were already doing it, and doing it much better than I ever could. So, rather than re-inventing the wheel, I abandoned the video tutorials in favor of just sharing my “wisdom” in the form … Continue reading
Another Book Review: From Snap Shots to Great Shots (Canon 50D)
One area I’ve not really tackled here on the blog is that of book reviews, primarily because I don’t see a lot of books come through that give me enough time to read them myself. One notable exception to that was a copy of Jeff Revell’s “From Snap Shots to Great Shots” book on the Canon 50D – I had the distinct honor of having received a copy of this book from Jeff a while back. Since I did not own the 50D, it took me some time to actually sit down and read through the book. I wish I … Continue reading
Portrait or Landscape
One of the more common questions when it comes to composing images is whether to shoot with the camera oriented in the landscape or the portrait position (horizontal or vertical). As always, the answer is usually along the lines of “it depends…” There are some instances though when a portrait orientation is more conducive and others where a landscape is equally superior. For instance – if you want to have your images published in magazines, portrait mode might work better primarily because that is how magazines are typically laid out. Calendars, on the other hand, because of the opposing orientation, … Continue reading
Online & Digital Print Sales
So many people have talked about the business of selling your photographs, and the various options and pitfalls in doing so. There are so many discussion points varying from whether to sell online or on consignment, print your own or use an online printer, and much more. The ideas of printing, fulfillment, delivery, and such are all vexing subjects for sure, and it’s a sea of information out there to wade through. Rather than spend time wading through that sea, I thought everyone might be interested in one option – that of the digital download. Various outfits like Mpix, Smugmug, … Continue reading
Photoshop Teaser…
The Denver Area Lightroom Users Group (DALPUG) had their bi-monthly meeting tonight, and it was a lot of fun. Brian Reyman (the leader) gave some great insights on digital asset management and some really cool Lightroom and Photoshop tips and tricks. He reminded me that it’s been a while since I’ve played in Photoshop, or done tutorials here on the blog for that matter. So, in the interests of putting some sort of creative graphic design effect together, I started playing around in Photoshop when I got home with a few different tools, effects, and all that fun stuff. When … Continue reading
Hardware Review: Expodisc
It’s been a while since I’ve done a hardware review, and I realized that when the folks at Expo Imaging had sent me the Rayflash to review, I had also received an Expodisc. I know I recorded the video for it, but for some reason it never got published, as the two were meant to be posted back to back. In any case, here is the long-awaited review of the Epodisc from the folks at Expo Imaging: First – what is the Expodisc? It’s simply a disc that defracts light as it passes through your lens in order to determine … Continue reading
Challenge yourself!
The field of photography is a very challenging venue and finding your “voice” in a crowded field can often make the task seem daunting. If you want to challenge yourself in different ways, try something else. Painting, singing, and yes, playing a musical instrument can not only give you a new vision for your photography, but it can get your creative juices going in ways that you may not realize. While you may never become a Picasso, Luciano Pavarotti, or a Mozart, even picking up something you used to do as a kid (or when you were younger for those … Continue reading
The value of a sunset (or sunrise)…
We all see them every day – the sun rises and the sun sets. Most of the time, it’s nothing too spectacular, perhaps some pretty colors are cast with various hues of orange and blue, or red and purple hazes…it’s all well and good. We may even see some spectacular ones…a crimson or scarlett red, or fire-y orange ones. They may also have an added impact if they are reflected in a lake, the ocean, or dramatized by their surroundings – palm trees, mountains, boats, or whatever happens to be there. The spectacular ones are typically the ones we see … Continue reading
New Formats for the New Year
With the advent of a new year, the podcast is hopefully going to take on a new format – with things being more conversational. Erik Bernskiold comes back to the show and we’re talking about all the latest news in photography, as well as a main talking point of how to publicize and share your images online – looking at the pros and cons of the various options that are out there. Lots of news including announcements from the recent CES show, as well as contest information, and listener questions and answers so it’s a pretty heavily packed show. Almost … Continue reading
What’s the best ___?
What’s the best camera to buy? What’s the best Photoshop plugin for photography? What’s the best CS4 tutorial? What’s the best lens for the Vivitar 110? What’s the best iPod for the dollar? What’s the best car? What’s the best truck? What’s the best soda? What’s the best flavor of ice cream? I think you get the picture…so many questions on “What’s the best____” and almost without fail, the answer begins with an “It depends…” We all want to get the best value for our money, and it pays to do research before you buy. No one likes to over … Continue reading
Keeping Your Resolutions!
As with every new year, there is always talk about setting New Years Resolutions – and setting goals is always easy to do, but what about keeping those resolutions? Sometimes it’s a challenging thing to do, because we either set goals that are vague or not very specific. For example, “lose weight” is a common goal, as is “exercise more”. From a photography perspective, we often will hear (or say) ones like “shoot more”, “get organized”, and other such platitudes. While the ideal is always good, the intangible goals are always the most difficult to reach simply because they are…well, … Continue reading
December Winner!
The trumpets sound! The chorus rings, and the internet shall stop and take notice! Why you ask? We have a winner for the December Giveaway! I am happy to announce that the winner of the December Giveaway Bonanza is none other than: Frank Sammut! Frank’s shot of a childs hand, offering up a gift perfectly symbolized the concept of giving, and his blurred bokeh of the holiday theme in the background was just beautiful! He’s got some great work on his Flickr page too, so stop by and check it out and tell him congrats! Congratulations to Frank for winning … Continue reading
The Fan Favorites!
In my zeal to get the “Top Ten for 2010″ post out yesterday, I realized that the blogs I referenced were a mix of both long-standing favorites and exciting new ones. What I should have probably done is split the list up into two: one for the Top Ten New Blogs for 2010, and one for the Fan Favorites for 2010. You see, being an internet hound, and constantly reading blogs and websites, I read a lot of content (as in probably close to the hundreds level) in web logs daily. RSS feeds, Alltop, and Google Reader are the three … Continue reading
Favorite Photos of 2009
One of the resolutions I had wanted to do was publish a “Best of” series from the Flickr group each month. That did not come to pass, but I did want to take some time to share some of my favorites of the past year with you here. Not much to say in the way of prefacing these, other than to say that I liked them. Whether for the technical quality, the compositional quality, the message, the colors, or the perspective – they stood out for me. Feel free to visit the Flickr group pool and peruse for your own … Continue reading
What Next?
As 2010 gets underway, I am trying to take a proactive approach to the blogging (writing further in advance of blog posts) and podcasting (recording further in advance) outlets. To do so, means that for a couple weeks or so now, I have been getting the blog posts up later in the day, and on a few occasions, no blog post at all. When you don’t see a blog post, it means I am hard at work at my regular job, and then taking time after that to research, write, and contact people for things like the monthly giveaways, podcast … Continue reading →