Okay okay, I didn’t really fly the balloon – but I certainly rode in it, and while the experience of a balloon ride is always something worth doing – this was unique in that I was in the heart of the Rocky Mountains!  As it was in December, we had a decent amount of snow, so the Rockies were flush with powder!  It wasn’t so snowed in that we couldn’t navigate, as you’ll be able to see in a minute, but was merely the perfect amount to make for some amazing scenery!  This was done courtesy of the folks at Camelot Balloons.

The experience started early one Saturday morning when I trekked 45 minutes west of Vail to the launch site.  Some warm sips of coffee and a fascinating observation of what it takes to get one of these things off the ground was in and of itself an education and experience!  But then I got to ride in it too!  The pilot – named Merlin – was quite the experience as well – both before and during the flight he was a fountain of informatino – during which I learned he is the only man to cross the Continental Divide on one balloon flight twice!  Additionally, I learned that hot air balloons are registered aircraft with the FAA – they even get their own tail number!  Afterward, he waxed on with more, saying the Ballooner’s Prayer, and toasting with champagne while we nibbled on cheese, crackers and fruit!  (All very tasty too!)

I’d try to say more, but the photos really speak for themselves, so without further ado:

A couple people I’d also like to single out from this trip that were also just a pleasure to share the experience with.  First off, the gal running the photography side of the operation – Amy Boggs offers her photography skills so if you want to put your own camera away and just enjoy – she has a great selection of shots when all was said and done.  If anyone is interested in contacting her, let me know and I can share an email address.  She was totally cool with me taking my own shots, and even sent me a gratis copy of one she shot of me while I was doing my own thing:

A nice touch of black and white to offset the colorful day (plus you can almost not even tell it’s me – which I always like!   )

The other to thank is the couple I shared my ride with – Buzz and Laurie McDonald from Oregon!  They were in the area for Buzz who was on a business trip and they were just a joy to share the ride with.  Of course, we traded a few shots from while we were in the air, so to thank him appropriately, I guess I need to share the shot he took of me!

In my defense, I was thinking mountains+winter+extra altitude = freezing cold air, so I really didn’t care what I looked like!

It wasn’t the most cost effective use of funds, but sometimes, to check items off your bucket list – you just gotta pony up, and this is one where you’ll be glad you did!  Now, I gotta tackle the next item on my bucket list in 2012 – a kayaking trip in the UP/Boundary waters area.  Not sure I will find the time off work or the resources to get a guide and needed gear, but it’s on my bucket list for 2012!  Sometimes, it takes the onus of actually sharing such goals with others to make you really take the resolution seriously!  So, consider this a chance to share your own goals, bucket list items, or things you are shooting for in 2012 – sound off in the comments as I’d love to hear others goals for the year!

When I go to a blog – I am going there for information and/or an education.  I am not going there to be “sold”.  I get enough email, snail mail, phone calls, and such promoting various products, outfits, and services that the last thing I want to do is go and seek it out. So, if blogs become promotional arms to other ends, there is nothing inherently wrong with that – but it’s not what I want to read in either my inbox or my free time.  Having given that side note, it’s time to reveal (in no particular order), my choices for The Top Ten Blogs for 2012:

1.  Flying With Fish – This blog came to my attention a few years ago when some travel tips for photographers was highlighted.  Since then, I’ve continued to follow it as I’ve been interested in travel generically.  The notes, news, and other pearls that are shared here really add value, understanding, and insight to an aspect of my business travel that would otherwise be severely lacking without this resource!

2.  Digital Photography School – What started as a blog has morphed into an amazing website and community of talented photographers and writers.  The inspiration comes from Darren Rowse, author of the also popular Problogger.com where I’ve picked up some tips and tricks that have been implemented here as well.  It’s an amazing repository of information and a fantastic community.  If you had to pick one resource on the web to go to with questions and get answers, this would be it.

3.  DIY Photography – Having done a few DIY things in my own day, including a gridded snoot, a 10-stop filter, and most famously a star tracker (which was even featured on their site!), DIY resource sites are like flames for this moth.  If you have a hankering for DIY stuff, and love to learn about anything and everything, then this is the perfect site to segue with your photography interests!  Absolutely love it!

4.  Photopreneur – Anyone who’s ever picked up a camera has wondered – “Can I sell my images?”  It doesn’t matter if you’ve sold images or not, the thought of whether you have what it takes is always something you wonder.  For those who are ever interested in blending a career with photography, this is one site to keep in your favorites.

5.  The Lightroom Queen – Victoria Bampton came to my attention after Adobe released Lightroom 2, and I realized that Lightroom was the future of photography post production.  Victoria saw this much sooner and became an expert pretty much before anyone else did, and has kept herself at the forefront of the developments in the product line.  I keep wondering when I can get her on the podcast, and perhaps this will nudge things along a little more!

6.  1001 Noisy Cameras – If you want to know the latest developments and releases in the industry, this has become pretty much the go-to resource for pretty much everyone in the industry.  Whether you have a penchant for Canon (me), Nikons, or any other vendor, and irrespective of DSLR, P&S, or these new 3rd gen cameras, 1001 Noisy cameras has the latest and greatest on all the camera news one could ever hope to soak in.  An endless resource for the gear hound in all of us!  (In the interests of full disclosure, they’ve also been generous when I’ve done gear reviews in giving some link love to me, so thanks to them for that! )

7.  Strobist – Now the only resource around for those interested in the details of off-camera lighting, it almost goes without saying that Strobist by David Hobby should be in your bookmark list.  Some days are more interesting than others, but there is always something worth learning (or re-learning if you want a refresh on anything).  Make sure you check out the Lighting 101 series – a beginner’s guide to off-camera lighting.  I can’t believe I had the opportunity to work with this guy a while back and had to decline because of a work conflict – was so bummed about that!

8.  Light Stalking – An impressive repository of writers and articles that covers everything from technique, to gear maintenance, and everything in between.  Some of the articles are a bit shorter than I would like to see, but there’s almost always good content, and it’s in my emailed list of sites that I permit into my mailbox.  Not only do I learn things from here myself, but it’s also a source of inspiration for article ideas and expanded content!

9.  F-Stoppers – What a talented set of photographers, videographers, writers, and project artists!  These guys will totally blow you away with the projects they put out over at F-Stoppers.  I am inspired and impressed with their footage, results, and behind-the-scenes perspectives that they all share every time they press the “Post” button!  If you haven’t stopped over to them yet, do so and add them to your inbox now!

10.  A Photo Editor – Coming from the perspective of a magazine editor, this is the place to go for photographer profiles, industry news, and great insights on the industry as a whole.  With so many resources out there, this has become a pretty authoritative outlet, and information resource so make sure you add it to your own list of sites to visit regularly.  I do and am sure you will come to rely on Rob’s content too!

*****

So, there you have it – 10 blogs and websites to make sure you take some time to visit for 2012.  Now, as I alluded to at the beginning of this post, some noticeable blogs are absent that used to be perennially listed.  Specifically, Scott Kelby’s “Photoshop Insider” and Joe McNally’s blog.  This is not to say that these are not worth visiting.  It’s just that the content there I am finding less interesting and useful.

The former is not what it used to be – a good resource for Photoshop and photography tips.  Instead, it has become a pulpit for delivering promotional content to the Kelby landscape of products and services.  I am not criticizing this at all – after all, the services and products that come from Kelby Training and NAPP have served me well for years, but Scott Kelby’s blog is no longer something I learn from – it’s where I go to get news about NAPP.

As for McNally’s blog – that too has become more of a promotional venue.  I enjoy his writings and images that he shares, but don’t really feel that I am learning much from that outlet.  My visits there are now completely for entertainment.  I do watch the Kelby Training schedule to see if and when he will be hitting Denver so that I might be able to attend a workshop, but the blog is just not a good learning resource.

I hope everyone’s Christmas season was merry, and that you maintain the sense of cheer and family as we head into New Year’s weekend!

I say that because before you know it – the season will be over.  For some of us, that can’t happen soon enough! The Holiday season always seems to bring out a frenetic mentality.  People resort to pepper spray to buy items they want to give as gifts.  We whirl through traffic, trying to get to the grocery store for that one last item needed to complete a meal, or that specialty store forone last stocking stuffer.  Screaming for parking spaces, scrambling for gifts, and rushing about in almost a panic – it can certainly be stressful, can’t it?

A mantra I hear quite a bit lately is “Just tell me when the holidays are over!”.  It’s kind of sad too…the holiday season, more than anything else, should be a time of joy and merriment.  After all, you are spending time with the ones who you supposedly care about the most:  family, friends, and loved ones.  Sooner than you know, the  season will be over and it will be back to the daily grind, your work routines, and ever so shortly after that, the mentality will change to “When can I get a vacation form the daily grind?”

You have that vacation from the grind – right now!  Enjoy it while you can, because before you know it – it will be over.

One of the latest lenses that they folks at Sigma have been gracious enough to let me borrow for an extended period of time is their 30mm f1.4 lens.  You read that right – f1.4!  Much like the “nifty fifty” because after the crop sensor is factored in, it’s really close the an equivalent of a 50mm on a full frame sensor (30*1.6 = 48)!

I’ll take the usual tack and look at Focal Length, F-Stop Range, Noise, Size/Weight, Build, and Cost, and Image Quality separately. So, let’s get started!

Focal Length

At 30mm fixed, this is another lens where zooming is not an option so you have to zoom with your feet!  This means walking around to get either closer to or far enough away from your subject to get the composition you need.  This could be construed as a disadvantage for those that prefer to dial their lens rather than shuffle their feet, but since I need all the exercise I can get, I am going to call this a positive!  Another positive is due to its relative focal length (48mm) after crop sensor size is factored in.    The rationale here is that it’s a pretty close approximation to what the human eye sees naturally.  So, it’s very much a WYSIWYG approach to composition (what you see is what you get)!

One of the advantages of this is that because it’s a fixed focal length, optical quality is pretty tack sharp all the way through, and even through various f-stop levels.  Overall, the focal length is definitely a positive – even for those used to zooming or adjustable focal length lenses.  It’s quite a treat to get into shooting with a lens like this!

F-Stop Range

The bane of a photographer’s existence is having a scene present itself to you where the light is fading, and you have no tripod or way to stabilize your gear.  The counter to this has been to invest in what’s becoming commonly known as “fast glass”.  The idea is that you can capture a scene at a wider f-stop ratio to let in more light in a shorter amount of time.  The downside to shooting wide open like this is that your depth of field will suffer unless you are focused to infinity. This does limit creative possibilities if you are hand-holding, but the advantage is that you can shoot in lower light.

At f1.4, this lens is designed to let in an amazing amount of light when shot wide open.  I was able to take some decently sharp pictures in near darkness with nothing but sidewalk lights and an indoor light around my house.  Another shot I was able to get included an underpass that was in near darkness and I could make out details in the underpass (see sample shots further on…)  This feature alone (in my opinion) makes a lens worth considering if the budget is there.

Noise

As is the case with most modern lenses, the noise that comes from running the auto focus is becoming much more tolerable.  Older lenses have had noisier motors (like my Sigma 70mm Macro – very loud when focusing).  Because this is a newer lens, and also due to its prime lens design, the lens is very quiet when it does focus in (the focusing ring never has far to go…)  Another pro for the 30mm!

Size/Weight

The Sigma 30mm has the size of a kit lens. It’s very compact which makes for easy inclusion in a camera bag.  When you have multiple lenses and need to decide whether a lens goes with you or stays home, this is one to take with you simply because it takes up such a small amount of space.  As for the weight of the camera, it’s surprisingly well-balanced on the Canon 40D, providing for a nice fit and comfortable shooting environment.

Build

The signature brushed dark metal of the Sigma line is present here and I’ve always been a fan of how these lenses are built and how they feel in your hands.  Exuding professionalism, and a solid graphite brushed metal coating make this a definite pro.

Cost

At B&H, the build cost is the same for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, and all other mounts at $489.  You may be able to save a couple bucks here and there by shopping for sales and discounted or used equipment sites, but based off the retail price, the ballpark is around $500 for this lens.  While $500 is a substantial dent to most wallets, I would have to say that this is worth the money.  I’ve had this lens on loan from Sigma for the last 2 months, and it’s not left my camera through several photo walks, two assignments, and of course all of the testing.

Image Quality

Now for the fun part: the image testing!  Now in the interests of full disclosure, I cannot share some of the images here on the blog because of client releases and such (although I will say that I was comfortable with photo delivery to clients using this lens, so that should be an indication of image quality).  Here’s some shots from when I was shooting in other various conditions:

So, there you have it – various examples of the lens shooting under normal, close up, and low light conditions.  In most I’ve just done simple post production work for sharpening, so there are straight out of camera (sooc).  In the low light shots, I did include some noise reduction to handle the grain, and you can see it cleaned up fairly nicely.  Overall, a great lens – thanks to the folks at Sigma for the extended use for testing.  I’ll be sad to see it go!

Dream Lake by Tom Crossman

Thanks to everybody for some really fantastic images – it was extremely tough this time as there were a lot of just amazing shots!  Thanks also to the sponsor for the contest in November, the good folks over at Image Wizards!  The lucky winner will be able to get a print of their choice assembled by the folks at Image Wizards – up to a 16×20″ print!  (Tom, if you could kick me an email with your contact info, I’ll get things coordinated with Image Wizards!  Congrats again!

With November closed and in the books,  the new contest is now underway, and we have a new contest thread  open for entries too for December – the last one of 2011!  The prize list is a literal cornucopia of goodies!  Check it out:

 And of course, a holiday bonanza giveaway wouldn’t be the same without the particulars for entry, so here goes:

*Important*  I will cover up to $20 in shipping costs.  If the winner is international, there may be a small additional cost of shipping required to get the books to you.  If the winner is unable or unwilling to cover the additional costs of shipping, an alternate may be selected at the discretion of the judging panel (me).

So, get out your cameras and get on shootin – as we have just a smidge under a month to get the last winner in for 2011!  Thanks for stopping in and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

I should be getting a print soon, and you know a review will be forthcoming once in hand, but for now, it’s exciting and news enough to announce the giveaway!  Thanks to the folks over at Image Wizards for sponsoring the November contest!  Here’s the particulars:

1.  One image per person, with the longest side between 600-800px.

2.  Share your photo in the Flickr thread here.

3.  The theme is Shiny!

4.  All images must be work-safe/family-friendly.

5.  Taken within the last 90 days (preferably during the contest window).

6.  Image submissions must be done by December 2nd.

7.  Have fun!

Notice that the deadline actually extends past the end of November.  This is partly due to the fact that we are starting a tad late, but also because November ends in the middle of the week, so it just makes sense to finish things up on that Friday.  The winner will be announced the following Monday, and the December giveaway will also be announced then.  Good luck to everyone!

Special thanks and shout outs go to the folks at Image Wizards!  (I can’t wait to get the print to review!)  If you have some time, do check out their products and services over on their website – the results seem to certainly speak for themselves!

inspiredbytime (Josh and Jamie Noah)

Something about the idea of stacking up soda caps, the angle of view here, and the inclusion of one color tab randomly just kind of spoke to me this month.  A clever take on the theme, and nicely blurred background also gave this some points in the judging.  While many photos were well done, this is the one that stood out for me. (Believe me, it was very tough to choose!).  So, congratulations to Josh and Jamie Noah (I am guessing it’s a joint Flickr account)!  Please contact me via email to get the details and logistics done to claim your Lensbaby from our sponsor over at Stack Exchange!

Coming up this month – another awesome sponsor has stepped up to the plate.  We are finalizing the details, but the folks at Image Wizards will be sponsoring the November giveaway with an awesome print on some of their stock, which I understand produces amazing prints.  The contest details and particulars will likely be announced tomorrow, so do stop back for the specifics.

One last shout out to the October sponsors at Stack Exchange, as their contribution of a Lensbaby Composer for the monthly contest series was super generous – if you have some time to check them out, it’s really a great photography resource!

1.  Let the Camera Do It! – Many cameras today have a technology called “Dust Delete Data” where you can identify portions of your sensor that have evidence of sensor dust.  Once the camera has these points identified, it will digitally remove said exhibitions of dust and you can go on your merry way.  I’ve never used this method though, with the understanding from others who have that it is not 100% foolproof.  Additionally, in my mind – the dust is still there, so if the camera can’t do it automatically, I want to!

2.  Edit manually – Many purists may think it’s a time honored tradition to pour over your image, pixel by pixel and eliminate dust spots using the clone stamp tool in Photoshop, dodging and burning in the darkroom or correcting for its.  While this is certainly a viable method, and is likely the best way to ensure all dust spots are cleaned.  The problem is that over time, this can become very tedious.  Quite frankly, with all the software tools and services available, the usefulness of this approach even for the thrifty-minded has really become more time and labor-intensive than most people can tolerate, so not sure this is as viable an option as it used to be…nevertheless, it is an option, so I would be remiss in not mentioning it!

3.  Use a Rocket Blower  -  Often times, dust is just a light piece of foreign material that snuck its way onto your sensor when you were swapping gear out in the field (We all do it…).  The good news is that stuff like this is easy to clean out using a Rocket Blower (like this one from Giottos) to blow any errant dust off the sensor and let gravity do the rest.  The reason this is good news is that you don’t have to touch the sensor (yikes!), and 9 times out of ten, you are all set to go shooting again at a minimal cost (these can be found pretty cheaply on B&H, Adorama, or your own favorite retailer).  The bad news is that if this doesn’t work, now you gotta spend some money!

4.  Clean it yourself – There are many solutions available on the marketplace ranging from a full Rocket Blower and lens cleaning kit (like the one featured above), or the popular Lens Pens,  to dedicated full cleaning kits like this one from Delkin and alcohol swabs where you can gingerly switch your camera from auto cleaning mode to manual mode and reveal the sensor for you to dabble as best you can.  While the long term benefits of this solution are quite good (a good cleaning kit will cost you about $50 – the price of one professional cleaning and can last for dozens if not scores of cleanings), you run the risk of damaging your camera if you aren’t both a) very careful and b)steady with your hands!

5.  Pay a pro – The course of action to take if you are beyond the Rocket Blower, and just don’t want to muck around where your Thunder Thumbs don’t belong in the first place!  Most cities have services where you can drop off your camera and pick it up the same day for anywhere from $50 to $100.  Most vendors also offer a cleaning service from them.  The problem there is you have to ship it to the service center, pay for the privilege, and then be without your gear for a certain period of time!  Now if you are a member of the Canon Professional Service, these cleanings are done for free (but the price of entry isn’t cheap in terms of gear ownership!).  I’m pretty sure Nikon and Pentax have similar offerings for professionals who use their gear.

Thankfully, a few shops here in Denver offer this service, and when my gear gets sticky enough, it’s time to take it in!   I think it’s time, given the amount of dust in the first image:

Versus the amount of time it took to clean this in post production (about ten minutes…this was just the upper left corner)

So, this naturally begets two more questions, right?  How often should you get your gear cleaned?  and How to Avoid Sensor Dust in the First Place!  Well, you’re in luck, because guess what’s coming up tomorrow! (You had to see this was coming, right?   Happy shooting (and cleaning), and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

*****

Don’t forget, the monthly photo contest is on – win a free Lensbaby Composer!  Get your shots in for a chance to win a super cool lens worth $300 retail! (Still trying to get the folks at Lensbaby to let me review the new one…)

A great example of this happened on Sunday.  For those of you who are not sports fans, or don’t follow football, the Denver Broncos have two quarterbacks:  Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow.  The former has languished as the starter for the first four games of the season, to a rather disappointing record of 1-3.  Halfway through the game yesterday, he was finally pulled in favor of Tim Tebow.  He then rallied the team through an impressive comeback, and I saw more passion from him in this one game, than Orton in the previous 4.  The team came alive, as did the fans.  It really was…well, inspiring!

Look at all the players…and the fans…in the shot above.  Everyone seems energetic, passionate, and inspired!  Passion begets passion, and encourages people to believe not only in you, but in themselves.

Tying this back to photography, the same can be said for you and your images.  If you are not passionate about your work – how can you expect others to be passionate?  Make sure you keep this principle in mind when you make and share images with the world.  Be passionate!

*****

A few reminders:

1.  Today is the last day to upload your images for the Worldwide Photo Walk!  If you’ve not submitted for your own walk yet, be sure you get them in before midnight tonight!  The decision is going to be a tough one for me as a lot of great images are there for consideration already!

2.  The October contest is underway on Flickr – enter for your chance to win a free Lensbaby Composer, courtesy of the folks over at Stack Exchange.  Details on last week’s post.

The folks over at Stack Exchange have become the latest sponsor for the monthly contest series, and I gotta say, they are quite a clever operation.  The site is based on the same idea that the blog is based on – which is sharing knowledge and experience with the greater community at large.  No forums to join, no registrations to mess with, just good information in a Wiki-style interface.  The layout is pretty slick where you can post (and answer) photo-related questions.

There’s lots of topics covered and it’s definitely a useful resource to answer everything from generic to specific questions like “Depth of Field and Focal Length” to “How to take sharp night photos“.  Definitely one to add to your photo bookmarks folder.

Anyway, they were super generous, tossing a Lensbaby Composer into the ring for some lucky photographer!  So, special thanks and shout outs to Stack Exchange in advance for their sponsorship.  With the theme of their site, and the gear tied to the giveaway, I figured this was worthy of something special, so, here’s the gist:

Lots of ways to interpret this…it could be a stack of pancakes, a stack of coins, a stack of Pringles, a haystack, or any other way you can imagine!  Remember, the prize is a Lensbaby Composer, worth $300 retail, so if there ever was a time to ramp things up a notch, this would be it!  I’ll put something together on the Lensbaby Composer later this week so you know how cool this lens actually is!

That’s it for today – more cool stuff coming up later this week including the September winner (lucky photog will win a year of NAPP membership!), and other fun stuff.  The trick is to keep on shooting!

Self-study may even get you to a point where you can cut through the water relatively easily, but imagine how much easier it would be if when you first started learning to swim, you had a coach.  Someone there to stand at the pool, shouting out encouragement and instructions:  “Reach out with your hands!  Kick your legs!  Good job!  Keep going!”

Coaching always makes learning anything easier, whether it’s swimming, science or photography!  One of the things I’ve noticed as progressing on my own learning curve is that much of what I gathered would have likely been learned moer quickly if someone had been there to say “Hey, the Rule of Thirds works nicely with landscapes…put the sun in one of those cross-sections!”  or other axioms common to learning the nuts and bolts.

This raised a question in my mind, and is actually one of the fundamental reasons why I started this blog – to share experiences as I learned them to help others hopefully reach those levels of understanding sooner.  When someone asked me once how long I had been mentoring other photographers is when it dawned on me that I actually had become something of what I had needed!  Talk about a sense of fulfillment!

These thoughts and experiences were recently shared with my good friend Kerry Garrison of Camera Dojo, and as we talked about the whole concept of mentoring, decided this would be a great podcast topic!  So, enjoy the latest episode of the LDP Podcast (#63):  Choosing a Mentor:

Show notes:  What to Look for in a Mentor

We go into all of this in much greater detail in the show, as to why each trait is important, and we even throw in a few bonus considerations for you too, so be sure to catch the show!  Thanks again to Kerry for participating – it was a great discussion and sure to be one that will draw a lot of attention!  Be sure to stop over to Kerry’s blog to find out the latest activities there too at Camera Dojo.

Food for thought:  As you listen to the show, consider the following talking points…have you ever had a mentor?  Been a mentor?  Wanted a mentor?  Had one that worked or did not?  Think about what did and didn’t work, and why.  What would you want to see in a potential mentor?  As is always the case, we share our own ideas, but would love to hear from others on what their own experiences are, so please let us know in the comments and/or via email, social media, etc.

Happy shooting!

*****

A couple short reminders for this week:

1.  We are in the last week of the Monthly Contest Series for September.  This month you can win a year of membership to NAPP (existing members can extend for an additional 12 months!)!  It’s free, just share your best image in the Flickr thread here.

2.  The Worldwide Photo Walk is coming up this weekend, so if you’ve not registered in your nearest city yet, be sure to check out where the closest place is.  It’s a lot of fun, and is totally free too, so get out and shoot with fellow photogs, socialize, and network!  Oh yeah, and a ton of books are being given away – something from the Kelby arsenal of education will go to one lucky photographer in each city!  (If you live in the Denver Colorado area, there’s still room in the Louisville walk too where you can walk around with yours truly!)

You may also notice that I dropped a hidden time bomb above – we’ve gotten an extension through Friday!  That means, if you haven’t had a chance yet, there’s still time!  It also means that if for any reason you forgot to register, there’s still a window of opportunity for you to do that until tomorrow midnight!  Only 48 hours (roughly) left, so don’t forget to participate for your chance to win!  Thanks to Drobo for both allowing the extension and for adding a second Drobo to the giveaway.  As a refresher, here’s the contest particulars again:

1. Follow me (@CBJason) and @Drobo (no need to unfollow and re-follow if you already are…)

2. Re-tweet the following text message over on Twitter:

RT I’ve registered to win a #Drobo with @CBJason at http://bit.ly/qdqg6Z

3. Share your best story about why you need a Drobo on the blog here (my blog) and on the Drobo Facebook page! (Note the embedded links… )

4.  Don’t forget to register with Drobo in case your name is picked – if you’re not registered, you can’t win!

5.  All entries must be submitted no later than midnight MDT on Friday!

Keep posting the stories – these are great to read.  As a reminder here though too – I am not picking the winner personally, it’s done by a random drawing from all the registrations.  After drawing two names, these will be cross-checked against the Twitter messages and such, so keep ‘em coming!  Some of the stories I’ve read are quite fascinating, ranging from small business owners running retouching businesses, to poetic story lines, and even PhD students working on some pretty fascinating topics that require massive storage needs.

Since we weren’t shooting in any sort of “official” capacity, i figured it’d be a good time to kick the tires on this new lens (sorry, can’t reveal it just yet).  Suffice to say, I was not thrilled with the shots.  As luck would have it, I had swapped out between my 70-200 Canon and this lens right before the race, and inadvertently left my 1.4 TC on.  The end result was that the shots were just “off”.  The entire ten second scene was exciting to watch, and a few great shots presented themselves to me, but because of the gear selection and conditions – I got nuthin’!

However, always with education in my mind, this was a great story for two reasons.  First and foremost – it’s a reminder that if you are shooting an important event, always shoot with tried and true gear you know, and have had positive results with before.  Second, it’s always a good idea when testing new gear to try it in various configurations to make sure you know what you are getting before your return period expires.  Imagine if you purchased a lens, had enjoyed it, then past the return window, you decided to then test it with accessory items like a TC, only to get less performance than you expected. Oh well, chalk it up to an expensive mistake (glass is never cheap, and even good glass can not work for your particular style of shooting!).

As sort of a bonus tip, I also learned that when shooting sports, always keep your aperture above the minimum for a couple reasons.  First, a deeper depth of field will give a better sense of place, and second, if your focus is even slightly off and you happen to be shooting at a higher number, the chances of getting at least part of the scene in focus is better than if you shoot like I did – at 1.4!  While I normally don’t share bad shots – in this case, it’s helping to serve as an example of what not to do:

As you can see, nothing is really in focus, and my suspicion is that it was due to the presence of the TC as further studio testing produced results consistent with what I would normally expect without the TC.  And with the TC, the oof results also continued in studio – with a lot of difficulty in even achieving focus on objects unless the contrast was especially evident.  Even then, it jiggled a lot betwenn two focusing points, so the lesson I got in all of this is that when using a __________ (thought I was gonna say it, didn’t ya?_, don’t use the TC!

Hope everyone else had a great weekend too.  What did you shoot and what were your lessons learned?  Sound off in the comments with your own thoughts, ideas, tips, and tricks!  Until tomorrow – happy shooting!

Today, no such luck.  I had neither the resources to create anything (camera gear is all packed up – you’ll see why shortly), nor the time to really review or research industry happenings.  Instead, just a quick video of what I ended up doing all weekend!  (Trust me, it was not just frogging around and being lazy!)

And for the record – I [b]hate[/b] carpet tack strips!

What did you do this weekend?  Share your own weekend frivolities, photo escapades, or other nuggets in the comments!

Happy shooting, and I promise to be back again with some real content and not this frivolous stuff (although these are usually the ones people seem to enjoy the most – go figure!)

JawDoc

His image of the Tilt-a-Whirl (or whatever you call it) really stood out for me in terms of the sense of motion and speed, so congrats to you sir.  If you could be so kind as to drop me an email, I will forward your name and info over to the folks at Camera Bits who are ready for delivery of your installation code for Photo Mechanic!  One final nod of thanks to them as well, for their generous contribution for the June Giveaway!

And now, for the July Giveaway, our next prize is yet another doozy!  The good folks over at Thinktank Photo have generously sent some of their latest product line to me for review, and now up for grabs is none other than their already well-received Streetwalker Pro bag.  This holds an astounding amount of gear for its size, allows for a tripod, and much more.  I’ve not had a chance to kick its tires yet (so to speak), but you know a review is going to come up soon for this month, so keep an eye and ear open!

It retails for $159 US, and this one is a beauty!

Again, because the prize will be shipped from my location rather than Thinktank, the shipping requirementsare built into this months guidelines:

1.  All images must be between 600-800 px on the longest dimension.

2.  Each person can submit up to two images

3.  The theme is STREET, fitting for a Streetwalker Pro

4.  Contest Deadline is:  July 31st at midnight Mountain Time (GMT -7).  Add or subtract for your own time zone as needed.

5.  US Residents only…sorry international folks.

6. The photo must be included in this Flickr thread.

7. The Flickr photo must be downloadable – we share the winning photo via announcement here on the blog and in newsletters – so I need to get it to do that!

8. Have fun! Remember photography is supposed to be fun so keep that in mind as you approach the May giveaway.

9. Reminder Guidelines and Rules of Engagement links are here for easy reference.

Special thanks to not only Camera Bits and Think Tank photo, but to all the sponsors – and for readers out there, if you would like to see a product reviewed and/or offered up for a giveaway, feel free to drop suggestions in the comments – that’s where vendors look!

The link to enter the contest is here – good luck to all!

For those of you who might not know who Dave is – he’s one of the original “Photoshop Guys”, and has been teaching Photoshop classes since version 2!  He is currently the Senior Developer, Education and Curriculum for NAPP, a Certified Photoshop Instructor through Cs4, and  Certified Technical Trainer.  With several books under his belt, and a 2009 inductee to the Photoshop Hall of Fame, he is certainly no stranger to the world of Photoshop!

Here’s the nuts and bolts of our discussion, but to get the full schmear, grab the podcast either from here or in iTunes!

Talking Points:  Shooting with Photoshop in Mind

• What’s the point of Photoshop:  Fixing photos or creating visions?
• Compositing Photos in Photoshop
• Story boarding, green screens, extracting – options galore
• How do you get there from here?
• Fine Art versus Business
• Learning Workshops versus Seminars
• Watching versus Doing
• HDR:  Art form or a Solution?
• Links
  • Dave Cross Workshops
  • Dave Cross Blog
  • Dave Cross on Twitter
  • Dave Cross on Facebook

It was so fun talking to Dave about such a wide variety of subjects and we really hit on quite a bit for only 40 minutes of talk time!  Do check out his web resources there as I think the smaller sized workshop setting he has set up in Tampa will become the trend-setter of things to come.

*****

As a final reminder for the podcast and website a couple things wrap up this week:  The month long Flickr contest series, so do get your photos in for a chance to win Photo Mechanic!  Also ending this weekend is the promotional deal on the Deeper Vision eBook from David DuChemin – 20% off through July 2nd w/ promo code DEEP4.  Have a happy 4th of July, and we’ll see you next month!

So, after years and years of advice and instruction on maintaining hard drive redundancy, and the benefits of upgrading from time to time, I finally am following my own advice and upgrading my venerable Macbook Pro.  After a screamingly good deal came out for laptop disk drives locally, I went out and snagged a 750GB 7200 RPM hard drive from MicroCenter and brought it home.  I also picked up a copy of Mac OS X.6 since my previous upgrade came through a friends DVD who was no longer living in the area.  All told, I am in for a little over $100 – not too shabby!  However, as they say, the Devil’s in the Details!

I’ve changed out lots of hard drives in my time…after all, it’s no secret that I am a working IT professional – that’s my day job.  I’ve been doing that for about 10 years now, so hardware upgrades are pretty routine for me by this point – and I’ve got lots of tools to do it with too…everything from magnets, to phillips heads, to flat heads, to Torx bits for unique screws, and even a pair of nylon pliers.  But all of this based on a Windows background.  I’d never done much with Macs.  The mentality I’ve always had though is that hardware is hardware, right?  I did check out a few tutorial videos on YouTube and all the tools sounded like ones I own, so I jumped right in and off I went – until I got inside the Mac and was presented with two teeny tiny screws that required a Torx bit T6.  I went to my trusty toolbelt and saw my Torx bits went from T30 all the way down to T4 – awesome!  Until I noticed that one slot was missing – and sure enough, it was the dreaded T6!

A trip to Wal-Mart yielded no dice (it was getting late), so this morning off to Lowe’s I went.  I did find the T6 bit – but it was in a package of other bits and a nut driver – for $20:

Suffice to say, I was a bit (if you’ll pardon the expression), a bit torqued to be missing what was likely a 50 cent bit and having to spend nearly $20 to reassemble the Mac.  However, the eternal optimist, I put the positive spin on it – this is a nice kit I bought and the rest will probably go to Good Will since they are showing their age a bit.  Finally, of course, the educational moment for me:  I finally got my Torx in Order!

So, with the Mac now flying on a 7200rpm drive with plenty of storage, my weekend will likely be spent performing a fresh install of all my favorite apps.  Which ones do you think will go on there first?  I’ll give you a hint – the company name starts with A and ends with dobe!  The takeaway from all this – make sure you have your Torx in order – it is definitely a good motto to add to your motto book!  Have a great weekend everyone – just because I wont be shooting doesn’t mean you can’t so be safe, be smart, and…(wait for it)…

Happy Shooting!

When it was done, the house sure did smell good from the caramelized sugar, bananas toasting, and who doesn’t like bread?  (I know, I know – lots of carbs aren’t good for you…)  But, every once in a while it’s fun to indulge.  As luck would have it, this particular loaf of bread had some nice colors and tones to it, so naturally, I started thinking about my other hobby – photography!

With bread there’s so much you can do from capturing details, to using a shallow depth of field, to creative lighting and shadows, everything becomes a cornucopia of possibilities.  Here’s a few of my selects from just ten minutes of prep, 60 minutes of cook, and ten minutes of shoot time!

Want a slice?  What tasks have you taken and turned them into photo opportunities?  The lesson learned here today (hopefully anyway) is to take something you have to do and make it something you want to do!  In this case, it was a win-win scenario for me, but what about you?  Sound off with your own fun-filled (or food-filling) photo projects!

1.  Check the weather – It’s always important to dress the part, and the last thing you want is to be under-dressed (cold) or over-dressed (too hot).  It’s a good idea to check the forecast and to dress in layers.  Allow yourself a layer of removal or addition if needed.  I have several apps built into my Android phone, as that makes it quick and easy to check both the night before and the day of…here’s the four I’ve heard the most about (I use #1)

1. Accuweather
2. Weather Channel
3. Weatherbug
4. iMap

2.  Check the map – With the abundance of online mapping utilities like Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, and Mapquest, it’s easier than ever to see where you will need to be and plan your travel time to the starting point accordingly.  I always allow about 15 extra minutes in case of traffic, Starbucks stops, or other time killers… (if you’re the organizer, publish or share your route with the group so people know where to meet and where the anticipated walk will take everyone…)

3.  Check your gear – I’m guilty of forgetting things myself on outings, but it helps if you have a checklist to reference the night before when packing (batteries, memory cards, business cards, cell phone, camera, lenses, etc.)

4.  Pick a theme – Whether you are the organizer or an attendee, it helps to at least have a starting point or an idea of what the goal is of the walk.  For instance, on a trip to the Columbia zoo a few years back, one attendee picked a theme of “faces” and came back with some incredible portraiture of the animals in their various habitats.  Often photo walk leaders or organizers may start with something general like “architecture” in an urban location, but it can help to narrow that for your own creative vision to get more detailed.  Narrowing the theme of architecture to something like vertical lines, arches, or even something as simple as windows can help spark that creativity needed to make photo walks productive.  Don’t forget to check with other photogs on their creative path and help and encourage them too (which could be a tip in and of itself!)

5.  Be ready to adapt – Circumstances change, weather can change, and even the scenery can change.  I was on an outing just last week to capture the moon at its perigree and the skyline was pretty blatantly thrown off by the recent addition of a crane to the area. If you aren’t able to adapt to changing environments, outings can be less than satisfying, so be open to change at a moments notice!

That’s just five of many tips and ideas on how to make photo walks successful, enjoyable, and productive.  As always though, there’s plenty more where that came from!  What about you?  Have you been on any recent photo walks?  What’s worked or works for you when you go on outings with fellow photographers? Sound off in the comments with your own ideas!

Here’s a couple tips to scheduling a good moon shoot:

1.  Check the weather in your area – It goes without saying that you don’t want a lot of cloud cover, but at the same time, clear skies mean no heat is staying in the atmosphere.  Since it’s still relatively early in the year, standing around at midnight could be a tad chilly.  Plan ahead, dress warmly, and you’ll be able to stay out longer to get the shots you really want without being cold or uncomfortable.

#2.  Location, location, location – In photography, as in real estate, location can mean everything, and a lunar shoot is no exception, even though it’s in the sky.  Depending on the type of view you are looking for, you may want to find some place that gives you a completely unobstructed view of the horizon.  Alternately, you may want to include something “human sized” to give a sense of comparison.

#3.  Pick your gear – In astro-photography, you will most likely be shooting at the longest end of your reach, so don’t bother taking the whole kit-n-kaboodle.  Maybe take a variable zoom to stuff in a cargo pocket in case you want a “behind the scenes” kind of shot if going with others, but no more than two lenses are needed.  Don’t forget your tripod and extra batteries, as well as a flashlight.  Other essentials I have on my checklist include my wallet and cell phone.

What stakeouts have you planned in your area?  Taking any friends?  What about your own suggestions and tips for lunar photography?  Sound off in the comments!

Step two was to set up the lighting, the tripod, and the “wood art” in a scene where i could adjust the aperture and keep everything else constant.  With my own little studio set here in the house, that was accomplished easily enough.  I set the focal point on the nearest nail, and dialed in the exposure I wanted.  Then, I switched to manual focus so as to not bump or have the camera try to shift it for me and dialed through the various f-stops.

Step three – simple post production:  camera calibration, white balance, and lens correction.  I also applied a 75 value to the sharpening slider from the detail panel, but did so universally.  So, with everything but aperture constant, here’s the results:

So, at this point you should have enlarged the photos above, and scrolled through the entire gallery so you can see exactly what is sharp at f2.8 all the way through f16.  By the time you get to the end, so much has changed and often gradually, it’s hard to see the difference.  But if you look at the f2.8 and f16 shots side-by-side – they are worlds apart compositionally speaking.  Now I grant you, nails hammered into a 2×4 piece of lumber 2″ apart is not the most artistic piece ever shot, but it hopefully illustrates what can happen to a photo simply by changing the aperture and keeping everything else constant!

WHere do you think creatively adjusting your depth of field would work?  Try to think outside the box here too.  A few ideas for starters:

• A flower from close up…
• A portrait shot, with background blurred
• Macro photography – bugs and insects, computer chips and parts

There’s a whole world out there with plenty of opportunities to create gorgeous photos with only your creativity to limit you.  Where do you want to go today?

In the meantime, here’s the nitty gritty details for the contest:

• The Number:  1 image per person
• The Size:  Longest side must be between 600-800 pixels.
• The window:  30 day window for capture date (nothing earlier than February of 2011
• The theme is:  Flat
• The deadline:  March 31st at midnight (my time)
• The rest:  You can read more about it at the Contest Guidelines page and the Rules of Engagement

Good luck everyone, and here’s the link:  March Contest Giveaway

For the record, the Tether Table will be very slightly used, as you know a hardware review is likely forthcoming quite soon on this equipment…but then again, that’s something to look forward to, right?

As a final postscript today, a new poll is up on the sidebar, so if you don’t visit the archives much (maybe take some time soon – lots of good stuff there! ), be sure to take a moment and sound off in the latest poll:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Books

• Captured – Lessons from Behind the Lens of a Legendary Wildlife Photographer, Moose Peterson

• Photo Trade Secrets, Volume 2, Zeke Kamm (forthcoming)

Magazines

• National Geographic – December 2010 Issue
• Shutterbug – February 2011
• Consumer Reports – February 2011
• Bits and Pieces
• Arizona Highways – January 2011
  

I guess my nose is always in a book or something!  Got any suggested reading items?  Share your own reading lists in the comments or with me via email.  Happy shooting (and reading)!

While the effort and idea are splendid – they are vague by definition and thus, difficult to define success in achievement.  How would you define “better” or “improve”?  There is also no accountability when these statements are made.  So, when making resolutions from a photographers point of view, it helps to define your resolutions clearly, and to share those resolves with others, so as to make yourself accountable.

My goals?  Funny you should ask, because I have the same goal I made last year – to shoot at least one project each and every month.  And I did it!  Here’s the project I did for each month:

• January – All About Brighton, Baby!
• February – Meetup Group – Downtown Denver
• March -Sun, Wind, and Frost
• April -CHDK is Cool
• May -Beautiful Bokeh
• June -Nothin’ But the Tail Lights
• July -Launch of “49 Photo Tips – The Sequel“
• August -Raquette Lake Rendezvous
• September -Colorado isn’t Just for Sunsets
• October -Visiting the Pumpkin Patch
• November -Sigma 70-200 f2.8 Review
• December -Helicopter Shoot

The goal for the year was to shoot more and write less.  While I still plodded away at the blog in an effort to provide continued content for the readers here (and I hope you enjoyed 2010)…more effort went into advancing my own photography library in 2010.  The stakes are raised for 2011 though.  As you may have noticed, some of the “shoots” weren’t as planned or dedicated photo shoots as others.  The Pumpkin Patch outing was definitely a multi-functioned event!

So, for 2011 – my goal is to go on an outing with photography as the primary focus! And, here I am happy to report that the month of January for 2011 has already been covered with a snowmobile outing on January 1st!

It was indeed quite the outing, and I learned quite a bit about shooting in extreme cold weather.  More to come on that as I put together the assembly for publication later this week.  Another shoot might be forthcoming on the same vein, so more is also pending there as well.

Pretty exciting (although my wallet is nervous!) for 2011.  Sort of a photo/travel/expedition blog post will be something to look for each month during the upcoming year!  If you have any places in the area (i.e. Colorado/Wyoming/etc.) that you would like to see me capture, say the word so I can take it into consideration sooner rather than later.  I’ve got some irons in the fire already scheduled for certain points during the year, but nothing affirmative as of yet.

What about everyone else?  Have you made any concrete resolutions?  Do share them in the comments or via email – an upcoming podcast will likely take some of your thoughts, comments, and feedback into consideration!  Happy New Year all and keep on shooting!

Congratulations to you – and by virtue of this post, simply email me a short note with your contact information and I’ll get you in touch with the right folks at Red River Paper. Thanks to them for their sponsorship, and to everyone who entered. All the images were really deserving this month, so finding one that stood out was really really difficult. I would suggest to everyone who entered (and those on the sidelines) to still take a moment to consider getting yourselves a pack of this paper, as any of these would look really great on the Polar Pearl Metallic paper.  Here’s a link to the specific page from Red River for those interested. 

And with November closed out, I am sure everyone is wondering what is in store for December.  Must be a humdinger, right?  Yes, I promise you it is, because I am throwing the doors wide open on this month.  The prize is quite simply, the bragging rights for the month.  Photography for the sake of photography is important enough too, and without having to worry about restrictions or any guidelines, anyone is welcome to share a picture anywhere this month.  Whether it’s a link in any of the blog post comments, in the group Flickr Pool, or the December thread, as long as you let me see an image – you are eligible for the bragging rights!  (You know there is likely some prize at the end too, but this go around, it’s a surprise!)

To make it official though, there are three criteria:

That’s it – the theme is wide open, the sizes are wide open, and you can show it to me anywhere…be it Flickr, the blog in a comment, or in the group pool (please no emails though – part of the idea is to let you showcase your own best work not only to me, but to everyone)!  Good luck, and here’s to lots of entries!  Enjoy the ride, and take as many pictures as you can, because you can only submit your best one from December!  The winner will be announced in 2011!

The last little nugget for today is that a special discount is going to be announced in the December newsletter, so if you haven’t signed up yet (it’s free), don’t forget to get subscribed to it before Friday!  Here’s a link to make it nice and easy for y’all! Sign Up for the Newsletter  Happy shooting all, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!