Remember the interview I did on a podcast a while back with Andie Smith? One of the things we talked about was that you don’t really have to travel a whole lot to be a travel photographer – that sometimes your best shots are in your own area. Well, a local Denver magazine, 5280 Photo, just put out an article in their most recent issue that talks about 52 things to do in Colorful Colorado this year. Naturally, many are photogenic too. So, for a dose of inspiration, don’t forget to look at what’s around you! Here’s a couple of … Continue reading →
One of the more recent episodes from the guys over at This Week in Photography had them wrapping up their coverage of PMA, where they talked tech about all the latest cameras to come out from the various vendors. Canon was noticeably absent from the show, but it didn’t detract from an interesting comment I think Ron Brinkmann said where he wished he could pull all his favorite features from each of the cameras and basically make his own. To me, the idea screamed “blog post”! So, I decided to go for it. I went through every major SLR on … Continue reading →
Posted in Canon, Nikon, checklist, content, gear, lists, personal, photography, photography gear, technical
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Tagged camera, Canon, gear, Nikon, olympus, pentax, photography, specs
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As photographers we are always seeking out new sources of information that can help us with our work – whether it be pixel-crunching sites, creative inspiration sites, or news and trending information sites. As I go through my RSS feeds and Alltop favorites every day, over the past year, some were filtering to the top much more often. Naturally, this happens every year, as has been the case for the past 3 years now. When I started this annual event back in 2007, the number coincided with the year, so to wit, here are my TOP TEN PHOTO BLOGS FOR … Continue reading →
Today’s post comes courtesy of a comment posted to Twitter from a friend (who shall remain nameless) asking about whether a particular camera was compatible with their computer. Being the eternal geek, I jumped right in (figured the water was warm), and suggested that it shouldn’t matter because they are using a card reader…right? As it turns out, they were not, instead tethering the camera to the computer to transfer files. While this method is needed for instant viewing (see the tethering via Lightroom post using Canon here and Nikon here), it’s not recommended for transferring of your photos and … Continue reading →
In keeping with the impending Giftmas (yes, I am spelling that right, and thanks to Yankeefoxtrot on Twitter for the name), and hopefully in time for your holiday shopping, I have assembled a cornucopia of items to share with you either as the photographer, or as the one with a photographer in the family. The best thing about this list though – all the items are $25 or less. After all, the economy is tight – we all know it and everyone is cutting back, but there’s no reason to feel denied simply because photography is known as an expensive … Continue reading →
We always are striving to make our images more compelling – to bring the viewer in closer, and to connect better wit our audience. I have had people ask me pretty much the same thing, but in may different ways and it basically comes down to the something like this: “I get the technical, but it’s the creative side of making compelling images that gets me stuck – what can you suggest?” It’s the age-old question, and if I had all the answers, well, I’d be filthy rich! The reason this is the case is because what is compelling or … Continue reading →
Yesterdays post on how to get into galleries generated some great questions and comments both via email and on the blog, so in the interests of keeping that interest and momentum going, here’s a few more tips on Getting Into Galleries, courtesy of Dave Warner from LensFlare 35 and Rich Charpentier (who I’ve interviewed here on the podcast). Thanks guys for chiming in and offering your assistance! Onto the 5 additional tips: Make sure the gallery shows photography – if gallery owners deal primarily with paintings, sculptures, metal work, and such, the odds of being accepted are much less. This … Continue reading →
Posted in Announcements, Contest, Flickr, News, competition, composition, content, galleries, lists, photography
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Tagged contests, Flickr, galleries, News, OnOne Software, presentation
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Ok, so this week the schedule is all off kilter, since there was no hardware review and no software review today, so I give up on that. Instead, today I am sharing (on request) a PDF that I have been been busy compiling of my favorites and some unusual ideas for photography. Ranging in subject matter from how to improve your composition to gear tips, making money, photo walks, and everything in between, here are 49 Photo Tips – all compiled nice, neat and easy as a PDF for easy download and reference (top 50 lists are so cliche! )! … Continue reading →
Posted in Announcements, Articles, Contest, Flickr, content, lists, photography, tips and tricks
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Tagged downloads, Flickr, Photo tips, photo walk
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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 →
Ever wonder why we’ve heard photographers say that when taking your picture? Think about what happens when you do – your facial features open up, your mouth opens slightly, and you get a little upward curvature in the corners of your lips. (Unless of course you concentrate on specifically not doing that.) Whoever thought this up eons ago was well ahead of the curve, because knowing how to take good portraiture encompasses entire volumes of books on the subject. Volumes exist on what lenses to use, how to light, depth of fieldand much much more, but perhaps the most valuable … Continue reading →
Posted in Contest, Flash, Flickr, Lighting, NAPP, News, checklist, composition, content, depth of field, education, lists, photography, tips and tricks, web links
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Tagged composition, links, lists, photography, portraiture, tips, tricks
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Spring represents a time of earnest and excitement for many photographers – the dreary days of winter have faded, and the sun, colors, and excitement to get outside can inspire many of us to take off for the hills – gear in hand and ready to shoot! The problem arises when Spring…springs! This means sudden rainfall, and moisture is no friend to camera gear. With probably at least a couple thousand dollars invested in gear for most of us – are you prepared for the showers that come with Spring ventures? Here’s a couple things I keep in my camera … Continue reading →
In preparation for the next podcast, due in no small part to a technical difficulty with Garage Band, I’ve set up a dedicated computer and recording space (call it my dedicated recording studio) and the audio quality is off the charts better than anything I’ve done before. Ironically, the new topic for this weeks podcast is also about sound – the sound of shutters and how they can impact the feel of the camera, and how they can effect a moment is significant enough to warrant consideration. Make sure you tune in for this one from the good folks over … Continue reading →
Posted in 40D, Canon, News, Photoshop, content, learning, lists, photography, podcast, tips and tricks, web links
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Tagged podcast, show notes, tips, tricks, web links
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About a year ago, I put together a list of my top five favorite ways to convert images to black and white. As technology has advanced though, more options have become available, and I have learned a lot more. So, in the spirit of keeping the blog topics up-to-date and current, I would like to re-visit this here today. (This is also coming on the heels of the Black-and-White issue I finally finished of Rangefinder Magazine!) Camera Raw Conversion – If you aren’t working in camera raw, here is a big reason to think about it – converting images to … Continue reading →
(Courtesy of the NAPP forums) You know you are spending too much time in Photoshop when: You go into a sandwich shop and order a Gallery Wrap You wonder whether “Reduce Noise” will work on the kids You look for the healing brush to fix your drywall Your idea of hitting the snooze button involves cloning the digits because it’s quicker When accused of gaining weight, you say it’s layers you choose not to discard When “Vanishing Point” becomes something you hope can be applied to your in-laws When “Sharpen More” is something you wish you could beat your students … Continue reading →
As promised from yesterday, here is the assembly line of computes I unboxed: And then here’s the boxes that I consolidated all the accouterments into: Thankfully, the laptops didn’t come in today, so we had a brief respite. Monday’s gonna be fun though! I think I am going to try and enjoy this weekend! You be sure to do the same. Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again on Monday.
The folks over at This Week in Photography (aka TWIP) had a post earlier this week that gave a suggested checklist to follow when unboxing new gear. As you all know how much a fan of checklists I am, I started giving this some thought about what sort of unboxing strategy would work best in my own patterns of gear management and setup. Then toda at work, we got in 23 new computers. This means we now have: 23 CPU’s 23 Monitors 23 keyboards 23 mice 23 VGA cables 23 USB cables 23 power adaptors 46 power cords (one each … Continue reading →
How many times have you seen a picture where it just made you say “WOW! I wish I could capture something like that!” And, you ask the person, “How’d you get that shot?” Typically you’ll get an answer like “Just got lucky I guess.” Well, I am not sure I buy into that. Does luck really factor into taking good pictures? Perhaps on rare occasions it does, because as the old saying goes, “Even a blind squirrel can find a nut occasionally” But consistently taking good pictures requires more than luck. It requires certain key elements that anyone can incorporate … Continue reading →
Posted in checklist, composition, education, learning, lists, photography, technical, thoughts
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Tagged composition, list, Pictures, technique, tips
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With another week come to a close, I got a late start in recording and putting together the podcast for today, so it’s going up a tad late. However, as the old saying goes, good things come to those who wait. This week, I look at some of the photo news, relevant to Canon users, photographers, and just some good old news tidbits. In the “meat and potatoes”of the week, I look at what should be included in an extensive maintenance schedule for any photographer, including cleaning, software, firmware, batteries, data, backups – literally the whole schmear! It’s quite the … Continue reading →
Posted in 40D, ACR, Adobe, Canon, Lightroom, Photoshop, checklist, flash media, lists, podcast, technical
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Tagged cleaning, gear, podcast, technical
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A new year has begun! Happy New Year to my online friends and family! Last year was a great year – it marked the first full year of blogging for me. It showed me how challenging it is to generate new, useful, and meaningful content for readers on a regular basis. Format changes, layout changes, content delivery changes, and a host of other things have kept the blog active for going on almost 18 months now. So, what has kept things going? A great deal of fellowship and other bloggers have shared their wisdom and experiences with me, both personally, … Continue reading →
Posted in Announcements, News, content, lists, personal, photography, podcast, thoughts, web links
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Tagged best 8 of 08, blogs, content, podcasts, year
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It’s fun to share resources that can really help you save time and money in pursuing your photography goals, and because there’s not a lot of really high quality resources out there, posts like these are few and far between. However, I do have a few resources that may prove useful to wrap up the week: Online Price Calculator – So many people ask “How much should I charge for…” Well, here is a good starting point. For something more serious look FotoQuote Free Stock Photos – So many stock photo sites out there, yet none seem to offer up … Continue reading →
Today as I am getting back into the swing of things after a day or so of downtime, I have a couple miscellaneous items that may be of use… A lot of it is basic stuff, but there is a common thread to it as they all involve some concept of “back”. So, here is a Friday Foursome of tips to improve your photos. The theme: Back to Basics Back story – provide some background on how you got the shot. Give it a personal meaning or significance for the viewer. Often times connections with imagery are because of … Continue reading →
