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!)

The Heartbreak of Losing a Full Memory Card

His photos were saved, and while he claims that none were portfolio worthy, when I go back and look at my pretty lame compilation, his throwaways were still better than my keepers.  How sad is that?  LOL  Anyway, sorry I couldn’t be at the seminar today Scott – even after I asked when you would make it back.  Hopefully this trip will be a tad better…

*meep*

That being said, if anyone does have the time for the day – I don’t know if they are talking walk-up registrations, but if so, you will want to get there early, just in case – these sessions are really worth their weight in gold! Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to keep on shooting!  We’ll see you back here again on Monday…

***

Psst – don’t forget, the Drobo Giveaway ends tonight at midnight!  Data Robotics is letting me give away not one but two Drobos to two lucky registrants!  More info here…

1.  Pay for the cost of entry

2.  Pay for the cost of travel

3.  Pay for hotel accommodations

4.  Pay for the cost of food

It’s an expensive proposition, which I conservatively estimate at nearly $1000.  This does not mean it isn’t worth the money, because it most likely is, even if for networking purposes only (and I am sure there are educational opportunities galore)!  Let’s face it – if you want to be a “player” in the photography world, there is usually justification to attend PSw either in Orlando (Spring) or Las Vegas (Fall).

My problem is that I am something of a one-man-show.  And photography is very much a secondary stream of income, when it even does present opportunities.  My primary job has always been in IT.  I suspect it always will be.  So, to find the time off for a traditional working stiff is tough – I am often needed, and earn precious little vacation time every year.  So, unless a company that values both my IT and photography skills hires me (Adobe, are you listening? ), I will likely not be in a position to attend this event.

As is often the case, I know I am not alone.  So, here’s your chance to let your non-PSW light shine!  What are you doing this week?  For me, I am taking a little time off between jobs actually.  After accepting an offer at a new company (I am not holding my breath for Adobe), I have a week or so to spare from my calendar (but not my budget) to travel a little, and am visiting family in both AZ and NY.  Let’s face it, family should always come first, and here is no exception.  This last weekend I spent in AZ, and coming up later this week is a trip to NY.  Maybe I’ll get in a little fall foliage out east, but not sure as the fall seems to be late arriving all over this year.

So, there’s my plans, and why I won’t be there!  What’s your excuse?  Why are you not at PSW?  Sound off in the comments!  See ya back here tomorrow, and keep on shootin’!  I’ll be back again with the August contest winner and a new contest for September that will knock your socks off!

So, why is this news?  Well, PSU Magazine isn’t news, but from the same folks that brought you PSU Magazine is an all-new digital magazine – and it’s not about Photoshop!  It’s taken on the subject of photography – specifically lighting, and tackling it all in one magazine.  I got a chance to sit down with it last night and really dig my teeth into it.  (And you can too for free, the first issue is free for all here).

Here’s my initial thoughts:

1.  Big:  It’s a big file, about a 350MB download.  Since it’s designed with the iPad in mind, I was a little surprised that the footprint was so large.  I guess it’s to be expected since it did have lots of imagery, and even video embedded in it, so there’s no way in getting around that for the first issue.  My advice though – decrease this size for future issues…the last thing someone wants from a digital magazine is for it to take up 10-20% of my iPad space over just a single year (250MB x 12 months = 3000 MB or 3GB)!

2.  Ads:  I get it, magazines need ads in order to be revenue producing.  And this is no exception – about 20% of the content is ad space.  A good portion of the ads though, are for off-shoots of the Kelby group.  Whether it’s Photoshop World, Kelby Training, or other ventures, a good 50% of the ad space was devoted to their own content promotion.  If I know about your magazine, odds are that I already know about your training, and I can’t help but know about Photoshop World.  While this one is free, if the same kind of ads start appearing in the paid subscription ones, I’d not be thrilled to be paying for them to advertise in their own product and services lines to me again.

3.  Content:  The be-all, end-all of the magazine is the quality of content right?  Right.  Okay, here’s the articles that grabbed me right off the bat:

Larry Becker’s DIY Corner – Easy to understand, well put together, and an immediate grasp of why this is helpful – it saves me money!  I like that!

5 Different Looks From a Single Softbox by Zack Arias – Hands down, the best article in this inaugural issue.  Showing how the same light source can achieve such drastically different looks all depending on position, angle, and posing.

Behind the Lens with  Joe McNally – I have to admit, that when people flock to a certain personality, I tend to run in the opposite direction, and the masses have been flocking to Joe McNally for a while now.  This is probably the one exception primarily because he is, undoubtedly, very talented behind the lens, and knows off-camera flash inside and out.  I tend to gravitate toward his content though, not because of his knowledge base, but because of his teaching style. So, an opportunity to read more of his instruction (and for free), was exciting.

But to be honest, the draw of this article wasn’t the text content, because I don’t think Joe even wrote it.  In fact, it was more just a bio and a couple of shots (which I’ve already seen in his other venues).  So, why did I like the piece?  For the video content!  For the first time, it’s nice to get a video in a digital magazine!  Pretty sweet to be able to tap the video thumbnail and watch the video right there in your hands!  And there were two of them! (Although why they were split into two, I have no idea – maybe the chance to show me the Kelby media ads twice?)

I was a tad disappointed there even though, because the videos were kind of “fluff-y”.  In ten minutes (3 minutes then 7 minutes):

• Question #1 – “If you only had one modifier, what would it be?”

• Answer – Something small light and cheap!

• Question #2 – “What would your next modifier be?”

• Answer: A small cheap 8′ lightstand

• Question #3 – “What’s the advantage of TTL?”

• Answer:  It automates measuring light for you.

• Question #4 – “What’s the tipping between small flash and studio strobes?”

• Answer:  The space you are shooting in, or for appearances on high profile jobs.

• Question #5 – “Where can people find out more about you?”

• Answer:  His blog, website, and social media

*****

Last but not least, the layout here does merit a tad bit of discussion.  First in that area, I liked how the magazine reads by flipping left to right, just like a regular magazine.  I also liked how you could tap an article in the TOC and it would go straight to that article.  The larger res photos on a double-tap were nice features too, as was the video inclusion (just don’t make the questions such softball ones again, take a page from Ibarionex approach when he interviewed Scott on  The Candid Frame).

While the ads were not my favorite part, one thing that I think was very cool was that when you tapped on them, a page opened up for the vendor website inside the magazine!  That’s pretty slick!

So,  the bottom line here (which I think we all are likely asking), is whether or not this is something worth buying.  The answer (surprise surprise), is “It depends…”

For me, the two key variables will be cost and content.

Content

With the exception of Zack’s article, these first pieces were light, brief articles that didn’t really wade hip-deep into much.  With the great equalizer of the web, where so many people are producing valuable content and rich learning experiences for a low cost (or even free), paying for the privilege of basic lighting info and photographer interviews with softball questions is not something I would be prone to doing.  Money is already tight.

Cost

So, what would I pay for this?  Probably – I like that you don’t have to get a full year subsscription, and can buy them on an individual basis.  Each one will go for  $3 (they are calling it $2.99 though, that sounds better to consumers…).  I just hope that you can preview the table of contents on future issues before buying.  Some people I like to read, and others, not as much.  There are features in my PSU magazine that get read instantly, and others I never even glance at.  I think it’s a little high, but understand there’s some overhead, although it’s not as much as you’d think…

Keep in mind, distribution cost used to be the biggest barrier to market and since distribution is free (for the most part anyway), the only real overhead anymore is bandwidth.  Of course, they could also have costs rolled in for contributing authors too, but I can’t speak to that.  Although, with that in mind – if Kelby Media asked me to write an article for their magazine, would I want to charge them for that?  Hmmmmm…….

Don’t get me wrong though – I really liked the stable of authors, and even know some of them personally (hey Mr. Groupp! ) And it is an impressive list for sure:  Zack Arias, Frank Doorhof, Erik Valind, Jeremy Cowart, Jim Schmelzer, Joe McNally, Tom Bol, and Jason Groupp are fantastic photogs and with great insights and experiences

What about you?  Have you read the magazine yet?  If not, at least get the free one here.  What are your thoughts?  What would you pay for this annually?  What would you pay per issue?  Did you like the articles?  Were they thought-provoking and inspiring?  Sound off below!

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!

September Winner - Cameron Gardner

The sense of movement and tack sharp quality really made it stand out – I think this could even be submitted for stock (where shots have to be absolutely flawless…)!  Congratulations to Cameron – please email me your contact information so I can ship the RS7 out to you!  Special thanks to the folks at Black Rapid for their sponsorship of the contest series, and to everyone for the participation!

October Begins

A special month begins here because as most know by know – this place is all about learning, whether it’s sharing tips and tricks, composition techniques, and everything in between.  One of the most invaluable resources I have used in my own learning has been that of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals – or NAPP!  These folks offer great training, tutorials, and the forums are a special group of people.  I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned about photography from these folks.  Why am I talking about NAPP so much though? Because the winner of the October contest will be able to take advantage of a year of membership with NAPP!!!  That’s right, a one-year membership with NAPP is up for grabs.  Given the nature of the organization – the theme for the month is appropriately picked as:

STUDY

To get all the details and information on the October theme, submission guidelines and all that stuff, head over to the contest thread on Flickr and enter your best shot!  Entries are being accepted today! Good luck, and here’s to a month of happy shooting!

Creative Suite 5 will launch on April 12th!

Since I just got wind of this late last night, I don’t have a lot of details on the products (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, etc.) but there are some sneak peek videos over on their launch site, and Adobe is encouraging folks to follow the hashtag #cs5 on Twitter.  Evangelists like Terry White, Julianne Kost, and many more will be talking about various aspects of the suite of products, highlighting some of the snazzier features and functions.  It looks pretty cool so far, and I think I am probably sold for a couple of reasons:

1. Indesign – As you know, I like to write, and I am putting more and more content out in PDF and eBook form.  The ability of InDesign to assist me in that regard to put together professional looking material and to help with layout is well worth it.
2. Photoshop – I am still on CS3, and I did not do the upgrade to CS4 knowing that I would probably upgrade every other iteration.  So, now is the time to upgrade.
3. Business Catalyst – I’d not heard of this, but the improved layout for the CB store sounds appealing by using this software interface rather than hacking through code all the time.  Will want to check this out!
4. Dreamweaver – An old school coder, I’ve always used text-based editors because I was a “purist” of sorts.  With the development of HTML5, the new features of CSS and XHTML, there’s a lot to get up to speed on, and when I want to just put something out to the web, Dreamweaver is becoming more and more of a consideration.

Here’s the launch page for all the detailed information on the new CS5 Suite:  Have you checked out some of the features of the CS5 suite yet?  What do you like?  Are you going to upgrade or take the plunge?  Sound off in the comments with your thoughts and feedback!

Last but not least – don’t forget that we are in the final week for the Cheetah Quickstand Giveaway – share your photos over on the Flickr Contest Thread!

Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Book, Vol. 3

The relatively recent release of Scott Kelby’s latest book on photography has met well with readers and reviewers so when I got an opportunity to read through it in some detail, figured this would be a good time to give a Canon-centric rundown.

First off, the book is interestingly organized.  Scott’s impressive background with Photoshop has lent itself well toward his particular writing style in that a work flow of sorts can be how reading material is organized.  With photography, a “work flow” is not as easy to adhere to because things will vary from one type of environment to another.  There are some basics that will be the same across the board, and given the layout of this third volume, I am guessing he found a flow for the first book or two.  For this third book though, it’s not typical “Kelby-esque” style writing.  Sure, the wit still comes through, and for those accustomed to his writing style, this is a welcome element.  The flow aspect being different though, takes some adjusting.  To that end, here’s how the book is laid out in its chapter organization:

1. Flash Tips
2. Studio Tips
3. Lens Tips
4. Product Photography
5. Outdoor Photography
6. Portrait Photography
7. Sports Photography
8. General Photo Tips
9. Avoiding/Dealing with Problems

Because in previous works, I have been accustomed to reading something like a story as things easily transition from one element to the next, this was a bit more challenging at first.  Once I made the shift to this new style, it became easier – so, my recommendation, read this book more as a quick reference guide.  The tips, tricks, and pointers he gives on all subjects are spot on for the specific subject matter.  The content shifts quickly though with each tip lasting about a page (and this includes graphics).

When all is said and done though, would I recommend this as a book to read?  I can honestly say that though I’ve probably advanced past his introductory books, this is definitely a keeper.  Not only are there some great tips in here, but they aren’t just cheesy ones like “Don’t forget to take your lens cap off…”  These are real tips, true gristle that you can sink your teeth into.  Want to know how to use mirrors?  Scott tells you!  How about what to do if your flash isn’t bright enough?  Scott tells you!  There’s even nuts and bolts info on things like how to get specific effects with your photography in all genres of work.  I think what I like best is that he actually goes through some of the specifics for both Nikon (his camera gear of choice) and Canon equivalents, for camera and lighting settings.  This way no one is left out (unless you shoot Pentax, but then even there, the tips for photography still apply.)

The last element I think is worth mentioning is that while this book is not complete on any given subject matter, that it is still a good choice  because now you aren’t trying to get everything out of one book – you get nuggets and tricks and tools for any genre that can help you.  Even if you knew  everything in this book at one point in time, it would still be useful because we all need reminders every once and a while, so this is one to be sure to hold on to.  Scott gives enough detail to get you started in whatever field interests you – or even enough to take you from beginner to serious hobbyist, or even to maintain your skills as a general reference guide.  Is it too late?   Can I retract the “Comment Contest” and keep the book?  No worries – out it goes for some lucky reader.

I do feel that I should give some fair warning here though – this book is not for beginners.  If you’ve got a few things down, some of the basics of gear and lighting, and known your rules of composition, then yes, jump right in, the water is warm.  If the terms I just mentioned are somewhat new or you are still getting them down pat – you might want to start with his Volume 1 or Volume 2 book (or even just keep reading the blogs – I know a few good ones! )

So, there you have it – thanks to Scott for putting out yet another must-read book (what’s he at, like 60 books now?).  Thanks also to Kelby media for sending this one out – I wasn’t sure if it would come or not.  And lastly, now it’s time to share your thoughts…did you like it?  Did it stink?  Needed more?  Needed less?  About right?  Should he switch to Canon and leave the Nikonians behind?  (Ok, just kidding on that last one…)  But sound off – this is your chance to win the book for free!

Happy shooting all, and thanks in advance for all that stop in to comment – don’t forget the month long contest going on over at Flickr to win a bunch of prizes including some more stuff from NAPP.  It’s in the Flickr tab up at the top, but I’ll link here again for convenience sake!  We’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

1. On the Photo News Beat
   1. Canon Announces Hybrid IS technology
   2. Stock Exchange joins Getty Images
   3. Think Tank Photo Announces a New Bag System
   4. OnOne Software expecting to release a Remote Capture update soon
2. LDP/CB Notes
   1. The OnOne Software Plugin Suite Ends Friday – last chance to get your best image in the Numbers Contest
   2. The August Prize is announced:  A Bamboo Fun, courtesy from the folks at Wacom
   3. Exposure Denver Photo Club
3. Interview With Matt Timmons – MTM Studios
4. Listener Q&A
   1. The Sony A100 DO Range Optimizer – Bog Segrell from NJ
   2. Martini Memory Lighting Setup? – Alistair M from New Zealand
   3. Where do you get the EOS Digital Capture from Canon? – George Maskaly from Nevada

Here’s links, as promised for the show notes to for those coming over from either PLM or iTunes.  Please let me know if I missed any (it’s getting late here)…

• Flickr “Numbers Contest” thread – Win a copy of OnOne Software Suite 4.5
• Canon News Feed
• Stock Exchange-Getty Merger
• Think Tank Photo Multi-Media bag
• OnOne Remote Capture News -( thanks to Mike Wong for his blog reports!)
• Matt Timmons Media
• Elinchrom at B&H
• Learning Resource courtesy of Bob Segrell
• Contact Canon Support

A last little bit of blog news – closing in on 2 yrs, 500 posts, and 1000 feeds – I don’t know how this ever happened, but there’s definitely going to be some prizes coming soon in celebration and to say thanks to all the loyal, faithful readers and listeners!  I teased the date a few days ago on Twitter so if you’re not on Twitter, get there for extra added value too! Happy Shooting All, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Grab the Feed

In the second segment, an interview with fellow photog and NAPP member, Erik Bernskiold where we talk about not only what we like about NAPP, but about how we are gearing up for the summer fun of photography, with tips, tricks and suggestions from Erik on everything from Floral Photography to Landscapes.  We also get a little insight into Eriks’ blogging and web design background as he’s become quite the expert on the subject matter!  Not too bad for someone who’s not even out of school yet!  For more details on Erik, follow these show note links:

• Bernskiold Media
• Floral Photo Tips
• Mac App Zone
• Erik on Twitter

Many thanks to Erik for taking the time out of his schedule to sit down and talk with me on the show.  It was a lot of fun!  For the remainder of the show, I throw out some additional tips on landscape photography, and tackle a few listener questions.  Lots to listen to, so be sure to tune in, either from the download over at PLM or via iTunes.

A final little asterisk on the show:  I mistakenly recorded the intro as episode #25, when it’s episode #24.  Also given that I forgot to add the theme music to the entire compliation – it might as well be called the “blunder” show…but rather than spend time on a few minor nits trying to fix it, I’d rather just get the show and respective notes out to y’all for your listening enjoyment.  So, on that note, happy shooting, enjoy the show, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

• The last day to enter your photos for the Lightroom giveaway is super close – so get your shots in the Flickr thread here pretty soon!
• Adobe updated the ACR to 5.4 (still in beta), and is downloadable here
• Canon announced some firmware updates and break/fix news on some of its SLR lines.  Tune into the podcast for details.
• My Pick of the Week:  Photoshop Insider
• Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk
• Chuck Conder’s Flickr Thread (listen to find out why…)
• Wireless USB Dongle from Engadget

Seriously folks, don’t miss out on your chance for a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom!  Get your photos in today!  A $30o retail value and free from the folks over at Adobe – in this economy we could all use a little help and Adobe is being very generous here.

Well, that’s about all for this week.  Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you back here on Monday – as we head out for the weekend, don’t forget to have fun out there.  With that in mind, here’s my favorite WTD from this past week – so fitting for my job in IT!

Happy Shooting!

ETA:  Thanks to reader Don for reminding me about the link to the PhotographyBB magazine article.  You can download the full magazine here

Grab the feed

Scott is also known for his annual worldwide photo walks that he started last year.  This year response has just been enormous to the walks, with several cities (including Denver) filling up within the first 24 hours.  Well, on his blog this last Monday, he wrote a Q&A post describing the photo walks, what they are, how they work, and all that stuff.  One question he snuck in though was that he would be in Denver and did anyone know of any good places to shoot in the downtown area.

Since I work downtown, (pretty close to the Convention Center I might add), I have a fairly good understanding of where things are, and what’s fun to shoot.  So, I posted a comment on his blog of where he could go and what might be fun.  To my astonishment, he actually wrote me back via email, asing if I’d be interested in going on a photo shoot with him to kinda show him around!  Not give him a few locations, not recommend a restaurant – he invited me on a photo shoot!  With him!  My jaw about hit the floor, but I did respond that it’d be my pleasure to show him around the area.  He sent me some info on where he’d be staying and to come on over after work on Tuesday!  My jaw hit the floor again.  But, regaining my composure, on Tuesday after work, I walked over to his hotel to meet him.  Knocked on the door and sure enough – Mr K. himself!  The maker of the Kelby Kool-Ade!

For the next 2 hours, we walked around the downtown area -  talking shop, and all that stuff.  I was silent for about the first 30 minutes, afraid I would say something utterly stupid to embarrass myself, but as I walked and we talked, found that he’s just a regular guy (despite his amazing base of knowledge, and…well, the fact that he’s Scott Kelby!)  After a few hours of shooting, I then enjoyed an amazing dinner with him and his crew – names like Bert, Ben, Moose, Matt, Corey, etc., etc., were bandied about in the regular conversation.  Needless to say, I kept quiet for most of it, trying to keep my jaw off the floor.  I know, I know – they are all people too, but every time someone’s name was mentioned, I just kept thinking to myself, “Yup, I read their blog too!”  Oh, and then for the next day’s seminar – he reserved a front row seat for me!  It was an incredible day, and I just wanted to take a day here on the blog to give a nod to Scott for being so open and friendly, and just – so, well….cool!

My shots from the day were pretty much lousy as I totally wasn’t paying attention to my technique or anything – just trying not to look like an idiot.  Nevertheless, in honor of his visit to Denver, and in hopes of his return:

In all honesty though, I think the term “upgrade” may be a misnomer – after all, am I really using all the features of the full version of Photoshop Cs3?  If not, what’s the point in upgrading?  Perhaps I should be looking at a downgrade.  After all, I really do spend less time post processing these days.  So, what are the differences between CS3 and this thing called Elements?  Well, for the loyal readers of this blog, I decided to find out.

First up, I downloaded a trial version of Elements 7.0 from Adobe’s website.  The download is about half the size  of the Photoshop Cs4 download (400+ MB for Windows Elements, and over 800 MB for Photoshop Creative Suite on Windows).  To the geek in me, that means a smaller footprint on my hard drive, and less consumption of system resources.   Something to consider…

Anyway, I decided to really do a side by side comparison, and loaded CS3 and Elements in their default work spaces, then compared notes.  Here’s what I found (CS3 is first, Elements is second):

Photoshop CS3 Default Workspace

Default Elements Workspace

Wow!  Quite a difference.  I first noticed the much darker color of the work space for Elements.  Not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things, but something that I would necessarily have to adjust to.  So, what else is there?  Well, rather than go over each painstaking difference of the two applications, I decided to just give a quick overview here.  And, with the quick overview, I figured the best place to start would be the toolbars, since that’s what we really need to use in either of these anyway, right?  So, let’s look at them side-by-side:

Photoshop CS3 Extended Toolbar

Photoshop Elements Toolbar

They actually don’t look too diferent when you look at them side by side, do they?  I didn’t think so, and I set out to count the various tool bars.  Know what?  On a quick overview of the 22 tools in CS3, I counted 17 commonalities between CS3 and Elements 7!  That’s a lot of overlap!  Are there more buried tools in CS3?  Most likely.  On quick count, I found 60 tools throughout the CS3 Toolbar.  In elements, 48!  Even still, not a lot extra.  From a percentage perspective, that is 20% additional functionality in CS3 Extended versus Elements 7.0  My guess is CS3 Regular would have less of a difference still.

The question is though – how often do you go searching for some buried tool in CS3?  As a photographer, in all honesty, not that often.  If you think about it, as photographers, we crop, re-size, perhaps straighten an occasional horizon, add some sharpening, and if we want to get really serious with a photo, we’ll do some dodging and burning.  All of these functions are present in Elements 7.0

So, why would you want to go with the CS3 or CS4 version of Photoshop – truly if you want to take your photos to the Nth degree, or do serious work like graphic design, web design, or photo restoration, I can totally see the need for some of the more advanced tools in the Creative Suite.  But more and more, I find myself using CS3 less and less.  Take a look at the commonalities listed below – these are identical features in both applications!  It took me a little by surprise when I noticed the similarities even in tool names.  See if you can find the common tools from the listing below:

Common Tools between CS3 and Elements

So, what other important factors go into an image editing program for me?  Well, having been working in the Creative Suite for a long time – I do enjoy the benefits of layered files for different purposes.  Well, guess what – Elements does that too!  That means you can edit and save files as PSD’s!

I also like using actions to automate my work flow.  Uh Oh…from my initial glance, it does not appear that Elements 7.0 has this functionality built in.  But, can it be added?  Well, a Google search on the topic of “Elements Actions” says yes, so I think I could probably figure it out enough to eek the process to my needs.

The other major functionality I have an interest in is the ability to edit and manage raw files from my camera.  Can I see the raw files?  Sure enough, the ACR converter has made its way into Elements as well!

Adobe Camera Raw Converter in Elements

In fact, a lot of the preferences settings seem to have migrated over from Photoshop CS3…look at the same screen from there:

Photoshop CS3 Preferences Settings

As similarities continue to mount, the last major thing to consider is price.  Retail, CS4 runs at $700 for the full price, an upgrade runs $200.  Elements?  Well, I think y’all know where this is headed:  Retail $139 and upgrade for $119.  I don’t know about you, but that is a HUGE cost savings.  It almost seems too good to be true, and given my penchant for not taking things at face value – I will take a look at the image processing capabilities in greater detail next week.  We’ll take a look at noise handling, speed, performance, and see how it does with a variety of images from my Canon 40D.

The biggest downside that I can see is that you don’t have the color management capabilities in Elements that you have in the Creative Suite – I like making some LAB adjustments from time to time, and filters may suffer in availability too – but more on that next week.

For the time being though, given the similarity in apparent functionality, the reduced price for Elements, and the proportionate footprint on my computer – Elements is definitely a contender.  For all I know – as I learn more about Lightroom after the workshop from Scott Kelby and NAPP on Wednesday, the idea of a separate application for image editing may go by the wayside too, especially when the cost for the CS product is 400% that of Elements.

So, what do you think?  Anyone out there using Elements?  Any other downgraders care to share their thoughts?  Have you enjoyed downsizing?  Found things you missed?  Workarounds?  Add-ons?  Tell me more as I continue to explore Elements next week – I’ll add reader observations there too!  In the meantime, happy shooting, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow after the NAPP workshop!

Volumes exist on what lenses to use, how to light, depth of fieldand much much more, but perhaps the most valuable information on how to take great portraits comes not just from technical awareness, but from personal interactions, and how to get people to act natural yet emotive and to let that come through in your work.  While no blog post could entirely exhaust the subject, here are ten quick tips on taking better portraits:

1. Establish a connection – portraiture is about connecting with someone through the image.  If you don’t connect with them through the camera, then there will be no connection in the print.  Make sure you connect with your subjects in some way.  Get to know about them, because that knowledge can transform your vision into really beautiful works of art.
2. Relax the subject – Connecting with your subject means they feel comfortable around you – now the key is to get them to feel comfortable in front of the camera.  Many times this is much easier said than done, but when you do get them to relax, the poses will come more fluidly, and you’ll get better results.  One way I do this is to just start taking pictures of things around us as we talk and connect.  The whole idea of hearing the shutter can be scary to some people, so by hearing it almost to excess and know it’s not on them can mitigate the “scary” factor.
3. Choose a background – if you are in a studio environment, this is fairly easy, but if you are on location, keep your eyes out for backgrounds that provide contrast to the subject.  Are they wearing light clothes?  Look for a dark background.  What about props to give a little more meaning.  Are they sports fans?  Have them hold a football, or stand by a basketball hoop.  Backgrounds can help give more definition to your subject.
4. Have a purpose – try to think of reasons why you are taking the picture.  Is it to record an event, or is it for a model?  What about a head shot for a business executive?  If you think of why you are taking the picture in the first place, that can help give you ideas for how to compose it.  For the event, it’s about the moment, while the portrait it’s about just the person, so give some thought to how to enhance their best qualities and minimize flaws.
5. Create separation – this is crucial to giving definition to your subject while minimizing distractions.  In the on-location areas, look out for things like power lines, nearby light sources and other objects that may detract from the subject.  Here it also helps to keep a wider aperture so that any distractions can be effectively blurred out of focus to minimize their impact.
6. All about the angles – Some people have great profiles.  Striking features can be accented from certain angles and can give greater impact and meaning.  Shooting from below can suggest power and strength (for the business executive), while shooting from above can minimize a body style that is more robust.  Even profile shots can be stunning if done right (hint:  try shadows there).
7. Lights, lights, lights – photography is all about painting with light, so portraiture is no exception.  Whether it be modifying existing light with reflectors, diffusers and shoot throughs, or creating your own light with strobes and flashes positioned off to the side or from above, lighting can create a wide variety of moods and bring images to life, especially in portraiture!
8. Watch the eyes – for any subject, whether human or animals, we like to have the eyes in focus.  It’s just the nature of people to look at the eyes in a subject, so make sure the eyes of yours are tack sharp.  Seeing a persons eyes have often been said to be a mirror to their soul.  You can get playful eyes, soulful eyes, sad eyes, sparkling eyes, weepy eyes, tear-stained eyes, angry eyes, hungry eyes, passionate eyes… (you get the eye-dea!)
9. Clean that skin tone – this means make sure that you are keeping the tones in check.  If the skin is too orange or too blue, add or remove some flash or ambient light.  Here the key is in white balancing your images.  Take along a grey card (even something as small as a 3×5 card can work) and you can set your white balance off that – your skin tones will be spot on if you do – and save you tons of post processing time.
10. Less is not always more – let’s all just admit it, it’s a digital world.  Those pictures are really just data packets and with data being as cheap as it is, we can afford to take more shots.  This can help with blinkers, and if you want to try several poses or wardrobe changes, or lighting changes, or location changes, or group changes (think weddings). or weather changes (think sunlight versus rain, versus cloudy), or….I think the gist is clear again here.

So, there’s ten nuggets.  I tried to be brief yet have some detail, but you can never have enough time or space to really cover something with so much to talk about in a short blog post.  With that in mind, what about your thoughts on portraiture?  Add to the pool!  Got any ideas, DIY tricks or nuggets that work for you?  Share them in the comments or via email.

Before signing out for the day, I’d like to give some special thanks to a few people.  First to Derrick Story for the helpful link from his blog post today about the tethered shooting write-up.  It’s always nice to get what I like to call “a nod from the Gods”, but not only did he write a post about my write-up, he also submitted it to the Imaging Insider, who subsequently included the write up on their site.    Second up, I’d also like to throw some NAPP-Love back to Karen from “Pursuing Photoshop” (a.k.a. Mitzs in the blogosphere, also a member of NAPP) for her link back to the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom contest currently running here on the blog – thanks Mitzs!

Oh yeah, and finally, don’t forget the Photoshop Lightroom contest I announced in last week’s podcast – it’s running over in a thread on Flickr, and the images are starting to come in.  Some really nice ones so far, but there’s plenty of time left in May to enter!  Good luck to everyone!  Well, enough content for one day, so happy shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.

Now, in the interests of full disclosure, I did do some additional post processing work even after the HDR processing to get the above results.  But Photomatix was superior for a number of reasons.    For starters – Photomatix gives you options in what type of output you want.  Here are the two results, side-by-side, that I got from Photomatix:

The first was the result of  processing from the Tone Compressor tab and the latter of Details Enhancer tab processing.  As you can see, the first produced a smoother sky, but left the foreground a little flat, while the latter had more texture and, well… dynamic range to it.  So, I decided to go with the latter in my post processing.  The Photoshop alternative, however, produced something even less desirable than either of the above.  Take a look:

Not only are the luminosity levels less interesting, but there’s literally no tone curve application.  No color, no tone curve mapping, and decidedly no interest when you consider the options from Photomatix.  I am in the process of putting together a tutorial of how I got the final result, so be on the lookout for that in the next few days.  In the meantime though, I’d like to take a moment to say “Thanks” to fellow NAPP member,  Elizabeth Gast (a.k.a. Firgs,) for the kind thoughts she has over on her blog – Design by Firgs – where she talks up a shot I took a while ago that is premiering on hew new series “Accidentally Awesome” today, so be sure to stop over there and give her a shout-out!  Until tomorrow – Happy Shooting!

Well, this week I am calling Kevin out, because he definitely is worthy of your traffic.  Kevin Mullins is an outstanding photographer, based out of Malmesbury Wiltshire (that’s in England, across the pond, or the UK for the geographically challenged…)  He’s had reviews done by friend-of-the-blog, Jason Moore, and most recently has launched a photography website for his wedding photography.  So, first off, welcome Kevin, and thanks for agreeing to come on the Thursday Thoughts Series.

Thanks’ very much for inviting me on here Jason.  It’s a great privilege.

Q:  I don’t know why people keep saying that, but thanks I guess.  It’s just fun to be learning from everyone thus far that’s been willing to contribute, yourself included.  But anyway, I digress…starting things off, I’d like to talk a little about your Wedding Photography – as you stated on your blog, wedding photography is your passion, and that is evidenced by the work you have put in thus far.  With so many areas to choose from, why did wedding photography stand out for you as a career path?  Well, it kind of “just happened”. 

A:  I have been taking photographs for a long time but around two years ago I knew that I wanted to make a career from photography.  I’ve often looked at wedding photos and thought “I could do that”, or, more often “If I was taking that shot, I would do it like this…”.  The interest continued to grow and I started forming my own style of shots in my head.  Contemporary artists such as Crash Taylor and Jeff Ascough really inspire me and I am in awe of the way they deal with light and composition in a wedding shoot.  Having your own style is key, and whilst those guys inspire, its building my own style that is really important to me.  I really want to give the bride (and groom) some photographic memories that they will cherish and will become a family focus point for years to come, but don’t just look like all the other photographs out there.

Q:  You have a definite journalistic flair in how you create your images, specifically as evidenced by the series from Andrew and Katherine’s photos, as well as those from Marie’s wedding (I love that shot of her under the arched trees).  You’ve mentioned Cartier-Bresson, Crash Taylor and Jeff Ascough as inspirational sources.  Any particular insights you’ve gained from these folks?

A:  Cartier-Bresson’s imagery is just astounding.  His use of geometry and shape in photography is out-of-this-world.  I have read his biography recently and to get an insight into his thought process is intriguing to say the least.  The “modern masters”, such as Crash and Jeff are the people I look to now for inspiration and technique. Both of them run very informative blogs with great great images that people like me can look at, disseminate, and learn from.  They are somewhat different in styles themselves so I look to Jeff’s work more for the documentary and natural-light experiences, and Crash for his awesome signature portrait shots of the bride and groom.  There are so many talented photographers out there and the internet opens up such a huge avenue for learning from them.

Q:   So, how have you adapted techniques from these resources to come up with your own “look”?  Or, better yet, do you have any particular images that you feel uniquely define your approach and/or style?

I aim to develop my own style of wedding photography and the new 5D MK II helps me do that to some extent.  I’m using purely natural light (the high ISO capability of the modern cameras lends to this type of photography.) and I try and use my 85mm lens as much as possible.  This lens is so sharp and the style I am trying to achieve uses a lot of depth of field.  This lens is f1.2 at its widest point and so it really helps in that respect.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Q:  As a fellow member of NAPP, how much have you developed your style from the support content and materials in sites like NAPP and other photography communities?

A:  To be honest, whilst I am a member if NAPP, I don’t use their forums as much as I should.  It is a great resource though, and the magazine and techniques online are very useful – especially when new versions of Adobe software come to the market.  I do use Kelby Online Training and I think that is a great resource.  I try and put aside an afternoon a week to “train myself” – although this isn’t always practical as I also run my own web development firm.  I find the POTN (Photography on the net) forum useful when researching gear and also for keeping an eye on other peoples work.  I also find the SWPP forum in the UK extremely useful as there are a lot of very knowledgeable people there too.  I really find most of my inspiration from trawling the net and finding great wedding photography.

Q:  I already know the answer to this, but I would imagine the readers may want to know – what kind of gear do you shoot with?

A:  I was lucky enough to get a Canon EOS 5D MkII back in December last year.  It arrived on the 2nd December just in time for a big family birthday celebration which was great as I got a chance to practice with it.  I have a number of Canon and Sigma lenses too but my favorite lens of them all is the 85mm f/1.2.  It is simply magical.  I also have a 100mm macro, 16-35mm, 24-105mm and 70-200mm which hopefully covers all my bases.  I haven’t really looked at the HD video on Mk II yet, but I am beginning to see some “fusion” wedding photography out there which is a mix of video and stills and this is something I would like to look at in more depth as the technology progresses.  That said, stills will always be my No1. priority.

Q:  Since your style journalistic in nature you obviously will take a large number of photos during any event, whether pre-wedding or the actual wedding day.  What kinds of numbers do you typically return from an event with?  How do you handle your post processing? (Computer/software/etc.?)

A:    I actually did a wedding shoot recently and I took in excess of 1500 shots, of which I will probably sift down to 250-300.  I would expect the Bride and Groom to select anything between 50 and 150 for their package.  I do all my first phase processing in Lightroom now.  It’s such a good tool for cataloguing and doing bulk adjustments.  Anything more detailed such as spot removal I will still do in Photoshop.  I would love to see Adobe integrate Lightroom and Photoshop to truly marry the non-destructive workflow experience.  I am off to a two day seminar with Jeff Ascough at the end of the month and hopefully I will gain an insight into his post-processing workflow as I know he uses Photoshop heavily to create his stylized shots.

Q:  Could you also explain a little more about the idea behind the “pre-wedding” shoot you discuss on your website?

Pre-wedding shoots are quite common here (I’m not sure about in the U.S).  Typically you spend an afternoon or so with the bridge and groom a couple of months before the wedding taking some natural portraiture shots of them.  The idea, really, is to get to know the couple more.  The last thing anybody wants on the big day is for any uncomfortable scenes between the photographer and the bride and groom.  The pre-wedding shoot gives us a chance to get to know each other more and also to go through some ideas of poses and how to work in front of the camera.  It gives me a chance to identify what types of shots I can encourage them to do on the day, and what will be the limits.  Some couples are outgoing and excitable in front of a camera and some simply want to get the process out of the way so it is important to gain that knowledge well before the big day.  If we can, I intend to do the pre-wedding shoots at the venue of the wedding.  That way, we can all scout the area together and look for great places and light at the venue and, essentially, rehearse for the big day!  The pre-wedding shoot is part of the wedding package, but if the bride and groom want to buy any prints or a frame or even a mini-album after, then even better!

Q:  Oh, and since we talked about photo gear and computer/software preferences, I would be remiss if I didn’t ask this:  Chocolate, Vanilla or Strawberry?

A:  Chocolate every time.  My wife bought our nieces some Easter Eggs and they lasted less than 24 hours in our house.  We ate them and will have to buy the kids more now!

Q:  We all know you’re a regular contributor to Canon Blogger – what about other online resources?  Are there any that you find particularly useful that you’d like to share with the blogosphere?

A:  I”ve mentioned a few in the article already, but I think some of the sites that are great are:

• Crash Taylor Interviews
• POTN
• Kelby Training
• Damien Lovegrove’s blog is an excellent resource both business and photographically

I have quite a few blogs in my reader (such as Canon Blogger, Michael Palmer, Jen Rinaldi etc), that I like to visit each day.  I comment when I think it’s appropriate and appreciate it when people comment on my blog too.  All of these blogs are part of the fabric of my learning and I’m always on the lookout for other blogs that inspire and keep me focused.

Q:  Last but not least – any final thoughts you’d like to share on the state of the industry, thoughts on the future of photography, or other “words of wisdom”?

A:  Well, I rely on others to give me wisdom, but if I had to look to the future I would say that we will be seeing a lot more video and still fusion work going on over the next five years or so.  The latest Canon announcement (the EOS 500D) will bring HD video to the consumer level DSLRs which infers that it is here to stay.  Oh, and I definitely recommend moving out of London to the countryside!  It has a great effect on your well being 

Excellent advice, thanks Kevin! That about wraps things up here so don’t forget to stop over at Kevin’s blog.to see and enjoy his particular vision and style of work.  In the meantime, tomorrow might be another “no-blog” day because I am doing a little bit of travelling – depends on how soon I can get home.  So, happy shooting all, and if I don’t get home in time for another post, have a great weekend!

As I tinker a little with the audio quality of the show and try to make things more seamless and enjoyable, you’ll notice I am pushing the show out in segments, with some music to break things up in little snips between the subject material.  If you like it, chime in via the comments section of the blog.  If you don’t like it, well…chime in via the comments section of the blog.  If you are ambivalent, well…chime in via the comments in the blog.

Hmmm…seems like someone would like to hear what the listening audience thinks of the changes in the format for the audio podcast.  And it also seems that the feedback can easily be done via:  the comments section of the blog!

If you’ve listened to the show and are still yearning for more, please stop by fellow podcasters Scott Sherman and Michael Stein’s new podcast series:  Digital Photography Life.  Formerly, these guys hosted the Digital Photography Show on another network and they’ve since moved on.  Their first show on the new network mis up and ready for your listening pleasure, so do stop over and give it a listen – great to have them back on the air!  Their podcast can be found here:  Digital Photography Life

[podcast]http://www.canonblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/audio/CBPodcast58.mp3[/podcast]

As some of you may recall, Scott Kelby held a worldwide photo walk a few months ago to promote his new book that was coming out on Lightroom 2.  Well, since then several smaller photo walk clubs and groups have formed and begun their own outings.  Denver was no exception and our first official photo walk this last weekend had a really good turnout of roughly 15-20 people.  About half of us even got together afterward at a local eatery to share stories and get to know one another better.  Everyone is posting shots over on the Meetup site and at the Flickr site as well, so stop in there to see some of the talents showcased in those venues.  The shot above is a pano I stitched together from the occasion.  With more photo walks to come, this definitely has some positive energy about it.

In the interests of keeping the “What’s This?” on schedule, we are now in week 18. Last week’s was in fact, the stained glass that a reader correctly identified rather quickly. So, I am hopefully going to make things a little more intriguing for you this week. Let’s see the first to identify this image:

Podcast Notes:

1. Gadget Infinity is the site to get the Cactus Triggers from – be careful to order for the correct lights
2. There are some great patterns inside CS3 (not available in CS4 anymore), just go to the following folder to find them: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS3\Presets\Patterns\PostScript Patterns
3. Q&A – Recording Software, Crop Factors, and photo terminology

Wrap-up: Contests, Road Tip, & Polls

Happy shooting all, watch those apertures, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Jason D. Moore

Jason D. Moore is a well known photographer and graphic designer, with ACE certifications on Adobe PS CS3, has extensive experience as a videographer, is a member of the Adobe Acrobat User Community, and also has some extensive experience in web development.  Suffice to say, he is very well-known for his Photography and Photoshop Blogroll, and has had several mentions on Photoshop User TV.  He also hosts photo walks in the Southern Tier of New York and is just a super nice guy.  Last week he and I had a chance to exchange a few emails and I learned quite a bit about him and his background from our discussion.

Q.    Everyone always wants to know some of the basics, so let’s get a few things out of the way at once here…How long have you been a photographer?
A.  I’ve been taking pictures on and off since I was a kid. When I was the editor of my high school yearbook I began to see images more in terms of their composition and how they conveyed a message when placed together in a collection. I got a lot from my dad when I would go along with him on video shoots growing up and learned how to take it from just conveying a message to telling a story.  I didn’t do much with photography in college, but rediscovered my love for it while studying abroad during my senior year with Semester at Sea (www.semesteratsea.com) and then began taking it really seriously with my first dSLR – a Nikon D50 – back in 2006.

Q.  2. Canon or Nikon?
A.  Nikon

Q.  Mac or PC?
A.  PC

Q.  Chocolate or Vanilla?
A.  Vanilla – but I also really like Black Raspberry, Peanut Butter Cup, Cookies and Cream, and Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream.

Q.  Moving into a little more granularity, photographers often enjoy hearing helpful and  constructive critiques of their work, as we are aware of how much we can grow from it.  However, we’ve also all had the “nice shot” and “cool” comments when we’ve shared our work.  What was the singular most useful critique or comment you’ve ever had on work you’ve shared publicly?

A.  I’m not sure it’s considered a critique that I learned from but I always remember Scott Kelby telling me, “You’ve got some very inspiring work—a great eye (which is what it’s all about), and some great Photoshop skills to boot!” And when one of my shots was picked as a NAPP Editor’s Choice, Larry Becker said, “This (and many other images in this portfolio) make us want to be there. This is beautiful art.” Making viewers want to be there is a high goal to strive for and it pushes me to try harder every time I go out shooting to attain it. These comments would mean a lot no matter who said them, but because they come from men I respect and who know what they are talking about, it really touched me.

Q.  If someone was asking you for an honest critique of their work, what 3 factors would you look at most (excluding friendships or family relatives, we’re talking professional or fellow photographer-types here)?

A.  Technically speaking I look at framing/composition, color/tone, and sharpness/depth of field (not in any particular order). However, while all of those things are important, I’ve always been a believer in art trumping the technical. I look for a sense of style, individuality and a unique approach/perspective, and most of all, that the piece tells a story. If it moves me, the technical stuff doesn’t matter as much.

Q.  Got any war stories from field shoots or outings that you can or would be willing to share?

A.  It’s not a photography story, but a videography story. A few years ago at my old job I was headed out on a shoot about 4 hours away. Before I left, I checked all my gear to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything – batteries, microphones, cables, directions, etc. – and headed out the door. I was already running a little bit late. When I got about an hour and a half into my drive, I suddenly realized that I never checked to make sure I had enough tape for the day. At the next service area I reached into the camera bag and realized that, not only did I not have enough tape for the day, I didn’t have any! So I had to drive back an hour and a half to grab the tapes that were sitting right next to where the camera bag was. At the end of the day, I was advised of a “better” route back home which actually added an extra hour or so to the trip. So I ended up spending 4 extra hours in the car.

There are also the couple of times when I was doing some live event work when, due to scheduling or technical issues of one sort or another, I had to endure 40-hour work days, including setup of a convention center’s worth of sound and video equipment and full-day sessions of conferences.

Q.  If you had to choose between the gear or the software as the only way to create, which would it be and why?
A.  I learned a lot about Photoshop before I learned a whole lot about Photography and I think you can do some amazing things when the two are working in concert. With that said, I’d have to go with the camera over the software. Photographers were creating breathtaking shots long before there was Photoshop and really, without the shot, the software isn’t much use, is it?

Q.  Any final thoughts you’d like to share about the state of photography or any catch phrases that you keep in mind when shooting?

A.  I’m a details kind of guy and I really like the phrase “get close, then get closer.” I think I heard it from Derek Story but can’t be certain. It’s a concept I’ve heard over and over but that says it really well. One of the things I strive for is to find a part that tells of the whole. Sometimes you don’t need to show all of something for your audience to get it. Sometimes just a small piece can say more than the entire subject and you will usually find that your shots are more interesting that way too!

I’d like to thank Jason for taking the time out of his busy schedule to share some of his thoughts and experiences with the readership here.  Please stop over at this website to thank him yourself and to see his portfolio of work.  He can be found at:  http://www.jasondmoore.com

Basically, Adobe has worked with various camera vendors to get the ACR to approximate the same colors that are shown in the vendor proprietary software (Digital Photo Professional for Canon and Capture NX for Nikon, and a whole host of others.)  Matt did a great job of showing how close it gets while even still in beta.  I was convinced enough to go ahead and download the plugin to use in CS3.  Fair warning though, you do need at least ACR version 4.5 or higher to use these profiles (I have 4.6 installed).  Since my bodies are Canon-specific my interface may look a little different, but thought I’d share the screenshot of what it looks like for me:

My thoughts are that the Camera Landscape beta is the closest to what DPP shows.  Since it’s all happening in camera raw, as Matt stated, it just gives you a better starting point with less editing to get to your final results.  I really can’t wait to see how this develops and moves out of beta.  Just hope that Adobe sees fit to release the final shipping version for CS3 owners as well as CS4.  What about others – has anyone else installed this?  How do your pictures look?  Are they close to your vendor software?  Feel free to jump in with the comments!

In other news for Friday, this is the last day to participate in the economy-photography poll from the sidebar.  You RSS readers – stop in and vote, we’re trying to break 30, and only have until midnight!  Other than that, it’s been a great day – I even got some cool shots of the dog after our walk with the sunlight glistening in her eyes.

I’ll leave with my favorite What the Duck of the Week.  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again on Monday – have a great weekend!

Turns out there are some LR issues with a few tools and with XMP sidecar files versus database entries.  If this is all gibberish to you, then don’t worry you are probably fine.  For the more technically inclined though, their readme file is something to look at before you upgrade ACR this go-around.

Linked here

Proof positive that the old adage of “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” can still apply in a modern world.  If you don’t have a specific need for the update (a very recent camera purchase), I’d hold off until the next update ships as this could break Lightroom to a degree, as well as prevent respecting of previous edits if you use the database option for XMP data.

In more CB-specific news, the last poll finally wrapped up today.  With 30 responses, here was the final tally:

The newest poll is now up on the sidebar.  2 weeks does seem to return more meaningful information as that gives people enough time to respond.  Feel free to chime in at your leisure.  The question is:  Does the current economic downturn had an impact on new photography-related purchases?  For those reading in feed readers, stop in to see the options and vote!  Let’s try to crack the 50-count this go around!

On a lighter note, the WTD series this week was really pretty darn funny.  Here’s my favorite:

Have a great weekend everyone, Happy Shooting, and we’ll see you back here Monday morning!

Brian over at Professional Snapshots got a G9 and shared some initial thoughts on that (as well as an interesting test shot), so stop over to his blog and see his feedback. Comment if you get a chance too – Brian always has fun stuff to read and share.

1001 Noisy Cameras does their latest update to the Canon SLR Market Price list indicating that prices pretty much remain the same, but now we have rebates! There’s also a link to a lengthy review of the Canon Xsi (and apparently somewhere in there a comparison between the 40D and the 450D??? I, like them, don’t understand – it’s apples and oranges. Anyway, stop over to 1001NC and read all about it – thanks guys for your info -you are on my must-read list since I learned about y’all! (Also, the TOP Test you linked to had some updates – see below for more)

Scott Kelby reminds us to back up our hard drives today (which I need to do btw…)

Ctein makes a passionate plea to avoid using music in website design over at The Online Photographer (thank you!)

Last, but not least, here’s some blog updates for CB:

• I am almost done with the article compilations on creating your own photo website, so thanks to all for their patience.
• The Online Photography Test has moved and now as TWO tests: Basic and Advanced! The latter still needs a few questions so stop over and take it, see your scores and share thoughts to round it out!
• My photo shoots have been keeping me busy, but a gallery has been published here for viewer enjoyment: A Day in the Park
• Another gallery should be forthcoming shortly too – still waiting on a model release.

Finally, lest I forget the Friday Funnies, stop over to What The Duck for a chuckle – or would it be a Duckle?

Just before I hit the sack last night, I saw that Adobe went and released Lightroom 2.0 in its beta form. I’ve already downloaded it and checked out some of the key changes. Until this release, I had used a trial version on my one desktop, and decided I’d tr it for 30 more days just a week or so ago on this main one. Well, right after recording a tutorial on creating web galleries in LR 1.x Adobe goes and does this! I shoulda known better.

The NAPP staff was clearly in on the development as they’ve got a page already set up with a first look on a lot of the key items. Great info and the features are definitely the ones I’d been waiting for – guess it’s time to buy! In my earnest to see everything I noticed though, that Matt K. does not show the dual monitor display on his first look. Was rather disappointed, so….in the interests of showing to others what I just saw, I did a little brief first look of my own. The resolution is super huge (1024×768), and it does look a little “off”. The reason here is because my one monitor is a 19″ and my other one is a 15″. So, on Windows it looks a little funny. But, it does get the gist across for those interested in seeing what’s there for the latest version. Check it out in the Quicktime download attached to this post.

As for the nuts and bolts of changes, I’ll leave those details to the pros over at NAPP and other blogging venues. Some of the more salient and interesting ones I saw today are here:

• Adobe Creative Suite Podcast
• NAPP Lightroom 2.0 First Look
• Scott Kelby’s Announcement
• New Features
• System Requirements
• John Nack’s take (lots of links and useful info here, many of which I’ve linked to as well)
  
• Adobe’s Release notes (known issues)
• Terry White’s Take
• Jason Moore’s take

Only a few wishes…I didn’t immediately see any support for tethered shooting…but I guess that’s could go on a wish request since it’s still in beta. Also, it looks like the second monitor support means just 5 view options: loupe/grid/live loupe/locked loupe/compare/ and survey. I was hoping the 2nd monitor would be customizable with the LR panels (like Photoshop), but I’ve not figured out how to do that yet. If anyone knows whether that is something I am missing, or if it’s not been added…let me know.

Anyway, that’s the big news today – LR 2.0 beta was publicly released during the keynote at Photoshop World! With Photoshop Express, and tons of other R&D stuff coming out of Adobe – it’s a good time to be a fan! SO, without further ado, here’s my first look at LR 2.0 dual monitor setup options! Quicktime only version today (renders faster than the flash version and has wider viewing from those that visit the blog).