Nevertheless, since photos have not been at the forefront, I wanted to dedicate an entire post to sharing some photos from the trip here with you.  So, without further ado, some selects from the trip!

To finish things off, a quick reminder that today is Webinar Wednesday!  Kerry Garrison (Camera Dojo) and I go live tonight at 7pm Mountain Time, 6pm Pacific.  If you’ve got time to stop in and check out the show, or even want to share the info with friends, it’s always free to join!  Here’s the sign-up page…see you tonight!

Next up -  some re-codification of the blog. After realizing some reporting errors and general wonkiness with plugins, theme-specific settings and other stuff, I poured through some of the resources available online and have come up with a new layout that should work.  For those of you reading through feeds, you’re just going to have to visit to see a potential new “facelift” for the blog.  It’s got a lot going for it, including:

• Easy Navigation and Drop-Down Menus
• Recent Posts (with images – top sidebar)
• Podcast History (Show Notes – right sidebar)
• Contest History (Bottom Slider)
• …and much more

It’s not set in stone of course though, so would love to hear what people think of the layout, appearance, content, etc.  There are some redundancies, and the categories are also in the midst of the 4th quarter clean-up, but hopefully things are moving in the right direction.  So, stop over, kick the tires, see if you like the layout!  (And who knows – you may find some content in the new navigation menu that you previously didn’t know about! )

Finally, I got to work on the October newsletter.  Unfortunately, there simply were not enough hours in the weekend to get it all done.  So, there has been a slight reprieve!  If you’ve not signed up for the October newsletter yet – there’s still time!  For those that have already, it’s coming…very soon!

More tk…

Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

While reading through the Sept. issue of Rangefinder, I found myself re-visiting the subject yet again, and with artists who I’ve seen and admired before, including Clark Little and Eric Curry (you may have seen Eric’s work featured over on David Hobby’s Strobist site periodically…brilliant lighting setups!).  The whole idea gave me a moment of pause – how much of my own work has been cognizant of the power of light? (It was a very Joe McNally/National Geographic type of moment if such a moment could be attained by an aspiring one rather than successful ones like those mentioned above.)

Nevertheless, taking cue from their inspiration, I perused my own portfolio for the theme of light.  It was actually quite extensive, so much so that another theme had to be incorporated to pare things down further.  Since Clark Little’s work has always been a source of inspiration and envy, I decided to go with a water pairing.  How have I managed to capture both water and light effectively?  The exercise was a good one, and looking at your archives with a new vision or perspective has always been one I encourage.  So, without further ado, here’s my take on combining the themes of water and light:

As inspiring as it was for me, take this cue as a source of inspiration for yourselves…pick a theme (or two), and peruse your archives (or go shoot with the theme in mind), and see where your creativity will take you.  Got ideas for creativity along these lines?  Share ‘em in the comments too, as ideas for inspiration are all around us.  Check out what everyone says in the comments section below!

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

Photo News

1. 3rd Annual Worldwide Photo Walk has been announced by Scott Kelby, and details are here.
2. Lightroom 3 was announced last week Monday – and is available to purchase and download…you can also download a 30 day trial for free from Adobe here (or buy via the sponsored link in the sidebar!)
3. New Plugins available for LR – Pro Show Gold, a popular slideshow and movie creation software set.  Info here

Martin Bailey

1. Photography and Culture in Japan: Laws or hassles shooting in public?
2. Workshops and your development in photography

• Workshops
• Development/Inspiration

3. X-Rite Colorati
4. Martin on the web

Links: http://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/
Blog: http://blog.martinbaileyphotography.com/
Podcast: http://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/podcasts.php
Workshops: http://www.mbpworkshops.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MartinBailey
Folio: Martin Baily Photography

Q&A

• Professional Critique
• Cost of Printing
• Starting Camera Suggestions

Martin was also kind enough to share a sample selection of his portfolio with us here on the show.  These are the low res versions, to see things super nice, head on over to his folio link provided above.  In the meantime, enjoy the photos, the show, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for the latest in photography reviews!

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As you can tell, some of the shots are pretty cool, others – well, not so much.  Some are out of focus, some are boring, but a few just pop and stand out.  Also note that I’ve not done any post processing of these.  I just imported into Lightroom 3, re-sized for export uniformity, and boom! – done.  While I grant you it’s not always showcasing the “best of the best” of your work, it’s is important though not to eliminate shots from the project, at least initially…because these “throwaways” can help you identify what works and what doesn’t work.  What makes certain shots stand out and why?  These are all things to look at when doing little mini projects like this.  So, pick a subject and fire away!  Feel free to share your own thoughts on what works and what doesn’t in the comments, and hopefully this will help kick-start some other projects!  Happy shooting all and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

May, We Salute You

Brad Lackey

Brittany Jones

KBTImages

moises cervantes

Paul Prior

scrapgeek

SarahinArizona

Travel Photography

whalenmdw

I’m pretty sure the artist name matches with the description and caption, so be sure to stop by not only the LDP pool, but check out these great folks threads and photostreams on Flickr too – lots of great vision and talent out there.  Thanks to everyone for sharing your images with the crowd – it’s always a lot of fun to see new takes on things.

For those interested in seeing your photos “up in lights”, be sure to add them to the group pool over at LDP.  I usually remember to check at or near the beginning of every month for some of the highlight images from the previous month…in this case May!  All were a great thrill to see, so thanks to everyone!  Keep ‘em coming!

Speaking of Flickr, don’t forget the June Contest is underway – and the winner will enjoy the generosity of Lexar’s latest line of CF cards – they contributed 2 4GB Lexar Pro 300X cards to the monthly giveaway, so thanks to them.  These retail for around $70 a piece, so this is almost $150 in prize values!  The theme is FAST because these cards sure are fast at 300x!  Be sure to share your images in the contest thread, and consider Lexar for your memory needs.  B&H is having some pretty good deals these days too, so you may want to check them out for about half off the regular retail price at $44.99!  Check them out here:  Lexar Pro 4GB 300X CF Cards

And finally, with the start of June – we have the image of the month set to a desktop calendar for the most popular screen resolutions – laptops, large monitors and regular monitors.  If you don’t see your resolution listed, send me an email or post in the comments so I can get that size entered and uploaded!. Happy shooting all, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Desktop  Calendars

• 1600×1200
• 1280×1024
• 1024×768

Also up today, a little shout out to Dave Zarzacki, who owns a like new Canon XSi in mint condition, but just doesn’t need it in his gear bag (he’s trying to round out his collection with an SLR that will take all his current lenses).  It’s a great deal which includes the following:

• XSi body (black) – $640 value from B&H
• Canon 18-55 IS lens – $60 value as part of above kit from B&H
• Tiffen UV filter – $7 value from B&H
• 2 4GB SDHC cards – $25 value from Amazon
• Gary Fong Puffer flash diffuser – $20 value from B&H
• M-Rock Yellowstone bag ($54 value)

Individually, this would sell for over $800 easily, and Dave is only asking for $650 plus shipping.  I know the guy personally and can say that he knows how to take care of gear – this stuff will not have a scratch or scuff and will work as though new.  A great deal for someone starting out!  Any takers?  Drop me a line to get his email address and information.

Finally, for today, the Sigma lenses are in, and I can’t wait to start the review process on these this weekend!  Already found a few features that are just too cool for school!  Some other gear review items are on deck too – but I want to hear from you!  What do you want to learn more about in the way of products, gear, accessories, and such?  Sound off in the comments or with me via email!

Happy shooting all and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

Grab the feed

As promised, my latest web gallery is up and viewable on the photo site directly at this link here: A Day in the Park, but a few previews of the ones I really loved have lightbox versions below:

Also of interest, and just in time for the weekend, the latest installment of the TOP test has been compiled and published. I still have a few questions to finish, and 2 of these I am culling from my image library for samples, so you will have to examine pictures this go around – so it’s real life shots that need evaluation, not just textbook definitions…although there’s plenty of that too. Hopefully this one will be a little more challenging, so take it and share your scores today: Top Test – Advanced Photography Exam

The portal page is also new, and the original exam page has almso moved relative to the folder structure movement from outside CB to inside CB (makes tracking easier)…Enjoy the exams and let me know if you have any ideas (An Expert or Pro level exam is also something I am considering compiling but I really would need some pros help in putting that together).

Until Monday then, here’s your weekly installment of WTD;

Until Monday, then, enjoy the weekend, happy shooting, and watch those apertures!