If you take one photo a day, it will take you 10,000 days to become fluent with photography, or 27 years!  One good photo a day means it will take you twenty seven years to become fluent in the field of photography.  Look at how that extrapolates out:

I don’t know about you, but the last time I took sixteen good photos in one day was…well, um, never really!  I could go into a long soliloquy about learning the craft encompassing more than just taking good photos.  And it’s true.  You learn when you take bade photos, because you’ve eliminated a process that doesn’t work.  You also learn from reading articles, books, attending seminars and workshops.  Learning a craft is much more than just one photo, but the math still holds true.  So, even if you spend four hours a day learning about photography, it will be a long time before you are fluent (at least 6 years anyway, right?).

The caveat now is that learning a trade or craft is more than just study and reading – it’s also doing.  So, in all of this, let’s say it breaks down to about 25-25-50 in percentages.  I say this primarily because you learn so much more from doing than studying and reading.  In the field of photography, this means taking pictures.  You have to take pictures (both good and bad) to become a good photographer.  Now comes the stickler – the question that I was asked and is the title of this post:  which photos count?

When learning, and studying your craft, does the crappy iPhone photo count?  The stupid cheesy grin shot you did with your “bff” at the beach?  My answer (surprise surprise) starts with “It depends…”  That’s the first part…the second part is:

What did you learn from that photo?

If the answer is – “I learned that on camera flash works with a portrait and the sun setting behind you”, then yes, it counts!  If the photo is “Well, I learned that on camera flash in a studio shot of a digital telephone doesn’t work too well because of excessive specular highlights”, then hell yeah, it counts!  The converse also holds though too.  If you take a snapshot during your vacation with yourself and your s.o (significant other) at Plymouth Rock, and it never sees the light of day past your refrigerator, then no, it does not count!  If you learn or gain nothing from a photo you took, it doesn’t count.  Here’s some shots from my history that I’ve learned from – can you tell which ones I shot at the beginning of my foray into the most recent?  (Don’t cheat and look at the meta data…which ones are first, middle, and last chronologically?)

This exercise also illustrates that you should never be afraid to also look at the shots you were taking one year ago, or two, or three or five, then compare them to your most recent work.  Do you see an improvement?  Has the gap narrowed between what you “saw” and what the image produced?  If the answer is yes, then who cares whether the photos in between count or not.  As long as you are striving to become better and to speak more fluently.  While trees do matter, it’s helpful to remember they are part of a forest.  Keep expanding the forest with the photos that count – the ones you learn from!

*****

Also, don’t forget the Louisville edition of the Worldwide Photowalk happens tomorrow – there’s still room for a couple more people, so if you wanna join us for walking, talking, shooting, and a beverage afterward – it’s free to join!  Register here by midnight tonight!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To the readers who have been there with me since the beginning, I’d like to say thanks for all your patience as I’ve walked through several fires of growing pains.  I’ve come to the realization that the more you write, the greater the chance you have to sound like either a fool, or a pure and simple $%^&.   Hopefully I’ve minimized both of these occurrences enough to warrant another 700 posts!

There’s a couple things coming up on the horizon that are quite exciting, and a few fire irons already nice and hot (see contest #1 and contest #2 going on right now)!  The biggest change is coming at the end of the month when CB gets a pretty serious face lift.  Other upcoming things of interest include  a podcast with none other than Martin Bailey on Monday, the 3rd Annual World Wide Photowalk in July, and the 2nd release of the 49 Photo Tips download!  (The first is still available here…)  All this is accompanied by the regular news, reviews, and photography experiences/insights that I share with you here daily.  So, you’d think that with all that, there’s be nothing else of a “big news” item to announce at this time.  After all, it’s just Friday, right?

Well, not to disappoint, but there is some news to share with you today on post #700!  This is not only news, it’s pretty big news!  In fact, it’s not just pretty big news – it’s super huge!  Are you sitting down?  Are you ready for this? (Cue “Jock Jams“…for those of you that did not experience the early 90′s, the link may be a #lame one…)

Actually, I’d better not just quite yet.  But, I can let you know that Anaheim, Salt Lake City, Denver, Minneapolis, Seattle and Portland all have something in common (they make a nice circle…don’t ya think? )…

More tk…happy friday and have a great weekend all!  Get out and shoot ya some!

First off, Scott Kelby has announced the 3rd Annual Worldwide Photo Walk!  It’s a pretty big deal now as there are some major sponsors that contribute prizes to this, and it’s just a super cool time.   There are usually a couple that start up for the Denver area, and if you’ll be around, let me know and I can post which group I’ll be in so you can join (or avoid) as needed!

Next up, I am having a couple really exciting podcasts coming up in future weeks, so my one that I recorded over the weekend will never see the light of day – it was a solo run, so not as much fun as, perhaps talking to Rob Sylvan (Also a NAPP Helpdesk writer) or Martin Bailey!  They are coming up soon, and we’re recording soon, so get your questions in via comments, email, or the free 800 line:  866-809-8663!

In other blog news, you may notice three new sponsors in the sidebar:  Adobe, NAPP, and Red River Paper!

• Adobe – So, if you’re trial version of CS5 is almost up – order the full version here and you can still take advantage of great savings.  Just come through the side panel link here to get the same pricing as elsewhere, and when you do, you’ll be helping me keep costs to a minimum on the blog and podcast!
• NAPP – For the NAPP link – you can sign up for a membership through this affiliate link and get lots of special bonuses, and the referral also helps to keep costs down too…(I think you get like 2 additional months free or something like that).
• Red River Paper – These guys are terrific – not only have they donated prizes in the past to monthly giveaways, but their continued support and service to both myself and readers/lilsteners is now available through the affiliate link in the sidebar.  Enjoy (especially their latest Pearl Metallic paper – totally rocks!)!

Finally, speaking of contests, the May giveaway entry deadline has passed and the winner of the free copy of PTGui Pano Software is:  AlinNZ!  Congrats to him and to Alin – if you contact me via email, I’ll get you in touch with PTGui to have them send your license key to unlock the software!  Great photo, and thanks to all for participating!

Click the photo to be taken to his photo stream and comment on his excellent body of work there as well.  Congrats, and for those interested in the June contest – the news is posted on the Flickr site with all the details, so head there for more info.  I’ll go into more details on it later this week, so keep on feedin’ on the blog!  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Call me crazy, but I thought the outtakes were rather fun, and the last one for some reason is very compelling for me….what about everyone else?  What are your thoughts?  These photo walks sure are a great way to inspire the creative gene if you have the right mindset, and we have another one going on tomorrow back in our familiar haunt of downtown Denver, under the guidelines of “Embracing the Constraints” where all we get to shoot with are P&S and phone cameras.  Yours truly is leading it, so if you have an inkling and are in the area, check out the site here:  Denver Photowalk Group

If not, have a great weekend, happy shooting, and don’t forget to stop back in on Monday for yet more photography goodness.

Sunrise is predicted for around 6am, which means about a 5am arrival.  Since it’s about 2 hours away from Denver, we are heading out about 3 tomorrow morning.  So, wish us luck of the light, and have a great weekend.  Don’t forget, the new contest thread is also up for the month of March over on Flickr and a fun subject will make for some great photo ops – ANIMALS! So don’t forget to take out your camera and get some shots.  Happy Shooting and we’ll see you back here again on Monday.

P.S.  Also, don’t forget that the comments are image upload enabled (if your photo is already hosted on a website somewhere of course)…so if you have any sunrise shots you’d like to share from your own neck of the woods, by all means, post away – after all, what fun is photography without sharing?

I give a roundup review of the Scott Kelby Worldwide photowalk, along with a more detailed back story on the Canon Confession, which was outed yesterday here on the blog.

Rich Charpentier of The Airstream Chronicles also stops in for a really great interview with me – we probably could have talked for quite a while longer, but tried to keep things managable.  On our discussion we learn about his HDR work, his printing work, and his travels from within an Airstream.  He’s got some great stories including mountain lions, sock puppets, and much more.

A couple administrative notes and links from the show.

Here’s links to Rich’s website and his blog, as well as his book, The Digital RV

A couple other things we talked about included:

Arctic Butterfly sensor Cleaner

Bert Gildart’s Photography

Stuck in Customs

Also, don’t forget the OnOne Software Plugin Suite 4.5 Giveaway is coming to an end soon!  You could win this software suite, valued at $500 retail just by entering your “Numbers” themed photo (taken in July) over at the Flickr thread before July 31st.  Good luck and I expect a lot of entries will be coming soon as people reveal the fruits of their labor, and the results of their work over the month (especially given the photo walk from this last weekend)!   I could amuse you with more, but then would have nothing for tomorrow, so don’t forget to stop back in for another fun day of photography news, information and discussion.  Happy shooting everyone!

Grab the Feed

1. Charge your batteries, and the spares!
2. Clean your lenses, wipe them down and use lens cleaner to get everything spiffy.
3. Decide what items you will be taking with you and what you’ll be leaving behind.
4. Pack your gear and make a list on a 3×5 card of everything you will have.  That way you can check against that at the end of the day to make sure you return home with everything you took in.
5. If you have a garage or other secured area for your car, try packing your car the night before, so that way you know you won’t forget anything.
6. Speaking of cards, if you have any business cards or calling cards, take a stack of them to stuff into your pack or pocket – it’s all a part of networking, and learning from like-minded people.
7. Since we’re on the subject of networking, with the digital world we live in, it’s often just as easy to make a few notes when you’re sitting around the coffee shop chimping your shots, so take your Blackberry, Ipod, or cell phone with you – every phone I’ve ever seen has a notepad feature.  If someone suggests a site to go to (like Canon Blogger!), you have a way to jot it down right there.
8. A pen and paper or real notepad is a good idea.  What if you take a shot of someone and they don’t have a card or anything to write with and want a copy?  Have ‘em write it down for you.
   
9. Check the weather beforehand and plan your clothing accordingly.  This also means perhaps including some protective elements like towels and such for your camera gear in case there is a chance of rain.
10. Get a good nights sleep.
11. Verify the starting time and place for the shoot.
12. Print out a map of how to get there, especially if the location is unfamiliar to you.
13. Plan to arrive at least 10 minutes before the departure time.  This allows for traffic, and other unforeseeable circumstances.  No one wants to be the last to arrive either.
14. Pack a few munchies (granola bars, pretzels, etc.) and maybe a bottle of water or two if you will be out away from stores and things like that – nothing ruins an otherwise fun photo walk like hunger or thirst.
    
15. Have fun!

So, I’ve added a few things to the checklist – last year it was at 10, this year it’s 15.  Next year, yup, there will probably be 20!  It never hurts to plan ahead.  Here’s to a successful photo walk for everyone.  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here on Monday!

49 Photo Tips Cheat Sheet

Feel free to download the PDF at your leisure…with just one rule:  help spread the word!  Remember, we learn best by sharing with others, so if you like it – tell your friends, they’ll like you better!  If you have an idea for future inclusion, then tell me!  I am always looking for new ideas, sources of creativity and ways to learn and improve so by all means, let me know if I got something wrong, or if you have an idea to include.

Also, since these are kind of time sensitive, don’t forget about two important events coming up this month:

• Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk (this Saturday in a city near you)
• The OnOne Plugin Suite 4.5 Giveaway (1 entry/person will be taken through July 31 to win this $500 retail package)

One other note for today – the podcast that allegedly went live yesterday was a re-broadcast of the previous episode initially.  That has since been corrected, so by all means, download the current episode (#26) today (and tell a friend this too!).  That’s it for the day, so happy shooting, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

Grab the Feed

ETA:  After a friendly post that referred to this months later, I received many emails asking what happened to the link for the PDF article.  I normally delete free downloads after being archived more than 30 days.  So, if you want it for free, the window is 30 days.  After that, content is pulled for future release, usually in an eBook or other web-friendly format, and also usually at minimal charge.  Such was the case here given the demand.  This is now available as an individual download in my online store page for a mere $2.99 – small price to pay for 49 tips and it helps me keep the content running for everyone!  Feel free to purchase your own here:

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:

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.