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…

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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…

Since I am on the subject of photo walks, before the pics, it helps to say a few words about these gatherings.  They are probably one of the most enjoyable things about photography, because you get together with people that share the same passion you do for the craft.  You get to trade shots and techniques, talk shop, and gear, post processing – the works.  I have made some great friends from both photo walks, so kudos to Scott Kelby and the NAPP organization for hatching the idea for these types of get-togethers.  While the activity has always been around to a degree – the awareness and energy that they’ve brought to it are astounding!

Okay, enough fan-dom for the day – here’s my photo gallery shots I’ve worked on thus far.  Got a few regular shots and an HDR using the trial version of Photomatix (I still haven’t ponied up to buy this…I need to do that soon!):

Large Sunflower

Farmhouse

Para-sailing

Wood Stove

I know these are all pretty much snapshot material, but it’s part of what makes photo walks so much fun – just random pics, and socializing!  Unless of course you take your photowalking more serious…  On that note, share your thoughts on photo walks in the comments.  Do you find them useful?  If so, for what?  If not, share those thoughts as well.  Chime in, as comments are always appreciated!  (Oh yeah, can anyone tell which one is the HDR?  No peeking for the “photomatix” stamp!)

One final note – we are in the final days of the August contest over in the Flickr threads.  This month, the prize is a Wacom Bamboo Fun!  (I reviewed this last month on the blog, and you can check out the review here.)  The retail value of this is $100, and the submission count is a little lighter this go around, so your odds of winning are even better – for now!  Anyway, like the Lotto, if you don’t play, you can’t win – and this one is free!  So, share your “fun” themed shots today in the Flickr group – see the thread for more details here:  Bamboo Fun Giveaway

Okay, that’s all the photos, news, and contest info I have for this 498th post.  We’re closing in on magical #500 – only a couple days to go, so stay tuned as the posts will likely get more and more multimedia filled.  And, if you tune in to #500 – a great giveaway exclusive to that day will also be announced!  So, as we count down the days remaining, keep on shooting.  Until tomorrow, hope all your shots are great ones!

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Now, before anyone gets all uppity because sensor crop factors have been discussed ad infinitum, just relax, because this isn’t about sensors (well, a little, but indirectly).  I am talking about cropping your pictures in camera.  We all do it, often to improve composition, or to focus in on one area of an image – but what about those undesired crops?  What am I talking about?  I am talking about images where it looks really great “in camera” but when you go to print it, the native aspect ratio won’t work for the size you want to print to.  See, most SLR cameras (non-full frame anyway) have roughly an aspect ratio of 2:3.  This means that you can print at this ratio without losing anything in your image.  But, if you want to print at a different aspect ratio, then something has to be cropped out.

So, what aspect ratio will work with the 2:3 proportions? Who all remembers their grade school math?  All you have to do is multiply each side of the ratio by the same number.  So, prints that work are …

• 2×3″ prints (2:3 x 1:1 = 2×3)
• 4×6″ prints (2:3 x 2:2 = 4:6)
• 6×9″ prints (2:3 x 3:3 = 6:9)
• 8×12″ prints (2:3 x 4:4 = 8:12)

You get the gist…but here’s the thing – the only “standard” print size that really fits our native camera aspect ratio is the 4×6″ print.  What if we want an 8×10″ print?  Well, cropping is required then.  This means losing some of your image.  So, this also means that you need to think about this during image composition in camera – if you like it – and want to print it – remember to frame things so that the crop won’t lose key elements of the picture.  Here’s a perfect example:

I took the above shot on a trip down in Isla Mujeres.  I absolutely love this shot.  The problem is that my proportions are lost when I crop to print an 8×10.  Take a look at the 8×10 crop:

It still looks pretty good, and I love the colors still, but some of the impact has been lost by cropping out the frame on both the left and the right.  See how the brown “framing element” has been lost?  I could have cropped less on that side and more on the orange side (even though the orange side is still cropped to a degree), but hopefully you’ll see the difference easily enough because it’s really the orange, yellow and blue that I think are the fundamental colors that hold my eye for this shot.  Suffice to say, I still loved it enough to print and frame an 8×10…but that’s not the point here.

The point is to try and remember to frame your composition in camera with “the crop factor” in mind.   By taking these measures into consideration, you can really have many more printable memories.  So, when you go out shooting this weekend, keep the crop factor in mind.  Happy shooting, enjoy the weekend, and we’ll see you back here on Monday!

• The three competing interests of quality, quickness, and cost.
• Is grey market gear a worthwhile alternative for decreasing overhead
• Blog and Podcast notes, including an update on the Think Tank Photo Streetwalker Contest
• Listener questions, and the Photo Tip of the week, covering dark prints and the DOF preview button.

On the blog front, for those of you who had been suffering through the feed breakdown – I figured out the source of the problems, and was able to reconcile the feed XML file against iTunes.  So, the history of shows is up again back through May of 2008.  As I go through more Archives of both audio and video podcasts more should come back to life as time permits.  If anyone would like to hear a specific subject addressed in future podcasts, please feel free to share your thoughts with me in the comments section or via email.

Another little tidbit – the graphic for the “Archives” of all blog posts and for the “About” page has been changed too, so be sure to stop over there and see the new layout!  Lots of fun stuff from over the weekend to share!  The final bit of news is that a fellow NAPP’er will be in town this week and we’ll be getting together for a mini photowalk here in downtown Denver.  So, if anyone is in the area and would like to join us – drop me a note and I’ll get you the details.  Hope everyone else had a fun weekend.  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow.

Indograhams – Again, another fabulous Friday skyline from Scotty.  He also went photowalking on Saturday too!

Invisible Green – Marcus shares a shot from this past weekend with his family, very cute!

Jason D. Moore – If you don’t know this site, then why are you even reading my blog?  Jason is pretty much the standard news outlet for Photography and Photoshop activities.  If you’re not reading his blogroll regularly, you are missing out!

Jen Rinaldi – More clouds from jen on her weekend, and some other cool street photography.  Great vision and captures as always!

Jenny Arnez – Another great site for street-style photography (and also for beach shots this weekend again – are all Jens at the beach this weekend?) ☺

Joel L – I missed this one last go-around, so am making up for it here.  Fair warning, some of the shots and imagery are not for the faint of heart or typical types of photography.  His most recent post is okay, but venture back to July 21st, and you’ll get a taste of third world countries and cultures that are definitely not anything like Western hemisphere living.  Don’t get me wrong, some of the shots are just amazing in the composition, lighting, and in the story they tell, so I would encourage those who have open minds to visit the blog.  It also bears mentioning that some of the imagery is not safe for work (NSFW).

John Nack – Very well-known and regarded, he shares a link to a site titled “Dear Adobe”.  Not often will you find a company spokesperson who willingly will point you to another site that is nothing but rants and vents about their own company (just goes to show you how cool a place Adobe is).  Read this blog – it’s on many peoples’ “must read” lists – including mine!

Laughing Lion Design – In case the P&P isn’t enough for you, Jennifer has a list of PODCASTS to listen to.  I listen to several of these myself.  Great resource here.

Lightroom Killer Tips – Matt comes over the top again with another series of knockout posts showing us techniques about Lightroom.  Over and over again, he and the rest of the NAPP crew just constantly keep me amazed!

Michael Palmer – The third portion of Jason Moore’s fill-in P&P crew was waylaid from his travels, but he nevertheless shared some great floral/insect shots from his trip.  Thanks for sharing Michael, your posts are always a pleasure to read.

Black and White Photography – Some more IR to be sure, but the ones that are back to the “traditional” blac and white theme of the blog are great!  And the fact that he used theterm flautist was sufficiently impressive!  (My sister was a flautist in college – kept playing until she had kids…)

OSBP – One Shot Beyond Photography is always a great source for inspiration.  What a great vision, and the compositions of the shots are always unique, whether the subject is food or models…she really knows what she’s doing!

Photographic Design – Another blogger who will have shots to share from the NAPP photowalk.  Be sure to stop in and give feedbck – it’s what we all thrive on!

Photography of J Brian Haferkamp – A long-awaited update, he shares shots from Millenium Park in Chicago!  Gorgeous city, and great captures Brian!

PhotoKY – Always thoughtful and intriguing posts, Ken outdoes himself this week.  Another MUST READ!

Photoshop Insider – With all the hubbub surrounding the worldwide photowalk this last Saturday, make it a point to read Scott’s post from last Wednesday.  If you ever take a seminar, workshop, college class, or any other form of instruction…try not to be the guy/gal he is describing!

PhotowalkPro – Jeff talks about what he knows best…photowalking!  The master of planning, coordination, and implementation at it was full of information this past week.  So much so that he got some interview time at two podcasts.  Read the whole week if you’re not up to speed on what photo walks are all about!

Well, that just about does it for my portion of the P&P blogr oll for this week.  Don’t forget to stop over at Andy’s blog (Visual Realia) for the lions share of it.

As a house-keeping sort of note, I am going to have to put the weekly tutorials on hold here at CB for a while as I had been using my Windows box for this purpose, and it is now on it’s final legs with 3 thermal shutdowns in the past 24 hours, and one instance of not finding the boot drive.  Thankfully, the images and podcast materials are all on a secondary, as well as on a USB drive.  Now, if only I could find a good Mac replacement for Camtasia, I’d be set!  Any advice, suggestions or feedback would be welcome!

So, it’s likely back to audio podcasts (or videos of me) from the Mac for now.  Tomorrow will likely be a no-blog day though as I will have a very busy day (unless I can get it done in advance).  So, look for shots from the photowalk on Wed. as well as a new tutorial!  Until then, happy shooting and keep watching those apertures!

However, this is still an occasion where you are taking your gear out on a shoot.  So, it is always good to stay organized and make sure everything is ready to go.  What does this mean?  It means prepping your gear beforehand.  And of course, checklists can be a handy way to make sure all your gear is ready to go.  So, here are ten things to do to prepare for a photowalk.

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. 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.
6. Get a good nights sleep.
7. Verify the starting time and place for the shoot.
8. Print out a map of how to get there, especially if the location is unfamiliar to you.
9. Pack a few munchies (granola bars, pretzels, etc.) and maybe a bottle of water or two.
10. Have fun!

SO, check your lists.  Twice.  And have a good photowalk this weekend, wherever you are.  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here Monday!