OK, it was really just supposed to be just Dave and Corey splitting the day, but they were kind enough to invite me to do one of my favorite parts of the day—the session on Typography and Designing with Type, so now it’s the three of us. The seminar is coming up on Monday, February 22nd at the Tampa Convention Center, and if you haven’t had a chance to catch the tour yet, it is just one of those days that really opens your eyes to the power of Photoshop, and all the cool stuff you can do—stuff that really looks hard, but is actually easy once you know the secrets.
Selected by sdecker
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Photoshop Insider Blog By Scott Kelby
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Come Join Dave Cross, Corey, and me in Tampa this month for the Photoshop Down & Dirty Tour
8 Feb 2010 | 10:02 pm -
Kelby TV is On The Air! (and NAPP news joins the channel).
8 Feb 2010 | 9:52 pmAbout a month ago we launched KelbyTV.com, a new home for all the video shows we produce each week, so folks would have a central location to find all our shows right online. Last week I mentioned that Dave Cross has launched his own new weekly Podcast called “Ask Dave” and now NAPP News (hosted by Larry Becker) has joined the channel. The full list of weekly shows on KelbyTV.com include: Photoshop User TV D-Town TV Layers TV Lightroom Killer Tips Photoshop Killer Tips Ask Dave NAPP News Of course, you can subscribe to all of these shows using Apple’s iTunes, and watch them right on… -
NAPP is Hiring!
8 Feb 2010 | 9:44 pmWant to come and work with us? NAPP is looking for a kick-butt PHP programmer to come and join the NAPP team down here in sunny Tampa, Florida (where today’s high is a lovely 65°). If you thrive in a really cool work environment, and want to work with some incredibly creative and fun people (our Web team rocks!), who really value what you do, then contact Barbie Taylor, our HR Director for all the details (just leave me a comment here on the blog, and I’ll get you her direct email). Also, if this isn’t you, but you know someone who would fit the bill, will you pass this on… -
Shooting the SuperBowl in Miami Last Night
7 Feb 2010 | 10:51 pmOK, there is a slight distinction in the headline you see above from my normal football game coverage—I didn’t say “shooting from the sidelines.” This time, I actually shot from up in the stands, because I didn’t have sidelines credential. Now, if you’re wondering how I got some “big glass” into the game, here’s the trick. The NFL has a rule that a spectator can’t bring a lens that’s more than 6 inches long (15.25 cm) into the stadium, and they measure the length as you come through the security. So, I measured my beloved Nikon… -
Ken Got His Guitar (and The Springs of Hope Orphanage got $2,500)
7 Feb 2010 | 9:40 pmKen Toney, regular commenter here on the blog, won the raffle we did for the “Photoshop Guys Signature Guitar” and he sent me the shot above of the guitar, in its display case, hanging on the wall of his office (which is pretty sweet, by the way). Click on the photo for a larger view. The raffle raised nearly $2,500 for the Springs of Hope Orphanage, and then we raised another $1,300+ from the off camera flash t-shirts (which are still available, in four stunning styles by the way), right here. Also, we raised an additional $1,000 through this blog’s affiliate program with…
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Digital Photography School
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9 Architectural Photography Tips
9 Feb 2010 | 12:26 pmClassical or contemporary; architectural photography can be as challenging as it is rewarding. Here are some pointers to help you get started… Ice Skating at Rockefeller Center - by Stuck in Customs 1. Be sensitive to the direction of light as this can increase contrast, shadows, textures and reflections. High levels of contrast can fool cameras into exposing the scene incorrectly, but shooters can easily overcome this by applying exposure compensation. Another trick is to bracket shots at different exposure values (exposing one for the highlights, one for the midtones and one for the… -
Sigma DP1s Digital Camera Review
9 Feb 2010 | 6:33 amA guest Review of the Sigma DP1s by Patrick Dean from NeutralDay.com. The idea is simple really. Put a large sensor inside a small compact body and you’ve got a camera that enthusiasts can carry around easily and still secure the same level of quality from their captures as they would from their larger DSLR camera. Recently a number of cameras have been released that fit this bill, but just a short time ago, Sigma was flying solo in this market sector with DP1. Using the unique Foveon X3 sensor, the DP1 offered users a 28mm equivalent lens, excellent image quality, all in a fairly… -
The Future of HDR and its Use within the Camera
8 Feb 2010 | 12:22 pmA Guest post by Dave Ware from Whalebone Photography. This note is aimed to be a quick discussion on High Dynamic Range and possible future enhancements to improve it. What is High Dynamic Range? High Dynamic Range is a digital processing effect used within photography to combine a number of images of differing exposures to create a consistently exposed picture throughout the entire frame. This increases the luminance (amount of light) visible within an image. Why is it required? The camera’s limitation of amount of colour and luminance it can record is governed by the sensor’s… -
Canon EOS 550D Announced
8 Feb 2010 | 6:34 amThe Canon EOS 500D has been replaced with the Canon EOS 550D today, and by the looks of it, replaced with style. ***Update here*** “Both the 500D and 450D will continue said Canon Europe’s Photo Products planning manager Mike Owen.” So we won’t see this camera replace the 500 series, just add to that range. –Sime Canon EOS 550D 18MP 1080p HD Movies ISO 6400 United Kingdom / Republic of Ireland, 8th February 2010 – Canon today announces a groundbreaking new addition to its expanding, world-famous EOS range of Digital SLR cameras – the EOS 550D. The EOS 550D… -
Diptychs & Triptychs – 5 Prime Examples
8 Feb 2010 | 6:17 amMain Entry: dip·tych Pronunciation: \?dip-(?)tik\ Etymology: Late Latin diptycha, plural, from Greek, from neuter plural of diptychos folded in two, from di- + ptych? fold Date: 1622 1 : a 2-leaved hinged tablet folding together to protect writing on its waxed surfaces 2 : a picture or series of pictures (as an altarpiece) painted or carved on two hinged tablets 3 : a work made up of two matching parts Diptychs and triptychs are a brilliant tool for photographic storytelling. They present two or three images which can be from the same session or they can be polar opposites to show…
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Photofocus
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My Favorite Camera Bags
9 Feb 2010 | 10:04 amOne of my readers recently suggested I do a round up of my favorite camera bags. I’ve reviewed many bags here on Photofocus, but as I often say, there is no perfect bag. Just as I wouldn’t think of owning just one camera lens, I wouldn’t think of owning just one camera bag. You need different bags for different tasks. Here are my favorites, in no particular order. The BODA V3 Lens Bag I reviewed this bag here – http://photofocus.com/2010/02/01/mini-review-of-the-boda-v3-weatherproof-lens-bag/ – it’s a working bag. I wouldn’t use it to ship my gear… -
Random Photo News
9 Feb 2010 | 4:08 amNikon has issued firmware update 1.01 for the D3s http://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/46079/c/648/r_id/127673 for Windows and http://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/46080/c/241/r_id/127673 for Mac Zoom Media has announced zoomIt – which is a card reader for your iPhone or iPod. Presumably, it will also work with the iPad. The price is a hefty $59.95 – making it the most expensive SD card reader I am aware of. Ships in April. Nikon has announced two new wide-angle lenses. The 16-35mm F/4 G ED VR ($1295) and the new 24mm F/1.4 G ED prime… -
I Watched A Pelican Soar Today
8 Feb 2010 | 3:54 pmCopyright Scott Bourne 2010 - All Rights Reserved It was very windy here today. The pelicans took a break from their fishing and just seemed content to soar in place. I swear they were just playing around. One pelican soared in the same place for almost a full minute, then circled around and did it again and again and again. He was 200 feet up in the air. He wasn’t even soaring over the beach. He was just hanging (literally) out. I found myself studying this behavior and In an uncharacteristic zen mood today. I was trying to draw some conclusions from the bird’s behavior. More… -
Customizing your Camera Raw defaults in Lightroom
8 Feb 2010 | 4:31 amCopyright Scott Bourne 2010 - All Rights Reserved Guest Post by Rob Sylvan Follow Lightroomers on Twitter If you find you are making a lot of the same adjustments to your raw photos after import, or perhaps you have a favorite Camera Profile that you want to be your regular starting point, then it is time to update your default settings to suit your tastes! Don’t worry as you can always go back to the Adobe defaults or even customize yours again in the future. Here’s how: 1. Start with a unprocessed raw file that is well exposed and not in need of too much work. 2. Adjust the… -
Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Masters
7 Feb 2010 | 4:02 amAuthor: Michael Frye Publisher: Focal Press Review by Conrad J. Obregon Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and Eliot Porter were amongst the greatest landscape photographers of the twentieth century. Unlike many of today’s photographers, they used film. The book Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Masters tries to translate their techniques into the language of modern digital photography. The first part of the book, called “Technical Foundations” deals with the basic techniques of digital photography with emphasis on how those techniques might be…
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TWiP Log
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TWiP Weekend Workshop - Joshua Tree, CA!
17 Jan 2010 | 9:44 pmIntroduction Welcome! Come be a part of the first TWiP Weekend Workshop, to be held in Joshua Tree, California, where you’ll spend the weekend shooting and learning with photographers Joseph Linaschke and Frederick Van Johnson. All Inclusive Workshop Fee: $1,250 - Limited to 20 attendees! We’ll be shooting at Pioneer Town, built as an Old West movie set in the 1940’s, as well as Boulder Garden, an area of fantastic natural beauty including massive boulders, serene desert and Joshua trees. Along with shooting some amazing landscapes, you’ll be working with… -
Advanced File Management in Aperture
10 Jan 2010 | 9:00 amFile management in Aperture (or anywhere, really) is one of those boring, dry subjects that you probably would've fallen asleep during the lecture for if Aperture were taught in University. As it turns out of course, it's a lesson that you really should have paid attention to in school, and now that you're deep in the throws of your comfortable "one day I'll take the time to make it better" workflow, you just can't bother to change it. Even thought you know you should. So let's make today your "one day". Of course if you're reading this and you're relatively new to Aperture, then… -
10 New Years Resolutions Every Photographer Should Make
2 Jan 2010 | 12:33 pmI am clutching my 5DMKII and literally buzzing inside, thinking about the photographic potential of the new year. The possibilities are endless. Now, I just have to commit the time and passion required to become a great photographer. In that spirit, I think we should all try to keep these 10 New Years Resolutions. Now, everyone say after me: 1. I will learn how to use my camera. This seems like an obvious point, but we are all guilty of skipping our camera manual and just fiddling with settings. Ah, this one works right? Spot-metering? Why not. Hey, what does that button do? Seems to make… -
liveBooks.com - Helping Photographers Flash the Web
25 Dec 2009 | 4:23 pmAn interview with John Philpin, CMO of liveBooks.com (link below). One of the many problems facing photographers today is the necessity of having a slick looking website, however most shooters lack the skill-set (or desire) to get into the "weeds" of building a site reflective of themselves. We're long past the age where having a website is optional, today it is imperative that every photographer who intends to do any level of serious business on the Internet has a web presence that reflects both their art and skill, while also providing a way for potential clients and customers to get to… -
David duChemin - Visionmonger
29 Nov 2009 | 3:58 pmI recently had the honor of sitting down to record this audio interview (via Skype) with author/photographer David duChemin. David is one of those "next generation" photographers that "gets it". He is fluent in the latest and greatest photographic trends, technology, social media, etc. And along with being a sickeningly talented photographer, he's also a brilliant marketer. Wrap all of that up and you've got an artist who can not only create masterful visual imagery and write about it -- but one that can also publsih it. He's a one-man creative ecosystem. Click through for the full audio…
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Beyond Megapixels
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Poll – What Will You Photograph Next?
8 Feb 2010 | 7:07 amAs photographers, we are always trying to expand our horizons and break free from our comfort zones. We at Beyond Megapixels would like to know, what photography subject will you challenge yourself with next? Vote in our poll, and leave more details in the comments! Click Here for PollOnline SurveyEnterprise Feedback Management | Website Polls | Email Marketing | Crowdsourcing SoftwareView MicroPoll (If the embedded poll does not work for your web browser, you can still participate by clicking on this link.) Photo credit: Tiffany Joyce. Related posts:Poll – Your Next Lens Summer in… -
Photographer Focus: Devilicious-g
6 Feb 2010 | 8:21 amThis post was submitted by Ghada Abdulkhaleq and you can check out more of her photography here or on her facebook fan page here. We Dream Too I have been always in love with animals, specially cats and kittens, I do have a sweet connection with them, and most people say I do look like cats somehow, so I do believe I was meant to be close to them! This picture was taken for a cat we had in the family, it was very spontaneous and that’s why I love it. I consider it one of the best shots I have ever taken. Missing Only You I’m a big fan of puzzles, and I had an idea while playing… -
Gaining, and Keeping, Your Confidence
5 Feb 2010 | 6:00 amI’m betting I’m not the only photographer out there who thought they were pretty good, until they saw a photograph taken by someone else that just blew them away, and they thought, “I’ll never be as good as that.” Am I right? Show of hands. It happens to me all the time. And it can really shake your confidence in your growing skills as a photographer. Here are some thoughts on gaining, and keeping, your confidence. 1. Keep it all in perspective. How long have you been taking pictures? What kind of gear do you own? How much training have you had? Because rest… -
Tips for Focusing in the Dark
4 Feb 2010 | 8:18 amTaking a long exposure picture in dark conditions can be a challenge, because the camera’s auto-focus capabilities find it difficult to “see” a point of focus. Manual focus can be hard, too, because you can’t see what you’re trying to focus on through the viewfinder! In keeping with this month’s “long exposure” challenge, here are a few tips for focusing in the dark. Nikon D300 + Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 @ 10mm - 30sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000. 1. Use a flashlight to temporarily light up your subject (glow sticks work well, too). You will be able to see your… -
Lens Nomenclature Decoded
3 Feb 2010 | 6:00 amHave you ever looked at the text printed on the barrel or around the front element of your lens and wondered what all those numbers and letters and symbols meant? Some may be clear and obvious, some more obscure. Here’s a “decoder ring” of sorts, to help you sort it all out. Let’s take a Canon lens as the first example: Canon Lens EF 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6. Ø58mm - “EF” stands for “electrofocus”. This means the lens has an internal motor for auto-focusing cameras. - “28-80mm” refers to the focal length that the camera is capable of. In…
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Joe McNally's Blog
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GPP, Again….
8 Feb 2010 | 3:02 amGulf Photo Plus launches in Dubai in a couple of weeks, and I’m stoked to go back to the Middle East. This will be the 4th year for me, and the event just keeps getting better and better. Hats off to Mohamed Somji, Hala Salhi and the whole GPP crew for putting together what has become the premier photo conference and learning center in the Middle East. Got a bunch of reasons to be stoked, principal among them the faculty who heads yearly to that strange and friendly conglomeration of concrete and glass that is Dubai. The talent and teaching that is offered at GPP simply makes me want to… -
Malaysia Update….
2 Feb 2010 | 10:56 pmLouis Pang and his Wedshooter TV gang have fixed up our workshop with wonderfully talented folks to be in front of the lens. Evon has worked with us for a couple days now. Suffice it to say, photographing her is a damn sight different experience than photographing this particular devotee at Thaipusam the other day. The above was shot by Johan Sopiee, a terrific Malaysian shooter based here in KL. It’s been a pretty wild ride since we landed Friday night. Mid-week now. We’ll be cranking right through the weekend. Having fun. Malaysia’s a great place, friendly people, lotsa… -
Malaysia, First Day….
1 Feb 2010 | 2:01 am29 hours, door to door. Check into hotel. Sleep 3 hours. Up at 4am. Go to Thaipusam. Didn’t know about Thaipusam before this trip, and the timing is completely coincidental, but photographically fortuitous. It is one of the wildest explosions of human frenzy, devotion and religious fervor I have ever been to. It is the Hindu celebration of the birthday of Lord Muruga, and thousands gather amidst the heat, sweat and incense to seek his blessings and render homage. Many bear gifts, simple as a pot of milk, up the long walk to the Batu Caves. Others spin themselves into a frenzy, drift… -
Heading North
25 Jan 2010 | 3:32 amOr, as Einar Erlendssen, the originator and caretaker of the Focus on Nature Workshops says, heading up to join the stark raving mad Vikings. I always wanted to go to Iceland. It seems a land of true intensity, color, and personality. It’ll be a small workshop, and thus very hands on. Our merry band of speed lighters will evidently careen around the countryside (the place ain’t that big) looking, lighting, and shooting. At night we will gather over various Nordic intoxicants and commune with the pixel spirits, and discuss the successes and failures of the day. This will be a… -
Jakester as Superhero….
19 Jan 2010 | 5:37 amSo I was with the DLWS gang in the Marin Headlands, looking at the Golden Gate Bridge, which, I can reliably report, does not move. See below. No stranger to photog paranoia and insecurity, which rages in the hearts and minds of shooters everywhere, I continued to prove that salient fact over and over again, as if my right index finger had developed a kind of idiot savant twitch, in that it knew how to do one thing well, that is, push the damn shutter button over and over again. I’ve always been good at simple, repetitive tasks, so I went to town and produced a grid of remarkably…
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Jason D. Moore Photography | A Photoshop & Digital Photography Blog Community
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Lorne Resnick Photo Workshops
8 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pmTRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER LORNE RESNICK ANNOUNCES 2010 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE Join Lorne as he guides you in creating compelling and unique travel and fine art images. This limited selection of intimate workshops will provide you with an exceptional learning experience in some of the most beautiful places on earth, including exotic locations such as Kenya, Tanzania, Antarctica and Cuba and also iconic US National Parks such as Yosemite, Arches and Death Valley. Special offer for Readers- enter coupon code CFCCLA in the client code box upon checkout and receive 5% off any… -
Weekend Photo Shoot
7 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pmOver the weekend I had the pleasure of setting up in my living room to shoot some photos of my beautiful wife Kim, her friend Tisha and her husband Steve, and even get a new headshot taken – by Kim. Find out more about the setup I used and check out a selection from the shoot after the jump… It wasn’t a very complicated setup, actually. I unfolded my reversible 4′x6′ black/white fast-fold background – which I can never seem to re-fold very easily. I used my Nikon SB-600 speedlight on a stand about 3 feet to the left and slightly in front of the subjects. I… -
Points of View Photo Project #24
4 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pmWelcome to the 24th edition of the Points of View Photo Project here at Jason D. Moore Photography! Each week readers from all over the world tackle a common source image and display it to show the many interpretations, perspectives, and approaches that can be taken from the same starting point. I always fins it interesting how a single image can be manipulated and processed to express such different feelings and emotions. If you are new to the project, or if you’ve been following along regularly and would like to participate, be sure to scroll to click on “More…” and… -
Photo Contest Update!
3 Feb 2010 | 9:42 pmIn speaking with Chris Stern, the winning photographer from the January Photo Contest, he asked if he could share the prize with one of the other photographers highlighted in yesterday’s post. He felt that there were so many awesome entries (and there were!) and that being chosen as the winner was a surprise and an honor in and of itself, and I should revisit the honorable mentions to select an additional winner to receive the physical prize for this month. To honor Chris’ generous request, I have done just that! And so, the book goes to: Renee Barron for her two photos below! -
The Results Are In! January 2010 Photo Contest
2 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pmWelcome back to another edition of our Monthly Photo Contest! What a tremendous selection of photos for last month’s contest! I couldn’t believe how many excellent shots I had to choose from. You guys are making me really work for it! Thank you! I have selected a winner, but I don’t think I’ve ever had so many honorable mentions (11) in one month. There are just so many terrific shots, you are all great! Also, remember to scroll down to the bottom of the post to find out more about the next contest! And now, without further ado, the winner of the January Photo Contest…
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Pioneer Woman Photography - Ree Drummond
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YOUR Shallow Depth-of-Field Photos: Group 1
9 Feb 2010 | 5:17 amOh, dear. Why do I do this to myself? Your shallow-depth-of-field photos are amazing, wonderful…and amazing. Here’s the first group of your submissions. It’s going to be a great week! Group 1 By Simply Colleen. Oh, this is just outstanding. By Callmeshmi. Perfect! By Amanda Mae Bird. Love the colors! By Jackie Hampton. Uh. Help. This is precious. By Rebecca Forrest. Oh, the colors! They’re gorgeous. By Whatscooking. How magical! By… -
New Photography Assignment: Shallow Depth of Field
8 Feb 2010 | 7:46 amIt’s time to open up those apertures and whip out your photos that best demonstrate the beauty of a shallow depth of field! We’ve been studying exposure—aperture, shutter speed, etc.—for the past several days (read previous posts to brush up if you need to), so let’s all share our shallow depth-of-field photos! It’ll keep us honest. To enter, just submit your favorite shallow depth-of-field photos to the Pioneer Woman Photography Assignments group on Flickr. I will review each and every submission and, beginning Tuesday morning, will post daily groups of… -
What the Heck is an Aperture, Part Cuatro …Redux
7 Feb 2010 | 5:37 amNOTE: The republishing of this “What the Heck?” series is leading up to a new PW Photography Assignment, which begins Monday morning. (NOTE: Please read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three before proceeding or you’ll be so confused you won’t know a slap or a pinch from a hairpull.) Now that I have placed your brains (mine, too) into a Waring blender and flipped the switch to “High”, let me continue pureeing the mixture until smooth. Sound good? I want to talk about moving away from shooting in full Auto mode, and instead venturing into shooting in… -
What the Heck is an Aperture – Part III …Redux
6 Feb 2010 | 9:06 amIf you haven’t yet read them, please check out Part One and Part Two of this republished “What the Heck?” series first or you might be a little confused. I hope your head isn’t spinning on this fine Saturday morning…because you’re going to need all of your brain for the next few minutes! We’ve now examined the Aperture—the circular mechanism inside your camera that can remain very open OR close very tightly when you snap a photo, depending on the setting you choose. We’ve learned that the WIDER, or more open, the aperture remains, the… -
What the Heck is Shutter Speed? …Redux
5 Feb 2010 | 7:09 amNOTE: This is the second in my republished series that attempts to explain the whole issue of exposure to those of us who find the whole thing mindblowing. Be aware that some of my reasoning/analogies are not flawless, but what I tried to do was strip away a lot of the confusion many folks have over Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, and how they all work together in harmony. Feel free to weigh in with helpful information! Note: If you missed it yesterday, please catch up on the first part of this series, What the Heck is an Aperture?. It’ll help today’s post make more sense. Huh?
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My Home Sweet Home
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My BlissDom Moment with Harry Connick, Jr.
8 Feb 2010 | 7:32 pmMy husband was in the room when I read that Harry Connick, Jr. would be at BlissDom. Thankfully, he’s a good sport and understands my love for Harry. Still, it was a moment that no husband really deserves to witness. The next night he announced at dinner, “Children, I want you to know that your mom might not be coming home from BlissDom.” It was good for a laugh, but of course, this also referred to Harry. You see, Harry and I go way back. I bought my first Harry album in 1990, 20 years ago. I own Hope Floats on both DVD and VHS. My love for Harry runs deep. At Harry’s… -
Visual Bliss
8 Feb 2010 | 12:23 pmThere are BlissDom recap posts in my future, but for now, I’m processing hundreds of images from the weekend. Feel free to view my BlissDom set at Flickr, which is being continuously updated. The full BlissDom ‘10 Flickr group can be viewed here. Here is one of my favorites, Stephanie and Holley from (in)courage: Share this on del.icio.us Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Share this on Facebook Tweet This! Share this on FriendFeed Digg this! Subscribe to the comments for this post? Add this to Google Bookmarks -
Living Online and the Importance of Face-to-Face Girlfriends Today at (in)courage
6 Feb 2010 | 9:43 amJoin me today at (in)courage for a post about balancing your online life and face-to-face relationships. Share this on del.icio.us Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Share this on Facebook Tweet This! Share this on FriendFeed Digg this! Subscribe to the comments for this post? Add this to Google Bookmarks -
Spanx Bliss
2 Feb 2010 | 7:44 pmAs a woman who has birthed 8 children and added a few extra pounds this winter, I couldn’t be more excited about my BlissDom sponsor: Spanx. Spanx makes intelligently designed slimming intimates, body shapers, hosiery, and tights that support you in comfort. They’re made by women for women. At BlissDom, they’re saving the day for me. From my blog, I can hide behind my monitor and edit the heck out of every picture you see of me (and don’t for a minute believe that I don’t). BlissDom is face-to-face, and even Lightroom doesn’t make a brush for that. We all… -
At least it was chocolate.
1 Feb 2010 | 9:32 pmI’m not entirely sure how I managed to birth a child who would prefer an un-iced cake to brownies… …but at least he forgave his mama for not baking anything a little fancier for his birthday. At least it was chocolate. Share this on del.icio.us Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on Technorati Share this on Facebook Tweet This! Share this on FriendFeed Digg this! Subscribe to the comments for this post? Add this to Google Bookmarks
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Photocrati
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The Tuesday Composition: Just Move!
9 Feb 2010 | 6:30 amKeep moving! Skógafoss Detail One of the best things about giving “shoot and critique” workshops is that I get the opportunity to see what participants can make out of a given situation. It’s great to see how different and interesting their visions are—I constantly learn things from my students by observing their photographic vision. But it’s also a great environment for me to be able to give knowledgeable feedback. Over the years, one of the most common themes I’ve seen in my feedback, particularly to beginning photographers, is suggesting that the image might have improved if… -
Canon EOS 7D Digital SLR Review: Field Test Report
8 Feb 2010 | 8:45 pmJack Neubart discovers that this 18 MP single-digit “D” series APS-C EOS camera is indeed a chip off the old block—and then some. Canon EOS 7D—front. The 7D is shown here with built-in flash ready for action, with EF-S 15-85mm lens attached. I hadn’t worked with this lens, but the camera itself should be a model for future EOS designs. Canon photo. I was all set to begin this review with a diatribe about all the negatives pertaining to movie shooting and Live View, but then thought better of it and opted to take the journey into 7D-dom with a positive foot forward. When you look at… -
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G AF-S ED VR II Lens Review: Field Test Report
7 Feb 2010 | 1:00 pmPeter Burian tests this improved lens, one of the very best available in the “fast” telephoto zoom category The preferred “workhorse” among many professional photographers since 2003, Nikon’s AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR model was also my favorite lens in the Nikkor series. It was just about perfect in all aspects, except for some slight corner softness at wide apertures with a full-frame digital SLR. Some reviews also mentioned less than ideal flare control, but frankly, that was nit-picking. In any event, Nikon has replaced that earlier model with a new VR… -
What metering mode to use when photographing a wedding
6 Feb 2010 | 10:50 amTrying to decide which metering mode to use when photographing a wedding is a bit of a pain. It doesn’t help that there are four different modes to choose from, each with an icon that you need a Rosetta Stone to decipher. Last night I took some photographs that will hopefully shed a little light on the modes I use most: Evaluative (Matrix) and Center Weighted Average. Evaluative meter mode is the most sophisticated meter mode in the camera. The meter reads the entire scene and then, get this, tries to figure out what you’re taking a picture of. The software has thousands of sample… -
Q and A: Why does my camera produce severe underexposure in dark locations?
5 Feb 2010 | 3:00 amQuestion Can you help me solve the exposure problem with my new digital SLR camera? It’s fine when I use the fully automatic modes. But I tried taking photos in a church during a wedding (without flash) and all my photos were underexposed. I was using ISO 400 and set the shutter speed to 1/500 sec. in Shutter Priority mode to make sure the photos would be sharp. But they are all too dark. D.M. Answer This is also a common problem among students in my BetterPhoto courses when they first try night photography. The answer is simple, but you need to fully appreciate how this semi-automatic…
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Rick Sammon
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Version 1.1 of My Digital Photography App is Now Available
8 Feb 2010 | 5:52 pmThe first update for my first app - Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffet - is now available on iTunes. The update is free.If you are new to the app, read about it here.The always-expanding app (like a never ending story) include lessons on close-up photography and shooting in the snow.Here is a preview.Close-Up TipsPractice.Before we set out to take some serious close-up pictures, we need to practice using different f-stops, shutter speeds and lighting at home. That's what I did before embarking on a trip to Florida to photograph butterflies.I experimented with different camera, lens and flash… -
Crop My Pictures and You Are a Dead Man
6 Feb 2010 | 1:31 pm“Crop my picture and you’re a dead man.” That’s what David Page, one of the contributors to my books, Digital Photography Secrets, said to me in an email when he submitted one of his pictures for publication. After his demand was a happy face! Basically, David, a heck of a nice guy and former fine art photographer and teacher at Duke University, was asking, in a nice way, that his image not be cropped. David’s comment was the inspiration for a column that I wrote for Layers magazine.I agree 100 percent with David's philosophy. To me, and to most of my photographer friends, cropping… -
Every Mile is Two in Winter
5 Feb 2010 | 5:13 amEvery mile is two in winter.George Herbert -
No Flower Blooms For 1,000 Days
4 Feb 2010 | 10:32 amNo flower blooms for 1,000 days. - Chinese proverbTech info on this image:Canon EOS 1Ds100mm macro lensf/13 @ 1/60th sec.Canon MR 14-EX ringlightISO 100If you are serious about close-up photography, invest in a macro lens and ringlight . . . as well as a sturdy tripod.Quick close-up tip: Watch your focus and background very carefully. Even at small apertures, depth-of-field is very limited.All my gear is listed on this page of my site.The 1st update of my app will be available next week. I've added an entire lesson on close-up photography. Also added: Shooting in the snow.Explore the… -
Lost in Space
1 Feb 2010 | 6:32 amWriting captions for our photographs is good way for us to realize what we were trying to say with an image (and how we were feeling) when we took the shot. Try it . . . you'll find it an interesting exercise.My caption for this image: Lost is Space.The man has lots of stuff in his space, but seems to be lost . . . lost in time, too.If you have a caption for this image, post it here. All in fun.Explore the Light,RickP.S. This is an HDR image created from three images, processed in Photomatix and then enhanced in Topaz Adjust and Photoshop. I took the shots with my Canon 15mm lens on my Canon…
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stuckincustoms.com
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Salaryman waiting for the Bullet Train
8 Feb 2010 | 11:00 pmJoin my mate Vanelli for a Workshop in North Carolina I met a heck of a nice guy when I was in Florida named Vanelli. I was introduced to him by RC Concepcion, who is normally a good judge of character — I remember him saying, “Trey, you gotta meet this guy named Vanelli!” So, I did, and he made a good impression on me. He happens to be quite the Photoshop guru, and he absolutely loves photography. He’s a great communicator, and I’m sure he’ll put together a unique workshop. I think he’s only inviting about 10 people or so… and if you want to… -
The Stanford Church in the Photowalk Storm
7 Feb 2010 | 11:44 pmRecap of the Photowalk It turned out to be a great Photowalk! I sent out a few worried tweets while en route because of the rain, and I got tweets back that there was a full complement of photowalkers waiting under the tree in The Oval. I showed up, at the very last possible second, and then said hi to everyone. It was a very upbeat crowd, and I was happy to meet all of them! I think we had around 50 there, even though the rain was rather epic, especially by California standards! After I explained the way I do my Photowalks (half shooting, half sharing online), we set out to hit a few spots… -
The Sunset in San Clemente California
6 Feb 2010 | 11:15 pmWin my book over on Layers Magazine My friend RC Conception tweeted me about a contest he is running on Layers magazine along with Brad Moore to give away a copy of my book. You can see more by visiting his contest post on his website. Reminder of Kelby Article Speaking of Brad Moore, he was the nice gentleman that helped me with this long guest post on Scott Kelby’s blog a few months ago. If you missed it the first time, you might enjoy it now. It’s called “Being an artist sucks. Being an artist is awesome.” Daily Photo – The Sunset in San Clemente California We… -
A Scene from the Super Volcano
6 Feb 2010 | 6:48 amGreat Reads for 2010 Thanks to Abduzeedo who listed “A World in HDR” as one of the Great Reads for 2010! Thanks Abduzeedo! The Third and the Seventh – An Awesome Video Here is another thing I found on Abduzeedo that I just HAVE to show you. It’s so awesome. I could watch this thing again and again – in fact, I have! You can go see it on Vimeo at The Third and the Seventh. Can you believe the whole thing is computer generated? I can’t get over it… I think you’ll see why I like it so much! Daily Photo – A Scene from the Super… -
Towering Notre Dame
4 Feb 2010 | 10:44 pmBarn Of Your Dreams now Avail for Collection! We have another Limited Edition Numbered Print that has just come available. It’s called “The Barn of your Dreams”, and if you are a regular around here you probably remember this wonderful place in Wyoming. I hope you like it as much as I do! Thanks for the comments on the prints I’ve received via email, btw. I’m glad you find these affordable and unique. I wanted to ensure that each one remains collectable and has a particular number – this seems to resonate well! Thanks again! Stanford Photowalk We had a…
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Planet Photoshop
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Document Your Happy Accidents
9 Feb 2010 | 6:15 amSometimes our best creations happen by pure experimentation and accident. Sitting in front of a Photoshop file, you are 40 History States in, and then it happens…magic! You really want to be able to get back to that moment. To do so, make sure that you turn on the History Log checkbox in the General [...] -
Sample Color from Anywhere
8 Feb 2010 | 6:41 amYou can use the Eyedropper tool to pick colors from any area of your screen. First, press the letter I to select the Eyedropper tool, then click-and-hold inside your document, and drag outside the document window onto the object you’d like to sample. Release your mouse button and the sampled color appears as your new [...] -
Animate 2D in 3D
5 Feb 2010 | 12:31 pmCorey shows you how to create a 3D animation form 2D elements using Photoshop CS4 Extended. -
File>Open Recent
5 Feb 2010 | 6:15 amUnder Photoshop>Preferences (PC: Edit>Preferences), you have an option called File Handling. In the Recent File List Contains field, you can specify how many files you would like it to remember. -
Opening Multiple Images in Photoshop CS3
4 Feb 2010 | 6:15 amTo open multiple images in Photoshop CS3, you can Shift-click a series of images in the Open dialog, and then click Open. You can also select noncontiguous images by Command-clicking.
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Photoshop User TV
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PhotoshopUser TV Episode 221 (February 09, 2010)
9 Feb 2010 | 8:27 amThis video player requires Flash Player 10. If you are not able to watch the video, you may need to upgrade. Click here to install the latest version of Flash Player. ShareIncandescent Episode Scott has a tip for using the metadata panel in Lightroom and another tip for editing jpeg and tiff images in Camera Raw. Dave shows viewers how to move a layer style to its own layer. Matt demystifies the type on a path tool. This Week's Sponsors: On One Software | iStockphoto | Mpix Links Mentioned in the Show Make sure to take advantage of the Early Bird discount for Photoshop World - coming to… -
PhotoshopUser TV Episode 220 (February 02, 2010)
2 Feb 2010 | 8:53 amShareGalloping Episode Matt explains two new vignette options in Lightroom 3 Beta and a Photoshop tip on cycling through open documents. Dave answers a twitter question about ACE certification. Stephanie Cross is back with a Tool School tip and special guest RC has a technique for using CS4 Extended to reduce noise in your photos. This Week's Sponsors: On One Software | iStockphoto | Mpix Links Mentioned in the Show Find out which seminars are coming to a city near you. Visit KelbyTrainingLive.com Make sure to take advantage of the Early Bird discount for Photoshop World - coming to Orlando… -
PhotoshopUser TV Episode 219 (January 26, 2010)
26 Jan 2010 | 7:18 amShareSacred Episode Scott has a Lightroom tip for adding copyright metadata to all of your photos. Dave has a tutorial on creating custom workspaces in Photoshop. Matt shows off a realistic way to add texture to your images using layer masks. Special guest Corey Barker has a cool tutorial on adding reflections and shadows using Photoshop CS4 Extended 3D tools. This Week's Sponsors: On One Software | iStockphoto | Mpix Links Mentioned in the Show Check out the new Lightroom track at Photoshop World - coming to Orlando in March Scott and Matt have returned with their digital photography… -
PhotoshopUser TV Episode 218 (January 19, 2010)
19 Jan 2010 | 11:23 amShareVoice Activated Matt shares a tip on changing your tool preferences and on adding a custom vignette to your photos using Lightroom. Dave has some tips on using multiple layers and an interview with photographer Joe McNally. Scott's tutorial deals with navigation tips for Photoshop CS4 and one of the differences between adjusting Raw and JPEG or TIFF files in Lightroom. This Week's Sponsors: On One Software | iStockphoto | Mpix Links Mentioned in the Show Read Joe McNally's blog at www.joemcnally.com/blog/ Check out Scotts new Photo Recipes book. Submit questions to Dave's Twitter Q&A by… -
Joe McNally Interview Extended
19 Jan 2010 | 8:39 amShareContinuing with Joe McNally Dave gets more in depth with photographer and author Joe McNally. This Week's Sponsors: On One Software | iStockphoto | Mpix Links Mentioned in the Show Read Joe McNally's blog at www.joemcnally.com/blog/ The Joe McNally Interview is now playing! Download Joe McNally Interview [In order to download this file directly to your computer, right-click (Control-click on Mac) on the Download link and choose the Save As option.]
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Photoshop for Digital Photographers
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Creating Infrared Images in Photoshop
4 Feb 2010 | 4:45 amInfrared image conversions can give your pictures a unique look over traditional black and white images. Watch this tutorial to see how to create infrared images in Photoshop. -
Slimming And Trimming Using The Liquify Plug-In
28 Jan 2010 | 3:35 amMake incredible changes to your images with the Photoshop Liquify Tool. Watch this tutorial to see how to use this powerful tool. -
Multiple Image Correction in Camera Raw
21 Jan 2010 | 4:55 amIn this tutorial we'll show you how to combine and adjust a single image in to multiple layers using Camera Raw -
Cropping Tool Tips
14 Jan 2010 | 3:31 amThere are several options you have available when you use the crop tool. In this tutorial we'll look at some of the options. -
Content Aware Scaling
7 Jan 2010 | 5:22 amOne of the new features introduced in Photoshop CS4 was Content Aware Scaling. In this tutorial we'll discuss some of the basics of how to use Content Aware Scaling.
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Darren Rowse
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problogger: New Blogger Job: Service Journalism Openings - Demand Studios http://goo.gl/fb/Rtz0
9 Feb 2010 | 1:15 pmproblogger: New Blogger Job: Service Journalism Openings - Demand Studios http://goo.gl/fb/Rtz0 -
problogger: New at ProBlogger: Blog Like a Cartoonist – Six Stunning Secrets to Help You Break Through… http://goo.gl/fb/f5Zj
9 Feb 2010 | 11:26 amproblogger: New at ProBlogger: Blog Like a Cartoonist – Six Stunning Secrets to Help You Break Through… http://goo.gl/fb/f5Zj -
problogger: New at ProBlogger: Have a 37 Minute Coffee Break with Me [Audio Interview] http://goo.gl/fb/mEgW
9 Feb 2010 | 5:44 amproblogger: New at ProBlogger: Have a 37 Minute Coffee Break with Me [Audio Interview] http://goo.gl/fb/mEgW -
problogger: @alihale nice one Ali. Would like to check it out. I got your GP and will hopefully get to it this week (I have quite a few to process)
9 Feb 2010 | 2:51 amproblogger: @alihale nice one Ali. Would like to check it out. I got your GP and will hopefully get to it this week (I have quite a few to process) -
problogger: @alihale what's the book Ali?
9 Feb 2010 | 12:39 amproblogger: @alihale what's the book Ali?
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Virtual Photography Studio
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3 Ways To Price and Package Your Wedding Photography To Stay In Business
8 Feb 2010 | 1:05 pmI’ve been reading a ton of rants this past week on the state of wedding photography, and whether a photographer can truly have a full time business photographing weddings. Those of us that have “been there, done that” know its more than possible – I routinely pulled in $250,000 and more each year photographing around 25 weddings. Yet those consistently charging “nothing” for their services are turning the industry into something that makes it difficult to earn a full time living with. So in this post, I thought I would share 3 tips to help you price and package your wedding… -
Get Inspired – Photograph The Rain
5 Feb 2010 | 6:44 amSpring is in the air. Okay here in Denver, we’re supposed to get snow this weekend. But rain is definitely in the forecast in the future, and can give you an incredible backdrop for photography. Rain is an amazing resource. Rain can alter the mood of a landscape. And it can inspire you to look a little deeper for romantic images. People will hide under umbrellas or dance under a falling shower. The view out a window can be reshaped by droplets creating intricate patterns. After a rain shower, venture out and check out the vegetation and flowers. Capture the drops as they lay and how… -
How Much For A Photography Franchise?
3 Feb 2010 | 11:39 amI finished reading the January edition of Entrepreneur magazine this past weekend, and frankly I was shocked. They dedicated a large portion of the magazine to franchises, and showcased the top 500 franchises that are available for startup. Did you know 8 of their top 500 franchises are in the photography industry? Does that tell you photography is still very profitable? And now for the most shocking thing to me – people are willing to invest anywhere from $15,000 to more than $300,000 to get involved in one of these photography businesses. And on top of the franchise fee they listed many… -
7 Local Classifieds You Can Advertise Your Photography Studio In
2 Feb 2010 | 8:52 amChances are you’ve probably tried Craigslist to advertise your photography business. But even though Craigslist is one of the biggest, most used, and widely known, doesn’t mean there aren’t many other ways to find business in your local area. Here are 6 other free classified website listings you can try to bring in the business. Kijiji Kijiji is a free classified site that allows local ads based upon what State or City you live in. Kijiji offers both U.S. and Canada classifieds, and will allow you to put up more than one ad at a time in different sections. Kijiji is a division of eBay,… -
Plan Your Vacation Shooting Trips Now
1 Feb 2010 | 9:16 amEven photographers need a vacation. But when you find yourself planning a vacation, don’t you always get excited to bring along your camera and shoot for fun? There’s something fun and inspiring about being able to shoot anything you want, whenever you want, knowing it has no implications on your business. But as a photographer, it’s also no fun showing up with thousands of others, and getting boring pictures with a ton of other tourists in them. If you’re going to shoot for “fun”, how can you do it the best way possible? Even though we head out and shoot for fun on all of our…
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ProBlogger Blog Tips
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Blog Like a Cartoonist – Six Stunning Secrets to Help You Break Through Bloggers Block
9 Feb 2010 | 11:24 amAnd now for a guest post with a difference from Cartoonist Mark Anderson from Andertoons.com who created this comic to illustrate the writing techniques he uses to create his cartoons, and how they can help bloggers push through writer’s block. Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger. Blog Like a Cartoonist – Six Stunning Secrets to Help You Break Through Bloggers Block Share This -
Have a 37 Minute Coffee Break with Me [Audio Interview]
9 Feb 2010 | 5:43 amIf you have a spare 37 minutes today to grab a coffee with me (or at least are doing something that will allow you to listen to something for 37 minutes in the background) check out this interview I did with Robb Sutton late last week. Robb’s also transcribed it for those who prefer to read. In the interview Rob asks me about a whole range of stuff including: my background in blogging my philosophy on lots of sites vs focusing upon a single (or just a few) sites the process of going full time (and my wife’s six month ultimatum) my shift in focus to e-books and membership sites a… -
What Is Your Blogging Goal for February?
8 Feb 2010 | 6:22 amA few days back I asked readers a question: What Have You Been Putting Off and What’s Holding You Back? Some of the responses to the question in comments (and via email and Twitter) revealed a lot of bloggers really wanting to step things up and get what they’ve been putting off done. So – lets set some goals – what do you want to achieve by the end of February? I’m not going to be calling you up to check up to see if you’re meeting your goals – but hopefully in putting them down publicly you’ll find yourself a little more spurred on to reach… -
9 Tricks I Used To Triple My AdSense Earnings In 30 Days
7 Feb 2010 | 6:34 amGuest post by Daniel Scocco from Daily Blog Tips. I have been using Google AdSense to monetize my blogs and websites for as long as I remember. In fact it was the first method I ever tried (I made a whooping $15 on my first month… back in 2005). Over the years I migrated to other methods (e.g., direct sponsors and affiliate marketing), which made AdSense become merely an inventory filler. I was still making around $1,000 monthly from it, but whenever I could I would use other methods over it. Then some months ago I started noticing an upward trend on the CPC of my sites, and I figured that… -
How I Got Some Paying Sponsors Without Really Meaning To
6 Feb 2010 | 6:21 amA guest post by Josh Hanagarne. World’s Strongest Librarian was about four months old when I got interested in sponsors. I’d read the articles about how to do it, and none of them sounded that plausible for me and my situation. For one, my traffic wasn’t impressive, certainly not to the point where sponsors were approaching me. And, while my blog has become slightly more focused in its first ten months, it wasn’t targeted at any group of readers in particular, so I wasn’t sure how confident niche advertisers would be. It’s a little more focused now, but I can’t really think of a…
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Smashing Magazine
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Applying Mathematics To Web Design
9 Feb 2010 | 4:52 am“Mathematics is beautiful.” This may sound absurd to people who wince at numbers and equations. But some of the most beautiful things in nature and our universe exhibit mathematical properties, from the smallest seashell to the biggest whirlpool galaxies. In fact, one of the greatest ancient philosophers, Aristotle, said: “The mathematical sciences particularly exhibit order, symmetry and limitation; and these are the greatest forms of the beautiful.”Because of its beautiful nature, mathematics has been a part of art and architectural design for ages. But it has not been… -
Color Theory for Designer, Part 3: Creating Your Own Color Palettes
8 Feb 2010 | 3:58 amIn the previous two parts of this series on color theory, we talked mostly about the meanings behind colors and color terminology. While this information is important, I’m sure a lot of people were wondering when we were going to get into the nitty-gritty of actually creating some color schemes.Well, that’s where Part 3 comes in. Here we’ll be talking about methods for creating your own color schemes, from scratch. We’ll cover the traditional color scheme patterns (monochrome, analogous, complementary, etc.) as well as how to create custom schemes that… -
SimpleFolio: A Free Clean Portfolio WordPress Theme
7 Feb 2010 | 8:35 amToday we are glad to release a beautiful, simple and clean portfolio WordPress theme — SimpleFolio, designed by Omar E. Corrales and released for Smashing Magazine and its readers. SimpleFolio is a portfolio theme that includes a blog and a very extensive option page that allows you to exclude all your portfolio items from the blog page. It also includes a front page slider.It has 2 different widget areas and threaded comments, and also supports paged comments and has 2 different page templates for advanced usage. The control of images is done from the post page.Download the… -
Beautiful Motion Graphics Created With Programming: Showcase, Tools and Tutorials
6 Feb 2010 | 5:50 amWhen you hear the word “creative”, what type of profession comes to mind? Maybe a graphic designer, painter, sculptor, illustrator, or writer? It’s unlikely that you would consider a “programmer” when thinking of creative fields of work. But programmers have the potential to be creative and come up with ideas or concepts that will impact others in positive ways.We often turn to programmers to solve mathematical-related problems, but the concept of mathematics in programming is what powers programmers to innovate. When you think of mathematics you… -
50 Free UI and Web Design Wireframing Kits, Resources and Source Files
5 Feb 2010 | 6:04 amPlanning and communication are two key elements in the development of any successful website or application. And that is exactly what the wireframing process offers: a quick and simple method to plan the layout and a cost-effective, time-saving tool to easily communicate your ideas to others. A wireframe typically has the basic elements of a Web page: header, footer, sidebar, maybe even some generated content, which gives you, your clients and colleagues a simple visually oriented layout that illustrates what the structure of the website will be by the end of the project and that…
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Layers Magazine
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Extensis Universal Type Server 2.1
9 Feb 2010 | 8:14 amFONT MANAGEMENT GETS BETTER, STRONGER, AND FASTER A year ago this past June, Extensis released version 1 of Universal Type Server (UTS)—and now version 2 is hot on its heels with some nice new features that are going to be of special interest to larger companies with many users. While both the Pro and Lite versions have had general speed enhancements and the obligatory bug fixes, most of the major new features affect the Pro version. The biggest new feature is the Directory Integration Module, which allows the continual one-way synchronization from Microsoft’s Active Directory or… -
Strata Enfold 3D CX
8 Feb 2010 | 8:45 amCREATE PROFESSIONAL, FOLDED 3D DESIGNS IN ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR Do you have a tough time with folded product designs? It requires a lot of trial-and-error to line up graphics across folds, making sure that something doesn’t get out of line when the cuts are made. Well, hold onto your hats! Strata has come up with Enfold 3D CX to solve these problems. This product’s tools make the creation of packaging extremely intuitive, allowing designers of all levels to create folded 3D designs directly in Adobe Illustrator. The obvious important feature is the ability to do 3D modeling in Adobe… -
Sorenson 360
5 Feb 2010 | 8:39 amVIDEO DELIVERY NETWORK SERVICE For almost 15 years, Sorenson Media has been a leader in video encoding and compression technology. Building on their success, they’ve developed a new Video Delivery Network (VDN) service, Sorenson 360. Like other Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), Sorenson 360’s VDN allows for increased preference, quality, and scalability, without the high price of a CDN, such as Akamai or Limelight. Although not for everyone, the 360 is designed for a small- or medium-sized business that needs a reliable way to deliver videos in a customizable player along with accurate… -
The Elusive 1 Shot HDR Contest
4 Feb 2010 | 2:04 pmCouple of days ago, Brad Moore (Music Photographer extraordinaire – Photo assistant to Scott Kelby) came to me with an image that he shot on his way to a Bluegrass festival. The shot was from The Desert Inn in Yeehaw Junction in Florida. He didn’t think much of the mood in the area other than “Hey.. I think this image would do well as an HDR shot. ..” While normally someone would look at the image and say “Eh, Sky’s not too good – environment is blah – kinda decent building but I should’ve been here at X time” and then throw the… -
Custom Art Brush in Illustrator
4 Feb 2010 | 1:31 pmTake a paper drawing of a stroke. Scan the paper and import the image into Illustrator. Turn that image into a custom brush. This video requires Adobe Flash Player.
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Canon Blogger: Home of the Learning Digital Photography Podcast
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The nitty gritty details of FTP
9 Feb 2010 | 2:30 amAs in anything, there are terms often bandied about under the presumption that we all know what the term means, what it refers to, and how to do it! Living with such blinders on is often dangerous and I fell victim to it recently when I gave someone an answer about hosting their photos online [...] -
Camera Bag Must Haves?
8 Feb 2010 | 2:30 amOver the weekend in between packing and moving boxes, I spent a little time with the Twitterverse and had a chance to get some fun dialogs going. One of the questions posed was “Camera body aside, what are the must have essentials for you in your camera bag?” My answer was my two filters, the [...] -
Just under the weekend wire…
5 Feb 2010 | 10:37 pmAs Friday draws to a close, lots is going on here – we’re packing up! That’s right packing things up and rolling on outta here! Naw, not the blog, or the podcast – always here, but with my return to a full time position we realized two things: 1. We were kind of living beyond our [...] -
Thoughts on the new additions to the website?
5 Feb 2010 | 7:34 amBelieve it or not, people have asked me in the past to give links out to some of my preferred vendors for things like books, gear, and other photography-related items. Since I don’t like to single out vendors usually, I’ll tell people to find the best deal nearest them so that they don’t have [...] -
Shooting video…
3 Feb 2010 | 4:00 amWell, I ran out of time to compile the podcast segments in the day, so figured I would answer another listener question via blog post today. The question came in inquiring how I produced video, and what my recommendations are. While this is a great question, especially given the trend towards convergence between still and [...]
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DIYPhotography.net -DIY Photography and Studio Lighting
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Seven Easy DIY Projects To Super Ramp Your Photography Studio
3 Feb 2010 | 11:35 pmWe all love getting our hands dirty with studio lighting equipment. Here is everything you'll need to get a studio going. All the modifiers are DIYed so mark the next few weekends as taken. Click each image to get to the relevant project page. DIY Beauty Dish A Beauty Dish is a flash modifier used commonly in fashion photography. It has a great combination of soft light and fast light fall off. When you look at it closely, however, you find out that it is nothing more than a terracotta bowl and a plastic jar (or a small car mirror). By Mr. Embrey. read more -
Hooking My Little One On Photography - Vtech Kidizoom Review
1 Feb 2010 | 2:56 pmThere is only one way that will allow you to take a ton of photography gear on a family trip and get away with it. Hook your family on photography. My wife is a lost cause, so I decided to try and lure my 5 years old daughter into the photography dark side. I got her a camera. Specifically, the Vtech Kidizoom Plus Pink Digital Camera. Below you can find my reasons for getting this camera as well as my thoughts and review. I would also love to hear your thoughts about getting a camera for your little one, share them in the comments. read more -
Low On Budget? Consider A Desk Lamp + Softbox
30 Jan 2010 | 12:43 pmIf you read this blog long enough, you know I am a big fan of small strobes. They are portable, relatively cheap, can squeeze some intense light and great for on the go. Key words for this post are relatively cheap. While you can buy used SBs on eBay for a bit over $100 or a LumoPro for a similar price, you are still in for more than a $100 for lights. Just saw photog Andy Game setup which has a great answer to the money issue. read more -
Frame Your Pictures To Smell Good
25 Jan 2010 | 12:33 pmIt was this time of the year when my wife decided I need a new scent. It happens every now and then. This is a fundamental difference about the two of us. It takes me so long to get use to a new fragrance that I rarely want to make a switch. Wify, however, want a refreshing hubby twice a year, so fragrance shopping we go. This year's winner is Adventure By Davidoff. Not sure she liked the fragrance as much as she liked the fact that Ewan McGregor was on the cover sleeve of the box. Good thing he was too. He reminded me of an exercise we used to do on my photo club. (Really, you don't have to… -
Some Nasty Car Rigs
18 Jan 2010 | 2:21 pmA while back we had an amazing post about building a DIY camera car rig to take incredible images of cars. This is a common method for car photographers to get in camera smoothness. Not a long while ago BMW created a series of promotional short films called "The hire" it's all about Clive Owen driving some fancy cars in impossible situations with impossible passengers. A real treat if you like this kind of movies. Now the cool thing is that BMW has a BTS film where you can understand some of the howthehelldidtheyshootthis scenes and sequences. Movie, pointers and some DIY after the jump. read…
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Chase Jarvis
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Apple Aperture 3.0 Awesomeness
9 Feb 2010 | 6:00 amI’m usually a flag waver for artistic vision rather than gear or the tools of our craft, but this calls for an exception: just minutes ago Apple announced the much anticipated Aperture 3.0. And it’s the bomb. I’m lucky enough to have been using it for several months now.There’s few things I think photographers will want to know about this new release. First, and most importantly, driving this software feels like you’re driving a German sports car. Aperture 3.0 has the power and grace that we’ve come to expect from Apple. Second, it’s got new features for days...My favorites off… -
Michal Garcia Wins Trip to Our Studio from Hong Kong
3 Feb 2010 | 5:11 amIf you were tuned in here during the 8 weeks before the New Year, then you knew that I was giving away roundtrip airfare and accommodations to come visit us here at the Seattle studio from anywhere in the world. Here's the original post. All you needed to do? Post pictures of you with my latest book The Best Camera Is The One That's With You to my Facebook Fan page and/or my TBCITOTWY Amazon Page.The winner? Michal Garcia. And he's really hurting my pocketbook, because we're bringing him all the way from Hong Kong. But it'll be worth it. Please give a shout out below.Hundreds of entries came… -
Mike Relm Slays It
1 Feb 2010 | 8:41 amNot sure what "it" refers to in the title of this post, but whatever "it" is, Mike Relm's blowing "it" up. I had the good fortune of getting to know Mike last week at Sundance. His live DJ performance mixing both audio and video, was one of my highlights from the festival. Turns out Mike is also a solid director too--one you should know about--as evinced by the video above. I'd had a similar idea before, but Mike executed it far better than what was going on in my beany little brain. Make sure to watch the whole vid to "get" it. Enjoy this viewing pleasure on a happy Monday.After the jump,… -
Live Broadcast of Our Photoshoot Tomorrow (Friday!)
28 Jan 2010 | 1:20 pmYep. You read that headline correctly. We're broadcasting our upcoming photo gig LIVE from our Seattle studio via the ol' internet on Friday, January 29 from 10am to 6pm (PST, which is GMT -8). This is tomorrow for most of you, but today for some! This is a total experiment, but we need your help. Please read on.The nuts and bolts: we're shooting the album cover and promo materials for a great alt country/punk band called Brent Amaker and the Rodeo. Expect 5 men in all black; 3 beautiful, scantily/sex-ily dressed ladies; in a country-punk meets modern studio set. Very free form. Very… -
Creativity and Social Media at Sundance [Video]
27 Jan 2010 | 9:09 amWhoa! Just back from the Sundance Film Festival where I was fortunate enough to sit on a panel as a part of the Twitter 140TC Conference. The panel was called Filmmaking in the Age of Twitter: How Affordable, Innovative Tools are Transforming Hollywood . On the panel was yours truly, along with Joeseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer and Hesher--new film with, gulp, Natalie Portman), Levar Burton (Star Trek, Roots), and Marcin Teodoru (Circle Films). The panel was moderated by Steve Broback.The place was packed - standing room only - with lots of good discussion. Thanks to G-Tech and…
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Smash & Peas
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Over
9 Feb 2010 | 4:01 am -
Watusi
8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am -
Vintage
7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am -
Icelandic Waterfall
6 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am -
Treasure Island
5 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am
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dave cross online
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3 for 1 in Tampa
9 Feb 2010 | 9:56 amOver on Scott Kelby's blog the word is out, that on February 22nd at the Tampa Down & Dirty Tricks Tour, you'll get to see Corey Barker, Scott Kelby and me teaching the seminar! At first it was Corey's day but then he asked me to teach a class or two, and then I thought, hey why not ask Scott too? So now all three of us will take turns teaching throughout the day.Here's what Scott had to say on his blog about the Down & Dirty Tricks seminar:"The seminar is coming up on Monday, February 22nd at the Tampa Convention Center, and if you haven’t had a chance to catch the tour yet, it is just one… -
My Interview with Firgs
5 Feb 2010 | 4:55 amOver at Design by Firgs, Firgs (a.k.a. Elizabeth Gast) has been interviewing NAPP instructors and staff. This time around it's my turn (Terry White and me actually). It was lots of fun since many of the questions came from NAPP members and via Twitter.Plus I reveal some never before, um, revealed information about me.You can read the whole thing here -
The Debate over HDR
4 Feb 2010 | 6:21 amI can't remember too many topics that have brewed on-going debates as much as HDR has. In case you've been hibernating for a while, High Dynamic Range (HDR) has been around for a while, and - in my opinion - was originally introduced to allow you to get the full range of highlights and shadows in a challenging situation. Imagine for example shooting a room in a beautiful home, but the room has bright light streaming in from the large windows. It would next to impossible to capture the correct exposure for the room without blowing out the windows. Expose for the window light and the rest of… -
Bits 'n pieces
2 Feb 2010 | 7:00 amHave you been to Photoshop World and have some questions? Over at the Photoshop World Blog, you can read the answers to some of the most common questions we get. (This Q&A is also excellent for people considering their first trip to PSW)-------------I have a brand new class over at Kelby Training: Fixing Photographic Problems. In each lesson I take a photo that needs some help and go through the techniques I would use, step-by-step. So if you're looking for some fixes for exposure problems, too much flash, harsh shadows and more, take a look at Fixing Photographic Problems.-------------A… -
Ask Dave debuts
1 Feb 2010 | 1:35 pmRight on schedule, my new "Ask Dave" podcast started today. Each week I pick a question (sometimes two) and answer with a video capture.One thing worth noting: the idea behind the podcast is answering as many Photoshop questions as I can, one or two each week. I'll try my best but I can't guarantee that I'll get to every question. Please remember, the "Ask Dave" podcast is not the place to get a quick response :)If your Photoshop question is "urgent" and you're a NAPP member you might want to send your question to the Help Desk or post it in the NAPP forums. You could also try the forums over…
