Quick Hit Monday: Photo-Walks, Deals, and Updates

Good Morning Everybody,
I've got lots of information on lighting this week. Tomorrow I'll cover really easy portrait lighting, then on Wednesday and Friday's post discuss lighting under the worst of conditions - shooting in the open sun, how to deal with it, and still pull off a great shot so stay tuned all week. Also, I'm going to be taking a little trip down "Wide angle" Lane looking at three dramatic variations for wide angle photography - the first of which I posted today - also stay tuned.

Anyway, what a weekend it has been. I thought I had the day off on Saturday, but I spent most of the day just getting ready for the upcoming week. I was lucky to have yesterday's wedding wrap a bit early. That made it possible for me to start packing my bags for San Antonio by around seven o'clock in the evening.

The wedding was a kick -- I had several past clients in attendance and it was good to visit with all of them. I tried something a bit different too today. I took a series of photographs from the back of the temple in which I created a panorama of the ceremony. Be sure to check out the image of the day I posted today.

I just have one thing to say about creating easy panoramas with your camera. The thing that makes it the easiest is Adobe CS4. I've been playing around a panorama stitching through a number of versions of Adobe Photoshop, but using CS4 is by far hands down the best for stitching together your panoramas. I'm getting a bit carried away here so let me reserve my enthusiasm for a future post. Anyway, let's get on with Quick Hit Monday.

Quick Hit Monday: Photo-Walks, Deals, and Updates

It's Photo-Walk Time In Cincy
So are you ready for the 2009 Scott Kelby Photo-Walk here in Cincinnati, Ohio? July 18, 2009 is the date - so mark your calendars. That's right, I'm leading the Cincinnati Photo-Walk again for the Worldwide Scott Kelby Photo-Walk scheduled for July 18, 2009. Can you believe it - Scott's Photo-Walk is 549 cities strong this year!

We had one heck of a good time last year so let’s do it again for 2009. We will be meeting at the Playhouse In The Park parking lot where we can view and capture some great vistas of the city. We will wind our way through some beautiful places for some great shots. We wrap the Photo-Walk with a nice stroll through Mt. Adams, one of Cincy’s most unique neighborhoods. Lunch will be at the Teak Thai Restaurant - another local favorite.

Unlike last year I'm going to conduct the photo walk in a circle so that we end up pretty much were we started out -- I'm pretty much an expert on the Photo-Walks now ;~) The walk back to the cars is only a few blocks away. Everybody that was there last year knows what a kick it was - I’m looking forward to a great time and a lot of return as well as new participants.

Anyway it should be a kick. Here is the link for the Cincinnati, OH sign up -- I look forward to seeing everybody there. I must admit participating in the walk and sharing the enthusiasm for photography with all the enthusiasts it is one of the most fun photographic thing that you can do. So, see you July 18 in the Playhouse In The Park parking lot.

How To Get Your BEST Deal On Your New Canon 50D
Folks, it doesn't get any better than this. Canon recently announced their brand-new rebates program [link].

That means that you can save gobs of dollars on new Canon gear. You can save an instant $150 at B&H on the 50D [link]. If you're a NAPP a member, you save another $19 in shipping. And if you win one of the two B&H gift cards at my Digital Wake-Up Call tour, that will save you another $50. Wow!, practically free - it just doesn't get any better than that.

Canon 5D Going Manual On Video With Next Firmware Upgrade Tomorrow
Yup, that's right Canon is updating the firmware of its Canon 5D Mark II camera[link]. Many of us had been hoping Canon would do this from the beginning - let us use the manual settings on our camera when shooting that great video. Here is the link for the firmware upgrade. Remember, it goes live tomorrow.

Hey gang, I've got a plane to catch in a couple of minutes heading to San Antonio. I'm landing at three o'clock, grabbing my bags, and heading to the hotel. I look forward to seeing you in San Antonio Texas this evening. Adios, David