Digital ProTalk: Quick Hit Monday: A New Look At Creativity; Studio Tours; Rebates; and More

Monday, July 06, 2009

Quick Hit Monday: A New Look At Creativity; Studio Tours; Rebates; and More

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Hope everyone had a great 4th even if you didn't fire off a "cracker" or two. Pretty rainy in Cincy this past weekend so many events postponed till yesterday. Anyway, we are drying out and ready to go for a great week.

Just some quick news - look for another webinar, "Lighting, Lens, and Composition" to be announced on Wednesday. I'll give you the details then - it will be a good one!

Hey gang, let's get on with Quick Hit Monday - here we go...

A Different Peek At Creativity?

Last week while visiting friends in Columbus, we attended the Easton Art Fare. Several artisans from around the Midwest were displaying their wares.

I always like to check out the photogs. There were about 15 at the show ranging from not so good to "knock your socks off" gorgeous. I usually do more than "looking" at these shows - I like to visit with the artists to get the behind the scenes story on their work.

I have to say - three of these guys had some beautiful work. I first stopped at Mauricio Fernandez' booth. I was struck by the beautiful simplicity of his floral images all against a black background. Although many images are created in his studio, Mauricio confided to me that even outdoors on location, he drops a black cloth behind his "subjects" in order to isolate the flowers from the surrounds for a striking effect. All said, he had striking work at the show and pointed me in some creative directions I can't wait to try. Here is a link to his site right here.

Next I stopped at Earl English's display. Earl had remembered me from programs I had presented in the Columbus area which he had attended when he was shooting weddings. It was good to catch up with an old aquaintence. Now Earl is into fine art work and many of his images were just beautiful. He shared with me one of his very unusual techniques for "photographing" his "subjects" - he scans them. The result is a very shallow "depth of light" on the flowers which gives them almost an ethereal presence - very cool. Yep, I'm giving that one a try too. Check out Earl's galleries right here - worth the visit.

Ron Opfer of Canvas Visions was the third photog I visited. Ron was showcasing some very beautiful landscapes 30x40 inch wrapped canvasses. Check out his site right here. His colors were striking on each image. Turns out he prints all his work on one of Canon's iPF Prograf printers - the image quality will "blow you away!"

But now the rest of the story - Ron was moving his prints out of his booth at a very fast clip, at least for these type of art shows. That secret of his success - the right price! He was selling his canvas stretched 30x40 inch works of art for $159 - sort of a "show special" since they are $189 on his web site (which I still think is a great value deal.)

He won't tell me how many he had sold during the show, but on of the exhibitors across the aisle from Ron confirmed that they were "selling like hotcakes." He sold three while I was talking with him. "High fives" to Ron for great photography and finding the "sweet spot" on pricing.

My personal congrats to all three artists showing "knock out" samples of your work. Continued success to all three artists. All of you give nice insights with your talent and your images to a different view of creativity we sometimes miss in our wedding/portrait world.

You've Got To Check Out This Studio

My buddy, Kent Smith, pointed me to this link last week. Check out Yuri Arcurs studio tour right here- it's amazing! The cool thing about Yuri's site is the wealth of additional information he has posted - a site definitely worth the visit! Here is the link to his main site.

More On Creativity

Last Friday I pointed you towards Jim Talkington's site ProPhotoLife - a great site with tons of information. Jim retired from updating ProPhotoLife this past January and started his new "Picture-A-Day" site. Jim is a creative shooter, so if you get a minute or two, you can check it out right here. All the EXIF data for each shot is also posted.

25,000 Walkers Strong!

Hey gang, if you haven't signed up for Scott Kelby's 2009 PhotoWalk, you are missing the boat to a great experience. It was a kick last year and I'm looking forward to a good time this year too. Photowalk09 I'm hosting one in the Cincy area, but last time I checked, we had about 3 more happening around town too. R.C. Concepcion of Layers TV fame just posted an update on how to get the best out of the experience, If you are walking you might want to check out his short video right here.

Got A New iPhone 3Gs - Then You Need This

Yep, one of the hottest features on the new iPhone is video capture. Well, wouldn't you know it - somebody has developed a video grip for the iPhone. If your an iPhone "phonatic" you need this new grip by Zacuto - here is the link. It will only set you back the cost of another iPhone - totally unbelievable!!!