Quick Hit Monday: HDR Efex Pro Now Available; Joey Lawrence – Way Cool Photography; Cool HDSLR Info; CS5 Tips

Good Morning Everybody,

We landed in Rockville, Maryland - a Washington D.C. suburb - mid evening on Friday. We have been enjoying the surrounds of Rockville, Bethesda, Silver Springs (Monte Zucker's original stomping grounds), Gaithersburg, and Washington, D. C. all weekend. Beautiful parks and Wine Country on Friday, D.C. tours on Saturday, and a little R&R on Sunday enjoying some of the ethnic flavors of Bethesda.

One of the things that struck me was the city's skyline or lack of one. The height of all the building within the District of Columbia is limited to the width of the street it's on plus 20 feet. The idea was to preserve the European feel of the city. We've traveled to a lot of the glass and steel urban canyons throughout the country and the feel of the D.C. area was a refreshing urban experience.

I’ve never spent much time in the District of Columbia so it was cool to do the "tourist thing" all day Saturday seeing all the notable places of interest. Even though the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials are cool to see, the best kept secret as far as memorials was the FDR Memorial. It's spreads out over 7 acres and is quite the visual experience with all the granite and water features [link].

Even though we saw many of all the wonderful sights, I still had to chuckle at the tour guide's remake - Washington, D.C. - District of Construction ;~) We do a lot of traveling by car and so far Washington, D.C. leads the country in roads under construction. Hey, we still managed to get around and had a great time doing so.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the Hilton Hotel in Rockville, MD was quite a hubbub of party activity this weekend. I peeked in on a Bat Mitzvah going on Saturday evening. Thankfully for the hotel guests, the music settled down about 10p.m. On Sunday the hotel hosted a wedding celebration. I talked with Reva, the Hilton's event consultant, who told me that the hotel was really popular for Mitzvahs and weddings - it sure was this weekend. I felt right at home ;~)

On with Quick Hit Monday...

NIK Software HDR Pro EFEX Now Available

Finally NIK Software HDR Efex Pro is shipping! That's right - only one thing, you can't download a trial just yet. Over the weekend I saw several reviews of NIK's latest offering by RC Conception at Layers TV [link] and several tutorials (hours and hours worth) by Rick Sammon and others [link].

I quickly headed over to NIK to download the trial - they offer a 15 day trial of all their software before you buy it. But no luck, it's not up yet, darn. Anyway, I suspect it will be up very soon because it is available right now from their site.

UPDATE:  The HDR Efex trial just went up this morning minutes ago!  I just downloaded my trial  can’t wait to run it through it’s paces. Here is the link right here.

Hey, want to know how you can save 20% off the regularly published price of $165? You just need to know the secret password. During my CBTL2010 tour, NIK is offering 20% off all their software if you use secret code DZISER when ordering from their site. That's the best price ever! Tell them I sent ya'.

A Different Way To See (and photograph) The World

Last week during my CBTL2010 tour I got talking with one of the attendees about a few great web sites. The name Joey Lawrence [link] came up. Joey is a 21 year old photo phenom who was first brought to light by David Hobby of Strobist [link] fame about 3 years ago. This kid's work is truly amazing.

Anyway, I decided to check out his site right here [link] and his blog right here [link].  In his few short years, and having never been trained as a photographer, Mr. Lawrence has developed an international reputation as an outstanding photographer.  As I said, he has a different way of seeing the world – definitely worth the web surf to his blog and web site.

HDSLRs - Taking It To The limit!

Still not a fan of the video capabilities of the new HDSLRs?  Want to know where they stand when you put them up to the big boys of cinema?  Zacuto [link] is at the forefront of all the HDSLR excitement. You have to check out their “Great Camera Shootout” series [link] which was nominated for an Emmy for the best web series.

This is a great series that really goes into great depth comparing the latest, greatest HDSLR cameras with film cinema.  Obviously, the video is amazing just to view too.  If HDSLR video might be your thing, this is well worth checking out.

10 Photoshop CS5 Tips You Can Use

I always love checking out Terry White's blogs when I have an opportunity. It's always fun to see what the latest iPad/iPhone app he's discovered on his BestAppSite [link]. And, it's a kick to see what he has to say about the latest tech toys he's playing with at his Tech Blog [link].

Anyway, here is a little jewel for you - a quick 11 minute video pointing you to CS5's latest, greatest need to know features [link]. I will admit, I AM NOT a Photoshop guru, but know just enough to be dangerous as they say. That's why I like Terry's take on his tutorials - always practical and informative.

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  The links above will keep you cruising for hours like they did for me. – all good information.

I’m heading out in just a few minutes to check out our room set up for this evening’s program.  We have a crowd of over 200 coming by this evening and I’m looking forward to it.  You still have time to register - so miss out. I hope to see you there.

If you can’t make it this evening, I’ll see you tomorrow for another Technique Tuesday – see ya’ then.

-David