Quick Hit Monday: Last Night Report

Good Evening Everybody,

I cannot believe this year so far! Three weeks out of the first part of the month, the PhotoProExpo, blogs blogs and more blogs - I hope this week lightens up a bit - whew!

First off, Matt Kloskowski was in for the Photoshop For Photographers Tour last Friday. I picked Matt up from the airport on Thursday morning and on the way to the hotel he asked if maybe I could line up a model later in the afternoon. A quick call from LaDawn to her daughter, Lindsay, who had the day off and we were set to go. Don't you love it when a plan comes together ;~)

Anyway, we all hooked back up about 1:00 p.m. and spent the afternoon shooting in the snow. Matt got some great shots and I got a very cool, no pun intended, Technique Tuesday episode. Matt's going to send me his best images from the shoot. So after I receive them, I'll get things together for the TTues episode - it should be fun. This is a shot of LaDawn, Myself, Matt, and buddy Larry Loar, at Montgomery Inn for dinner. The best place for ribs in the city.

Also adding to my plate was the fact that my buddy, Scott Kelby, asked me to cover his guest blog post for this Wednesday. I've really been concerned about the current state of affairs of the wedding photography industry and wanted the post to revolve around that topic, covering all the why's, wherefores, what to do's, and opportunities in the wedding field at this time.

Well, as things sometimes evolve when I hit my "soap box", the post evolved into a 7 page, 2,900 word article! And, I still have another 1,500 words to go! Needless to say, that little bit of writing consumed a large part of the weekend. I think it is an important piece though so I hope you enjoy it and it's thought provoking implications. If Scott let's me, I hope to have a chance to do Part 2 the following week.

I know it's late but I do have a few cool things for you to check out today. Here we go...

My New Favorite iPad App – The Early Edition

OK, you all know I’m totally hooked on my iPad - have been since it came out last April. Like our good buddy, Terry White, I'm kind of an app junkie too. But this app is just way cool. There are lots of apps that pick up your RSS feeds and show them in bookcases or any number of creative presentations. I know, I've got three on my iPad.

My new favorite app is The Early Edition [link]. It works much like Flipbook, another favorite, aggregating all your RSS feeds by category into a newspaper style layout that's a joy, yes - I said joy to read. With First Edition, I don't even miss my USA Today.

The other cool thing about First Edition is how easy it is to say the content for later postings, for example, at DigitalProTalk. More on some of those options on Wednesday. Anyway, check it out - way cool, easy, efficient blog reading is now at hand.

And Speaking Of More Information Than You Need To Know

I don't remember how I first came across this link although I receive email updates, but it is a pretty cool photo news source. It's name, New Photo Digest. It's a nice read with lots of interesting content that ranges all across the board of photography and gear.

Bert Monroy Finishes, 5 by 30 feet Photorealistic Masterpiece

I just got the news today! Bert finishes his Times Square  Masterpiece [link].

As Bert says,

“This is the largest image I have ever created, pushing the boundaries of the software and hardware as far as they can go. It was unveiled at the Photo Plus Expo in New York on October 28, 2010 as a work in progress. A 25 foot light box was constructed to display the piece that has been printed on a new material being introduced by Epson.

• The image size is 60 inches by 300 inches.
• The flattened file weighs in at 6.52 Gigabytes.
• It took four years to create.
• The painting is comprised of almost three thousand individual Photoshop and Illustrator files.
• Taking a cumulative total of all the files, the overall image contains over 500,000 layers.”

Bert has been working on it for 4 years and that includes many hours a day and lots of weekends. I sure would love for Bert to do a webcast for our readers about the entire process. I'll make the call and see if we can't pursued him to do it.

For the past several Photoshop Worlds, we've all been watching Bert's progress. It's good to know he has finished it. Here's the interesting thing about the mural - many of the persons seen in the mural are industry notables. Hit the "Read More..." link at the end of today’s post and I'll point out a few for you. Yep, that's yours truly and my wife LaDawn in the background right below the Shrek poster. Kind of fun, THANKS Bert.

You Never Know Who You'll Meet In The Apple Store

Yesterday I took a few hours off just to kind of "geek" around the tech stores here in the Cincy area. One of them happened to be the Apple store. It amazes me the constant crowds they have in those stores. I mean, I don't even own a Mac computer but I still drop by now and then to check out the latest happenings.

Anyway, while roaming the story yesterday, I overheard two people discussing flash photography and couldn't help offering my two cents worth. One thing lead to another and before long I was having an enjoyable conversation with Michael. He's kind of new to the professional but tells me he shooting with some mighty fine gear - a Canon 5D Mark II to be exact.

Anyway, he mentioned that he has seen me on Kelby Training, and asked me to check out his images. I gladly obliged and we brought up his website [link]. Wow! He had some great looking imagery in his galleries. Here is the link to his site right here.

He has a very nice feel in how to work with natural light. My favorite images of his were the ones that showed a bit more direction of light. He had great looking images of some very beautiful people in some very cool locations. All in all it was quite an impressive collection of images. Once again, you can check Mike's site out right here. Nice job, Michael.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today. I know it is late but I still wanted to get today's Quick Hit Monday posted before the end of the day. I've got a brand new Technique Tuesday in store for you tomorrow so be sure to check back for that. It will be a late post too - probably mid afternoon. It's kind of a cool tutorial that touches on cropping and correcting wide angle lens images. I'll actually use both Lightroom 3 and Photoshop to get the job done. I think you'll like it.

It's been a long day - time for an adult beverage ;~)

See everybody late tomorrow, David

Here is a partial close up of Bert’s huge image and some notable people in the image. Check out Bert’s site right here to see the entire zoomable image.  Enjoy!  -David