Today It’s All About Lightroom 4!

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Lightroom 4 is introducing some very cool new features. Much better integration with video is one of those features. The other is the new Book module which let's you design albums and picture books effortlessly.

But, it's understanding how these two features can work together that open up a whole slew of new possibilities for the wedding/portrait photographer. Hit the PLAY button on this video to see what I mean.

Enjoy! -David

 

Also let me also point you towards some great links to get you up to speed with Lightroom 4’s new features – all very cool!

1. Here’s the “skinny” from Adobe on all the new features, improvements and system requirements for Lightroom 4 – a good outline of what to expect. [link]

2. Julieanne Kost has several short videos highlighting the latest greatest features of LR4 – always an entertaining and informative presentation. [link]

3. Our good buddies Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski have 11 videos also pointing out the new and best features of LR4 Beta. [link]

4.  Here’s Scott’s and Matt’s quick cheat-sheet that you can save or download for LR4 too. [link]

5. Photoshop Café also has four nice tutorials on the subject – these were actually the first ones I watched – enjoy. [link]

6. My good buddy, Kerry Garrison also a nice peak at the LR4 Beta. [link]

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today. 

Enjoy the video treats and the Lightroom 4 Beta download - life is good!

Se you soon, David

Quick Hit Monday: New Podcast; Too Much To Learn; From Here To Eternity; and More

Good Morning Everybody,

Today is the day we begin leg 4 of our Captured By The Light 2010 tour. This week we head to Nashville, Atlanta, and Charlotte and are looking forward to meeting everyone along the way.

If you haven't registered, you can still get all the tour info and register right here. All attendees receive over $350 in goodies and a 9 hour tour DVD in the Welcome Bag just for registering.  And, don't forget those Door Prizes - over $6000 given away each evening! Hope to see you there.

We aren’t coming to a city near you. You can still sign up then just contact my office email jennifer@ziser.com and the entire Welcome Bag will be shipped to you.

Hey gang, I've got lots of interesting, fun photo bits for you today. Let's get right to it.

My New Podcast At CameraDoJo.com

A few weeks ago, Kerry Garrison, the force behind CameraDoJo.com invited me to sit in for another podcast. Kerry has about 100 of these podcasts on line with topics ranging the photographic spectrum. They are always a good listen.

On Thursday, we discussed Lighting, Clients, and Business. Download it to your iPod and give a listen. Here is the link right here.

Too Much Learning, Too Little Time

Adobe Press/Peachpit Press have recently introduced their brand new "Learn By Video" Series. I've had a peek behind the scenes at their new series with Peachpit/Adobe Press on board as a CBTL tour sponsor. I have to say, it's one of the fastest, easiest, not to mention fun way to learn Photoshop, Lightroom, or just about anything Adobe.

They have just announced that the "Learn By Video" series is now available for your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Check it out right here.  Each lesson is a steal of a deal at only $1.99!

From Here To Eternity

Yep, that's the Buzz Lightyear mantra In Toy Story, but now, it seems that Adobe has made it true. I caught this unusual little story about Adobe showing off plenoptic lenses [link] that let you refocus an image after it's taken.

It's fascinating technology - how close is it to practical application? I guess nobody knows for sure, but the video was fun to watch. You can catch it right here.

More info over at Wikipedia right here about the original research.

Riding The Web Wave To 360 Pano Inspiration

One thing I enjoy doing over the weekend if I have a little time off is to just hit the web and see if I can find any new interesting photo sites. I found a few interesting sites over the last few weekends I'd like to point you towards. Here is my quick list in no particular order.

360 Degree Panoramas:

Originally I saw fellow blogger, Neil Creek's Tweet about his latest 360 degree image he recently posted at 360Cities.net [link]. I've always been intrigued by panoramas, especially the 360 degree variety. 360Cities.net is the Nirvana of 360 degree images. Here is the link right here to check out their amazing images. The site is almost addicting once you get started exploring the images. Plan a loooong coffee break today to check it out.

Fire and Ice - And HDR Amazing

Recently I  stumbled on some great images at Webecoist.com. This is another fun site to explore. Check out the HDR water, snow, and ice images right here.

Here is another link to some phenomenal natural phenomena too - worth the peek, the images are mind blowing!

A Video Peek 10 Of The World's Best Wedding Photographers

I also stumbled on this video right here showing video snippets of how 10 of the top wedding photographers capture their shots. It was fascinating for me to watch, because none of them, as far as I could tell, were using any auxiliary flash. Most images were shot in a coached candid fashion shoot kind of way. Anyway, these might tickle a brain juice or two and give you a few more ideas for you to incorporate on your next wedding shoot.

Finally….. Totally Not Related To Photography - Very Scary High Jinx (very high)

This is one of those links that maybe only I enjoy. It has nothing to do with photography, lighting, Photoshop, or Lightroom. It's just something I found really kind of boring, then interesting, and finally absolutely terrifying as I watched the video till the end [link].

As simple as it sounds, it is a video of an antenna engineer climbing one of the tallest antennas in the world to make some repairs. This antenna is taller than the Sears (Willis) Tower in Chicago  Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Well, it is until about 2/3's of the way through the video then you are grabbing white knuckled onto the chair arms of your chair.

I was amazed how this video drew me into this guy climbing the super tall tower, but by the time he neared the top, I didn't want to look down at all! Skip the link if you want, but if you have nerves of steel, make the climb with the engineer. All in good fun.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today. We are on the road early today and plan to land in Nashville around 1:00 this afternoon for set up. I hope you get a chance to stop by tonight. If you do, please come on up and say HI.

If I miss you tonight, I'll see ya' bright and early tomorrow for Technique Tuesday.

Adios everybody, David

Hot News Over at Layers Magazine!

Layers TV is on the Air! The first episode was first aired yesterday and will be on iTunes very shortly. Corey Barker and Rafael Conception, two of the fastest keyboard digital gymnists on the planet are your hosts for the show. They promise "all meat, no fat" tutorials. Layers TV will feature all things Adobe. Their first episode features a Flash tip and Dreamweaver tip. Great job guys!! Here is the link - Enjoy!

Early Tuesday News

An early good morning to everyone,

Here are a few interesting news items I thought I would try to post before LaDawn and I head to the airport . I also promised a recap of my wedding over the weekend - look for it later today - some cool stuff.

On with the news:

Sept. 4, 1888: Photography Leaps Into the Late 19th Century
Yep, today was the day - 119 years ago, that George Eastman received a patent for the first roll-film camera and registers the name "Kodak." This article is a nice read for the photo-history buff. Here is the link.

Vincent Versace - Podcast - Nikon D3/D300:
With all the new camera announcements over the last few weeks, I thought I would point you to Vincent Versace's podcast on the Nikon D3 and D300. Vincent Versace, Photographer, Trainer, and Author. One of Nikon’s “Legend Behind the Lens” and premier product beta tester joins host Scott Sheppard for a first hand look on Nikon’s newest digital SLRs. I'll be seeing Vinney at Photoshop World this week - what a terrific photographer. Here is the link to the podcast.

In Depth Canon 40 Review:
Let's give Canon equal billing here. I just saw this review of Canon's latest and greatest 40D. I had my hands on one this weekend - Sweet. Click here for the link.

Which Batteries for digital and How to Make Them Last:
I just replaced some of my NiCads before the wedding this weekend. Want to know which batteries are the best? The Strobist had a nice piece on just that topic. Give it a read right here. Now that you've made the battery choice, how do you make them last. Here is the tell - all article - right here - posted over at John Nack's blog that gives you the low-down. I feel so recharged already.

World’s Fastest-Shooting Digital Camera:
This story has been popping up all over the web lately so I thought I would post it more as a - "Look to the Future" item. Just where is all this technology going these days? Just when we think we hit the megapixel sweet spot and all is perfect, new technology points our imaginations into a new direction. Here is the news piece. Casio has just revealed plans of an as yet unnamed twelve times zoom, six megapixel CMOS based digital camera which can capture a burst of full-size six megapixel images at sixty frames per second and VGA AVI movies at an astonishing three hundred frames per second (obviously shutter speed allowing). Exact specifications and details are currently a little vague but we do know that it has a 2.8" wide-screen LCD monitor, electronic viewfinder and sensor-shift image stabilization. You say so what? the "so what" is this - things are moving fast, think of the posibilities. It's great to be along for the ride! Click here for the story.

Hey Gang, that's it for now - got a plane to catch. Check back for the wedding recap story later today. See you in Vegas! --David