Announcing My 2019 Photo Safari To the Galapagos Islands! and a Quick Wrap up of 2017!

Happy New Year Everybody,

I hope everyone had a fantastic 2017, wonderful holiday season, and a great welcome to our brand new year - 2018.  I've got three things I want to share with you in this quick newsletter. First, a few exciting personal notes - at least for LaDawn and I; secondly, my "once in a lifetime" event - don't miss this read; and finally, details of our 2019 Photo Safari to the Galapagos Islands.  Here we go...

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World Travels - 50,000 Miles, 8 Countries, and 34,000 Photos!

Since I last visited with you LaDawn and I have been around the world, well, not all the way around, but half-way at least. It's been quite a series of Fall adventures for us to say the least.

We started with a 5-day visit to Vancouver, Canada, then crossed the Pacific on a cruise ship hanging out in Hawaii, the lava was really flowing as we circumvented the Big Island around midnight and even with a rocking ship and misty rains I was able to capture some amazing images. Check out my favorite below.

Then it was on to Tahiti, Bora Bora, and New Zealand finally completing our 4 weeks on water in Sydney, Australia. Below is a photo from the aft of the ship as we departed Auckland - pretty cool!!!

After our quick arrival in Sydney we flew back to Auckland, NZ where I discovered my driver's license expired two days before we were to pick up our rental car - WHOOPS!!! You guessed it - LaDawn had to rent the car with the steering wheel on the right side of the car and had to drive on the left side of the highway, which she had never experienced - YIKES!!! 1400 beautiful miles later we returned the car safe and sound to Queenstown, NZ. Actually…. she really did a great job driving!! Here's a photo of a stunning sunset on our first evening in Rotorua, NZ.

After 14 days of adventures in New Zealand we flew  to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and spent two weeks traveling up the Mekong River through Vietnam and Cambodia - our most astounding two weeks travel EVER!!! Check out the Angkor Wat sunrise below. Sadly it required waking-up at 5:00 a.m. to capture this image. But… well worth it!!

Our next city of adventure included a 5-day stop in Seoul, South Korea stopping off at the DMZ or Demilitarized Zone which USA Today called the most dangerous places on earth [link] – hey, who knew;~) It was just for a little additional excitement.  That’s a photo of North Korea below.  Our family was "freaking" out when we told them  we planned to visit the DMZ. Hey, you only go around once;~)

It was home for Thanksgiving with family and then off to Cabo, Mexico for 3 more weeks and returning home a week before Christmas. Thus completing our three months of travels.

On top of that LaDawn has become a grandmother for the third time on Christmas Eve - her best Christmas present ever!

Here is a quick photo of handsome Sam about 6 hours after he was born - Wow, just look at all that hair!

Speaking of our travels, we are looking forward to our African Photo Safari [link] in just a few weeks. If interested we had two people that had to cancel so we still have one room (1-2 people) left at the main lodge for either safaris.

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Announcing My 2019 Photo Safari To the Galapagos Islands!

That's right everybody, we're heading to the Galapagos Islands in mid-May, 2019. Join me as we follow in the footsteps of Charles Darwin. The Galapagos Islands  are considered one of the world's foremost destinations for wildlife viewing. It should be a photographer's paradise. I’ve spent some time talking with other photographers and travel enthusiasts who have been there, they say that it truly is amazing!

Space is super-duper limited - only 12 seats total! If you are interested please drop and email to me at david@ziser.com or Kevin at idubephotosafaris@yahoo.com.

Kevin tells me that he is also planning another two Safaris to Africa next year.  This time he’s going to be doing one in February and one in March. One will go to Zambia [link] and the other to Namibia [link], both locations are home to utterly beautiful scenery, interesting history, and amazing African culture.  It sounds like a great trip, too.  I'll keep you posted when I have more details.

Anyway, if you have even the slightest interest in the Galapagos trip drop myself or Kevin a line at our emails addresses above and let us know so we can at least get you on the waiting list.  It's going to be a first-come-first-served booking opportunity with only 12 seats available.

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Oh, I Almost Forgot!!! PhotoPro Expo 2018 Is Right Around The Corner

That's right PhotoPro Expo is coming up next month, February 8 - 12, 2018 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center located just across the river from Cincinnati OH. This year the Expo is being planned by my good friends Bert and Al Behnke. Bert has been extremely active with the Professional Photographers of America Imaging convention for years and was a natural fit to take over the reigns of PhotoPro Expo.

Click the banner above for all the details.  It's shaping up to be a great show with a fantastic 24 person/speaker line-up, the best in the industry and BIG trade show.  I plan to be there - I hope you will too.  See ya' there!______________________________________________________

Hey Gang,

That's it for today - I've got to get "scooting" out of here. I hope you enjoyed the images and the article links in the newsletter this time around.

I'm heading up to Whistler Mountain in beautiful British Columbia, Canada tomorrow morning to join 21 of my photography buddies for a guys week of skiing, fine wine, and good food (I'm the guest chef on Monday evening's dinner). It should be a blast!

Cheers, David

Thursday News

Good Morning Everybody,

To the readers of Digital ProTalk - have you noticed the news stories on the right side of this page change several times a week. I've been using this blogging resource to get additional interesting items on the front page. So be sure to check out the RED STUFF >>> to the right of this page.

In addition to keeping this page up to date, LaDawn and I have also been tracking our trip to NYC this week. Hey, I know there are so many hours in a day - so who wants to look at travel pics - but, heck, some of them are pretty cool. Think of it as a "Vacation" resource. Anyway if you want to check it out here is the link to Dave and LaDawn On the Road - just click here.

Alrighty then, on with quick news:

The Top 10 Best Places to Take Photographs:
I know this is a combo National Park/Ford Promo, but that's OK with me. I started taking my kids with me to National parks many years ago. My son, loved it nd said, "hey Dad, why don't we do this once a year." We had a pretty good run at it while they were young. That's why I have added these recommendations. So here is what is happening. This year, the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation teamed with Ford Motor Company for the official “Share the Experience” photo contest. So not only do you get great pics, but might win a car too. Here is the link.

Fireworks Tutorial - Or Where Did the Black Tones Go?
When I first saw this come up, I thought we are way past the 4th of July - what good is this? (kidding) but then I took a closer look. The guys over at Watch and Learn Photoshop have a nice little tutorial here. Look beyond the "fireworks" part - the best part is seeing how certain "Layer Modes" work with blacks in the image. Check it out here.

Hands On With the Canon 40D over at Luminous Landscape.
OK, I admit it - I'm a Canon 20D then 30D, now 40D nut. I can't believe they get so much stuff into that camera - Highlight Tone Priority to save my highlights, full screen "blinkies", fast focus, etc. As a matter of fact, I ordered the new Canon 40D from B&H last week at Photoshop World. It's just a lot of "bang for the buck." So when I caught yet another "hands on" experience, especially from a really well respected source, I wanted to share it with you. If your a Canon shooter or just thinking about becoming one here is the link for some great info.

Finally - Batteries That Hold a Charge
Tired of the constant "drain the recharge" cycle with the AA NiCads, or are you like me and never drain them so six months later after about the zillionth recharge, you end up with no charge. This story came up the other day over at our buddies at 1001 Noisy Cameras. It's talks about this new kind of battery (AA and AAA) that hold their charge for quite a while. Check out the whole story here.

Hey Gang, got to go - I've got an early appointment today - see ya tomorrow. --David