Quick Hit Monday: Fisheye Fisheyes; Canon 60D Thoughts; LR3 Production: and HDR

Good Morning Everybody,

We arrived safe and sound into glittering Las Vegas, Nevada mid Saturday afternoon. We got settled into our hotel and enjoyed a relaxing weekend. My daughter, Elizabeth, is joining us on this trip – only her second time to Vegas and a first to Photoshop World. Only this time she is over 21 - uh oh.

All kidding aside, I wanted to show her around the city and introduce her to the world famous Photoshop World experience. We began the trip with a bang seeing our favorite Cirque du Soleil Las Vegas show "O" [link] on Sunday evening. We spending today making a short day trip over to Valley Of Fire, one of the most unique desserts in the US. I hope I have a few images to post from the visit.

Tomorrow is pre-con day at Photoshop World which means it will be lots of fun. I’m excited for this presentation/workshop because of some of the new techniques I've got planned for the shoot. Reflectors, 7 foot umbrellas, and my new LOVE LightZ.

This week may be a light blog week just because we are so busy with 3 programs, 4 booth demos, and the regular programming. I'll do my best to keep you posted on show happenings and keep up the DPT blog schedule too.

How about we get right to it. Here are a few of my Quick Hits for today.

A Zoomable Fisheye - Are You Kidding Me?

Believe me, I couldn't believe it when I read it either. Most of you know that I'm a big fan of the fisheye lens, but a zoomable fisheye - wow! Canon just announced this lens [link] with all their recent flurry of gear announcements and this one caught my eye.

Here is the deal as best as I can tell. On a full frame camera like the Canon 5D Mark II when zoomed down to 8mm you get a complete circle 180 degree view. I've been taking that same image on my Sigma 8mm fisheye for several years.

But here is the cool thing - zoom it to 15mm and you get a complete full frame 180 degree diagonal view on a full frame camera. It’s sort of like getting two lenses in one. Its not due to ship till January 2011 and will cost in the neighborhood of $1,400.

Hey, it could be worse. Canon's newly announced 400mm F2.8 IS lens is coming in at around $7,100! [link] I think this zoom fisheye really looks interesting. I can't wait to get my hands on it. Once again, here is the link to the complete story right here.

How About Canon's New 60D Camera?

I've been working on the CBTL tour this week and have been under water news-wise for most of last week. But, you can always catch up on the latest and greatest gear announcements at Über gear blogger, 1001 Noisy Cameras [link].  1001 must have spy microphones everywhere to come up with all the info his blog generates!

Anyway, I wanted to see what was up with the new camera and headed over to 1001's site right here. If you are thinking of selecting this camera, before to you make your purchase check out 1001's post. It is the “go to” Canon 60D post because of all the other links to blogs reporting on this camera.

My first impression is that the camera might be better suited for the video shooter. Yes, HD video is built in as well as an adjustable microphone - interesting. The camera is a bit more plastic, not a good thing, but does have a swivel viewfinder - a good thing for the video shooter.

It's rated up to ISO 12,800 but is definitely noisy at that range. Supposedly it has a chip similar to the 7D and T2i which means it should be useable up to ISO 1600 or even 3200 with a little LR3 thrown in.

The deal breaker for me is the fact that, just like the T2i, no external sync connection. I just don't get why Canon did that. It just neuters the convenience of using off-camera flash and there are no easy work arounds if you want to use off-camera and on- camera flash simultaneously.

Don't get me wrong, the video aspects of the camera look to be the latest greatest with the swivel finder and all the added elements. So, maybe for me it works as a high end vacation camera, just not as a second camera in my gear bag, that is until I amp up my video shooting. I think that's where the 60D will find it's best fit.

Lightroom Post Production - The 10 Best Steps To Great Looking Images

One of my favorite Lightroom folks to follow is Victoria Brampton, the Lightroom Queen [link]. She just completed her latest Lightroom 3 book, “Lightroom 3, The Missing FAQs”. She really knows her stuff, always has some cool Lightroom tips and tricks, and points you to other solid content Lightroom posts.

In one of her tweets, she pointed to a great post  at the NY Times Gadgetwise blog entitled, "Ten Photo-Editing Tips From a Pro" [link]. As I read through it, I'm thinking that's a lot of what I do - hey, maybe that's why I like the post so much - because they're doing it, as Ol' Blue Eyes would say, "my way" ;~)

Hey, all kidding aside, this post really shows an intelligent step-by-step process to obtain better images. Here is the link right here.

One Of The Best HDR Tutorials I've Seen

I think I found this post somewhat by accident during my GoGo Inflight Internet surfing at 30,000 feet on the way to Las Vegas on Saturday. StuckInCustoms.com [link] is a fascinating blog by Trey Ratcliff for the traveling photographer.

I landed on the front page of the site and then began to explore the site a bit more. In the right hand column was a link to this HDR tutorial [link]. If you are an HDR junkie, you probably know all this stuff.

Hit Trey’s site anyway and check out his beautiful HDR images. But, if you are like me, and only dabble in the dark sciences of HDR infrequently, this is a good post on the subject. Once again, here is the link.

__________________________________________________________

Hey gang, that's it for me today. We are heading out to the Valley Of Fire for the day. We've packed a wedding gown with us and have talked my daughter, Elizabeth, into being my model for a few hours. My gosh, my daughter in a wedding gown - that's a scary thought ;~)

Oh. one last thing – LaDawn still needs volunteers for our CBTL tour especially in the earliest scheduled venues of Phoenix and Houston. You won’t miss a minute of the presentation. At the end of the evening, I’m buying the soft drinks or beers for any of the volunteers that want to stick around! E-Mail her at LaDawn@ziser.com and she’ll give you all the details.

Anyway, I'm going to run. Tomorrow is Pre-Con day but I'm still panning to get a Technique Tuesday up and on the air.

Hope to see everybody tomorrow,

David

Wednesday: I've Got To Focus, Really Focus Today

Good Morning Everybody,

Well, the best laid plans went astray for today.  I was planning to be on an all day portfolio building photo shoot, but the rain over the last several days has put a damper, (no pun intended) on today's session.

You know, one of the best ways to "sharpen the saw" as they say, is to practice.  How many of us take the time to do just that? Unfortunately, not many - heck, me included lots of times.  That's why I was looking forward to today's shoot. 

The good news is that I'm doing a shoot for are state KPPA Summer  School on Monday - it's only for a few hours but it will still be fun because it's in a location I've never photographed in before.  I'll share a few images with you next week after we return.

As usual I’ve gotten a little off tract, but why don't you think about it.  Why not get a few like minded photos together, hire a few models from Model Mayhem or Craig's List and just go out and PRACTICE.  I promise you, you'll enjoy it ;~)

I've Got To Focus, Really Focus Today

Have you ever really practiced how to focus?  I know, right off the bat, you're thinking I'm crazy for even bringing it up.  You're thinking, "David, the cameras all have built in focusing systems.  Why do I need to KNOW how to focus?  The camera does it for me."

 Well, you are absolutely right to say the cameras have built in focus, but I can tell you from experience that lots of folks don't know how to use the camera's built in focus functions.  I was teaching one of my Master Classes a few years ago.  By the way, our next Master Class Workshop [link] is scheduled for October 18-22, 2010.  Anyway, we were photographing a bride on the stairs at one of my favorite wedding venues, the Phoenix Club, in downtown Cincinnati.

I was showing the class how I was framing up the bride in the composition and thought I was getting some exciting images.  One of the class members stepped in to try to duplicate the shot and was surprised by her really blurry result.   She showed me the image on her LCD screen and it was definitely blurry.

Hit the “Read More…” link below for the rest of the story.

I did some further checking of her camera settings and discovered that she really didn't understand how the focusing features worked on her camera.  

She had ALL the focus spots activated so when she set up my shot in her viewfinder with the bride in Quadrant #3, guess what? The camera didn't know it was supposed to focus on the bride.  With ALL the focus spots activated, it simply focused on the object closest to the camera, which, as you can see in the photograph, was the marble staircase railing. 

In her shot, the railing in the viewfinder was in sharp focus, but because on the large aperture we were shooting with, the bride went quickly out of focus because of her greater distance from the focus plane.

Why do some folks have this problem?  You know, back in the days of film and manually focused cameras, photographers all did the same thing - focus on the subject and then reframe the image for the best composition.  It was just the natural thing to do.

With the advent of auto focus cameras….. Who can remember brand and model?  It was the Minolta Maxim 7000 introduced in January 1985!  I had one of the first cameras available.  It was way cool how it worked - no more manual focusing I thought till I discovered I was having focusing problems with an AUTOFOCUS camera!

I quickly learned that if I focused on the subject, then held the shutter button down half way to hold the focus and then reframed the shot, my problems went away.

Today we have cameras with a gazillion focusing points, we can even dial in whichever one we want and just shoot away.  But what is the best and quickest way to shoot?  Turns out that the technique I used in the old film manual focus days works just fine in this brand new digital millennium of ours.

So this is a long story with a short conclusion.  How do I focus when I’m shooting? 

Simple. I first set my camera to ONLY use the center focusing spot  on the focus grid.  Now I can quickly grab focus on the subject, and with the shutter button held halfway down, I can quickly reframe the composition and get my best shot without losing focus on the subject.  That, by the way, is how I have all my cameras set up - center spot focus only. 

I need to point out that this is NOT how I would set up my camera when, say shooting fast moving sports where the center of interest is quickly changing.  But for me, as a "people photographer", this is the only way to shoot if you want to be assured of rock solid focused images.

DAZNOTE:  You can find a additional information on the Canon 7D at Imaging-Resource.com right here.  They have a nice write up on focusing as part of their hands on user report.

If you've been having focusing issues, you just may want to give my technique a try.  May all your pixels be sharp from this point forward ;~)

__________________________________________________

Hey gang, that's it for me today.  We've a BIG project we're working on this week and I need to get back to work if we are going to pull it off.  More later.....

Everybody have a great day and I'll see you bright and early tomorrow for another very profitable Business Day Thursday. 

See ya' then, -David

Friday Frenzy: Canon 5D Mark II vs Canon 7D - Which One For Weddings?

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Yes, it is Friday Frenzy around here today.  I know a lot of you are looking forward to receiving your copy on my wedding book.  Good News! We just received 500 copies of my "Captured By The Light" wedding book show up on our doorsteps this morning.  It looks like I'm going to be autographing a lot of books over the weekend. And, it looks like we will be shipping on Monday!! THANKS again for all your patience and understanding as we prepare the books for shipment.

Also, it's official. My book is also shipping from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Peachpit.  Amazon's stock went up yesterday. Heck, maybe it’s because of my book sales ;~)

Remember, you can order an autographed copy from our Digital Resource Center [link] or a regular copy (unsigned) from your favorite bookseller by using the widget on the right ->

Hey, and don't forget to sign up for the free "Captured By The Light" webinar too.  You can do that by hitting the link on the right or by clicking here. I'll be walking you through some of my favorite sections of the book. We've got nearly 150 signed up so far and the room will hold up to 1000, so don't be shy - come on by.

I have to admit, this is all pretty exciting.  Again, my thanks to Scott Kelby for his encouragement and support through the entire book writing process.

OK, time to get on with today's post.  Here we go.

Canon 5D Mark II vs Canon 7D - Which One For Weddings? 

This question keeps popping up on the Skribit widget on the right - yes, I do review each suggestion - and take note of all your emails suggestions as well.  So today I thought I'd discuss the issue in depth.

Hit the "Read More..." link below for the rest of the story.

I bought the Canon 5D Mark II right after it came out back in October 2008.  I loved the much higher resolution sensor (21.1mp), high resolution LCD screen, the new super high ISO's, and the video capabilities.  The camera is currently selling for $2,500 and worth every penny.

I also purchased the Canon 7D the day it became available back in September 2009. I liked the much higher resolution sensor (18 mp), high resolution LCD screen, the new fairly high ISO's, and again the video capabilities.  The camera is currently selling for $1,600 and in my opinion is a "steal of a deal"!

Having said that, let me give you my impressions of both cameras as tools of the trade for shooting weddings. Now I have been a BIG fan of the 40D since it was released.  It was a great wedding camera - accurate LCD screen, decent resolution, decent low noise characteristics, fast and easy to use.

So, right off the bat, I loved the new higher resolution LCD screens on both cameras. It was driving me crazy to shoot both the 40D lo-res LCD along with the hi-res 5D Mk II LCD so I jumped on the 7D when it came along to make that frustration disappear.

Camera resolution is not that big of a deal for me. How many mega-pixels do you need to shoot a wedding?  I think the "sweet spot" is about 10mp anyway. That said, resolution does come into play for family portraits when the final print could be 30x40 inches. 

The 5D is the perfect tool for the portrait photographer, but I really don't need 21.1 mp for weddings.  The fact of the matter is that I usually shoot the 5D Mk II at medium RAW anyway, reserving the higher res setting for large groups only.

I also thought the 5D Mk II's low light focusing was better and faster than the original 5D.  Oh, and I love the video capabilities of the 5D Mk II as well. What a cool feature for any wedding photographer.  Now I can grab snippets of the day for my Animoto shows.

I also loved the 3 custom setting I could use to basically give me 3 cameras in one.  I covered that in a previous post right here.

The high ISO capabilities of the camera blew me away.  I could actually get by shooting at ISO 12,800, albeit a bit noisy but nothing NIK Dfine 2.0 couldn't fix. But, you know, those new high ISOs let me capture images I couldn't get before.

The higher ISOs also let me shoot my routine candids at a ISO 800, 1000, 1200, and 1600.  And you know what that means - less flash power needed for each shot which translates into MANY more shots per charge.  I don't even go through a set of batteries these days on a job and I typically shoot A LOT of images.

And lastly, I loved the super wide angle view I could get with my full frame 12-24mm Sigma lens.  A full 122 degrees rectilinearly corrected view - WOW!

Needless to say, the 5D became my wedding camera of choice for a number of months.

Finally the Canon 7D came out last September - I jumped on it. I couldn't wait to put that baby through it's paces. Well, I've been shooting with it for about 5 months and I'm loving it. Here's why in no particular order.

1. Less mega-pixels - remember my 10mp "sweet spot" - 18 megs is plenty big for wedding photography.  Medium RAW gives me 10.10 Mega-pixels (3,888 x 2,592), equal to the 40D's 3888 x 2592 pixel count, uhmmmm...

2. Nice bright hi-res LCD - I'll never go back to the lo-res version on earlier models.

3. The 7D has those 3 custom settings on it too - three cameras in one again.

4. High speed continuous shooting at 8 fps.  Hey, I don't use it often, but it's nice to know I have it when I need it.

5. I love the video options and, the on board mic is better than the 5D Mark II.  The 5d Mark II's internal mic would always pic up some weird internal noises that the 7D does not.  An outboard mic is best, but in a pinch the 7D's mic works just fine.

6. Pop up flash.  OK, I know what you're thinking, "Ziser, get real.  Who uses a pop up flash for a wedding?"  Well, it not for weddings that I want the pop up flash.  I want it for my vacation pics;~)

7. I like the magnification 1.6x factor.  Here is another point where folks think I'm crazy.  What I am is practical.  Now my 200mm lens becomes a 320mm optic and my 300mm lens becomes a 480mm lens - pretty cool for super close up wedding candids.

8. I really like the new button layout on the 7D especially on the video side. Now it's a "piece of cake" to go from still mode to video mode almost immediately and have things in sharp focus.  I'll have to cover that in an upcoming Technique Tuesday.

9. OK, I'm waxing enthusiastic over the 7D, aren't I?  Well, I do love the camera.  I just wish it's noise characteristics were as good as the 5D Mk II's.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still fine with the 7D's lower noise characteristics and I still routinely will shoot the camera at ISO 800, 1200, and 1600. The 5D Mk II is better in the noise department though.

10. I love shooting the 18-200mm IS lens on the 7D.  It's a great all purpose combo for my flash wedding candids.  Remember though that I have room lights set up at my events.  That's why I can get away with using it as my candid lens too.

Somebody's going to call me out for the optically quality of this lens and that I should be using something sharper.  The fact of the matter is that most of the images taken with this camera/lens combo are only going to made into 8x10's maybe 10x10’s at the largest - the 18-200mm IS lens is plenty sharp for that. Hey, I'm just  practical.

Hey gang, that pretty much wraps it up.  So which camera do I prefer for my weddings. Well, both of them.  That's why I own both of them.  OK, now you're going to twist my arm - "OK, Ziser, if you could only get one of the them, which one would you select first?"

I would opt for the Canon 7D first - fitted with 18-200mm IS lens.  Next pic up the 10-22mm wide angle. Now you're covered from 10mm to 200m of focal length.  Take the 1.6x magnification factor in and you'll go from 16mm to 480mm - WOW!

Hey, did you hear that Canon's coming out with a Rebel T2i [link] that uses the same 18mp chip as the 7D, hi-res LCD viewfinder, external mic connection, and shoots HD video too and all for $799$ Too bad it doesn't have an on board sync connection.

________________________________________________________

OK gang, that does it for me today.  Sorry for the late post.  We had a few meetings and appointments today I needed to tend to AND all the books arrived.

I'll plan to see everybody on Monday, all the pixels willin'. And, just remember that unlike snowflakes, every pixel in your digital camera is exactly the same;~)

Have a great weekend everybody,  -David

Quick Hit Monday: Canon 7D/5D Video, Lightroom Flashcards, My Secret’s Out, DWUC Behind The Scenes

Good Morning Everybody,

I have to admit, we were a little lazy over the weekend. Usually Friday is a workday when we are traveling, but this past Friday, we just “vegged” and slowed things down a bit in the morning.

The Friday’s afternoon highlight was the fact that I was going to catch up with my daughter, Elizabeth, who had moved to NYC to attend Pace University.  Ever since her last visit to the city, she has been stoked to get into Pace .  I’ll tell ya’ – after several months of determination and moving mountains she made it happen.  Friday she gave us the tour of her new campus. Way to go Liz!

She also invited me to my first walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and we caught about one of the prettiest sunsets ever – see the Image of the Day post above.

On Friday afternoon and Saturday, Liz, LaDawn, and I took in a lot of the best the city had to offer – Del Frisco’s for dinner, the soon to be mega hit play Memphis on Broadway, and an adult beverage at the View Restaurant and lounge on the 35th floor of the Marriot Marquis overlooking Times Square and the city. It was certainly one of my best weekends. Why? Because of the people I got to share it with. Can’t wait to do it again!

OK gang, time to get on with today’s Quick Hit Monday. Here we go…

Canon 5D/7D Video – Wow! You Have To Check This Out!

Alright, I’ve been traveling with my brand new Canon 7D with video on board and have been enjoying just “playing” with the camera. Nothing major to report yet other than the fact that I like the higher ISO capabilities of the camera. I’m finding it not as good as the Canon 5D Mark II but still darn good.

The video is fun to play with and just a bit easier to use on the 7D. And, focus is much better, too. I still want to check that feature out under lower lighting conditions. On the downside, Lightroom 2.5 does not yet import the RAW files.  I suspect that will get worked out within the next 2 weeks.

Anyway, all that being said, I ran into Terrance Randell last Thursday at my Manhattan DWUC tour.  He pointed me towards a great site by Phillip Bloom from our neighbors in the UK. 

Phillip is like a Canon 5D/7D video guru.  His site is jammed packed with videos made from both cameras, tutorials on video production with these cameras, and a complete evaluation of the 5D Mk II vs. 7D video capabilities. Folks, there is tons of valuable information on this site. You’ve got to check it out! Here is the link. Hey, Terrance, thanks for the info.

Wait, Here’s More Canon Video – High School Senior Video

I check with my buddy, Kent Smith over the weekend and our conversation soon turned into discussing video possibilities on the Canon cameras.  I’ve been featuring Kent’s studio in my DWUC tour. They are one of the most successful high school senior/family portrait studios in the country. 

They are also on the cutting edge of combining high school senior stills with videos also made as part of their senior sessions. Kent sent me two links to two videos he has featured on his web site – one for a girl [link] and the other for a guy [link] – both very cool.

They both only run a few minutes and are fun to watch.  Here is the kicker – both were produced by Animoto.  That means these two videos were produced without the need to know and learn any new video software.

Just send the stills and short video clips to Animoto and let them take it from there! Folks, this is like way easy and a super powerful way to offer your clients something completely different from the competition! It’s time for us to get tuned in and turned on to this new technology!

An what a deal – Animoto offers 3 months of commercial access for only $99 and if you use the code from my Digital WakeUp Call tour - Digitalwakeup4 - they will kick in another month for free.  And now even better news - if you feel it's not a good fit for you, no problem.  They will refund your money up to 7 days after you've signed up.  Think of it as a 7 day FREE trial in reverse. One more time – here is the Animoto link right here.

Lightroom Flash Cards

Remember teaching your kids letters, words, addition and multiplication back in their pre-school and elementary days. You showed them the cards and hoped they would get the right answer.  OK gang, now it’s your turn to get your act together when it comes to the Lightroom keyboard shortcuts.

Here is what you do. Hit the Apps button on your iPhone and search for LRKeys. You’ll find this nice little App for only $.99 that will get you up to speed in no time knowing all the Lightroom shortcuts known to man. Here is the link right here.

It’s a fun little program and will quickly ramp you up to all those Lightroom shortcuts that could really speed up your workflow and Lightroom efficiency.  Anyway, check it out and spend a buck.

A Little Animoto Fun In PPA and Rangefinder Magazine

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was involved in a very special photo shoot and unfortunately could not share with you until now as I was sworn to secrecy.  Any PPA – Professional Photographer Of America, and WPPI members receiving their latest issues of PPA Magazine and Rangefinder saw me in the Animoto ad showing off my “super powers”.

My buddy and ace #1 assistant, Nicholas Viltrakis, took the shot.  We had a lot of fun with the shot and I really liked how it came out. LaDawn and Nicholas both liked Nicholas’ HDR rendition with you can can find right here. Hey, I’m a happy guy, which explains why I like the smiling shot.  Anyway, like I said – all in good fun. If you haven’t tried Animoto, you are really missing out.

DWUC Tour - Behind The Scenes

Wow!  I can’t believe the numbers we’re hitting this week heading down the East Coast. It looks like we’ll visit with about 900 photogs looking to make their lighting and photography exciting. Tonight we’re in Newark; tomorrow, Philly; Wednesday, Baltimore; and Thursday, Washington, D.C. One more time, here is the link to register – come on down!

Two Weeks ago at Photoshop World, I caught up with my buddy, Larry Becker, NAPP executive director, and he reminded me of a video we did earlier while on  the DWUC tour. I’ll tell you, it caught a lot of the excitement of the tour and the NAPP video crew did a great job on the edit. 

This video has never been aired so today, folks, you are going to see it first.  It also gives you a good peek of what we’ve been up to these last several months.  My thanks to the entire NAPP video team that put it all together.

Oh, by the way, when I did a “YouTube” search for my NAPP clip, my name popped up twice on YouTube – I couldn’t believe it. Here is the second instance right here. I promise you, the guy in this clip may have my name but that is NOT me in this clip ;~)

Hey gang, that’s it for me today. We are trying to get out of “Dodge” (NYC) before the big Columbus Day Parade starts.  This is a major tourist holiday for the city – news to us last Friday when we found out every hotel in the city was totally booked. The city has been jammed packed all weekend.

Anyway, we are hitting the road.  How about I catch up with a lot of you this evening in Newark at my presentation.  We’ve got a good crowd so be sure to come on up and say HI.

Oh, by the way, don’t forget to check in tomorrow for a brand new Technique Tuesday.  This week’s topic - “Shooting What Your Eyes Can’t See”. It should be fun. See ya’ then.  -David

Quick Hit Monday: Today Is The Day - Digital ProTalk - A New Dawn Opens In Jacksonville, Florida

Good Morning Everybody,
I'm trying to get this post up bright and early this morning before we catch the plane to Jacksonville. We were at it all weekend ever since we stepped off the plane from Boston on Saturday. The prizes are ready, the bags are packed, and the program looks hot - can't wait to see everyone in Jacksonville, Florida this evening. If you haven't registered yet, here is the link to the Digital WakeUp Call - A New Dawn tour right here. Hey gang, before we hit the plane let me point you to some quick hits for the week.

A Few More Quick Hits For The Road

New Canon Rebel Shoots Video
So have you seen the news about the new Canon Rebel T1i - yep, 15.1 mega-pixels and it shoots hi-res 1080p/720p video too. Here is the link to the story right here. Now you can pick up an inexpensive second camera for all your wedding needs and have a back up to boot;~)

Some Good Marketing Tips Over At Graphic Authority
I was cruising Graphic Authority's website over the weekend. They offer about the widest variety of Photoshop templates, edges, brushes, and frames that I have ever seen. I'm happy to say that they are one of my sponsors and we will be showing how to use some of their products on my tour. Check out this link to their site right here. Go to their "Photographers" Corner and it's chocked full of cool design elements. But more that that, scroll down to Karyn Sarganis Fritz's images - she's the second one down - and check out her marketing articles - good stuff - couldn't have said it better myself.

My Kentucky Buddies - Tim and Bev Walden Launch New Site! I have known Tim and Bev for over 30 years. They are two of the best photographers in the country.

They are also two of the hottest lectures in the country and have traveled the world sharing their knowledge and expertise. Here is the good news - that are bringing their expertise to photographers everywhere and making it easily accessible through their new site. Check it out right here. Lots of good stuff coming down the pike from Tim and Bev.

Hey gang, that's about it for me today. We've got planes to catch, people to see, and programs to give. See everybody in Florida! -David

Get Your Free Canon Guidebook

I also found this over at PopPhotoFlash - a free PDF down load of Canon's free Digital Photo Guidebook. I gave it a peek and in addition to some nice images, there was a lot of good info included in it, too. If you own Nikon, you can download it for really nice cross platform info. Here is the link to the story and Canon's free guidebook.