Monday, August 09, 2010

Quick Hit Monday: News You Need To Know anAnd News You Don't Need To Know

Good Morning Everybody,

We made it back home safe and sound on Saturday at about 5:00 p.m. unpacked the bags. grilled dinner with a part of LaDawn’s family and just took it easy over the rest of the weekend. I hope you got a little chill time in too.

All New Today, we gear up BIG time for our Captured By The Light 2010 tour. Most of the venues are booked, the brochures are being printed and mailed this week, and I begin putting finishing touches on the program.

I'm really excited about this year’s presentation. Why? Because it's all new material. 10,000 photographers attended last year’s Digital WakeUp Call tour and loved it. This year’s tour is 4 hours of new  content with tons of fresh information. You are going to LOVE it. Check it out right here.

New Blogger at BHInsights.com

BH Insights That’s right, there's a new blogger at BHInsights.com and his initials are DZ ;~). If you have not had a chance to visit BHInsights.com, you really owe yourself a visit. They have posts packed with info on photography, lighting, video, computers, and sound. There’s an informative post today that FINALLY explains all the “dual core” vs. “quad core” processor jargon as it relates to the speed of your computer [link].

I'm been asked to be one of their VIP bloggers and am honored with the request. I already have 4 posts ready to go! I'm not sure of the posting schedule but I'm checking in with B&H today so I should be able to give you an update tomorrow - stay tuned.

New Book In The Wings?

The Whisper Of Your Smile OK, I'm floating this idea out there to you guys and girls today to get your feedback. With the huge popularity of my book, Captured By The Light, I have been considering, well, more than considering, let me say planning a new book. The title, "What Makes A Beautiful Image?" I'm planning to break the book into 5 sections - Location, Lighting, Lenses, Composition, and Color.

I plan to write it in the same easy step by step style of my last book. It will be jammed packed with great images, detailed diagrams, DAZNOTES, and the steps I took to create each of the brand new images. I'm looking at completing it sometime in 2011. What do you think?

Friday Photo School Recap

I'll tell ya' we had a great time with my buddy Will Crocket and his entire team at Friday Photo School. I hear that about 1,100 attendees tuned in for the presentation - one of their largest audiences on record. Wow!  Hey, don't worry, if you missed the show you can still download it in all it’s HD glory for a very reasonable $15 right here. Rumor has it that I may be making another visit in a few months. I'll keep you posted.

Here is a quick preview of the show:

 

Oh, one more thing. During my visit, I did several of my demos tethered into my laptop. Just before we left, a my package arrived from USBFirewire.com with the right angle mini B cable.  What a joy to use.  Holding the camera now feels so natural.  Before I was always worried I would bend the old connector and break something. If you plan to shoot tethered, you need this cable. A two thumbs WAY UP!

WOW! What A Sight!

LaDawn and I spend a lot of time on the road and it's mostly in a car. We just love to see the country from a car window as apposed to a plane seat. Last year, for instance, we drove over 25,000 miles on my Digital WakeUp Call tour. It was just a kick to see so many sites across America.

Fowler Ridge I digress - the drive home on Saturday was no exception. We had not made the short 300 mile drive to Chicago for a few years so we were REALLY surprised what we saw on the drive this time - the largest wind farm in the United States!

Just about 90 miles north of Indianapolis we began seeing these super sized propellers atop these 90 feet high supports - there were hundreds of them for as far as the eye could see. It was the brand new Fowler Ridge Wind Farm. It was an amazing sight. It turns out that they have just recently, over the last two years, been completed. I grabbed a few quick “drive-by shots” as we raced past all the wind turbines. Way cool sight!

Free and Mostly Free Education

Free Content: EpicEdits.com

I am constantly amazed by the free and mostly free content on the web. Take for instance EpicEdits.com. Even though fellow blogger, Brian Auer, is in the middle of moving back to Idaho, his blog is always chocked full of good, free, solid content.

I haven't been there for a while but decided to check in this weekend. Just look at the front page [link]: Camera Pre-check list, Adobe easy airbrushing, cool night photos, portfolio do's and don'ts – all really good information for free.

Feeling Negative Don’t forget to check out the header tabs too.  They send you to his other three blogs.  My favorite is FeelingNegative.com – it’s all about film, all the time.

Close to Free: CraftandVision.com

CraftandVision.com has been publishing nearly free content for a while and has on-line 15 titles for the "thinking photographer". The articles are a peek into the artist mind. With titles like "Chasing Reflections", "Vision In Motion", or "The Inspired Eye" you get a chance to see how each photographer thinks.

Craft and Vision Photography is not always about F-Stops and shutter speeds. Its about a more important aspect of photography - the process of creativity. Who cares what new point and shoot was just release by so and so camera company?  Show me how an artist thinks, let me peer into his/her creative processes. That is truly the best way to learn and grow.

If we want to experience the art and craft of photography more fully, and yearn to connect with authors that explore more than the mundane photo fluff so prevalent on line, then this website is for you. Craft and Vision does just that with articles that cost about the same as an iPhone app you'll delete in a few weeks. Well worth the visit.

And Now Just For Fun

The Largest Digital Photo Ever - 70 gig!

70 gig image 20,000 images stitched together into one humongous image [link]. With that kind of resolution you should get a pretty good 8x10 print don’t you think ;~). Read the entire story right here and enjoy the interactive demo right here.

The Longest Exposure Ever

Adobe's John Nack is as close to an eclectic blogger as I have seen. Not only does he report on the latest greatest from Adobe's secret labs, but he also manages to find and share some of the most interesting photo stories on the web.

What can I say, the posts at least appeal to me and John. John's  eclectic links are just flat-out-fun to follow. Take for instance his recent post about the longest exposure in the world [link]. We're not talking several minutes or an hour or two. I'm talking about YEARS!!! Here is John's link from the longest exposures in the world right here.

And Finally One For the Road

10 Renowned Photographers On YouTube

Speedliters Handbook Blogging buddy, Syl Arena, has been buried in his new book entitled "The Speedliters Handbook" [link], a 432 page opus I hear.

Still a recent visit to his blog, PixSylated.com revealed 10 very cool YouTube videos from some of the most esteemed photographers in the industry. What a joy to hear the words of these masters. If you've got a minute or two check them out right here.

_______________________________________________________

Hey gang, that's it for me today. I got a planning meeting with our State association about our Fall meeting. We are doing something completely different for the Fall seminar. I'm planning a Webcast with three of the top photographers in their fields. And, we are going to open it to everyone worldwide!

I nearly have all the details worked out. As soon as we everything nailed down, I'll point you to all the info. It should be a kick. I can tell you that the date to circle is September 26, 2010 - more later.

Time for me to head on out. I'll see everyone tomorrow for another episode of Technique Tuesday.

See ya' then, David

8 comments:

  1. A new book, David! Great idea. I would really like to see more non-wedding photos. I know you are a wedding photographer, but you also do other types of photos. From your description of the book, it doesn't sound like it will be a 'wedding' book. So, more non-wedding photos for this book. I bought your last book and really enjoyed and will would buy a new book from you--even it it does have mostly wedding photos :-)

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  2. I'll be one of the first in line to buy the new book :)

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  3. I enjoyed your first book I'm sure the second will be equally as good. I enjoyed today's post, always a lot of good info!

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  4. I also enjoyed your last book both times that I read it. The only thing I would ask is that I don't see and hear as many of the information shared on your site and your tours. When I saw you in '09 in Buffalo,NY 80% of what you were talking about was on your site so I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a lot of "new" material. Maybe I read your blog/site too much.

    I then bought your book this year and loved it! I keep on going back to it. The only thing is that I have seen a lot of posts from the book.....the book I paid for and that made me a little disappointed. So I guess that the only request is that not so much of the book would make it to your site for all to read. I feel a bit cheated by others getting the info that I paid for for free. Make sense?

    Yes probably everyone does this but I haven't followed others like I've followed your blog.

    Thanks. Dave from Buffalo

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  5. Hi David,

    First of, there must be a mistake in your Captured by the Light tour calendar... there are no Canadian cities on the list - must be a mistake, right? ;)

    Second, I just finished reading your book the other day, and i gotta say its beyond spectacular. It has to be the best photography book i have bought and read in a long time.
    I dont do weddings, but your tips and ideas can easily be converted to other areas of portrait photography. I would not hesitate to buy another book from you, should you choose to write more books, so please go ahead.

    Jan

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  6. i would definitely buy the book if you write it! you have a way of teaching in a way that i understand. i can't wait for the captured by the light tour. i already have my ticket! :) see ya in nashville!

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  7. loved your last book and have recommended it to many many people.

    unlike dave from buffalo I like hearing/reading stuff on your blog that was also in the book. I don't look at it as getting ripped off because I paid and other are getting it for free. I view it as getting more insight into what you talked about in the book. It's like I'm getting more for what I paid for because I'm getting the whole story where those that don't have the book are only getting half.

    can't wait for your new book

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  8. Yay, a new book on the way! Can't wait!

    Can I offer the following as a consideration for your new book, if you have not already planned them in, that is:

    * Preshoot setup - What preparation you make such as scouting the scene, taking test shots, what clues/pointers you use for the composition.

    * All the technical details in a mini-table next to each photo such as the EXIF, Light power settings, distance and angle from the subject.

    * Any and all details of post processing for each picture, maybe a mini thumbnail before and after of each image. What type of PP was performed and how.

    * Sequence shots of taking the first picture, chimping and then what was adjusted and the steps of each adjustment and test shot before you got to the final image

    * Tips on how to direct and control your subjects. Terminology and wordings.

    * How the print was ultimately delivered, print (size etc), photo book entry and what PP you made specifically for the delivery vehicle.

    * More examples of your wedding book layouts

    As you can see, I am a details person and so am looking abolish the devil :-)

    Thanks,
    Ramesh

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