Quick Hit Monday: HDR Efex Pro Now Available; Joey Lawrence – Way Cool Photography; Cool HDSLR Info; CS5 Tips

Good Morning Everybody,

We landed in Rockville, Maryland - a Washington D.C. suburb - mid evening on Friday. We have been enjoying the surrounds of Rockville, Bethesda, Silver Springs (Monte Zucker's original stomping grounds), Gaithersburg, and Washington, D. C. all weekend. Beautiful parks and Wine Country on Friday, D.C. tours on Saturday, and a little R&R on Sunday enjoying some of the ethnic flavors of Bethesda.

One of the things that struck me was the city's skyline or lack of one. The height of all the building within the District of Columbia is limited to the width of the street it's on plus 20 feet. The idea was to preserve the European feel of the city. We've traveled to a lot of the glass and steel urban canyons throughout the country and the feel of the D.C. area was a refreshing urban experience.

I’ve never spent much time in the District of Columbia so it was cool to do the "tourist thing" all day Saturday seeing all the notable places of interest. Even though the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials are cool to see, the best kept secret as far as memorials was the FDR Memorial. It's spreads out over 7 acres and is quite the visual experience with all the granite and water features [link].

Even though we saw many of all the wonderful sights, I still had to chuckle at the tour guide's remake - Washington, D.C. - District of Construction ;~) We do a lot of traveling by car and so far Washington, D.C. leads the country in roads under construction. Hey, we still managed to get around and had a great time doing so.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the Hilton Hotel in Rockville, MD was quite a hubbub of party activity this weekend. I peeked in on a Bat Mitzvah going on Saturday evening. Thankfully for the hotel guests, the music settled down about 10p.m. On Sunday the hotel hosted a wedding celebration. I talked with Reva, the Hilton's event consultant, who told me that the hotel was really popular for Mitzvahs and weddings - it sure was this weekend. I felt right at home ;~)

On with Quick Hit Monday...

NIK Software HDR Pro EFEX Now Available

Finally NIK Software HDR Efex Pro is shipping! That's right - only one thing, you can't download a trial just yet. Over the weekend I saw several reviews of NIK's latest offering by RC Conception at Layers TV [link] and several tutorials (hours and hours worth) by Rick Sammon and others [link].

I quickly headed over to NIK to download the trial - they offer a 15 day trial of all their software before you buy it. But no luck, it's not up yet, darn. Anyway, I suspect it will be up very soon because it is available right now from their site.

UPDATE:  The HDR Efex trial just went up this morning minutes ago!  I just downloaded my trial  can’t wait to run it through it’s paces. Here is the link right here.

Hey, want to know how you can save 20% off the regularly published price of $165? You just need to know the secret password. During my CBTL2010 tour, NIK is offering 20% off all their software if you use secret code DZISER when ordering from their site. That's the best price ever! Tell them I sent ya'.

A Different Way To See (and photograph) The World

Last week during my CBTL2010 tour I got talking with one of the attendees about a few great web sites. The name Joey Lawrence [link] came up. Joey is a 21 year old photo phenom who was first brought to light by David Hobby of Strobist [link] fame about 3 years ago. This kid's work is truly amazing.

Anyway, I decided to check out his site right here [link] and his blog right here [link].  In his few short years, and having never been trained as a photographer, Mr. Lawrence has developed an international reputation as an outstanding photographer.  As I said, he has a different way of seeing the world – definitely worth the web surf to his blog and web site.

HDSLRs - Taking It To The limit!

Still not a fan of the video capabilities of the new HDSLRs?  Want to know where they stand when you put them up to the big boys of cinema?  Zacuto [link] is at the forefront of all the HDSLR excitement. You have to check out their “Great Camera Shootout” series [link] which was nominated for an Emmy for the best web series.

This is a great series that really goes into great depth comparing the latest, greatest HDSLR cameras with film cinema.  Obviously, the video is amazing just to view too.  If HDSLR video might be your thing, this is well worth checking out.

10 Photoshop CS5 Tips You Can Use

I always love checking out Terry White's blogs when I have an opportunity. It's always fun to see what the latest iPad/iPhone app he's discovered on his BestAppSite [link]. And, it's a kick to see what he has to say about the latest tech toys he's playing with at his Tech Blog [link].

Anyway, here is a little jewel for you - a quick 11 minute video pointing you to CS5's latest, greatest need to know features [link]. I will admit, I AM NOT a Photoshop guru, but know just enough to be dangerous as they say. That's why I like Terry's take on his tutorials - always practical and informative.

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  The links above will keep you cruising for hours like they did for me. – all good information.

I’m heading out in just a few minutes to check out our room set up for this evening’s program.  We have a crowd of over 200 coming by this evening and I’m looking forward to it.  You still have time to register - so miss out. I hope to see you there.

If you can’t make it this evening, I’ll see you tomorrow for another Technique Tuesday – see ya’ then.

-David

Quick Hit Monday: Me and My iPad; Big Canon 5D Mk II News; CS5 - Don't Know Where To Start; Catch A Sample Chapter Of My New Book; Tired Of Blogging; Marketing 102; and More

Good Morning Everybody,

Hope everyone had a great weekend. We arrived safe and sound, but a bit tired from the early flight, in Mexico on Saturday - the 3 a.m. Wake up call was just too early for me;~ Anyway, all is well in Cabo this sunny Monday morning.

We are spending the week slowing things down before my super busy week long Digital Master Class kicks off a week from today. It's always fun and we have another "full house" for the week.

Soooo, how many of you have the new iPad? I picked up about a 10 days ago and just love it. I'm actually typing today's post on it right now. I thought the touch screen keyboard might be inconvenient, but since I'm a three finger typist anyway, it works great!

I'm using the iPad app, Pages, which works like a charm. When I finish the post, I simply send it to iWork.com, grab it there, copy it into Windows Live Writer, add a picture or two, and publish away - all very cool and convenient.

The long iPad battery life looks like I may be retiring my net book computer a little sooner than I expected. One of the coolest apps for the iPad is Netflix. Now I can just log into Netflix from the iPad and watch any movie I want. I picked up the iPad to VGA dongle so I could connect the iPad to my data projector. With the projector and the iPad having the same native resolution, things look great! As LaDawn says, "More toys for boys." Wait a minute, to me, it's still a great production tool.

One last quick note, especially to all our loyal DPT readers in the UK, it looks like we will be heading to London next January to present two programs for the Society, at the largest photography convention in the country. I have always enjoyed visiting Great Britain so we are already looking forward to the trip.

OK, enough of my yacking - let's get right into today's Quick Hit Monday.

Canon 5D Mark II Used To Shoot Final Episode Of House MD 

If you haven't heard yet, the opening segments of the Leno show were shot with the Canon 5D Mark II as were some sequences of the recently released Terminator movie.

Well, here is the latest. The final episode of the very popular  "House" series was shot entirely on the Canon 5D Mark II. Amazing, I will definitely have to tune that broadcast at the end of April?  Here is the link to the story right here.

And speaking of those video enabled DSLRs, here is a nice piece at DigitalPhotoPro [link] that explains some different kinds of video techniques with the camera - an interesting read.

CS5 - Don't Know Where To Start

Good news!! The good folks at Kelby Media have just released lots of tutorials showing the latest greatest features of CS5. They are really fun to watch. Head on over right here and give them a peek.

Kelby Training [link] also has several new classes up featuring CS5. This is supposed to be a really solid upgrade of Photoshop. I'm certainly planning to jump on board.

Catch A Sample Chapter Of My New Book And My Recent TwitterView

That's right, Peachpit has posted a complete chapter from my new book, "Captured By The Light." [link] It downloads as a PDF and looks exactly like the real book - image that. Remember, we still have a special sale available at my Digital Resource Center thru tomorrow.

And speaking of Peachpit, they have posted my complete Twitter view from two weeks ago right here.

Tired Of Blogging, Tired Of Writing Your Own Newsletters, Tired Of Doing Your Own Promotions

Man, sounds like all of us now and then, doesn't it?  Why not  let someone else do it for you. I recently received an email introducing me to a new service just being offered to anyone with writer's block.

The name of the new company is Ghostwriters.com. Here is the deal, if you need to get that important blog post up, get that e-newsletter out to your clients, or any other kind of writing or web project completed, they will do it for you - for a small fee, of course. Kind of reminds me of my old college days when I needed to get a term paper done - kidding, KIDDING.

The principals of the site include my good buddy, Skip Cohen, Shauna Harris, and Mathew Harris. It looks to me like they have a really good idea. Check it out right here and see if there might be a fit for you.

Marketing 102 - The Next Step

Michael Warshall, the owner of NuLab in Australia does a regular column on sales in NuLab's e-newsletter. Michael knows a thing or two about sales. He can tell you stories of his multi $10,000 sales to the royalty in Indonesia years ago - and they are fascinating stories.

He is one of the best and most practical sales persons I know. Michael and I go back a long time first meeting when we were fledging photographers taking a week long class with Monte Zucker. We have stayed in touch over all these years having just connected at the recent WPPI convention.

Anyway, to make a long story short, check out his sales articles right here. His latest is entitled, "The I’ll Think It Over Close". Be sure to check out the back issues of NuLab's e-newsletters for his other articles, too. Definitely worth the read.

Skip Cohen MEI post

So What Does Pulitzer Prize Winning Photography Look Like?

I just saw that this year's winners were announced. I don't care what kind of photography you do, I always think it's good to look at other folks work simply for the inspiration. That said, check out the rest of the story of Mary Chind's, of the Des Moines Register, Pulitzer Prize winning image right here.

Next check out the Craig F. Walker of the Denver Post Pulitzer Prize winning image and story right here too.

By the Way, you can see the rest of the Pulitzer prize winning images right here – always exciting to view.

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Hey gang, for being on vacation, that’s a pretty long post for a Monday morning.  The troops are getting restless around here and want to get started on the day so I’m out of here.  Plan to stop back tomorrow for some way cool Lightroom 3 stuff – it will blow your mind.

Adios, -David

Quick Hit Monday: CBTL Takes 3 - #1's, ; iPad Frenzy; More On DSLR Video; and The Forensic Wedding Photographer

Good Morning Everybody,

I hope everyone had a great weekend and the Easter Bunny was good to you. I spent several hours getting my new Canon ipF 8100 installed.  We are nearly there and I hope to finish it up today.

I mentioned I was having a bit of a problem getting Windows 7 to see the rest of my network a few weeks ago.  It turns out it was a problem with my wireless access point.  Once I plugged in the network cable, renamed the Win 7 network  name to the Win XP network name, everything came up roses.  I'm now really liking my Windows 7 experience so far.

CBTL Takes 3 - #1's Spots

The Amazon Easter Bunny was really good to me this weekend.  My "Captured By The Light" photography book was #1 in lighting.  And, get this, it was also #1 in wedding planning “smoking” Martha Stewart’s 4th place finish ;~) 

I also got word from Peachpit Press too that it was the #1 selling book at Photoshop World too - WOW!  My thanks - #1 to Kelby Media for bringing it all together and #2 - to all of you who have picked it up and are giving it "Rave" reviews. 

Remember, any copies of CBTL purchased from our Digital Resource Center [link] will be autographed by me personally. Lots of good value priced book bundles available too. Check it out. Thanks Again Everybody!!!

Soooo, Was There An iPad In Your Easter Basket This Weekend?

Man, that's about all we've been hearing about lately - even on the cover of TIME magazine this week [link]. I have to say, it is on my shopping list - hopefully later this week.  I hear my local Best Buy is getting about 50 more in towards the end of the week.  I drove by Saturday  morning and they were already lined up.  Amazing how Apple does that isn't it?

The BIG complaint about the iPad is NO Flash support.  I caught Scott Kelby's work-around right here. Want to know why Flash won't work on your iPhone, iTouch, or iPad - here is the answer right here.  Watch the video too.

Although this is a slight problem, I suspect it will go away soon.  Lots of the BIG media boys like the NY Times already have sister sites set up to stream to the iPad.

If you ask me, these are pretty exciting times for media hungry mavens like me.  As a photographer, I think we should all carry one as an easy and efficient marketing tool. I loved the iPhone as a means of presenting your portfolio.  The iPad just ramps up the entire experience several notches.

More On DSLR Video

While at Photoshop World, I picked up a copy of "From Still To Motion", currently the #1 book over at Amazon on Cinematography [link].  The book really gets into the nuts and bolts of video production.  It's much more than just a how-to book on shooting video with your DSLR.  It’s filled with lots of information. I'm enjoying the "read" so check it out right here.

And speaking of DSLR video how about giving your Canon 7D a helicopter ride.  That's exactly what Eric AUSTIN did with his 7D.  Check out his video right here - kind of fun.

Want more on DSLR video, Planet 5D is always a good source of info.  Check out their post right here featuring the new Canon Rebel T2i video capabilities - pretty cool.  As you read the article there are several links worth checking out too.  Too much to absorb - too little time ;~)

Wedding Photography Business Slowing Down - Why Not Pick Up Another Line Of Work

I caught this fun video at Petapixel.com. It about a wedding photographer shooting forensics. Here is the link right here. At first, I was going to resist the giggle, but about 30 seconds into this video I was smiling.

About a minute into it, tears were falling down my cheeks.  Hey, maybe I have a weird sense of humor, but I love the British wit and comicality so I hope you enjoy this video too.  I especially love the "grave shot" at the end. It's a nice way to start the week with a smile.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  I'm heading back to my printer project.  I hope to have it up and running today.  Everybody have a great one and I'll see you tomorrow for another scintillating episode of Technique Tuesday - "Only The Shadow Knows" 

See ya' then,  -David