CBTL Tour Update; 10 “Need To Shoot” Videos Clips; New Blogs; FREE Prints; and More

Good Morning Everybody,

This weekend was a big one for me - I turned another year older. And, you know what they say, "Getting older isn't for sissies ;~)"  So first off, let me say Thank You to the literally hundreds of folks from around the country and the world who sent me birthday wishes this weekend. I read each and every one. THANK YOU so much.

Quick CBTL Tour Update

In addition to having a nice weekend with LaDawn just relaxing around the house, I threw a few hours at my PowerPoint for my upcoming tour, "Captured By The Light 2010" [link]. I reviewed it with LaDawn and her first comment, "You won't be finished till 3:00 a.m.!" The presentation is definitely loaded up with tons of great information.

The two biggest sections are the "Lighting" section and the "Learning to See" section on composition. The program wraps - who knows, at 3:00 a.m. - just kidding the plan is for 10:30 p.m.  I’ve also added some brand new marketing ideas for you too. I can't wait for you to see it. I hope you check out the tour link right here for all the info.

I’ve got a few things I found interesting on the web these last few days, so let's get right to it.

New iPad App In Town

Most of you know I am a HUGE iPad fan. In fact I type each day's DPT post on that nifty glass keyboard. On a regular keyboard, I can bang out about 15-18 words a minute, but on the iPad keyboard, my flying fingers increase up to 22-23 words a minute. And for me, that's smoking' ;~)

Anyway, I bumped into this app via a tweet from Zack Arias who mentioned how wowed he was with the new Flipboard app [link] for the iPad. Man, I love it too. If you are heavy into Twitter, Facebook, and your favorite blogs, this is a great app that aggregates your social media sources into an easy to read magazine format.

Stuff I easily miss just checking my Facebook and Twitter feeds is really easy to spot on Flipboard. I just thought the rest of the iPad geek squad needed to know. Highly recommended.

10 Video Clips You Need To Make At Every Wedding With Your DLSR Camera

I think I forgot to post this previously so I'm doing it today. I did a post for Animoto a few weeks ago were I listed 10 short 10 second video clips you should make at every wedding. These clips, when added to you still images on Animoto, make for a very cool video your clients will love. Hit the link right here to see my Animoto article.

A Few Blogs To Check Out

These two blogs have been on my "do list" for a few weeks to share with you. The first is LensDiaries.com [link]. Their concept is simple, to create a user-friendly social and educational environment for those passionate about photography. Go check it out right here.

The other site is called ThePinholeCamera.com [link]. I have been a big fan of pinhole cameras since I was a kid. It’s always fascinated me how light can pass through a tiny hole and focus an image on a piece of film. I’ve pointed you towards several sites of "Pinhole" interest previously at DPT.

Over at ThePinholeCamera.com, Seán Duggan [link], photographer, author, and Adobe expert has some amazing images he has created with his pinhole cameras. He scans the images and then tweaks them in Photoshop. The results are amazing and they sure don't look like your regular run of the mill pinhole camera photographs. Worth a Monday morning peek right here.

FREE Prints With Every Frame At ACI!

My good buddies over at ACI Labs [link] just began offering full framing services for their clients. I have been a friend of ACI for several years and love the new products they continue to bring to their customers.

Anyway, why do I mention them today? Because they have a super good deal going on thru September 30, 2010. You buy the frame and they will throw the print in for FREE! I had to read the ad twice to see if the offer was real - it is. You can check it out right here. Remember; the holidays are just around the corner. Here is a special you don’t want to miss!

Oh, I forgot to mention, ACI Labs is one of our CBTL tour sponsors and is giving away $150 in labs credits to everyone that attends my program. I told you we had a lot of sweet deals happening for the tour.

Now You Too Can Have Your Work Hanging On The Desperate Housewives Set

Yes folks, I am telling you true. I recently signed up with FineArtAmerica.com [link] to check out their procedures for hosting, selling, and shipping fine art prints for a personal project I'm involved with.

Anyway, last Friday I get an email from them telling me how FineArtAmerica.com [link] has partnered with ABC-Disney whereby their members could make their images available to the ABC Studios at a decent price and get royalty payment if ABC used the photographer's image.

It seemed like an interesting proposition to me and I thought the royalties they were offering seemed good for use of the image on a TV show. You can check out the entire story right here. Hey, drop me a line if your image get's chosen. We'll run the story right here at DPT.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today. I've got to do a little trimming to my CBTL PowerPoint and it needs to be completed and ready for print by tomorrow. We are putting the finishing touches on our CBTL Tour Handbook and my PowerPoint is the last puzzle piece still missing. The cool thing about including it in the Tour Handbook is the fact that now every attendee has a complete road map to my program which makes it really easy to follow along, take notes, and easily review later after the presentation.

I'll plan to see everybody back here tomorrow for another episode of Technique Tuesday: Posing Large Groups.

See ya' then, David

Quick Hit Monday: Free Photography TV; Free Webinars; Large Format Cameras; and More!

Good Morning Everybody,

Hope everybody had a great weekend.  We had a fantastic time at the Bar Mitzvah shoot over the weekend - it was quite the party Saturday evening.  Eric Cameron, one of my DPT readers, came down to help out. Eric doesn't know it yet, but he helped a lot with this upcoming Wednesday's post;~)

We all survived the 16 hour day on Saturday and, I have to tell you, I took it reeeal easy on Sunday. I'm planning to post a few more images from this weekend's shoot during the week.

I shot a lot more images at some pretty high ISO's - like 3200 and 6400 on the Canon 7D and 5D MkII.  I've been hearing so much about the low noise reduction features on Lightroom 3 Beta2, I just couldn't wait to take the test drive - more on that this week.

Anyway, that's the weekend update.  Let's get on with Quick Hit Monday.  Here we go.

Check Out This Great Learning Site - Silber TV

I was doing my normal I-Cruise during a few slow moments last week and stumbled upon this pretty cool website.  I'm not sure why I haven't seen it before.  Anyway, one of my I-Cruise stops is always at ImagingInsider.com, one of the best newshound sites on the net. The ImagingInsider always finds interesting tidbits and I love exploring what he's come up with each week.

Well, this time one of his entries pointed me to SilberTV.  This is a great site with lots of decent content.  The latest post includes an interview with Amy Deputy, just recently named one of American Photos Top 10 Wedding Photogs.  Amy's interview is just the tip of the iceberg - content-wise at SilberTV.  Set aside a little time this week and enjoy the visit. Here is the link.

15% Off and New FREE Webinars Announced by NIK Software

Hey gang, don't miss this.  My good buddies at NIK Software have just announced their new series of FREE webinars. Topics include; "Enhancing Portrait Images", "Advanced Portrait Retouching", "Enhancing Scenic and Landscape Images", and more.  The first one is coming up next Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 10:00AM PST.  You can get all the info and see the rest of the schedule right here.  Heck, you may see me sitting in a few of them in the near future.

Psst, Psst - want to know how you can get 15% off any NIK product over at their site.  Just use the secret code word DZISER when ordering - what a deal!  Don't tell anyone else though;~)

Large Format Cameras - But Not Like You Think

Another site I like to visit is EpicEdits.com and now their new sister site, FeelingNegative.com run by fellow blogging buddy, Brian Auer.  One of my secret loves has been pinhole photography.  Call me a geek, but I think that kind of stuff is kind of cool.  I did a few blog posts on Pinhole Photography a few years ago here at DPT.  Here are the links to those posts - [link1] & [link2 - scroll to the bottom of this post to find the link].

Anyway, Brian, who loves playing with lots of things film-like has a nice and very well illustrated piece on how to build your own large format pinhole camera.  Here is the link right here. He’s making paper negatives and is contact printing from them – all very retro. I haven’t seen or heard of a paper negative in 35 years. It’s a fascinating read for all semi-geek photographer types and it looks like fun to put the project together. High 5’s to Brian for his Muesli Cam.

I love some of the great results the top pinhole photographers are creating.  There is just something especially artistic in the final presentation. I hope you get a chance to explore the links I've included - really nice information.  Oh, BTW, the next Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day is in two weeks.

Something New In Posing Guides

Tim and Bev Walden, who I've mentioned a few times at DPT - they are two of the best portrait photographers working these days.  They have pioneered "relationship portraits" - portraits that feature HOW people relate to each other in their portraits. 

Their concept "caught fire" a few years ago and they have lectured the world on the topic.  Anyway, they have just put together their first "Pocket Posing Guide" for "relationship portraits".  I know when I started to incorporate their style into my own work, it was touch and go learning to get something as good as what Tim and Bev were capturing.

I wish I had their Pocket Posing Guide years ago - check it out right here if you want to short-cut your learning curve in this exciting field of portraiture.

Missed Learning Opportunities - A Few Thoughts From DWF

I've been a friend of DWF for quite a while and enjoy a visit to their site too.  Timothy John has a thought provoking piece posted entitled "Photography and the Under-Appreciated Educators".   He makes some good points about whose teaching these days and how lots of students of the craft are missing some great learning opportunities.  If this has piqued your curiosity, then head on over to the DWF Blog right here and read the rest of the story.

Wait, There's more - It's Déjà Vu All Over Again

Think you've seen an image before in two dissimilar product ads?  I know I have.  The FairTradePhotographer sure brought the point home with this post right here where he showed 11 different companies using the same pic for all their ads - there's creativity for you.  I had to "giggle" when I saw the point he was making - it sure doesn't make the point for original corporate identity.

Is there a lesson to be learned for our own businesses?  Are we copiers or are we constantly striving to find the "difference that makes the difference?"

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  I've a client coming by in a little while to make her album selections.  It was a beautiful wedding, great looking couple, and lots a wonderful outdoor images. 

Don't forget to check back for tomorrow's Technique Tuesday: I Can See For Miles; How I Use Long Lenses To Make Beautiful Portraits. It should be fun.

See ya' then, -David

It's Right Around the Corner - Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day - April 27, 2008

Pinhole photographers from around the world will participate in the next Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day. Hey, folks, this a big deal. I have always been fascinated with "pinhole photography" since I was a kid. No camera, no lens, make it yourself, only film was needed - a kind of nerdy kids dream project. I never got around to putting one together - although I am secretly working on my digital version. Wait til you see it - image stabilized pinhole, automatic bracketing, it's going to have it all ;~)

OK, all kidding aside, I ran an earlier post right here a few months back on "pinhole photography." It featured the amazing work of Roseanne Olsen. And just look at this gorgeous image from Cher McNeil below. Her beautiful Pinhole Gallery is right here.
Check out Edward Levinson artistry right here. Here is an example right here.

If you interested in this art form, let me point you to 43 links on "pinhole photography" right here. Take a look at the amazing galleries of 72 artists right here. And view the work of 459 more "pinhole photography artists" right here. And check out the gallery of images from the last 6 years - over 7000 images - from Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day right here.
It's a great creative Internet - cruise through these links. Enjoy!

Pinhole Cameras Again

Kodak featured these amazing Pinhole Camera images from Roseanne Olsen in an e-zine newsletter I just received. They are just beautiful. The image on the right is one of her images. The look and feel of the images are of a time long past, in spite of the fact that all of the photographs were just recently made. Roseanne has a wonderful gallery on images right here. It's definitely worth the look.

Wednesday - Photoshop World Pre-Con Day

Good morning everyone,

Today is the day - Photoshop World kicks off today with a great line up of pre-conference sessions. I have the honor of presenting the "On-Location Wedding Shoot". This is always great fun and the attendees love it. Last year, the man himself - Mr. Scott Kelby - came by to say hi along with Photoshop guru Dave Cross. Scott told me a few weeks ago he was planning to be here today, too. I wonder if he gets a special discount ;-) I'll have images up here tomorrow from today's session.

Just a short note about Bert Monroy's visit to Cincy last Friday. Boy, does he really know his stuff. I have never seen anyone "mouse" so quickly through all the Photoshop Stuff he showed us at the program. It was like that old Maxell ad years ago that showed the guy holding on to his chair for dear life, hair blowing straight back. Many of us felt like that at Bert's program. Be sure to catch the Photoshop Creativity Tour when it comes to a town near you - it's well worth it.

Follow up to Bert's visit - I was strolling through the mini - trade show at one of the breaks and saw a very attractive lady at the Photoshop User booth. I knew she looked familiar, and then it hit me - it's Debbie, Scott's "Bride model", we have been seeing in his new Lightroom and Photoshop for Digital Photographers books. I even took this souvenir photo of us.

A Bit More on Sunday's Wedding - I just wanted to leave you a few more notes on Sunday's big wedding. In the back-lit images, I had my assistant positioned behind my couple about 12 feet away. This gives a nice wrap around effect to the rim lighting. In the image of them on the stairway, the flash was only a few feet behind them because of the space limitation, but we still got a good result. I also tested the Canon Mark III at the ISO 6400 setting - looked darn good to me. After Noise Ninja, I'm sure it will be fine. The sax player was at ISO 6400. That's about it on the wedding. We will get some more photo tips posted as the blog settles in. Check yesterday's slide show for the images I'm referring too.

A Few News Flashes - then I "gota" go:
I'm intrigued by GPS data being added to the image meta data. I posted an article on it a while back. Today over at Terry White's blog he has found another one from Sony and goes into great depth on it. It's a GPS Sony Unit for Digital Still Cameras - Give it a read at Terry's blog - he has the entire low-down on it right here. - very "geeky" but still cool.

Now Everybodys Getting Into Digital:
Here is a funny story from the Telegraph over in the UK - Longleat Meerkats take photos of themselves. Yep, that's what it read. The article showed the inquisitive Meerkats taking - are you ready for this - Family pictures! It's good read for a "giggle" today. Here is the link.

Photoshop Tutorial:
Here is an interesting Photoshop Tutorial on how to create a photo woven from interweaving strips. The result looks very interesting. I'll give it a try when I get back to the studio. Here is the link.

I Save the Best for Last:
I have always been intrigued with pinhole cameras since I was a kid. To be able to make an image on film where the aperture was this very small pinhole was fascinating. While cruising the web today, I inadvertently came across an entire site dedicated to the Art and Craft of Pinhole Photography. It's called "Pinhole Visions" Here is the link - really cool!

Thanks for the read, everyone. Got to go and set up for my program - see ya tomorrow. --David