HD Video For Great Wedding Sequences, Cheap Fisheyes, & My New Wedding Camera ;~)

Good (late) Afternoon Everybody,

This day is really got the best of me hence, the very late post today. We returned home yesterday late afternoon from our wedding in the mid-Ohio area. 13 hours and over 4000 exposures later we wrapped the job.  I had a midmorning appointment today that took a little longer than usual and then spent some time importing those 4000+ photographs and videos into Lightroom 4. That's about the time I started getting sidetracked - to many new goodies to experiment with and too little time ;~)

A Cool Way To Get A Great Series Of Images!

One thing we tried this weekend was to use my Canon 7D to shoot HD video of the couple as they interacted romantically with each other. My game plan was to do the frame grabs from the HD video in Lightroom 4 and then create some album pages from the sequence of images I captured from the video.

It took a little bit of time to work through the sequence but once we figured it out LaDawn was able to create some really fabulous looking pages. I'll go into more detail about what I was up to in tomorrow's Technique Tuesday post.

My New Wedding Camera ;~)

I was also experimenting with my new iPad 3 at the wedding. Yes, I'm the proud owner of the brand new iPad. I opted for the Verizon version this time around because of one very compelling feature. The Verizon version has one very cool feature not yet enabled on the AT&T iPad. The Verizon feature lets you use your iPad 3 as a hot-spot supporting up to five devices once enabled.

I was already paying Verizon $60 a month for my MiFi hot-spot card. I was able to cancel the MiFi card subscription and then I re-upped for the 5gig data plan on my new iPad which gives me plenty of bandwidth for my web surfing and hot-spot functions. In effect it was a $35 monthly savings for me. After I cancel my 2gig data plan on my old iPad, saving me $25 a month, and I've saved $10 with the 5gig plan on my Verizon iPad leaving $35/month extra cash in my back pocket - where it rightfully belongs.

Photographing with the iPad is like shooting with a view camera. We've all seen plenty of blog posts around the web showing people shooting with their iPad but, with the brand-new 5 Meg iSight camera on the iPad 3 it really is a lot of fun.  The images look quite good and will easily enlarge to an 8x10 photograph.

It's also easy to get those images into Lightroom with the Photo Stream feature on the new iPad 3 and iCloud. With the Photo Stream feature enabled, any images I capture on the iPad are immediately sent to iCloud. There I can easily retrieve those images onto my desktop computer.

Once retrieved I simply import them into the job in Lightroom and I'm good to go. Do I plan to make my iPad 3 my new backup camera for my weddings – no not really. It's just kind of fun to play but more importantly the iPad is an integral part of our wedding coverages as I've mentioned many, many times. It's easy to do a quick selection of the images, get them imported into the iPad, and then have a slide presentation ready to go for your clients.  A great WOW factor for any photographer photographing weddings.

A Handy Dandy Fisheye Lens For Only $349!

Eric Cameron, a great photographer from Dover, Ohio came down and helped me with the wedding shoot this weekend.  It was great to have Eric on the job.  He has a terrific eye and a nice sense of timing in capturing the image.

Eric also brought along his Bower Fisheye lens [link].  It’s a totally manual lens but you can get the hang of it in no time at all.  It does a great job producing a full 180 degree field of view on the APS size sensor cameras like my Canon 7D.

Eric and I both had a good time “playing” with the Bower Fisheye lens for both stills and video.  The image quality, at first glance,   looks quite good to me – more later on our results.  Needless to say, it was a BEAUTIFUL wedding celebration with perfect weather. Chelsea and Joe were a great, easy going couple to photograph. The wedding party was fun. We captured some gorgeous images, and I can’t wait to take a closer look at them in Lightroom.

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I started working on my Technique Tuesday for tomorrow and I can't wait to tell you what I discovered. Why not tune in and I’ll give you the full report on the HD video experience I had.

On that note, I'm out here. Everybody have a great rest of the day and I'll see you tomorrow.

Adios, David

Quick Hit Monday: Print Competitions; Wedding Photography; Photoshop Freebies & More!

Good Early Morning Everybody,

I sure hope everyone had a great weekend. LaDawn and I got a chance to hang out with many good friends we haven't seen in a long time over the weekend. It was truly a blessing to revisit and was a nice break from our, too often, chaotic rush. The break didn't last long though. We are utterly swamped these next two days trying to get the last of our projects completed before we leave for Cabo, Mexico on Wednesday morning.

Join The Fun – Print Competition Coming Your Way!

One of the big things I spent a lot of time on over the weekend was organizing our online HOT SHOTS Print Competition & Review coming up on Thursday, December 8, 2011. I sure hope you got a chance to read my complete post on it over the weekend. [link]

The print competition is being hosted by PhotoPro Network and gives all the photographers in our association a chance to submit their images to see how they might fare in our full-fledged print competition coming up in February at our PhotoPro Expo.  We've opened up the competition to all photographers around the world. You can submit up to six digital images for the very small entry fee of only $25. And, the good news is that you have a chance to win up to $1000 in prizes. Those prizes include software from NIK software, OnOne software, Graphic Authority, and many more.

We're limiting the number of total prints submitted to only 200 to be sure that we can get them all judged in our allotted two hours. You can do the math – with a limited number of entries you have a great chance to win some of our great prizes.

In addition to the print competition, we also have arranged to do a Worldwide Webcast of the competition and critique of those images. The webcast is FREE and open to everyone. Were all set with our three-judge panel of experts to judge the prints on December 8 and we already have a few entries with my quick announcement on Friday.

I'll be moderating the webcast from San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico; the three print judges and print moderator will be near Lexington Kentucky: Our tech support person is in Atlanta, GA and I'll have my staff standing by to monitor everything at my studio in the Greater Cincinnati area.

So, I hope you'll be able to join us by both entering your prints into the competition and also following along during the webcast. Oh, one more thing – even if you can't tune into the webcast, you will be instantly notified of your image scores via text and e-mail. It's all part of the new technology that we are test driving during our HOT SHOTS Print Competition & Review. It should be very informative as well as great fun. You can get all the information right here.

Update on PhotoPro Expo 2012

I am so stoked that our PhotoPro Expo 2012 Convention is coming together so well. Today I'm working with a web developer to put the finishing touches on the website and it should be live by the end of today.

Once I know everything is ready to go, I'll amend this post later today to show the new link. I sure hope you'll check it out, and I sure hope you'll consider joining us here in the greater Cincinnati area on Super Bowl weekend, that’s February 2nd through the 5th.

We are so excited to bringing to the Expo 16 world-class speakers including Scott Kelby, Jerry Ghionis, Sarah Petty, Kirk Voclain, Joel Grimes, Vincent Laforet, and nine others which should make it one of the top photographic convention destinations for next year. As I said, I’ll give you the update to the link as soon as I know everything is working smoothly. I sure hope you'll check it out and join me in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area for this outstanding opportunity to learn form the best.

Quick Hit Monday – Here We Go!

Those were two of the most important tips I wanted to get out to you today but, I think it's now time we get to our Quick Hit Monday. I've scoured the Internet looking for the most scintillating links to include in today's post. They cover wedding photography, inspirational photography,  Photoshop and Lightroom tutorials and freebies, and even a few iPad centric links for you too. Let's get right to it.

Photography At It’s Best

Anna Kuperberg’s Best Piece of Advice Ever for Wedding Photographers: [link]

Anna Kuperberg is an extremely talented wedding photographer. In this post she gives some concrete advice on how to capture great images at your next wedding. If you're a beginner ready to explore photographing weddings, you don't want to miss this post.

Extreme Architecture: [link]

Along those same lines, check out these architectural images as well. If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know that I'm a big fan of line, shape, and form when it comes to composing my images. That's one thing that really turned me on about this post – all the elements that make a great image represented in this series of images. Check it out and you'll see what I mean.

Tiny gadgets: World’s Smallest Functional Digital Camera: [link]

OK, it could be said that I am sort of a gadget freak. That's why I like this post about the world's smallest functioning digital camera. In my early days of photography, I was always interested in small cameras and owned one of those very small 16mm cameras of many years past. If you're kind of a geek freak like me, check out this post… just kind of fun.

When Too Much Photography is Barely Enough: 126 Amazing Links:  [link]

Just when you thought I was giving you way too many links to check out, this link right here will keep you busy through the New Year.  126 amazing photography links and many of them are pretty cool. Take your time and enjoy the browse.

Photoshop Tutorials and Freebies

How to Replace a Face in Photoshop in 6 Easy Steps: [link]

When I first looked at this tutorial, I thought another “head swap” tutorial. But then as I reviewed it more closely, I noticed that this tutorial was going into much greater depth in using some techniques for face alignment that I had never even thought of. That's why I'm including it in today's post. If your wedding or portrait photographer looking for a better way to do your “head swaps” then this post is for you.

Use the Black & White filter in Photoshop: [link]

I'm a huge fan of black and white and always enjoy a post that shows me how to obtain a better result. This is a great post that explores that topic.

Craft Great Black & White Images in Lightroom: [link]

And, since I'm a huge Lightroom fan, I'm also interested in how I can achieve the best black-and-white image result in Lightroom. This tutorial will give you some good insights into how to make your black-and-white images better in Adobe's great software.

15 Photoshop Effects To Add Life to Your Photos: [link]

Everybody wants their images to look their best. This post shows you 15 ways in which you can enhance your images in many creative ways. It's worth a look.

Weekly Freebies: Flourishes and Ornaments: [link]

Now on to the Photoshop Freebie section.  This is one of my favorite links that I found over the weekend. LaDawn's put together a great collection of swirls and twirls for use in the LumaPix:PhotoFusion software [link]. The swirls and twirls featured in this post looks like were going to have to convert them for use in LumaPix as well. There are some really good enhancements – check it out.

Ultimate Collection of 220 Free High Quality Fabric Textures: [link]

On that same thinking - LaDawn loves using textures in her LumaPix:: FotoFusion software projects and this is one of the best collection of fabric textures I've seen in a long time. It's a definite download for us.

Top 20 Creatively Designed Grunge Fonts: [link]

I'm not huge font family – it's like, just how many fonts do you really need. But every now and then I'll read about a new set of fonts that looks quite interesting. I think these fonts fill the bill. One should check them out right here – their free.

40 GIMP Photo Manipulation Tutorials for Designers: [link]

With all the evidence of our Nation’s economic down turn, and Adobe's new upgrade policy on its future releases of Photoshop as outlined in Scott Kelby’s open letter to Adobe [link], you just might want to check out the open source image manipulation software – GIMP.

I been following the development of GIMP for several years and it has really matured into a very robust product. Many of you may not even know what I'm talking about but check out these photo-manipulation tutorials right here using, not Photoshop,  but GIMP which is free.  More GIMP tutorials right here.

iPhone/iPad Anybody

7 iPhone and iPad Apps For Business That Have Just Been Made free: [link]

The world is a big fan of Apple's iPhone and about 30 million people  are huge fans of the iPad. That said let me point you to seven iPhone and iPad apps that went from costing money to free overnight. These apps are not photography centric but business centric and I think there's a few gems in the listing. You can check them out right here.

Turn Your iPad Into A Flash Drive and Awesome File Manager! [link]

And for the iPad geeks out there, I thought this was an extremely interesting post.

16 Incredible iPad Apps For Any Photographer: [link]

I think there is an amazing number of iPad apps available for photographers. My favorite to date has been NIK Software's Snapseed. But, check out these additional 16 photo apps for your iPad. These look kind of fun.

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Hey everybody, that's it for me today. We are utterly swamped and it is going to be one full day. I still plan to get a brand-new Technique Tuesday online sometime tomorrow.

I hope things are good in your part of the world and that you were able to share many blessings with family and friends over the weekend. Have a great rest of the day. I'll plan to see everybody again tomorrow, same time - same station here at DigitalProTalk.

See you then, – David

Mega Quick Hit Monday: Overload, Overload – She’s Going To Blow Captain – Tons Of Info - Bookmark This Page!

Good Morning Everybody,

We landed safe and sound in Tampa yesterday, rented our car and headed to Oldsmar, FL, home of Kelby Training world headquarters.  We check in today at 9:00 a.m. and will be shooting till 9:00 p.m. tonight.  Yep, it's going to be a long, hot day but it should be fun and I'm really looking forward to the filming process. 

Also, today you can catch me "LIVE" on the GRID with Matt Kloskowski at 12 noon EDT.  I'm not sure what the plan is or what topics we're discussing but I guess I'll find out by noon;~)

Hey gang, I've got lots of very interesting stories and links for you to check out today so let's get right to it.  Here we go....

Catch Me On The Radio

Over the past few weeks I’ve done a few interviews; one with Rick Sammon at Digital Photo Experience [link]; and the other with Bruce Clarke, a talented wedding photographer from Edmonton, Canada and one the folks that helps bring you This Week In Photography – TWiP for short.  Here is the interview  link right here.

Good, Bad and Fun News In The Photo Gear Department

Cameras Coming Soon?

I've been talking with a lot of the camera dealers lately and all are expressing concern about getting gear to sell.  The Tsunami/earthquake disaster in Japan back in March has really cut production of cameras and lenses. In my discussions with Canon, it's not a problem to make the cameras. It's a BIG problem to get the parts from the down-line suppliers to construct the cameras.

Already for many manufacturers many items are close to out of stock - like the radio control for the Canon 7D.  The pipeline needs to be refilled - but when will that happen?  Good news - rumors have it that Canon’s Supply Chain will Back to Normal by end of June.  Here is the link for the entire story right here. Unfortunately, I understand Nikon may be following with shipping of products even later into the summer months.

One-Third of the SanDisk Memory Cards on Earth are Counterfeit

This one was a shocker for me.  33% fake cards in the marketplace is a BIG number and most of them are purchased on eBay where the number of counterfeit CF cards soars to 70%!- uhmmmmm.  Here is the story right here.

Ahhhhh! Don't You Love Digital

Back in the day, the film days, that is,  we too had a way to see the images instantly.  Back in the film days instantly meant in about a minute.  Yes, you guessed it - with Polaroid backs for our medium format cameras.

What about the 35mm shooters - oh, they had a solution too and Nikon provided the gear to make it happen.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the instant 35mm camera of the past [link].  Like I’ve said so often, digital photographers don't know how easy they have it these days ;~)

A Few Photography Techniques For You Today

Light Painting Taken To The Extreme

I've always been a fan of light painting but this article takes Light Painting to a brand new level.  You can read the entire story right here.  Don’t miss the video too – way cool!

Your Complete Guide For Photographing Star Trails

Back when my age could be calculated with single digits my hobby was astronomy.  That’s why I enjoy this post so much.

11 Ways To Build A Better Photo

This is a great article that cuts to the chase with good ideas to help one improve their photograph – enjoy the read right here.

Photo school in a box: 250 photography tutorials

OK, here you go – more photograph lessons than you could ever hope to get through in a day right here.  Thanks to Pixiq.com for providing this resourceful list.

Hot Items In The Gadget Department

Like most of you, I stay pretty busy and don't have all the time I would like to just web surf all the sites in my RSS reader.  This weekend I took a little trip over to a few of my favorite sites and stumbled on a few cool projects at DIYPhotography.com. I enjoyed several of the posts I’ve missed lately.  Here are some of my favorites.  I plan to give a few of them a try myself - they look like pretty much fun. Always fun to try something new!

Camera Remote Control - Cool!

I love this idea and it looks super simple to do – count me in.  Here is the link right here.

Texture Projector For Your Next Portrait Session

Ok, I’ve been looking at something like this for quite a while.  I think it could be kind of cool for your high school senior portrait.  Here is the link right here.

More On Photography

1 - Stolen Camera Finder – I actually think this is a pretty good idea.  Here is the link.

2 - If you haven't already, check out this new project web site right here.  It’s called The American Wedding Project and their goal is to photograph a wedding in every state and 10 major cities in less than 80 weeks!

One Hot IPad/iPhone Camera App

Fellow blogging buddy, Dave Warner, at Lensflare35 just did an interview with the PhotoForge2 folks that was released today (same as their new version of the app) - a FANTASTIC piece of app software Dave says. Catch the interview and get more info on the app right here.

Card Reader For iPad & iPad2 That Works

A while back I reported that Apple in all their wonderfulness neutered just about every card reader we could use in transferring our images into the iPad by reducing the power output from 100ma to 10ma at the connector.  Most card readers needed more than that to power them up so they just stopped working after one upgraded to iOS 4.x.

I just got a note from Phillip Guyton, one of our DPR who picked up a card reader I mentioned a few months ago that looked like it might solve the problem.  Well, it does.  Here’s the excerpt from Phillip’s note.  “Just wanted to let you know that I purchased one of the cd card readers from MicGadget and I'm happy to report it works like a champ on both the iPad 1 and iPad 2!”

Thanks Philip – here is the link for all the info on the working card reader right here

Photoshop, Lightroom, and Freebies

Lots On Photoshop Today

This section of Quick Hit Monday is becoming quite fun for me to put together for you. I'll tell you, my finds are finds that are helpful to me and things we do at my studio.  Most of the articles are Portrait/Wedding specific.  I hope you enjoy them.

1 - 15 Photoshop Cheat Sheets That Will Make Your Task Easier [link]

2 - In Depth BW Conversions [link]

3 - Selecting Hair in Photoshop [link]

A Touch Of Lightroom Too

1 - 100 Ways Lightroom Kicks the Bridge (and Camera Raw’s) A$@! [link]

2 - 10 Quick and Easy Lightroom Tricks Every User Should Know [link]

3 - 5 Lightroom Keyboard Shortcuts [link] In this episode of the Adobe Creative Suite Video Podcast Terry White will show you 5 Keyboard Shortcuts for Lightroom that will speed up your day to day workflow!

And Finally, Photoshop Freebies

1 - FREE Adobe Patterns [link]

2 - Tuesday Total Textures 71 [link]

3 - 260+ Free Beautiful Paper Texture Collection For Elegant Designs [link]

4 - Alt Codes You Can Use [link]

Need to type a Copyright symbol but can never remember the Alt code – well, here is the definitive listing of all those special codes right here.

Strange But True Department

Apple causes ‘religious’ reaction in brains of fans, say neuroscientists. [link]  I knew it was true all the time ;~)  Please no nasty grams, but I did find this be an interesting story.

Learning and Training

Lightroom Training

In the month of June, fellow blogger, podcaster, and photographer Gavin Seim has a series of 90 minute Lightroom Webinar Workshops on various skills levels. All the details on them are right here.

Marketing and Design Workshop At Marathon Press

LaDawn and I attended a Marathon Workshop a few years ago. Valuable help and definitely worth it.  Check it out right here.

Norfolk, NE • JUNE 13-14, 2011 • learn more »\

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today. We’re running late and shooting starts in about an hour at Kelby Training.  Hope to see everyone right here again tomorrow – same time, same station.

See ya’ then, –David

Quick Hit Monday: Tantalizing Photography; Photoshop Galore; and iPad Nirvana

Good Morning Everybody,

After the Blogger outage last Thursday and Friday which sure made getting the post up last week a bit more difficult – LaDawn and I settled into a fairly easy weekend.

Probably the highlight of the weekend, besides meeting Vivian the new baby daughter of my Ace #1 Assistant Nicolas Viltrakis and wife Terri, was seeing Cirque du Soleil’s show OVO on Sunday evening.  LaDawn and I are both huge Cirque fans having seen just about every show playing in Las Vegas.  It’s nice to have one come to town right in your own back yard.  “O” playing at the Bellagio is still our all time favorite but OVO was very entertaining with fun exciting costumes.

I’m spending this week catching up on a few projects and loose ends and finalizing plans for my Kelby Training DVD shoots next week.  My next training videos will focus (no pun intended) on Engagement Portraits and Composition. I’ve completed both the outlines for the shooting schedule. I’m just wondering how we’re going to get everything edited down to just two 2 hour training sessions ;~)

Hey  gang, I’ve got some pretty tantalizing reads for you on today’s Quick Hit Monday so why don’t we jump right in.  Here we go…

In The Photography Department

1. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but while in Banff last month we attended a wonderful program by two fresh new wedding photographers – David and Quin Cheung.  They were entertaining, funny, and very informative.  Just for the fun of it, head over to their site and check out their exciting wedding photography – you’ll love it!  Here is the link right here.

2. Last week while visiting After Dark in Cincinnati, I ran into Neil Van Neikerk, author of the best selling “On Camera Flash”.  We had previously met at WPPI so it was a nice surprise to get a chance to visit again.  During our quick visit he showed me his latest camera he was shooting with – a Fuji X100.  I’ll tell ya’, it was one interesting camera – a rangefinder camera that look’s like an old Leica rangefinder camera of years ago.

Apparently it was quite a hit at Photokina last year and is in very short supply right now – even B&H has been out of stock.  Anyway, Neil allowed me take a few shots and I was really impressed.  I even took a few at 3200.  The images looked great.  Is this my next wedding camera?  We’ll have to see on that one, but the camera sure looks like it could be a possible addition.  Want to read more on it – here is a link to a recent review right here.

3. Creative Wedding Photography Option for Those on a Budget [link].  This is a very interesting article reflecting the trends in today’s wedding client but I really liked the images accompanying the article.  Give it a peek right here.

4. My buddy and long time friend, Terry Deglau, recently started a blog entitled “A Creative Mind Is A Moving Target” and is brain dumping his vast amounts of knowledge into weekly posts.  One of my recent favorites is “Sometimes Slow is Better” where he has a very thorough discussion on slow shutter exposure photography. You’ll get a kick out of reading Terry’s posts – check it out right here.

5. National Geographic just released a new iPad app that  is receiving “rave” reviews.  It’s called “50 Places Of A Lifetime”.  You can check out some of the amazing images and download the app right here.  Even with all the traveling we do, most of these locations have been off our radar.  Yes, I’m planning to down load the app;~)

6. And a few more inspiring images from nature can be found right here in this post entitled “41 Most Refreshing Pictures: Sweetness Of Nature”.  Hey, we all need a little Monday morning inspiration don’t we – check it out.

7. Danger!  Danger!  Will Robinson! I almost linked you to the article below but upon verifying the link, my Norton Antivirus software immediately notified me of a virus attack. DON’T check out this article “35 Useful Digital Photography Tips And Tutorials” at Tripwire Magazine – sorry, no link provided.

I really work on keeping the links I post here at DPT safe for all our readers and haven’t seen anything like this for quite a while.  This kind of stuff really irks me though – a promise of good content only to have the well meaning visitor be hit with a virus. Please be forewarned of other sites like TripWire out there playing the same game.

But now on to more fun stuff.

Photoshop, Photoshop, and More Photoshop – 7 Hot and Helpful Links For You

This part of Quick Hit Monday is turning into a weekly feature, most because of all the cool content available.  Each week I’ll try to nab the best links for the Portrait/Wedding Photographer.  I’ll also toss in something that goes beyond portraits and wedding just because the links contain such interesting content.  I hope you enjoy them. 

1. 15 Photoshop Cheat Sheets That Will Make Your Task Easier [link]

2. How To Repair Scratched and Damaged Photographs or Scans [link]

3. How to Soften Skin in Photoshop For Portraits [link]

4. Best Photoshop Tutorials [link]

5. 40 Tutorials Poster Design to Improve Your Skill and Creativity [link]

6. 25+ Nature Inspired Unique & Exceptional Photoshop Tutorials [link]

7. Out Of Bounds Attention Grabbing Photo Manipulations [link]

Don’t Stop, There’s More! On The iPad That Is

I almost ran these series of links last week but just ran out of space.  Heck, I’m out of space this week too but I’m running them anyway for all my iPad geek buds out there.  Enjoy the reads.

1. How Much Would the iPad 2 Cost If It Were Made in the U.S.? About $1,140 [link] 

2. The Coolest Thing Anyone’s Done With iPhone Camera+ [link] 

The quality is getting better all the time.  I hear rumors of an 8 MP in the iPhone 5

3.  What Happens When Sixth Sense meets an iPad? [link] 

Way cool video – DAZ

4. Next iPad to Offer 3D Display? [link] 

5. iPad 2 Vs. Asus EEE Pad Transformer (video) [link] 

6. Pro HDR for iPhone and iPod Touch [link] 

7. The Always Up-to-Date Guide to Jailbreaking Your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad [iOS 4.3.3] [link] 

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  I’ve got to get back to my real job. How about I see you tomorrow for another episode of Technique Tuesday: You Won’t Believe Your Eyes!  It will be a good one – I promise.

See ya’ then.  -David

Quick Hit Monday: Denis Reggie; D-Town; iPads; Self Portraits; Inkjets; & More

Good Morning Everybody,

The car is nearly packed and we are ready to head out on our two week trek to visit friends, celebrate a BIG wedding, teach at Photoshop World, and catch the Flash Bus Tour on the return.  The upside of all this travel is that we get to make it in the new car - that should be cool, assuming we can get everything packed into it. 

First Stop Tonight - Denis Reggie Studios

The first stop today is in Atlanta to visit my good friend, Denis Reggie.  We should land late afternoon early evening.  I'm hoping to convince Denis to do an interview with me that I will post on Tuesday.  Denis is one of the premiere wedding photographers in the world so it should be quite a treat if we pull it off in our short time together.  Stay tuned!

Oh, BTW, I just saw where Denis is hosting his Wedding Conclave at his home again in mid – April and May.  Always a great experience - here's the link right here.

Check Out My Lighting Tip Over at D-Town TV

While in Tampa a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting with fellow blogging buddy, Scott Kelby.  He asked me to lay down a few tips for D-Town TV and I was glad to oblige.  Heck, it was the first time to use their new set. The first episode just aired.  You can check it out right here.

I have to tell you, I have no clue how the D-Town video team gets such unbelievable great streaming video.  The quality of their production and resolution just blow you away.  I think you'll come to the same conclusion once you catch an episode.

Hot Deals on iPad 1, iPad Upgrade & iOS 4.3

I've been getting a few emails from folks asking if Apple has FIXED the problem of importing images into the iPad and iPad 2.  When Apple upgraded the iOS to 4.2 and 4.2.1, they reduced the power output to the attached devices from 100 ma to 10 ma.  That, in effect, neutered the usability of devices like the Delkin flash card reader which used to work just fine especially when uploading images to the iPad when shooting a wedding.

I talked with Terry White about it a few weeks ago and he assured me that Apple DID NOT FIX the issue with it's latest release of the 4.3 iOS.  What's  really annoying about this, is the fact that the issue CAN SIMPLY BE FIXED in the software.  For some reason, Apple DOESN’T want people to use their devices in a manner which they don't deem acceptable.  Maybe if enough folks gripe about it, the Apple militia will change their thinking.  Hey, it the reason I'm mostly a PC guy ;~)

And speaking of iPads, did you see the deals on the surplus iPad 1's ?  How about a 64 gig iPad Wi-Fi and ATT 3G for only $529!!! What a steal of the a deal!  Here is the link right here.

Self Portraits: An Exercise In Creativity

I have to admit, I really enjoy getting my Digital Image Cafe eNewsletter each month. It's published by Todd McMillan and his wife Cathy, two really genuinely nice people who really strive to enhance their Digital Image Cafe experience. 

Their newsletter always contains a nice nugget or two of solid information.  This month they featured an article on self portraits as an exercise to juice your creativity.  It was a nice read.  You can catch it right here.

A Gazillion Tutorials Over At NIK

OMG!!!! I had no idea!!! Something came across my desk the other day talking about all these new tutorials being posted at NIK Software.  I LOVE NIK Software. I think those folks are always on the cutting edge of product development when it comes to Photoshop and Lightroom plug-INS.

Anyway, I headed on over to their site to check it out.  Like I said, OMG - they currently have about 60 full length tutorials right here covering portrait retouching to fine art image enhancement.  Even though they feature the NIK products in their tutorials, the content is still superb.  Oh, BTW. try this secret code "DZISER" - it may still save you 15% if you decide to try any of their new products.  Just thought you'd like to know.

Thinking Of Going Inkjet? Things You Need To Know

Another great company I get to hang out with occasionally are my good buddies at Lexjet down in Sarasota, FL.  In fact, with LaDawn's son' s wedding taking place in Sarasota next weekend and us being in the same town, I'm planning to make the trip over for a visit to see their new facilities.

Anyway, I just received their latest newsletter, and since I'm an inkjet printing junkie, I decided to give it a good read.  One thing led to the other, and before long I was all over their blog checking out the cool, informational articles they've been posting.  Once again, it was treasure-trove of info.

Let me quickly point you towards some of my favorites:

1. How To Import Custom Canon iPF Inkjet Printer Profiles right here.
2. How To Get A Free iPad right here.
3. How Much Paper Is Left On A Roll right here.
4. 35 Instructional Videos On YouTube Videos right here.

Some really solid information! We’ve been printing on inkjets for 8 years and Lexjet has always been my go-to resource for printers, ink, supplies, and advice. Check them out. _______________________________________________________

Hey gang, that's it for me today.  Things are hoppin' around here and we need to be hitting the road very shortly – that is if we can fit everything in the car.  Anyway, how about I check in with you tomorrow with a Technique Tuesday or an interview with Denis Reggie.

With 7 hours on the road today, I should be able to get something posted tomorrow although no promises on posting times.  Check back tomorrow and let's see what pops.

Have a great rest of the day.  If you see us on the road, give us a wave - we're the couple in the fancy car that looks like it packed up Beverly Hillbilly’s style ;~)

See everybody tomorrow,  David

Wednesday – A Feeding Frenzy Of Excitement: Easy Info Galore; Video Streaming; & Nice Lights

Good Morning Everybody,

Today is supposed to be a light blogging day, but I’ve just spent the last 4 hours researching, testing, and reading about some very cool new “geek technique” items. 

It all began simple enough. I awoke this morning about 5:00 a.m. – much earlier than usual, grabbed a morning drink of water and fired up my iPad.  The first thing I did was to tune into the the USA Today app. Hey, it’s an old habit I developed traveling so much – give me my USA Today first thing in the morning.  Now I read it most everyday on my iPad.

Anyway, they now have a TECH section on the app so I clicked on the tab to see what was new in TECH [link].  Lots of good info here – How to block Charlie Sheen from your web browser, celebrating the weather man’s 200th anniversary, etc.  OK, not much, right?  WRONG!!!

I eventually stumbled on a little story – now a BIG story – about a brand new APP named Zite [link].  It’s another news aggregator similar to Flipboard which I’ve blogged about previously [link].  Flipboard has been a favorite for months, but that was till 5:30 a.m. this morning after test driving Zite for a few hours.  I LOVE it – intuitive, informative, and easy to customize.

A Fast Way To Find Great Information

In a matter of minutes I found several articles that I thought would be fun to read for our DPT readers.  Here is my quick list of 12 – enjoy!

On Wedding Photography

1. Great Groups:  Phenomenal Photography - Classic Group Portraits right here.

2. One of my favs:  Del Sol Photography Blog - del Sol Cenote Trash the Dress + Phase One + Nauticam for the first time together, wowzer!! - right here.

3. Good Posing ideas: Bridesmaid Dress Trend We Love: Mix and Match Styles! - Wedding Blog - OneWed's Savvy Scoop for Wedding Ideas, Wedding Photos, Wedding Pictures right here.

4. At your next wedding?: How to DIY Your Very Own Photo Booth right here.

5. Is it really coming to this?  Wedding Photography with iPhone right here.

6. Good Posing ideas:  The Beautiful and The Damned ~ A 1920s and 1930s Inspired Collection by Dress Designer Joanne Fleming, with Accessories by Yulia Kunze... - Love My Dress Wedding Blog right here.

7. More good posing ideas.  Bridesmaid Dress Trend We Love: Mix and Match Styles! - Wedding Blog - OneWed's Savvy Scoop for Wedding Ideas, Wedding Photos, Wedding Pictures right here.

On The iPads and iPhones

8. Ten tips for mastering the iPad right here.

What a deal!  Used iPads Selling Quickly Online right here.

9. Useful iPad Apps For Brides and Wedding Photographers right here.

On Photoshop and Lightroom:

10. The 100 Best Photoshopped Pictures of February 2011 right here.

11. How To Fading Lightroom Presets right here.

And Just For Fun

12. Way Cool!   High-resolution 3D Models of Cities Created from Aerial Photographs right here. 

More Exciting Things May Be Happening!

Under Zite Technology section, I also found this very cool looking device called the Teradek Cube [link].  It’s the size of a pack of playing cards, fits on top of any video camera and streams video instantly to the web, your computer, iPad, etc. 

Man oh man – does this look like a great teaching tool for me.  It’s pricey and I’m still checking it out, but wow, does it open up video possibilities for me at DPT! Oh yea!!!

Very Cool New Light

During our visit to the Professional Photographers of Indiana this past weekend we visited with our good friends Rob and Wilma Kumler of K&R PhotoDigital [link] who had a booth at the show.

As usual, they were showing some of the latest in gadgets and LED lighting.  I was intrigued by the Fotodiox battery powered LED light.  It was small, compact, lite, and bright.  For $79, I decided to pick one up.  I see it’s use for close up portraits, table top scene setters, heck even finding things in the gear bag ;~)

Give K&R a call at 859.341.6986 for more info.  They were the hot seller at the show so call soon if interested. I can’t wit to try mine out – more later.

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Hey gang, that’s it for me today.  Have a great read of all the Zite links today. Oh, by the way, it seemed everybody jumped on the Zite bandwagon today.  The site was down for maintenance about 2 hours after I downloaded the app – heavy traffic, I presume.

How about I see everybody tomorrow for Wedding Workflow – After the Shoot: Part 4.

See ya’ then,  David

Secret Mission Accomplished; & New iPad 2 News

Good Afternoon Everybody,

Yesterday we finished phase 1 of the special project - pictured here are a few of my co-conspirators.  Pictured from left to right is Jay Maisel, Julieanne Kost,  myself, Kathy Siler, and Felix Nelson.  The day went great and we were all excited about the project.

I was out the door early today to meet the rest of the team at an undisclosed location here in Tampa.  Today we complete part two of our secret mission.  Again, everything went very smoothly.  We actually wrapped a little earlier than expected.  I’ll give you the low down as soon as I can ;~)

Anyway, that gave me time to grab a quick lunch and tune into Apple's iPad 2 launch.  Several bloggers are blogging it live so I'm receiving the news first hand - very cool.

iPad2 News; Hot Off The Presses

Here is the latest greatest.  Yes, it is called the iPad 2 - who would have guessed?  It's 1/3 thinner - 13.4mm down to 8.8mm - WOW! I hope I don't crack it in half.  It's now dual core with graphics 9x faster.  And yes, two, count them two cameras for more face time.

And more – no retinal display this time around, iPhone/iPad hotspot hook up, and now Phone Booth now on the iPad, and the orientation switch fixed. It will now either mute or lock orientation.

The new iPad 2 will also be available in both black and white colors with white shipping first.  You can find the new iPad 2 in stores on March 11. You heard it first, right here at DPT!

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Hey gang, that's it for me today.  I'm heading over to NAPP World Headquarters and filming a few D-Town episodes.  It should be fun.  Also, doing a new promotional spot for Kelby Training tomorrow.  I'll let you know when everything goes live.

Have a great rest of the day, start saving your pennies for your new iPad 2 and I'll see ya' bright and early tomorrow for another episode of Business Day Thursday: Workflow Part 3.

See ya' then,  David

Quick Hit Monday: Last Night Report

Good Evening Everybody,

I cannot believe this year so far! Three weeks out of the first part of the month, the PhotoProExpo, blogs blogs and more blogs - I hope this week lightens up a bit - whew!

First off, Matt Kloskowski was in for the Photoshop For Photographers Tour last Friday. I picked Matt up from the airport on Thursday morning and on the way to the hotel he asked if maybe I could line up a model later in the afternoon. A quick call from LaDawn to her daughter, Lindsay, who had the day off and we were set to go. Don't you love it when a plan comes together ;~)

Anyway, we all hooked back up about 1:00 p.m. and spent the afternoon shooting in the snow. Matt got some great shots and I got a very cool, no pun intended, Technique Tuesday episode. Matt's going to send me his best images from the shoot. So after I receive them, I'll get things together for the TTues episode - it should be fun. This is a shot of LaDawn, Myself, Matt, and buddy Larry Loar, at Montgomery Inn for dinner. The best place for ribs in the city.

Also adding to my plate was the fact that my buddy, Scott Kelby, asked me to cover his guest blog post for this Wednesday. I've really been concerned about the current state of affairs of the wedding photography industry and wanted the post to revolve around that topic, covering all the why's, wherefores, what to do's, and opportunities in the wedding field at this time.

Well, as things sometimes evolve when I hit my "soap box", the post evolved into a 7 page, 2,900 word article! And, I still have another 1,500 words to go! Needless to say, that little bit of writing consumed a large part of the weekend. I think it is an important piece though so I hope you enjoy it and it's thought provoking implications. If Scott let's me, I hope to have a chance to do Part 2 the following week.

I know it's late but I do have a few cool things for you to check out today. Here we go...

My New Favorite iPad App – The Early Edition

OK, you all know I’m totally hooked on my iPad - have been since it came out last April. Like our good buddy, Terry White, I'm kind of an app junkie too. But this app is just way cool. There are lots of apps that pick up your RSS feeds and show them in bookcases or any number of creative presentations. I know, I've got three on my iPad.

My new favorite app is The Early Edition [link]. It works much like Flipbook, another favorite, aggregating all your RSS feeds by category into a newspaper style layout that's a joy, yes - I said joy to read. With First Edition, I don't even miss my USA Today.

The other cool thing about First Edition is how easy it is to say the content for later postings, for example, at DigitalProTalk. More on some of those options on Wednesday. Anyway, check it out - way cool, easy, efficient blog reading is now at hand.

And Speaking Of More Information Than You Need To Know

I don't remember how I first came across this link although I receive email updates, but it is a pretty cool photo news source. It's name, New Photo Digest. It's a nice read with lots of interesting content that ranges all across the board of photography and gear.

Bert Monroy Finishes, 5 by 30 feet Photorealistic Masterpiece

I just got the news today! Bert finishes his Times Square  Masterpiece [link].

As Bert says,

“This is the largest image I have ever created, pushing the boundaries of the software and hardware as far as they can go. It was unveiled at the Photo Plus Expo in New York on October 28, 2010 as a work in progress. A 25 foot light box was constructed to display the piece that has been printed on a new material being introduced by Epson.

• The image size is 60 inches by 300 inches.
• The flattened file weighs in at 6.52 Gigabytes.
• It took four years to create.
• The painting is comprised of almost three thousand individual Photoshop and Illustrator files.
• Taking a cumulative total of all the files, the overall image contains over 500,000 layers.”

Bert has been working on it for 4 years and that includes many hours a day and lots of weekends. I sure would love for Bert to do a webcast for our readers about the entire process. I'll make the call and see if we can't pursued him to do it.

For the past several Photoshop Worlds, we've all been watching Bert's progress. It's good to know he has finished it. Here's the interesting thing about the mural - many of the persons seen in the mural are industry notables. Hit the "Read More..." link at the end of today’s post and I'll point out a few for you. Yep, that's yours truly and my wife LaDawn in the background right below the Shrek poster. Kind of fun, THANKS Bert.

You Never Know Who You'll Meet In The Apple Store

Yesterday I took a few hours off just to kind of "geek" around the tech stores here in the Cincy area. One of them happened to be the Apple store. It amazes me the constant crowds they have in those stores. I mean, I don't even own a Mac computer but I still drop by now and then to check out the latest happenings.

Anyway, while roaming the story yesterday, I overheard two people discussing flash photography and couldn't help offering my two cents worth. One thing lead to another and before long I was having an enjoyable conversation with Michael. He's kind of new to the professional but tells me he shooting with some mighty fine gear - a Canon 5D Mark II to be exact.

Anyway, he mentioned that he has seen me on Kelby Training, and asked me to check out his images. I gladly obliged and we brought up his website [link]. Wow! He had some great looking imagery in his galleries. Here is the link to his site right here.

He has a very nice feel in how to work with natural light. My favorite images of his were the ones that showed a bit more direction of light. He had great looking images of some very beautiful people in some very cool locations. All in all it was quite an impressive collection of images. Once again, you can check Mike's site out right here. Nice job, Michael.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today. I know it is late but I still wanted to get today's Quick Hit Monday posted before the end of the day. I've got a brand new Technique Tuesday in store for you tomorrow so be sure to check back for that. It will be a late post too - probably mid afternoon. It's kind of a cool tutorial that touches on cropping and correcting wide angle lens images. I'll actually use both Lightroom 3 and Photoshop to get the job done. I think you'll like it.

It's been a long day - time for an adult beverage ;~)

See everybody late tomorrow, David

Here is a partial close up of Bert’s huge image and some notable people in the image. Check out Bert’s site right here to see the entire zoomable image.  Enjoy!  -David