Let's Make A Difference In A Child's Life and Pick Up A "Ton" of Training Videos, E-Books, Actions & Presets At The Same Time! Last Call–14 Hours Left!

 

This Summer’s educational opportunity of a lifetime is over just 14 hours from now!

Hi Everybody,

I shot out a quick email last Sunday evening telling you about an absolutely fantastic opportunity to pick up 100's of training videos, eBooks, over 825 Presets and Actions, 6 full 1 year subscriptions, and much more PLUS help children in need at the same time. If you didn’t receive it let me fill you in now.

Tell Me What’s All Included?

These bundled resources cover a wide range of photographic topics - Lighting, Photoshop, Posing, Weddings, Nature Photography, just to name a few.  These resources are from over 30 of the industry's TOP photographers and trainers including yours truly ;~)

I writing you today to remind you that the deal goes away 14 hours from now!!!

Want to find out everything that’s in this treasure chest of goodies -

CLICK HERE!

Buy The Bundle and Help a Child

The cool thing is that in addition to the tremendous value of the Ultimate Bundle, a full 20% of the proceeds benefit two great charities; Team Jesse to fight Cystic Fibrosis and Seedlight which benefit's children in disadvantage communities around the world. That's a really good thing - I think we would all agree.

Just look at some of the contributors involved: Scott Kelby, Lindsey Adler, Rick Sammon, Jared Platt, Richard Sturdevant, Dave Cross, Colin Smith, just to name a few.  I know all those I've just mentioned and they all are great photographers, educators, and trainers - you just can't go wrong with this opportunity. I mean, my gosh, only $99 for over $4200 worth of prime photography goodies.  You really do have to check it out!

 

Here is the complete list of contributors who are involved in this summer's amazing photography bundle - I told you it was the "who's who" of world class photographers and trainers.

Total Value of all contributions to the Summer's Ultimate Photography Bundle 

OVER $4200.00!!! for only $99

All yours for only $99 and 20% of that benefits the two charities mentioned above.

Check out everything that's included - It will knock your socks off!

Here is the LINK to the Description and Value of everyone's contributions to the Ultimate Bundle

Remember, 20% of all proceeds to Team Jessie Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and SeedLight charities.

Hey gang, like I said, I really hope you check this out.  For only $99 it really is a "no-brainer" for this "best in class" educational/value opportunity.

David Ziser
Photographer, Trainer, Lecturer

”A View From The Top”

”A View From The Top”
©David A. Ziser

Here is another image I captured during our stay in the Andalusia region of Spain.  The locales in this part of Spain are simply spectacular.  This image was made from the town of Ronda which was built on the top of the cliffs in the area.  This setting gave the residents a perfect vantage point in order to keep their eyes on any would be intruders.

Shooting mid-day under very sunny lighting conditions can be quite challenging.  In the past I have tried to remedy the situation by shooting my Canon 5D Mark III in HDR mode.  I’ve never been thrilled with the result.  This scene photographed the same way gave me a resulting photograph that I think makes for a pretty nice mountain landscape image.

First of all I like the composition with the foreground dropping deep into the valley below and the plateau receding into the mountains in the distance.  The architecture and the medieval design of the town sure didn't hurt. Shooting HDR did a good job preserving the very wide range of tones throughout the image. It’s a magnificent setting in a very historical part of this wonderful country of Spain which we enjoyed so much.

Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark III fitted with Tamron 28-300mm VC lens at 24mm, F4.0 at 1/1000 second, ISO 250. Camera HDR mode Auto, Art Standard 

DAZNOTE: You may question my use of F-Stop for this image. I don’t remember why the camera was set to F 4.0 either.  I’m presuming I was shooting in Aperture Priority mode moments before and simply forgot to make the change before I made this image.  The 28mm focal length still carries the depth of field just fine though. David

LDNOTE: This was the exact location I received word from home and discovered I became a Great Aunt for the third time. BIG Congratulations to Chelsea and Joe!

"Butterflies Are Free”

"Butterflies Are Free”
©David A. Ziser

Yesterday afternoon LaDawn and took a little time off to visit the annual Butterfly Show over at the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati, Ohio. It’s a great place to relax on a beautiful spring day.  I thought we would get a decent image or two from one or two of the butterflies flitting through the show.  I managed to get one or two.  This one was one of my favorites.

One of the cool things I learned yesterday was just how close I could get to the butterflies – about 10-12 inches away.  That close focusing characteristic of the lens allowed me to create nearly 2:1 macro shots of the butterflies.  In the image above the butterfly measured about three inches across and I was able to photograph it nearly full frame.  Heck, saves you money on a macro lens ;~)

Instead of posting it as just as a photograph of a butterfly, I decided to add my very own kaleidoscopic effect to the image via Photoshop by flipping it a few times top to bottom and then left to right.  This was the result – kind of cool, I think

Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark III fitted with Tamron 28-300mm lens at 300mm, F9.0 @ 1/80 second, ISO 1600.  Enjoy!  -David

"Subtleties"

"Subtleties"
©David A. Ziser

I feel this is a very mysterious image.  Part of that mysteriousness is caused by the shadow play and subtle densities within this image.

I’ve been trying to remember the back story on this image. As best as I can piece it together, it was made about 10:15 p.m. as we returned home from dinner at at a local restaurant in San Jose del Cabo a few years ago.  This is an agave plant right outside the entrance of our friends home in Mexico. 

I had just gotten my new Canon 5D Mark II camera and was testing it’s low light capabilities. Check out the camera specs below and you'll have a clearer understanding of what I mean.

As I was reviewing images for another project, I stumbled across this one. I was immediately taken by the subtle dark tones throughout the image. The image looked OK in color but I wasn’t a big fan of the green tones.  A quick switch to B&W and some judicious cropping and I could enjoy those shadows and dark tones even more.

The image just seems to draw you in the more you look at it – an emotional side effect of a good abstract image.  The darkness of the tones almost forces you to look more deeply into the image searching for the “tone boundaries” moving through the image.  Anyway, I like it, I hope you do too.

Camera specs: Camera 5D Mark II fitted with 24-105mm lens at 102mm, F 4.0 @ 1/30 second, ISI 6400.  Enjoy!  -David

"Feeling The Romance"

"Feeling The Romance"
©David A. Ziser

Here is another image I made during Saturday’s wedding celebration.  We had wrapped the more dramatic, scenic images of the bride and groom.  When I have enough time, I love to do the “veil series” with the couple.  I think it captures the romantic feelings they are experiencing for each other on the most important day of their lives.

I simple have them stand very close to each other and then cover both of them with the bride’s veil.  The trick is to keep the folds of the veil from blocking key parts of their expressions.  With the wind blowing, that can sometimes be an issue but luckily not so much this past Saturday.

The series is shot completely with the available soft light.  I simply move around the couple working to capture great expressions that tell an emotional story about how they feel about each other.

I also want to overexpose the couple because I think it also gives a more ethereal effect to the images.  I prefer these images in black and white.  In this image I added a small amount of grain to add to the artistic presentation.

Camera specs: Canon 7D fitted with 24-105mm IS lens at 85mm, F5.0 @ 1/80 second, ISO 200.  Enjoy!  -David

"Beauty In Motion"

"Beauty In Motion"
©David A. Ziser

This image was made on a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii a few years ago. LaDawn and I were wondering through this wonderfully lush botanical garden luxuriating in the beautiful surrounds. During our stroll, we happened upon this small waterfall. A simple click of the camera would not have done this image justice.

The secret was to catch the motion of the water and the only way I could do that was with a super slow shutter speed. I had no tripod with me so I had to resort to plan B - an image stabilized lens, a tree, and me.

That's right, this is a handheld image at 1/2 second! I took several to be sure I had at least one sharp. I love the color, composition, and motion of this image. It hangs as a large print in our living room at home.

Camera specs: Canon 5D fitted with 24-105mm IS lens at 35mm, F22 @ 1/2 second, ISO 800. Enjoy! -David

"All Clear For Landing”

"All Clear For Landing”
©David A. Ziser

This image was captured on Sunday evening as we were enjoying one of the always beautiful sunsets in this part of the world. LaDawn noticed the sea gulls that had just made their appearance and called out to Sarah and I to try to capture a shot. The moment was fleeting, but I grabbed my camera, racked out the lens to it’s fullest extent and grabbed the two shots.  This one was the “winner”.  In the other shot, the bird's’ wings were in a downward flapping position.  But in this shot the sea gulls were on a perfect guide path into the sunset.  I love how the “lines” work in this shot.  Notice the V-shapes created by the clouds with the mountains.  Notice too how the line up of the sea gulls follow the same V-shape of the composition.  Did I plan it that way?  I didn’t have too, Mother Nature took care of the entire shot for me – just lucky that I was in the right place at the right time.  Camera specs; Canon 7D fitted with 18-200mm IS lens at 200mm, F5.6 @ 1/250 second,  ISO 500.  No enhancement on this image as presented!

Enjoy!  -David

"Daisy Dance"

"Daisy Dance"
© David A. Ziser

This image was taken a few weeks ago while on photo walk in one of our local parks. I find this one of the most relaxing things I can do for myself. My self constraint (or challenge) on this particular photo-walk was to only use a 70-200mm lens with the 1.4x tele-extender. I sure didn't have to do much bending over when taking the shots. The daisies were in direct sunlight which explains the very high shutter speed. I could have reduced the ISO to 200, but not a big deal at 400. I really like how the daisies seem to dance through the image from bottom left to top right. Their positioning in the composition seems to evoke a nice sense of rhythm with the two sharp center daisies balanced nicely with the surroundings flowers. The direct sun necessitated a little shadow recovery in Lightroom. I added a little vignetting as a final touch then brought the image into Photoshop and added the brush texture. Click on the image directly to see a larger view. Camera specs; Canon 40D fitted with 70-200mm lens fitted with 1.4x tele-extender at 200mm, F4.0 @ 1/8000 second, ISO 400, Raw. Enjoy! -David

"Garden Mosaic"

"Garden Mosaic"
© David A. Ziser

This image is a variation on a theme. The original image was "mirror imaged" in Photoshop then rotated and "mirror imaged" again. I repeated the process 4 more times to get the final result - 64 repetitions of the original image. The final image appears to me to be a very regimented garden scene shot from above, an aerial view if you will. This method of the presentation and the natural colors combine into a very pleasing and unique final composition. Camera specs for original image; Canon 40D fitted with 70-200mm IS lens also fitted with 1.4x tele-extender all combining for a 125mm focal length, F 4.0 @ 1/3200 second, ISO 400. Enjoy! -David

(For a larger view, just click on the image)

"Irises"
© David A. Ziser

This is probably my favorite image from this past Sunday's photo-walk in Ault Park. Ault park is a real favorite here in the Cincy area - big, beautiful, colorful, and relaxed. Although in a bed with several other irises, I wanted to isolate on just one flower. I managed to find my single iris but the image also showed nearby irises as well. The final crop only picks up part of the single iris. The single deep, rich, velvety, purple petal seems to stand guard over the intertwining soft and sharp edges of the leaves and stems of the bed. The image was shot in RAW, enhanced just a bit in Lightroom with Shadow Recovery and just a bit of Vibrance. I love the finished result! Camera specs; Canon 40D fitted with 70-200mm IS lens and 1.4x tele-extender set to 160mm, F4.0 @ 1/500 second, ISO 400. Enjoy! -David

Technique Tuesday 05.27.08

Good Morning everybody,

Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend - those that had one of course. It was a nice break here at DigitalProTalk. I had the weekend off and got a few things accomplished around the studio. LaDawn and I even managed to fit in a little photo-walk around Ault Park in Cincy on Sunday. Man, we got some pretty images.

Dare I admit it - I did the entire shoot in RAW and Adobe RGB. I only had one problem, as the camera continued to fill up with all those hefty RAW files, it got heavier and heavier. LaDawn had to even help me hold it near the end of the shoot ;~) Heck, you don't want to hear about that because today is Technique Tuesday, and boy, do I have a doosey of a Technique Tuesday post today. So let's hit it...

"Desert Beauty"

"Desert Beauty"
© David A. Ziser

This image was made while exploring the scenery right outside Las Vegas during a short road trip on the way to Mt. Charleston. This is always a great drive as you move through the desert then eventually at 9,000 feet your are looking at snow everywhere. On the way, we hopped out of the car and just roamed the desert for about 45 minutes. At the desert level, it is quite beautiful with desert flowers, sandstone formation, and cacti everywhere. This is an image of one of those cacti. It was mid-day, the sun was bright and fairly high in the sky. I love the composition of the shot with the three predominant colors of yellow and green set against the vibrant blue color of the sky. The sharp needle-like points of the plant imply a cautionary viewing of the desert beauty abounding. Camera specs; Canon 40D fitted with 17-85mm lens at 24mm, F13 @ 1/250 second, ISO 400. Enjoy! -David

Real Treasure Maps For Photographers

And what's the real treasure for photographers - it's the image, of course. So I found this story by Larry and Donna B. Ulrich over at The Outdoor Photographer - what a great site by the way. I bounced back and forth about publishing it, but the geek in me won out.

This fascinating article describes how to use topographic maps to help find the best places to get great landscape and nature images. Here is an excerpt from the article, “The topo map showed me that there were several small tarns (small lake or pond) on Island Pass, and they were surrounded by open country, indicating there could be meadows and potential wildflowers,” he recalls. “No ridges blocked the light to the west for many miles, and I knew that Island Pass would catch late-evening light. I determined what angle of the setting sun would work best and settled on mid-July. I knew that both peaks would catch the last light on their northern faces and the composition would be at the perfect polarization angle. If there were no clouds on the western horizon when the sun was setting, we’d get the shot.”

The author discusses how to study the map for the best composition, the best angle of the sun to catch and create an amazing shot, and how to creatively visualize the potential final result. It's kind of a thinking person's article but you can give it a read right here. Also, I think you will enjoy checking out Larry Ulrich's website right here.

Don't Hold Your Breath Now, Because These Images Will Take Your Breath Away

Unbelievable Black and White photography!! That's all I can say! It's all related to water scenes. The images, their tonalities and composition all add up to some very beautiful photography.

Wayne Levin has been honored by having his work displayed in galleries around the world. He has also garnered a very large number awards and honors over the last 25 years as well. His impressive black and white images speak to that level of accomplishment. Check out Wayne's site right here - visit any number of his web galleries - I promise, you will not be disappointed.

Thanks to The Online Photographer for the heads up on Wayne's site.

Take Five Minutes and Enjoy Joel Sartore's Video - "Fragile Nature"

What a nice guy and what great photography. I watched a National Geographic special featuring Joel's story, earlier this week. You may remember my reference to Joel in my sales post yesterday - here is the link. After yesterday's post, I trucked back over to Joel's site to see what I could find and came across this very inspirational short video. I invite you to view it below. I know you will enjoy it - it's tickles the right parts of the brain and gives a little food for thought for the weekend.

Anyway, on that note gang, I'm out of here - things to do, places to go, pixels to see - have a great weekend, -David


Fragile Nature from Joel Sartore on Vimeo.