Category: Announcements

Blurring Water

Jason3 Comments

An interesting question came cruising through the blog a few days ago.  While the submitter wished to remain anonymous (I asked them if I could share the details, which I always do to encourage any and all questions)…the details of the answer follow here today.  You see, what this person wanted to do was capture an image that included several challenging elements…including windy conditions, early (and late) light, moving water, and a deep need for detail from front to rear.

Without going into more detail, here’s basically what the shooter wants:

  1. High depth of field to capture detail (which requires a high aperture setting (f16 or f11)
  2. High shutter speed to freeze the leaf movement in the trees
  3. Blurred water

If you know anything about the exposure triangle (which we’ve talked about here before – shutter, aperture and ISO), then you know that any hopes of blurring the water with simple exposure adjustments is almost impossible.  WHile it can be done, the result will require post processing because at some point you will need to have a shutter speed where it’s long enough to blur the water.  There are some steps you can take in camera though – through ND filters.

ND Filters (Neutral Density) are basically light stoppers – they cut the amount of light that hits your sensor.  From anywhere by 50% to almost 100% (Check out the Wikipedia chart here for specifics).  You can stack them to net a greater effect (some of the dark ones are pretty expensive).

Even with the ND filters though, the end result will be blur in the water (wanted) and blur in the trees (not wanted).  So, some work is needed in your post processing.  I’ll propose two ways here:

Method #1

Overlay multiple images in Photoshop – Take several bracketed exposures and overlay the parts you want of each image to show through.  You can use the Mask tool to do this.  The problem here is that it can be tedious and time consuming to get things just right.

Method #2

The other way would be to take one image into Photoshop and use the blur tool or some other equivalent plugin (of which there are several), where you can selectively blur the area of the photo where you want it (but always do this on a duplicate layer or duplicate copy – never do this on the originals)…

Kind of a detailed post for a Friday, but one that I thought would be worth sharing regardless.  Did I miss something else?  If you have any other ideas that may be helpful, feel free to sound off in the comments with them as many brains are better than one!  Anyway, as we head into the weekend, there are just a few blog notes to let you know about:

    • The Topaz/Thinktank Contest has concluded, and I am waiting to hear from the vendors on who the lucky winner will be, so thanks in advance for your patience.
    • The October Contest is now under way!  We’ve got a very exciting contest from the folks at Noiseware – makers of the famous Noise Ninja software.  This software is fabulous at reducing noise in your images.  I’ve reviewed this in the past here on the blog, so feel free to peruse the archives for that review.  Why is it exciting though?  Because they are giving away TWO copies of the software – so we’re going to split this one up – one will be given away this month, and another at some yet to be determined point in the future.  The thread is now up in the Flickr Community – so feel free to start sharing your images there.  The theme this month:  Fall
    • Last but not least, a question for the readership – I am putting the final touches on something new and exciting that is coming out very soon for blog readers, but I am wondering if there is enough interest in doing something else as well – a forum!  I know, there’s tons of forums on the web, but I have literally connected dozens and dozens of people with similar needs and interests through the blog and podcast, and thought that CB might be in need of a community where participants and readers can share with one another.  There would also be areas to discuss recent podcasts, to share websites, and other useful online resources with one another – and who knows what more.  The first step though would be in setting it up – but to do that requires just a smidge of work.  The question is – is there enough interest?  So, sound off in the comments, let me know if you would like to see that happen!

      Okay, well this post has turned out to be much longer than I had anticipated, so let me stop rambling now.  Hope your weekend is great, and we’ll see you back here on Monday (hopefully with the new announcement to share)!  Happy shooting and we’ll see you then!

      Five Elements of Control: #5 Composition

      Jason3 Comments

      You knew it had to come back to this, right?  I know, everyone is screaming by now “But Jason, you’ve talked about the Rule of Thirds until the cows literally came home!”  Truth be told though, most people think about compositional positioning with their subject matter.  While it’s true that subjects are ideally placed on a hot spot or along one of the gridlines in the ROT grid, but you can break the rules too, ya know!  I say, put anything you want on a grid spot.  Or don’t have a specific point of interest!  Make the subject of your photo the space – negative space, as previously mentioned, can be a powerful thing!

      You can also think of the ROT grid for any point of interest, not just subject points of interest.  And, since we know that light (luminance, contrast, whatever your semantics prefer), geometry, color, and context can all be points of interest, then you can put any of these there and create visually grabbing photographs.

      The greatest part of this exercise though, is that now we are looking at everything in a lot of new and creative ways.  I bet you are asking yourselves lots of questions now:  Does that light look good?  DO those colors complement each other?  What about that round  wheel in a square table – that could be interesting, right?  Keep on thinking and looking at the world around you from different angles and perspectives.  Sooner than you realize it (if not already), your eyes will dart all over the place looking at things and you might not even be conscious that you are doing it.

      When we migrate these exercises from the front of our brain to the back of our brains, making them automatic to the point where we no longer need to even think about looking for things – we just do it, then believe it or not, the compositional perspective also becomes second nature.  You are already looking at how the light and colors on this corner of the room are really awesome contrasts to the darker shadows on the other side – and how cool is it that the funnel of light literally cuts through the darkness on that gridline?!

      Some days you’ll have epiphanies, realizations, and great moments to capture, while others you may not see as many.  Rest assured though, once your brain and eyes are trained to look for it – you’ll see it everywhere you go.  So, take a look at the world around you – see what catches your eye – ask why if you like, but enjoy your moments, because these are the ones where you can really get creative with composition and take your photography to the next level!  Just remember the Five Elements of Control:

      Luminance
      Color
      Geometry
      Context
      Composition

      Have a great weekend everyone – this officially wraps up my first week-long thematic series of blog posts.  Hopefully you’ve found each one rewarding individually, and I would welcome any feedback, thoughts critiques, and comments, because this will likely become an eBook download.  I’ll expand on each element some more, and include even more photos as examples of each, along with detailed critiques and highlights to help show readers why certain ones work, and others don’t.

      So please let me know your thought!   Who knows, feedback may get you a free copy of the eBook and a mention in the credits if you do!  Thanks too, for all the comments already throughout this week, with your comments and insights on both the written word and photographs.  We’ll be back to regular posting starting Monday!  Until then, Happy Shooting!

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      Taking it to the next level!

      Jason5 Comments

      Writing, writing everywhere

      We all have aspirations of taking our work to “the next level”.  How we define our “levels” of success is largely a personal matter.  Here I am always happy to share my aspirations and goals with the larger community.  It is likely no secret that as a blogger, the written word is an enjoyable “tool” for me.  In writing both blog posts here, and articles for the PhotographyBB magazine (and special shout outs and thanks to Dave Seeram, editor-in-chief of said magazine), it has become pretty clear that writing for blogs and writing for magazines requires different approaches.  To that end, there is some content on the blog that has never been incorporated into any magazine.  Likewise, some magazine content has never seen the light of the blogosphere.  Well, that convergence begins today, courtesy of my good friend, Eizabeth Gast (a.k.a. “Firgs” of Design by Firgs).

      In looking at her work online with her own blog, and her social presence as well, I thought she might enjoy reading an article I wrote for the magazine.  Well, she has helped with editing, and it now also has a great blog form to it as well.  Since she was so instrumental in its transition from magazine to blog, I offered it up to her for use if she liked – needless to say, I think she liked it enough because it’s on her blog today!  Thanks Firgs!  You are the best!  If you want to read more about the importance of how social networking can play into photography – stop over and read her blog.  Heck, stop over anyway and tell her thanks for me! 🙂

      The Comment Contest Winner

      In other news, the Comments Contest was a huge success!  With only one repeat and one tweeted link, the count totaled 15, matching the highest total ever received for a single post!  After taking out the repeat and the tweet, lucky #13 is the number I plugged in over at www.Random.org (another link I picked up from Firgs!).  Wit the Random Number Generator (drumroll please…) the winner in the Comments Contest is – believe it or not, lucky #13!  That winner is is andie! So, Andie, if you could drop me an email, you are the lucky winner of a $25 gift card to B&H Photo!

      The “Win a Wacom” Giveaway

      Submissions for this giveaway are now closed.  Over the next few days I will be going through all the entries and winnowing out the best of the best and choosing a winner!  Be sure to tune in as we move toward Friday!

      The Super September Giveaway

      Remember the Topaz Labs software I mentioned yesterday?  And the Thinktank Photo Multimedia Bag System? Yup, it’s now time and they are up for grabs in the latest and greatest giveaway over on the Flickr page.  A new thread has been created (yes, a little ahead of schedule), so feel free to start putting your work in there.  The direct link to that thread is here.  The theme is Think in Color, so I am sure a rainbow will appear in short order, with lots of creativity!

      I was going to do a write-up of some more plugins from the Topaz Suite, but time and space just got away from me, so if you wanna see more about this great plugin set, be sure to stop back in tomorrow as I promise to have that review together for your reading enjoyment.  On that note, have a rockin’ day and happy shooting!

      Contests and Giveaway News

      Jason3 Comments

      Lots to cover today, so rather than banter, let’s get to the news about all the contest stuff going on:

      The Comment Contest

      Talk about a huge success – had enough feedback and ideas in this one post to really get some great creative ideas in play for the coming months for the blog – after the re-design!  Some lucky winner will be announced tomorrow (I am writing this on Sunday, while comments are still being accepted, so a winner cannot be announced right now.)

      Win a Wacom Giveaway

      The Learning Digital Photography giveaway thread over on Flickr has seen quite an uptick in submissions in the last week.  As the deadline approached, more people started getting their “fun” themed shots in, and there’s a lot of creative and fun photos in there.  It’s going to be tough to decide this one for sure.  Have you got your image submissions in yet?  If not, today is the last day to enter, and like the lottery, you can’t win if you don’t play!  You have until midnight tonight (Mountain Time), so it’s now or never!

      The September Giveaway – Think in Color!

      Announced briefly and teased on post #500, September’s contest is a pretty big one.  Two significant items are up for grabs this month.  First up, the winner of this contest will receive a Think Tank Multimedia Bag System (5 bags total).  For more information on this latest bag system to hit the shelves from ThinkTank Photo, you can read the review I did here, or visit their website for the specifics here.  The retail value of this set of bags is easily $350!

      Second, Topaz Labs has offered up their plugin suite of actions for Photoshop to the winner of the September giveaway.  You may recall my review of the Topaz Labs Adjustment plugin here on the blog, and more of the Topaz plugins will be reviewed here during September, so stay tuned to see all the cool stuff this set can do.  The retail value of this software set is valued at $150 for the Adjustment, Denoise, Simplify, Detail, Clean and DeJPEG plugins.

      So, let’s see – $350 in bags, and $150 in software = $500 in giveaway items for the September run.  That’s a lotta loot!  This means the setup will be a little more competitive than last months.  Here’s a rundown of the guidelines:

      1. Longest side of the image should be between 600-800pixels.  This makes for consistency in galleries, and also for equal view-ability in the judging phase.
      2. One photo per person, submitted through the Flickr thread, which will be created tonight at midnight.
      3. Photos must be taken within 30 days of the contest start date.  So, if you have something you took just last month, that is acceptable, but earlier archives will not be accepted.
      4. All images must be work-safe/family-friendly.
      5. This go around, the theme is:  Think in Colors (for ThinkTank and the color Topaz).  Incorporate the theme of the giveaway somehow into your photos.
      6. Since we’re talking Photoshop and plugins, it makes sense to also note that image editing is permitted, so go ahead and punish those pixels!
      7. Image submissions will be accepted starting September 1st, and will continue through Sat. Sept. 26th.

      The other cool thing about the Thinktank/Topaz Labs giveaway is that the folks at Topaz Labs have offered to the winner that their photo be displayed on Topaz Labs website (along with photo credit given, naturally).  This is, of course, totally optional, but definitely a cool feather to have in ones’ cap.  The caveat here is that the submitting photographer would have to be at least 18 years old.

      Phew – that is a lot of contest news!  In one sidenote about the blog, a little administrative note that the B&H Photo affiliate link is back, so if you are thinking of purchasing some gear through B&H, if you use the link above, though your price stays the same, B&H will send a few cents back this way to help offset the expense of hosting.  (It literally is just a few cents per purchase, so go ahead and spend a fortune!) 🙂  So much for a hardware review today…I’ll be back tomorrow with the last post for August, and the announcement of the Comment Contest winner!  In the meantime, happy shooting!

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      The first ever Comment Contest!

      Jason18 Comments

      After a short (and unexpected) break from blogging yesterday, here’s a Friday Free-For-All for you!

      Here’s where reader input is going to be what makes or breaks the content – that’s right, I am putting it all on the reading audience.  You can link to your own site in the comments, and the “Comment Luv” plugin will show the most recent post for fellow bloggers too.  Here’s what the content topics are to chose from (you can pick one, two, three, or all of the topics to address in your comment):

      1. What are your favorite iPhone/iTouch applications (for photography)?
      2. Who would you like to see guest-write here on the blog (you can include yourself too)?
      3. If Canon Blogger were to start a monthly newsletter, what would you like to see in said newsletter?
      4. If Canon Blogger were to start publishing eBooks for download, what topics would you like to see addressed?
      5. What one photo tip would you share with others above all else to help improve their photography (and “Take off the lenscap” is not allowed! LOL)

      The best part of this?  Some lucky commenter will win a $25 gift card to B&H Photo from yours truly!  Yup, no sponsors, no tricks, no gimmicks, no nothin’ but free moolah to the best photo store on the planet!  All out of my pocket!  What am I looking for?  Useful content and ideas that will help me generate more resources to share with everyone.  So, get your thinking caps on and get to commenting.  If you post a comment and think of something later, feel free to add it – but your name can only be “entered” in the Comment Contest once!

      When does it end?  Midnight Sunday!  (August 30, 2009 – so if you are reading through archives and this is like March 15th, 2035, sorry, the contest is over…)

      And speaking of contests, you also only have three days left to get your shots into the Flickr thread for the “Win a Wacom” contest!  The contest pool of entries has increased a tad bit, but you can’t win if you don’t play, so get a shot or two in over the weekend – as they say at the Lotto – “Hey, ya never know!”

      Finally, on this last Friday of August, I’d like to share yet again, an absolutely hysterical strip from What The Duck (I shared it earlier this week), but this  just floored me, so had to give another shout out for those that haven’t picked up WTD in your readers yet (and you should!).  So, have a laugh, then have some fun and share your thoughts – the sky is the limit.  Have a great weekend everyone and we’ll see you back here on Monday!

      Post #500: Celebrating a Milestone!

      Jason11 Comments

      balloons-42

      Not sure where to begin really – this is all kind of surreal, because I really didn’t think that this milestone would see me where things are today with the blog.  Needless to say, the blog has succeeded beyond my wildest expectations, so thanks to everyone who’s made that possible.  Without further ado, here’s the big news (via YouTube video, so feed readers, stop in and get the news by taking a few minutes out of your day for this exciting video news bulletin!):

      For the data hounds, here’s a rundown of some of the stats for a snapshot of what’s that’s happened thus far on the blog:

      • Posts = 500
      • Comments = 1107
      • 107 Categries
      • 544 Tags
      • Total Visitors = 231,000
      • Single Highest Traffic Day:  Thursday, April 10, 2008
      • Subscribers:  1006
      • Highest Subscriber Count Ever:  1018 (4 days ago)

      That’s a lot of stuff when you think about it.  So, for all the thousands of you that have been tuning in regularly, thanks so much for all your kind thoughts, words, and contributions over all this time.  Tune in to the YouTube video for the contest news and some other fun stuff!  In the meantime, keep on shooting – you know what’s coming up in the next 500 posts!  Happy shooting everyone.  Have an awesome weekend and we’ll see you back here on Monday for post #501!

      Post # 499: Audioboo Addition!

      JasonLeave a comment

      As promised, as we gear up for magical #500 tomorrow – more content has been added to the blog.  This is not something that can be gotten from the feed though, so for you feed readers out there, stop over the the blog and check out the new widget in the side panel that has links to… AudioBoo!

      audioboo

      So, what is Audioboo?  AudioBoo is a unique way for people with iPhones and iPod Touches to share their short audio recordings – courtesy of the folks at Audioboo.fm  It’s kind of a cool concept, because the recordings (called “boos”) are typically short – 2-5 minutes in length, and if you visit the site, you can see there is quite a bit of content there.  If you’d like to pick up my audio feed from that directly, you can grab the RSS for that by following this link:  http://audioboo.fm/profile/CBJason.

      The whole premise behind this is that I can deliver audio tips and tricks, thoughts and ideas relating to photography to you whenever a good idea strikes!  It should be a fun experiment and I can promise that there will be some personal stuff to give a little more variety too (like my favorite brew at a local microbrewery!)  Fair warning – as football season rapidly approaches, you may here more Broncos talk too!  I’ll try to stay on point with photography ideas though, so either pick up the feed there, or (preferrably) visit the blog regularly for content updates.  This is definitely in a beta stage and may grow or fade away depending on interest, time, and other factors.

      In other news, I’ve had a number of people as about photos taken from the star tracking station I built and recorded onto YouTube.  Unfortunately, the astrophotography gods have not been kind thus far as the night sky has had a lot of cloudiness.  Hopefully this weekend will be more favorable – but I am planning on packing it into the bottom of my checked back on my upcoming trip.

      Speaking of which, thanks to everyone who gave their thoughts on what the last book should be for the trip.  I’ll likely be making my book purchases through Amazon this weekend (unless the library comes through for me again! 🙂 ), and I’ll have an announcement on Monday of who wins the B&H gift card, so be sure to stay tuned for that!

      Given the title of this post – you should at least have an idea of what’s coming tomorrow – but it’s a two-fold announcement, and because it’s just so cool, I am going to be announcing something big for the September Giveaway too!  And how’s that for a great segue to let you know that there is little time left in the August Giveaway – where you can Win a Wacom!  (Click the link for the Flickr thread and details.)

      Well, that’s enough for today – happy shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for the big one!

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      And the winner is…

      Jason4 Comments

      Ladies and Gentlemen,

      Here today, I am happy to announce that the winner for the OnOne Software Plugin Suite Giveaway has been decided.  So, without further ado, please give it up for Pete Petersheim!  Pete submitted the following image to the LDP contest thread, which got the ultimate nod:

      Pete Petersheim's Winning Image
      Pete Petersheim's Winning Image

      Click the picture to go to his Flickr thread, wish him congratulations on a job well done.  Note there are two images in his Flickr thread, a cropped version (which was entered) and the full-size one.  I think that regardless of which he had entered, it would have won the day.  The colors, composition and impressive post-processing, as well as his unique flair for something unique is just superb.  Congrats Pete!  Send me a Flickr mail message, DM me on Twitter, or email me here and I’ll get you the contact info for the folks at OnOne to get the software prize out to you in short order!

      To all the entrants – thanks so much for participating – we all learn so much from one another it really is amazing to see the artistic talents that inspire in new and exciting ways!  For a full look on the entrants and the finalists, there are web galleries here:

      All OnOne Entries

      The Top Ten

      I’d also like to take a moment and thank the folks at OnOne software for their highly generous contribution – since the winner has been announced, it’s probably appropriate to note that there is also a very generous discount being offered on the entire suite right now through Thursday, August 13th!  Save $150 off the bundle, which is an amazing savings.  So, for those who are still interested, the time is still there to save a lot of money on the package – just tell them you heard about it here at Canon Blogger/Learning Digital Photography!

      With the July contest completed now, it’s probably a good time to turn our focus to the August contest – you can win a Wacom Bamboo Fun valued at $100!  I reviewed this tablet a while ago here, so if you’d like some feedback that’s a good starting point.   But, don’t forget to enter your images – you can pull from archives this go around, and submit up to three images in the Flickr Thread!  More details are also available on Flickr!

      That’s it for today, so congrats to Pete!  Thanks to Wacom!  And  Happy Shooting!  (We’ll see you back here again tomorrow!)

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      Galleries Addendum

      Jason4 Comments

      Yesterdays post on how to get into galleries generated some great questions and comments both via email and on the blog, so in the interests of keeping that interest and momentum going, here’s a few more tips on Getting Into Galleries, courtesy of Dave Warner from LensFlare 35 and Rich Charpentier (who I’ve interviewed here on the podcast).  Thanks guys for chiming in and offering your assistance!  Onto the 5 additional tips:

      1. Make sure the gallery shows photography – if gallery owners deal primarily with paintings, sculptures, metal work, and such, the odds of being accepted are much less.  This involves actually doing a little research into the gallery.  Perhaps a visit or two during different showings could help determine whether the venue is appropriate for your work.
      2. Make sure the gallery shows your type of work – if you are primarily a landscape artist and the gallery primarily shows urban gritty work, portraiture, or architectural types f work, then again, reconsider the venue.
      3. Contact the gallery – let them know you are interested in being considered, and give a few small samples via email.  Ask if you can schedule a time to visit with them.  Like Dave and Rich said, nothing can be a bigger turnoff than showing up unannounced and possibly interfering with a scheduled appointment or client sale.
      4. Be professional – treat a prospective gallery showing like a job interview.  Just like you wouldn’t want to show up with 4×6 photos in a binder album, also don’t show up on site wearing cut-off shorts or be un-groomed.  It’s not just your work that is being considered, it’s YOU.  If you are accepted into the gallery, in all likelihood, they will want you there for the opening day, so people can meet you, learn about you and interact with you.  If you don’t present yourself with your best foot forward, then clients and gallery owners will probably be less interested.  Once you are big and famous, sure, being unkempt can be part of your “flair” or quirks, but until then, you are just messy!
      5. Be prepared to be told no.  It’s tough to hear, but don’t take it personally if at all possible.  Running galleries is a business, and when it comes to running a business, it’s not personal – it’s just a business decision.  Consider also that gallery owners get many many requests from aspiring artists, and simply do not have room or space all the time.  In the most recent podcast, Matt Timmons mentioned this briefly.  Just because someone says no, doesn’t mean a lifetime of “no”.  It just means “No” today.  Ask again in a few months.  Sometimes people like to see persistence, especially if your craft is getting better.

      So, there you go, two days of tips on getting into galleries!  Ten tips total, so go forth and good luck!

      Speaking of luck, best of luck to everyone who has been submitting their “Numbers” themed photo contest running right now over in the Flickr forums.  I took a quick glance this morning, and there are just shy of 50 entries.  Amazing given that only one entry is allowed per person!  And there’s still time – you have until midnight tonight to get your picture in.  The winner will walk away with a free copy of the OnOne software Plugin Suite (valued at over $500 retail)!  If you are thinking of getting in the game, now’s the do-or-die moment.  Like they say in lotteries – you can’t win if you don’t play!  Here’s the link to get in the game:  Numbers Contest

      Have a great weekend everyone – Happy shooting and we’l see you back here next week for the latest and greatest in photography news, nuggets, interviews, reviews, and all that goes into Canon Blogger.  We’re closing in on some pretty fun dates, including the 500th post, the 2 year anniversary of CB, 1000 Twitter followers, and much more, so be sure to pick up the feed.  I know I had mentioned the next contest on the podcast as well, so be sure to stop back in Monday for the news on what the theme is, and to pick up the tag on Flickr for the thread.

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      Show Notes for Episode #28

      Jason3 Comments

      No cheeky title today, just a straight up informational one because the podcast was a super long one with all the news, interview time, and listener Q&A so I’ll stick to the meat and potatoes.

      1. On the Photo News Beat
        1. Canon Announces Hybrid IS technology
        2. Stock Exchange joins Getty Images
        3. Think Tank Photo Announces a New Bag System
        4. OnOne Software expecting to release a Remote Capture update soon
      2. LDP/CB Notes
        1. The OnOne Software Plugin Suite Ends Friday – last chance to get your best image in the Numbers Contest
        2. The August Prize is announced:  A Bamboo Fun, courtesy from the folks at Wacom
        3. Exposure Denver Photo Club
      3. Interview With Matt Timmons – MTM Studios
      4. Listener Q&A
        1. The Sony A100 DO Range Optimizer – Bog Segrell from NJ
        2. Martini Memory Lighting Setup? – Alistair M from New Zealand
        3. Where do you get the EOS Digital Capture from Canon? – George Maskaly from Nevada

      Here’s links, as promised for the show notes to for those coming over from either PLM or iTunes.  Please let me know if I missed any (it’s getting late here)…

      A last little bit of blog news – closing in on 2 yrs, 500 posts, and 1000 feeds – I don’t know how this ever happened, but there’s definitely going to be some prizes coming soon in celebration and to say thanks to all the loyal, faithful readers and listeners!  I teased the date a few days ago on Twitter so if you’re not on Twitter, get there for extra added value too! Happy Shooting All, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

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