Category: Contest

November News

Jason3 Comments

Another month goes into the archives as we enter November for 2009.  Here at the CB/LDP headquarters though, that means it’s announcement time for a couple of things, not the least of which is the latest contest news, the October newsletter, and something new for blog readers only!  Let’s start with the contest news:

Fellow blogger, NAPP member, and active LDP participant, Karen Stansel was the winner of the October giveaway.  She walked away with a Pro license of Noise Ninja from the folks over at Picture Code.  Congrats to Karen (a.k.a. Mitzs), and thanks to Picture Code.  With that contest closed, we are now into the November Giveaway.  This month a pretty cool bundle is being offered up.  The winner this go around will go home with the following prizes (yes, that’s plural!):

  • A free copy of one of Matthew Bamberg’s books on photography (don’t know who he is, listen to the latest podcast! 🙂 )
  • A DVD from Photoshop User TV – the best of the 11th year!
  • A $25 gift card to B&H Photo (just in time for the holidays)

The theme for the November contest is:  Winter (surprise surprise, since Fall was last month!)  The usual spate of guidelines applies, but to be sure you are getting all the latest, stop by the Flickr thread and read the first post.  Then, get ready and shoot because there’s only about 3 weeks again for getting your shots in.  Good luck to all!

Next up, the latest news from the podcast and blog is the October newsletter.  Painstakingly assembled over the last month after some really useful feedback, it’s now ready for download by clicking on the image below:

ldp02
Learning Digital Photography, Issue #2

In one final bit of photo goodness, and in keeping with what many others are doing, I am happy to announce that CB/LDP is also joining the fray of photogs that shares their images in the form of a monthly desktop calendar!  Download the November Newsletter for the links to the images, or follow these links here (only temporarily linked here in the blog – going to become a newsletter-only feature starting with the December issue!  I am offering up 3 sizes based on the analytics of monthly traffic.  If your desktop dimensions are not featured, let me know either in the comments or via email and I can customize one for you…otherwise, here’s the 3 dimensions:

Another little nugget I just was reminded of (this is why participating in forums is a good thing):  Don’t forget to adjust your in-camera settings on the date/time for the change in daylight savings in U.S.  (unless of course you never changed it forward in the Spring…)!  Doing so will keep your EXIF data accurate!  (Thanks to Dave from the NAPP forums for the reminder!)

Last, but not least, I would be remiss if I didn’t drop a hint to read the latest issue of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine.  Not only is it free, but it’s just chock full of great and useful resources.  Also on the site is an active community forum of fellow photogs, full of great shots, creativity, and useful advice.  All of it is worth your time, so be sure to stop in there and see everything Dave and crew has to offer…(oh yeah, I wrote an article for the October issue too!)

Tomorrow, don’t forget to tune in for a combo hardware/software review, the likes of which you’ll never believe until you read it!  (Okay, nothing that fancy, but worth keeping in your feed reader, right? 🙂 )  Happy shooting all, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for the latest!

Don’t Touch that Dial

Jason7 Comments

This week we take a look at the dial on your DSLR – what do they do and is it worth it taking it off the Auto Mode?  Or even putting it into the auto mode?  What are the benefits?  Pros? Cons?  There’s thoughts both ways and I’ll look into each and give a few answers on this weeks show.  Also on this weeks show, I had the opportunity to talk with Matthew Bamberg, a well-known and respected photographer and author of digital photography books.  We had a great chat that you definitely are going to want to tune in to to get some tips tricks and places to go for great photography.  Check out the links in the sidebar for his books at Amazon and his website too, over at the hosted version of the podcast with the folks at Personal Life Media.

Lastly, the listener questions and answers, and some contest news rounds out the show too!

  • Daguerreotype
  • Best Scanners for photography
  • Windows 7 – is it for photographers?

Lots to talk about, and a great time all around, including the theme and announcement for the November giveaway!  Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to “Digg” the podcast over at PLM, or offer a review in iTunes, or even share your comments here on the blog.  Where do you put your dial?  What do you think of a DSLR in auto mode?  Is it good or bad?  Did I call it right?  Share your thoughts…the listening world wants to know! 🙂  Here’s the web links for stuff we talked about on the show:

Happy shooting everyone and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

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Photo Framing Follow-up

Jason1 Comment

After the blog post on Wednesday, and the number of comments received, I thought that the next podcast would be well served to discuss the idea behind matting and framing in more detail.  As luck would have it, that podcast just went live earlier this afternoon!  You can catch the podcast over at the Personal Life Media site here: Learning Digital Photography

Here’s the Show Notes:

In this latest episode of Learning Digital Photography, the Grand Prize winner from the September $500 giveaway is announced, and the October contest opens up – ready for your entries.  The theme this time is Fall (open to interpretation).  Specs, guidelines, and such are discussed including dimensions, dates for submission and more.

Also in this episode, a primer on framing your photos:  things to look for and avoid when matting and framing work.  I look at what gallery and show fine art venues usually require versus home or personal use.

Finally, the popular listener question and answer segment returns, with some great ones coming from all over the globe!  Download today!  Happy shooting!

The links mentioned in the show follow as well:

Rich Charpentier’s Website and Blog

Flickr Contest Thread

Redimat

American Framing

Don’t forget, every time you “Digg” the podcast over at PLM, or subscribe and write a review on iTunes , you are helping others enjoy the fun and thrill of photography.  Feel free to also use those venues as well as the comments here and contact with me via email if you have an idea or thought to share about the show.  Thanks, as always, for listening and reading.  Have a great weekend, happy shooting, and we’ll see you back again on Monday!

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In the interests of full disclosure…

Jason6 Comments

It recently came to my attention that the FTC commission has taken an interest in the reviews that bloggers provide as unbiased information on the products.  I guess this came about due to some people that gave reviews of products that were actually paid endorsements, and did not disclose this information to their readership.  The FTC is now apparently requiring that all reviewers release and disclose their relationship with the vendors of the products for which they are reviewing by December 1st.

So, in the interests of full disclosure, I have compiled a page to disclose exactly what I get for the review of products written here.  As most of you are already aware, the answer to that is nothing, with a few notable exceptions.  The products that I have reviewed here on the blog are entirely done via donations from vendors (where the products are then put up for giveaways in the monthly contests), or on loaner programs where the products are reviewed and then returned to the company.  The rest of the products I have reviewed are of my own gear which I have already purchased with my own money!

For those interested in viewing the page, it’s titled “Supporters of the Blog and Podcast and is displayed in the sidebar.

*****

Okay, with the legalities out of the way, just a couple other blog maintenance things to mention:

  • The next podcast is going live tomorrow!
  • The latest contest is underway over at Flickr (you can win a free copy of Noise Ninja from PictureCode – the theme this month is Fall)
  • The 2nd issue of the monthly newsletter is also under construction, so if you are interested in being a featured artist, let me know!

Wow – what a bunch of “official” sounding stuff – so unlike me!  Let’s change that up – share with me your thoughts on the FTC position.  Do you like it?  Agree?  Disagree?  Think they are off their rocker?  Call me the fence sitter, but I can see why they are doing it, but I think they’ve taken it too far.  What do you think?  Got any of your own bureaucratic wonders to share?  Sound off  – maybe if we get enough feedback saying that no one likes it, they will reconsider their position on “all bloggers”! 🙂  (Kind of like “rocking the vote”!)

Anyway, that’s about it for today, so Happy Shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

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!

      Tuesday Top Five Nuggets

      Jason5 Comments

      In lieu of a software review, today instead just a couple news nuggets for you.

      • First up, the finalists of the $500 giveaway have been determined.  These six finalists are being considered to win a pretty impressive package of stuff including a Thinktank Photo Multimedia Bag System and a complete set of the Topaz Labs Photoshop Bundle.  View the finalists gallery here.
      • Next up, a recommendation:  Even if you aren’t a subscriber to the Rangefinder Magazine (although you should be), you can read the current issue online here, (it’s a PDF download) which includes in the most recent issue an interview of none other than David Hobby, founder and author of the world-famous Strobist blog.
      • From Scott over at one of my favorite daily reads (Weekly Photo TIps), there is a new PBS series starting this week on National Parks.  I am definitely setting the DVR for this series!
      • As a longtime fan of DIY-projects, this one on making a tripod for your P&S (or iPhone) out of a paperclip was just too cool to leave out of the list.
      • And finally, for those that just insist on getting a photo fix regularly, visit former contest winner John Dunne’s blog, My Chi to see a great dilemma as he is torn between a color and a black and white version of a sunrise scene on the Promenade (psst….I like the black and white version!)…

      Well, that’s it for today, be sure to stop back tomorrow for another dose of inspiration as we hit the midway point of the week (a.k.a. hump day)!  Happy shooting and we’ll see you then…

      Covering the Photo Beat

      Jason2 Comments

      In the latest release of the LDP podcast, a shorter show this week as I prep for some other ventures, but there’s still enough material to really sink your teeth into.  To start things off, Leica released two new cameras in a synchronized announcement including a full frame ranger finder camera for $6995 and a crop factor camera with 12 MP for just under $2K which will release around the holidays.  More info on both cameras here

      The other big photo news of the week comes to us courtesy of Apple, with the latest updates to iPods not only by adding features, but also by decreasing cost.  Find out how this all relates to photography (very cool ways) on the podcast today!  You can get Apple-specific details on their main page.

      Second up on the show, the contest news which regular readers mostly know about except for the October announcement of two new sponsors!  Find out who the new sponsors are and what will be the giveaway for October in this episode.

      Finally, I also let you know about the latest project to be looking for from CB and LDP – a monthly newsletter, and let you know how to become a featured artist in a monthly newsletter.  Details in the podcast so be sure to tune in and catch all the details today!

      We cover the usual spate of listener Questions and Answers, so here’s the links to help answer the issues in this weeks show:

      I’d also like to give some special cross-promo props to Kerry Garrison of Camera Dojo last week to talk about the Canon 7D!  It was a lot of fun, and I would encourage anyone looking to add photography-related podcasts to their listening libraries to visit Camera Dojo and pick that up today!  (Also, while you are there, don’t forget to say hey in his community too as he’s got a lot of great resources available.  His website is linked here.)

      That’s enough news and excitement for one day, so make sure to stop back in tomorrow for more photography news and info as we head into the tail end of summer weekend photography fun.  Happy shooting all!  Don’t forget to visit the Podcast site here and Digg it!  (Or download through iTunes) and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

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      Wacom Winner!

      Jason1 Comment

      For those of you that don’t follow the twitter news and stuff, you may not know that I cut a finger pretty badly late last week.  A visit to the doctor on Thursday pretty much confirmed that I needed to keep from using that hand for at least 24-48 hours.  This meant no keyboard or computer use.  SO Friday, when I started to disobey the doctor (shame on me!), the spousal unit found out and intervened.

      Since then, we had a nice little weekend trip to Santa Fe (only about 6 hours away from Denver) with some friends.  We took in the sights, had some nice meals and just a good time all around.  I was without computer/internet most of the time so only was able to tweet briefly over the 3 day weekend.  So, you also did not get that yesterday would be a “no blog” day.  Much like the rest of the blog-o-sphere here in the U.S., a lot of people had similar announcements though, so the lack of a post saying there would be no post was kind of…well, not really needed.

      Today, however, things are back in full swing!  To start off, we have a winner in the “Win a Wacom” contest!  As you likely recall, the August theme was “Fun” and the winner would receive a Bamboo Fun courtesy of the good folks over at Wacom.  They have left the decision to yours truly, so, after bringing all the photos into Lightroom for review, I picked what I thought were the top five for a gallery to share here on the blog, and picked a winner from that set.  The winner is:

      Win a Wacom Giveaway Winner
      Win a Wacom Giveaway Winner

      As many will likely ask “Why”, here’s the rationale as to how this image stood out above the rest.  First off, the colors and leading lines of the slide were very creative, and showing a keen grasp of image composition, so these were all really good qualities.  Also, the laughing family coming down the slide definitely showed that they were having fun, which was the theme of the contest, so that was another point in the favor of the image.  Last, but not least, the image met all the other qualifying criteria from the announcement post and over on Flickr, including size specifications, time frame, and all that jazz.  Congrats go out to Michael Whalen (a.k.a. Whalenmdw on Flickr)!  For those of you interested in seeing his entry and more of his work, be sure to follow the link to his Flickr thread here.  Thanks to everyone for participating, and to Wacom for contributing the prize for the August Giveaway.  You can also see all the entries over on the Flickr thread here.  Finally, here’s the gallery of finalists.

      In other photo news, Kerry Garrison of Camera Dojo had me on his show last week.  We talked up the Canon 7D pretty good, so to hear that show be sure to stop over to his site and pick up his podcast.  (That show aired on Friday).  As for the missing podcast here at CB, trust me, one is coming out this week!  For the time being though, be sure to stop over to the Camera Dojo website, and grab that feed for your reading and podcast enjoyment!  Thanks to Kerry for having me on the show!

      That’s it for today folks.  More news and photo goodness tomorrow.  It’s good to be back, so keep on shooting (we have the September contest underway as we speak, with $500 in retail prizes from Topaz Labs and Thinktank Photo, so be sure to share your images here!).

      The Topaz Labs Plugins: Details

      Jason10 Comments

      Another exciting plugin from the folks over at Topaz is the Details plugin.  This smart little plugin is, well…not so little.  A simple click from the Filters Menu chugs at your processing speed for a good while as it scans, reads, and takes your image through several unique variations of detail adjustments.  With 12 variations in this single plugin, you can take your image from bland to beautiful in just five minutes or so (depending on computer specs)!

      Check this out.  I took a sunset picture from here in Colorado a few months ago, and ran it through the entire collection.  Here’s the original image:

      original_blog
      Original Sunset Straight out of Camera

      Sure, it’s an okay shot, but could it be better? I sure don’t remember it being that plain looking when I pressed the shutter, so let’s take a look at some of the options available in Topaz Labs Details Plugin:

      Topaz Details
      Topaz Details
      Tobaz Labs Details panel - Set 2
      Tobaz Labs Details panel - Set 2

      With twelve total options, I was stunned.  A slight difference between this plugin and the Adjustment plugin is that this one does appear to chug a little slower – each time it had to re-scan the entire image and the scratch disk filled up further, so by the end of the 3rd edit, I had given up on an action for PS.  Just find your favorite initially based off previews (they are pretty close) and run with that for your output.

      What I did like is that the sliders at the bottom were still adjustable for further image customization from the default “out of the box” adjustments that Topaz Labs gives you.  I also liked the number of options too.  In the Adjustment plugin the options were just a little too overwhelming for me – but 12 is just about enough.

      My last note though, would be that once you have the plugin loaded, it shouldn’t have to reload again with the same photo still open.  A quick scan of the exif data should be able to say “same image” and scan no further.  That would allow for actions, and quick galleries of the various options for viewing full size images of the various options rather than the smaller previews.

      What about the CB Crew?  What are your thoughts on this short review?  Have you used the Details plugin yet?  If so, thoughts on the usefulness?   Got a favorite details adjustment?  From here (I know it’s small), which ones hold the most appeal for you?  Oh yeah, the last thing – do you want this plugin free?  Then get your photo in the LDP contest today!

      Anyway, happy shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!  Don’t forget to enter the contest… here’s the link to the Flickr thread!

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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!