Category: news

The Rest of the Story…

Jason1 Comment

Last Monday, you learned of my trip to White Pocket, AZ.  I met up with fellow photographer/blogger Rich Charpentier of “The Airstream Chronicles”.  As we left off last week, he had met me at the Page, AZ airport, and we were heading off into the Arizona desert.  The ride was smooth at first, but as soon as we started the off-roading, things got a little bumpy.  True to form though, his Nissan Titan handled it with aplomb.  Check out this short video footage of the off-roading adventure, with Rich driving and me recording:

You’ve also already seen some of the shots from the trip, but here’s a few more to satisfy the image-intensive crowd!

White Pocket, AZ

White Pocket, AZ

White Pocket, AZ

White Pocket, AZ

Have a great Monday and we’ll see you back here tomorrow when I announce the winner of the March Contest and the theme/prize for April…it’s another good one so be sure to tune in for that!  Happy shooting and we’ll see you then!

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White Pocket, AZ

Jason5 Comments

Many of you have written in, asking when I am going to post some of the photos taken from the Arizona trip over last weekend.  Wait no longer, for here are some from the trip!  Several of these are potential “portfolio” shots…still debating which ones to include and which ones to leave off.  I’ve posted them to Flickr and to NAPP with some pretty positive feedback thus far, but here’s your chance to sound off on which ones to include in the newest updates.  Let me know what you think:

#1

White Pocket, AZ

#2

#3

S Curve

#4

The Road Less Traveled

#5

Lone Tree Hill

#6

Many Lines

#7

Window to the World

#8

Colors and Lines

#9

Other Worldly

So, which are your favorites?  All, any, none?  Sound off in the comments!  Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!  Happy shooting!

The Journey Began…

Jason3 Comments

“The Journey” began with a double-stop plane ride on a double prop plane.  From Denver to Farmington, then Farmington to Page.  Each ride was about an hour, but in this cramped sardine can of a ride, there’s never a dull moment!  The pilots did their level best to keep the plane not only aloft, but sailing sans bumps.  Given the snow in Denver on Friday, the outbound trip was no picnic.  Thankfully motion-sickness is not normally a factor, but alas, no in-flight naps were possible for all but the soundest of sleepers!

Twin Props to White Pocket

After the trip, the question was now whether the unknown stranger would reveal himself.  Of course, having talked to the guy for over a year via email exchanges, shared podcasts and blog posts, it was a pretty safe bet this guy wouldn’t hack my head off with an ice ax or anything.  Still…with a trail name of “gadgetat” when he hiked the  Appalachian Trail for over 4 months straight – you never know what you’ll run into.  This guy has already indicated he beats to his own drum.  A former engineer with AT&T, HAM radio operator, and New Hampshire resident found enough internal strength of will to head out and travel the land in an airstream – not a lot of space to live in, but enough for him!

Rich Charpentier of "The Airstream Chronicles"

Not only did he reveal himself, but the easy-going nature and willingness to really engage in conversation and talk similar interests was evident.  So off we rode into the desert…with the rocks, the cacti, and the sand.  Oh yeah, and the heat – because it is a desert, so it’s warmer there than anywhere right?  Don’t forget the heat…

Desert Heat

We traveled in his Titan, not the Airstream (thank God!) – and this was a monster of a truck!  It flew down the paved roads with ease.  The size and strength was enough to reassure me that this could probably handle most off-roading adventures.  Of course, having never off-roaded much myself, the durability remained to be seen…

Rich's Titan

More tk…

Sun wind and Frost

Jason3 Comments

White Pocket

A short excursion over the weekend took me down to see Rich Charpentier of “The Airstream Chronicles“.  For those of you that follow the blog, you’ll know that Rich has been on the podcast before and we’ve been sharing war stories for a little over a year now about photography.  Well, this last weekend, we got a chance to shoot one of his favorite little haunts, the not-so-well-known “White Pocket” in the dunes.  It was quite the trip…from a windy trip down in a twin propeller plane, to some nice afternoon sun while there on the afternoon Saturday, to frost at night inside our tent!  Yeah, it got pretty cold!  So much so we ditched the tent and went for the warmth of his trusty Titan before shooting some sunrise shots of the morning colors.  Quite a spectacular trip, and while only there for 12 hours of shoot time, I managed to burn off 8 gigs of photos!  I can’t even imagine what a 3 day trip would result in (lots of post process time is my guess).

More to come with the full back story and more photos that are worked up from the trip, but for now, it’s good to be back in a bed with controlled heat and coffee!  Thanks to Rich for the invitation, and be sure to visit his blog for more of the sordid details this coming week over at The Airstream Chronicles!

In other news – the podcast and blog now has an 800 number!  That’s right, you can call in your questions and get them answered right here on the blog, or listen to answers on the podcast.  To call in and have your questions responded to directly from me give it a whirl:  866-809-8663  If you are outside the U.S., I’d recommend Skype for calls as 800 number calls are free from anywhere!  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow, when I’ll for sure have some more details and photos from the trip to White Pocket!

Where do you listen?

Jason4 Comments

For those that have been reading the blog for a while, you should know that I run a companion podcast.  It’s a lot of fun to produce, and I am looking forward to putting out a new show very soon (hint, early next week).  However, while I am out of town for a few days on a special photo shoot, I thought this would be a good time to get some idea of where people are listening most.  So, if you could, take a moment to let me know how you enjoy the show:

ETA:  Sorry all, the polling service starting spamming the blog with some pretty unrelated questions so it’s been deleted.  I was looking to see how many people listened via iTunes, via PLM, or direct download…thanks! 🙂

For those that do not listen to the show,  there are a few questions I would like to ask you too.  First off, why don’t you?  🙂  Seriously though – I realize that not everyone has the time to listen to podcasts, or the resources to afford things like iPods, Touches, and iPhones, and all that stuff.  So, for the non-listening audience (just blog readers), I am trying to come up with ideas for you too.  So, here’s a chance to tell me what you want! Sound off in the comments with your ideas too – things always change and it’s the reader and listener interest that keeps me in touch, so let me know what other types of material you would like to see!  Is it more contests?  More interviews?  Worksheets and practical exercises?  Workshops and seminars?  All are options (and anything else you have in mind).  I’ll check back in on Monday to see what everyone has to say.  Happy shooting and have a great weekend!

Saving Money is Always Good

Jason1 Comment

In photography it’s pretty much accepted that you get what you pay for.  If you want super fast glass with pristine optics, then expect to pay for it.  Alternatively, if you’re on a budget, don’t expect apertures in the 2.8 range do bring the sharpest images.  You can also kiss things like Image Stabilization goodbye (Vibration Reduction for the Nikonian crowd).  So, yeah, we all know that photography is a field where you have to spend money.

But, this does not mean you have to spend money unnecessarily.  When there are savings out there to be had, I am all for taking advantage of such opportunities.  Many savings can come from DIY projects.  Here on the blog I’ve done a few DIY projects, not only to save money, but also to experiment.  This kind of experimentation and money saving is almost always a source of creative inspiration, and usually some decent images come out of them!

Then, there are other more obvious ways to save money.  Here I am talking about coupons and rebates.  Most vendors will offer savings periodically in the form of instant rebates, two-fers (buy one get one half off) and other gimmicks to try and get consumers to let go of a little money.  Here is where you can actually get some really good deals if you plan accordingly.  If you know that you will be upgrading your camera body every 18-24 months – then buy during rebate cycles.  The same goes for lenses, accessories, and computer equipment – although with the computer items, there are sales and rebates going on pretty much all the time, so it’s to a lesser extent there.

So, if you are planning on upgrading any photo gear in the near future – take advantage of the Canon rebates.  They are going on now and you can save a few bucks (nothing stellar, $25 on flashes, $100 on the 7D, and some savings on the 5D Mark II) on your purchases.  You might want to move soon because the deals end in early April (the 3rd I think).  After all, saving money is always a good thing!

  • Need the links for the rebates?  Go here to get all the details.
  • Got your own money savings ideas?  Share them in the comments!
  • Or tell me on Twitter!
  • Finally, today is the final day for the March Giveaway so be sure you get your images in before midnight!

Have a great weekend all, happy shooting, and we’ll see you back here on Monday!

Lightroom 3 Beta 2

Jason3 Comments

As teased a few hours ago (Mon night – see previous post), Adobe has released a second beta of the forthcoming Lightroom 3.  Since there’s not much out there on it, I figured I’d give it a whirl to share a couple screenshots of what you can expect to see. Here’s the Beta 2, installed on the Mac: Continue reading “Lightroom 3 Beta 2” →

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More pano testing…

Jason5 Comments

As I continue with various software programs to test pano quality, I tried another application today, and the results were actually pretty good considering.  I used the native PhotoMerge function from my Photoshop Cs3 Extended, and I must say that as far as panos go, the results are nice.  The native functionality adds a shorter workflow for when you need to clean up minor details (since you are already in PS), and no worrying about control points.  The downside is that you are going to lose a little more in post production cropping simply because Photoshop can’t match all the control points that dedicated panorama programs can.  Nevertheless, it was a fun exercise.

For those of you that read my previous post that had panoramas in it (“The Moment it…Oops”) you’ll notice this is a different picture, and in all fairness, I should note that this had more images in it, and I was using a different lens during capture.  But, when I get down to the nitty gritty and review all the programs side by side, it will be the same image.  This one was from our recent Denver Photo Walk group outing to RMNP that I had talked about last Friday here on the blog.  Thoughts, comments, feedback and critiques are always welcome, and since the blog doesn’t really work well with displaying panoramas, if you click the photo below, you’ll be taken to a full (web size anyway) image where you can see all the details!  Enjoy! 🙂

RMNP Panorama

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

The Canons Keep Coming!

Jason5 Comments

Last week we had the pleasure of visiting with Nicolesy on the show, and this week another Canonite graces us with his presence.  It’s none other than Rick Sammon! We had a great conversation that touched on quite a few things including learning and teaching strategies for seminars and workshops, different stages of learning, and even broached underwater photography.  I also got the scoop on his latest developments including his iPhone app, a new book that is forthcoming, and much more!  All that on Episode #42 of LDP!  Here’s the notes!

Learning Digital Photography – Episode #42:  Seminars and Workshops

  1. News
  2. Conversation with Rick Sammon
    • Seminars and workshops
    • Learning styles
    • iPhone App
    • New Book
  3. Listener Questions and Answers
    • Go long or go shallow?
    • Best zoom lens under $1000
  4. Rick’s Contact Info

Be sure to either grab the podcast from the host feed over at PLM or over on iTunes.  Remember to share your thoughts and feedback at either place or here on the blog…your feedback and thoughts are what keeps the content coming through the pipes!  In the meantime, keep on shooting and don’t forget to tune back in tomorrow for my wrap-up of the weekend sunrise photo shoot!  Happy shooting all!