Category: news

Putting it all together…

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A number of things have been in the hopper for a while now, and yesterday it all came to a boil with:

  • Attending a Captured By The Light Seminar with David Ziser
  • Launching a Drobo Giveaway Sweepstakes with Data Robotics
  • Publishing the Photokina Podcast

First up, the podcast…

I had another great chat with Kerry Garrison about a week ago about when and why to upgrade your camera body.  With the 60D now in the market, and Photokina just starting yesterday, there’s going to be lots of opportunities to buy.  When looking at all the options of whether new features are worth the upgrade.  Check it out!  The show notes are more detailed, so will likely go out tomorrow separately, but wanted to let people catch it today because of a special sponsor…

Drobo 3-Day Sweepstakes Giveaway

For some time now I have been working on getting some preferred vendors in line for the monthly podcast series and the regular contest over on Flickr.  One of those sponsors I have been working with is Data Robotics.  I received word yesterday that some advertising dollars were still available for 3rd quarter, and if I could act fast, we could run a giveaway for Canon Blogger readers and podcast listeners.

So, the blog post for the podcast got bumped so I could add an intro there about the giveaway, (you can get all the details about the 3-Day Giveaway here.

David Ziser Denver Seminar

The other news item of note was the David Ziser seminar I attended on Monday.  This is his 2010 tour, titled Captured By The Light, and I had an opportunity to assist as a volunteer for the show…taking registrations, assisting with product sales, and setup/breakdown.  The seminar was probably one of the best I have attended (and I’ve taken in a few…).

The sheer quantity of material was amazing…and with the added door prizes, I can totally see the value behind this event.  He had over $6000 in door prizes!  In addition to the swag that was given to every attendee, including free months of memberships for things like Kelby Training,  a free 1 year membership to WPPI, 20% off discounts for things like the Spyder3Pro, Animoto discounts, 4-month subscription to Professional Photographer.

It was just a great time.  It was an honor to participate, and I would like to take a moment here on the blog to thank David and his staff for their down-to-earth and welcoming approach.  For more information on the Captured By The Light Tour and to see if he’s coming to a city near you, check out the details here:  www.capturedbythelight2010.com And if you’re not a reader of his blog, make sure you check that out too – probably one of the best resources I have in my daily feeds…you can pick that up here: Digital Pro Talk

That’s it for the double-post Tuesday – not the norm, but definitely timely enough and worthy of the additional nugget.  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Hardware Review: Think Tank Airport International V2.0

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Many Bags!

We all have camera bags.  Whether you use a Point-and-Shoot, an SLR, or any other type of camera, you are putting it somewhere eventually that could be defined as a bag.  These bags are made in such a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and straps, it’s really amazing sometimes how many options there are for the photographer today.  But like it or not, if you have a camera – you are gonna need a bag! Continue reading “Hardware Review: Think Tank Airport International V2.0” →

3 Years down! What’s Next?

Jason4 Comments

In the blogging community, a year is a significant milestone, as most bloggers don’t make it to this point.  Interests wax and wane, jobs and passions change, and audiences swell and sag as the community of readers often will gravitate toward new topics and content.  The idea behind retention of readership is to change with the times.  Here at CB/LDP, that has not been a problem. From the beginning, this blog has always been about sharing my experiences in photography with the larger community.  So, as new technologies develop, and I learn about them, the writing reflects changes and advances in my knowledge base. Continue reading “3 Years down! What’s Next?” →

The Newsletter is Back!

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After a hiatus on the newsletter, I thought it might be a fun experiment to bring this back (enough of you have also sent me email asking if it would be coming back ever so thank you for your support)!  However, rather than just putting it out there, I have decided to make this a bonus feature for the email subscription group.  So, if you’d like to receive the newsletter, please let me know by signing up for the free delivery monthly!  Here’s what I hope to include in each newsletter: Continue reading “The Newsletter is Back!” →

The problem with words…

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Recently, I learned that the Isle of Palms (IOP) in South Carolina has made it illegal for photographers to take commercial photography onto the public beaches.  The specific phraseology of a recently posted page for IOP states that:

“Commercial activity, including photograpy, is prohibited on the Isle of Palms beach.  Unless a special exemption is granted by City Council, photographers who take portraits or photographs on the Isle of Palms beach as part of a commercial transaction are in violation of City ordinances.”

For now I will ignore the part where they mis-spelled photography as ‘photograpy’ (because it’s probably just a typo).  Instead I would like to take a moment to discuss the larger implication of making photography illegal.  It is noted further down that commercial photographers can “obtain an exemption” but this is far different from the traditional practice of “requiring a permit”.  This is basically making photography illegal.  You can be granted an exemption from legal enforcement if you request it from City Council, but that is entirely different than requiring a professional photographer to pay for a permit at City Hall.

IOP Laws on Commercial Photography

View the full page here

Keep in mind that coastal beaches are publicly owned and maintained by the state, and thus public access is required.  While restricting the nature of access is fine, the verbiage here presents serious problems and implications for photographers.  So, the burning questions in my mind are:

  • Can IOP do this?
  • Is this an acceptable practice?
  • Does the ASMP know about this?  If so, why aren’t they taking appropriate actions?

Why has no one come forward to challenge the legality of this law, because on prima facia grounds, it seems to run in direction contradiction with traditional practices toward permitting and banning of commercial activities.  Typically, commercial activity requires simply paying a fee at the local municipality, obtaining the permit to continue, and then continuing.  That is not the case here – they are requiring an exemption to be granted by the entire City Council!  Lastly, I also cannot help but wonder where organizations like the ASMP haven’t gotten involved or taken exception to this.

I understand what SC is trying to do, and don’t necessarily have a problem with the intent – what does appear to be problematic though…are the words.  Worded correctly, there would be absolutely no issue with this, but as it currently stands, there is a definite problem with the words!  What do you think?  Vote in the poll or sound off in the comments…

[poll id=”11“]

Lightroom 3 Contest Winner!

Jason4 Comments

After much deliberation over the fantastic compilation of images for the July contest, I’ve finally had to just make probably one of the toughest judging decisions I’ve had to make thus far in the history of the contest series.  However, in light of the theme of the contest (Slick), and the creativity that went into the image itself, I have to give the nod to Stephen Ludgate for his submission: Continue reading “Lightroom 3 Contest Winner!” →

Blogging for Photographers

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With the huge expanding nature of blogging and sharing your photography through an online blog, there’s been a lot of photo-blog projects started, and while many are quite good (and also inspirational), others have been started and it’s pretty obvious from the start that while the photos may be decent – the blogging platform has left a little to be desired. Continue reading “Blogging for Photographers” →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

49 Photo Tips – The Sequel

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About eight months ago, I cobbled together a laundry list of almost 50 photo tips and tricks to help with everything from gear to composition, photoshop, and more.  Given the penchant for sharing these things online, I decided to launch it as an eBook – but in the interests of keeping it simple, didn’t add much of anything.  It was basically a spreadsheet with a category on the left and the tip or trick on the right.  Given the minimal overhead I had put into the design, decided on a bargain basement price – $1.99.  Half a cup of coffee, and easily digestible!

After a few months of feedback and suggestions, it seemed the idea was pretty good, but people wanted examples, or at least something to liven things up a bit – the “spreadsheet style” was a little tedious on the eyes.  So began the latest project for me (as if I don’t have enough projects, according to Tracy)!  Well, after 6 months of blood, sweat and tears, it’s finally here – 49 Tips, The Sequel!

49 Photo Tips - The SequelAll the tips are new, just as useful, and even more in-depth, but here’s the best part – it’s really an eBook now!  With a cover page, a prologue, epilogue and, as you can see, there’s a photo for every tip! Okay, so some are screen captures so technically not photos, but each one gets the point across quite well (I think anyway).  A few of these tips have been shared out via Twitter and Facebook in recent weeks to give everyone a sneak peek of sorts, but it’s “out there” now, and very excited to see what people think.

So, let me know what you think of the new style and layout!  It’s only $4.99 , which is less than a grande white mocha at Starbucks (at least that’s what I’ve heard…b/c I don’t drink Starbucks…right?)!  And for the time being (through the end of July, anyway), there’s an additional discount code for $1 off if you use it in your shopping cart:  “Sequel“

Since it was 6 months between Part One and The Sequel, my guess is it will be another 6 months before I come up with a third installment, so feedback, thoughts and input are always welcome!  There’s a link in the feature product are on the blog, or you can go to the full store here to see all three product downloads! 🙂

Apparently the WordPress eCommerce does not work as advertised as several people have gone through the process and not received their digital download email.  So, to hopefully make things easier for everyone, I’ve signed up with a company friends have used called eJunkie, and after a little configuration and setup, it’s available for purchase through their system (still using Paypal).  My apologies for the hassles initially, here’s the new download location:

49 Photo Tips - The Sequel

Add to Cart

Enjoy, and we’ll see you back here again next week!