Category: photography

Lightroom 3 is here – Now What?

Jason2 Comments

With all the hubbub of the release of Lightroom 3 and all the resources that cropped up online in mere minutes of the announcement, we often find ourselves asking more questions once the excitement and energy that surrounds a product release has drained.

I took these questions with me to a conversation with Senior Product Manager Tom Hogarty last week, and got a lot of insights and answers, with both a technical perspective and that of long-term development.  I give you this week’s podcast: Continue reading “Lightroom 3 is here – Now What?” →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Let's Make a Deal, or Not

Jason9 Comments

While reading through the foot high stack of magazines in an attempt to whittle it down, I found myself re-reading a Photoshop User magazine from a few months back.  I often re-read magazines and find hidden “nuggets” (as I call ’em).  These are fodder for blog posts right here, and last night, I came across an oldie but a goodie.  It was the April/May issue of this year so not too long ago.  Ed Greenburg and Jack Reznicki were talking about this idea that companies will often lowball or no-ball a photographer in an effort to get their pictures.

Continue reading “Let's Make a Deal, or Not” →

Free advertising from me today…

Jason3 Comments

Being in Colorado, I am always one of the first to read the latest blogs for the day because East Coasters usually set their publish time to somewhere between midnight and 2am, which means between 10pm and midnight my time, I can catch up on all the news that is going to hit in the morning.  (California folks got me beat by an hour…)

So, when Scott Kelby’s blog went live a while ago, he was encouraging people to join the Kelby Training website with a video teaser compiled by his chief video guru, Jason Scrivner.  It’s a pretty funny video teaser, but did pique my interest enough to stop over and see how much time was involved in the new video.

Continue reading “Free advertising from me today…” →

A simple question is never simple…

Jason3 Comments

I am putting together a DIY project that requires a tool which is rather pricey (roughly $50).  So in the interests of keeping costs down, I’ve been contacting local glass cutting shops (although that might be telling too much) to see if they have the tool needed for the job.  Specifically, the shop needs to have a 3  and1/8″ diamond tipped hole saw for this project.  The first words out of my mouth are always:

“Hi, my name is Jason and I am trying to find a local shop that can cut a piece of glass for me, but it must be done with a 3 and 1/8″ diamond tipped hole saw bit.  Do you have that specific size?”

Continue reading “A simple question is never simple…” →

Cultures Colliding – a Podcast with Martin Bailey!

Jason3 Comments

On this week’s show, we’ve got a lot to talk about including a couple of particular news stories to note, with a little insight from the crew, we’ll be taking your questions and answers on the show and the special guest of the week for this show is none other than the well-reknowned Martin Bailey!

Photo News

  1. 3rd Annual Worldwide Photo Walk has been announced by Scott Kelby, and details are here.
  2. Lightroom 3 was announced last week Monday – and is available to purchase and download…you can also download a 30 day trial for free from Adobe here (or buy via the sponsored link in the sidebar!)
  3. New Plugins available for LR – Pro Show Gold, a popular slideshow and movie creation software set.  Info here

Martin Bailey

  1. Photography and Culture in Japan: Laws or hassles shooting in public?
  2. Workshops and your development in photography
    • Workshops
    • Development/Inspiration
  3. X-Rite Colorati
  4. Martin on the web

Links: http://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/
Blog: http://blog.martinbaileyphotography.com/
Podcast: http://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/podcasts.php
Workshops: http://www.mbpworkshops.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MartinBailey
Folio: Martin Baily Photography

Q&A

  • Professional Critique
  • Cost of Printing
  • Starting Camera Suggestions

Martin was also kind enough to share a sample selection of his portfolio with us here on the show.  These are the low res versions, to see things super nice, head on over to his folio link provided above.  In the meantime, enjoy the photos, the show, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for the latest in photography reviews!

Snow Monkeys

Bathing Snow Monkeys

Snowy Hands

Distant Dance

Scene from Hokkaido

Soft Arched Wings

Honking Dance

Kussharo Lake Swans

Eagle Eye

Sunset Flight of the Cranes

Stag in Element

[display_podcast]

The 700 Club

Jason1 Comment

This post makes it officially 700 thoughts and musings on the blog.  At an average of 250 posts per year (since I don’t normally post on weekends and occasional “no blog” days), that means we are closing in on the end of three full years of blogging!

To the readers who have been there with me since the beginning, I’d like to say thanks for all your patience as I’ve walked through several fires of growing pains.  I’ve come to the realization that the more you write, the greater the chance you have to sound like either a fool, or a pure and simple $%^&.   Hopefully I’ve minimized both of these occurrences enough to warrant another 700 posts!

There’s a couple things coming up on the horizon that are quite exciting, and a few fire irons already nice and hot (see contest #1 and contest #2 going on right now)!  The biggest change is coming at the end of the month when CB gets a pretty serious face lift.  Other upcoming things of interest include  a podcast with none other than Martin Bailey on Monday, the 3rd Annual World Wide Photowalk in July, and the 2nd release of the 49 Photo Tips download!  (The first is still available here…)  All this is accompanied by the regular news, reviews, and photography experiences/insights that I share with you here daily.  So, you’d think that with all that, there’s be nothing else of a “big news” item to announce at this time.  After all, it’s just Friday, right?

Well, not to disappoint, but there is some news to share with you today on post #700!  This is not only news, it’s pretty big news!  In fact, it’s not just pretty big news – it’s super huge!  Are you sitting down?  Are you ready for this? (Cue “Jock Jams“…for those of you that did not experience the early 90’s, the link may be a #lame one…)

Actually, I’d better not just quite yet.  But, I can let you know that Anaheim, Salt Lake City, Denver, Minneapolis, Seattle and Portland all have something in common (they make a nice circle…don’t ya think? 🙂 )…

More tk…happy friday and have a great weekend all!  Get out and shoot ya some! 🙂

Lightroom 3 FAQ

Jason3 Comments

With the release of Lightroom 3 the other day from the folks over at Adobe – I’ve had an influx of several repeating questions.  While I’ve replied to (hopefully) everybody, it’s useful to note those questions and the responses here as well for my first ever:

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Frequently Asked Questions

1.  I tried the tethered capture, but Lightroom does not appear to let me adjust shutter speed, aperture or ISO with my (fill in your camera body type).  Is this model not supported?

Answer:  The tethered capture is only intended as a capture function.  The display shows you the shutter, aperture and ISO, but you cannot make those adjustments on the computer – that must be done at camera.

2.  Will Lightroom 3 upgrade both my catalogs from LR2 and the beta?

Answer: My understanding is that Lightroom 3 will automatically upgrade your LR2 catalog for you.  Once that operation is done, you can then import the catalog from the beta edition to your new catalog in LR3 to bring everything in together.

3.  What if I don’t want Lightroom 3 to upgrade my catalog?  Can I stop it from doing that?

Yes, on first launch you will be prompted to either upgrade your LR2 catalog or to start a new one.

4.  Should I get Lightroom 3 or Cs5 – I can’t afford both.

Answer:  If you are just diving in now, I would recommend starting with Lightroom 3.  It has so many features and the strength and robustness of it really has diminished the need for round trips to Photoshop when you are talking about photography.  Of course if you have serious restoration work, clone work, or need to use features like layers, then Photoshop is a requirement, but I would classify people in this group as graphic artists, not photographers.  If you’re upgrading, both do not have to be done simultaneously.  Go with one (Lightroom) and the other a few months down the road (Cs5).  Or, use the sidebar here to get 30% off the combo pack!

5.  Will there be any contests here on your Flickr Monthly Giveaway Series so I can participate for a copy of Lightroom 3?

No comment! 🙂  In all seriousness, I’d love to, but cannot speak for Adobe – we’ll see what happens in the coming weeks.  Don’t be expecting it, but don’t write it off either! 🙂

Got any of your own questions about Lightroom 3 not covered above?  Feel free to sound off in the comments! Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Lightroom 3 Q&A (Beta)

Jason29 Comments

What a great day to release a new podcast – with the final release of LR coming out very soon, I had the distinct opportunity to talk with Rob Sylvan, author of LR2 for Dummies, and the forthcoming Taking Stock.  We talked a lot about Lightroom, working at NAPP, and took a few listener questions and answers.  More photo news, additional Q&A, and a new feed for the podcast start today, so be sure to download the latest show.  You’ll notice I have pulled the feed back to this site, and the format is more iTunes compatible (m4a) so you can now see pics and chapter segments. Continue reading “Lightroom 3 Q&A (Beta)” →

Nothing But the Tail Lights

Jason4 Comments

In the course of pursuing creative inspiration, I’ve often found that just picking a subject and sticking with it can be a good exercise in creativity.  Taking something and focusing (no pun intended) on that subject and only that subject can help you see things differently.  The exercise is good whether your subject is flowers, thumb drives, coffee mugs (which I’ve done in the past), or in this case – tail lights!

[cincopa 10624678]

As you can tell, some of the shots are pretty cool, others – well, not so much.  Some are out of focus, some are boring, but a few just pop and stand out.  Also note that I’ve not done any post processing of these.  I just imported into Lightroom 3, re-sized for export uniformity, and boom! – done.  While I grant you it’s not always showcasing the “best of the best” of your work, it’s is important though not to eliminate shots from the project, at least initially…because these “throwaways” can help you identify what works and what doesn’t work.  What makes certain shots stand out and why?  These are all things to look at when doing little mini projects like this.  So, pick a subject and fire away!  Feel free to share your own thoughts on what works and what doesn’t in the comments, and hopefully this will help kick-start some other projects!  Happy shooting all and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

May We Salute You

Jason1 Comment

The May pool of photos that everyone contributed to was quite stunning – the listening and reading audience is quite a talented group and some of the images on here were really incredible.  Full of vibrance, vision, color and passion – it was really hard to narrow things down – but I give you here just a few from the wonderful month of May.  There really is no better way to say it than: Continue reading “May We Salute You” →