Category: tutorial

While Jason Moore is still in transit to his new locale, we’ve got another installment of his Weekly P&P to share between myself, Andrew, and Michael.  Be sure to stop by their blogs to get the rest of the P&P updates.  Here’s the stuff I saw from the last week that seems noteworthy:

• Lightroom Killer Tips – Matt K. – Always a plethora of information, Matt shares a little nugget about LR and the fact that v2 allows you to change resolution when editing
• Black and White Photography – David Beckerman – More infrared imagery to enjoy – particularly the bench infield.
• Jen Rinaldi – Baby’s got some blue eyes!
• Indograhams – Scotty Graham  – Check out his Tuesday post for an awesome underwater abstract!
• Jenny Arnez – I am a softie for photos of dogs, so check out the wet nose from her blog this week
• John Nack – from Adobe, but has great info and links on other sites too, so check it out – he’s got some cool links to HDR photography too!
• Laughing Lion Design – Great tutorial here on lighting effects (it’s just Super – man!)
• Michael Palmer’s just got an eye for imagery (Thursday’s theme is circles)
• This is the week of the worldwide Photowalk, organized by Scott Kelby and inspired by Jeff Revell, so make sure to check these guys out throughout the week.

Sorry it’s a little late in getting up, but make sure to stop over at Andy’s and Mike’s blogs for the rest of the P&P.  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for my weekly tutorial!

Well, it was bound to happen – a few wrinkles hit the fan and I got pulled into an entirely different direction.  So now at 10:45 pm, I still have not written the post for today.  Call me a slacker, call me lazy, or a procrastiner, or whatever you like, just make sure you include “employed” in the list!  That being said, I did not get to the content I wanted to get to today for the blog.  Rest assured though, I will be back again tomorrow with the promised black-and-white version of the panorama from Friday, as well as some more shots from the great state of Colorado (I’ve been out shooting!).

So, until tomorrow (which is now only about an hour away), happy shooting and watch those apertures!

Here’s another panorama shot I put together, as promised, and wit more of a crop toward the traditional framing where the width widely exceeds the height.

Windmill Panorama (Large)

Windmill Panorama (Xtra Large)

The windmills were a nice effect though I thought in the composition.  I did run out of time for the b/w version, but should have that up tomorrow (just too beat to keep going – I don’t know the Scott Kelby’s of the world do all they do..) For those interested in an audio podcast of how I put this together, feel free to download this weeks’ episode, now at #50!

Comments, feedback, and thoughts on the new format are very much appreciated!  Thanks for tuning in, happy shooting and we’l see you back here again tomorrow.

CB Episode #50

Sorry it’s not attached to the feed, but my Podpress seems to be broken in WordPress.  Will hopefully have it fixed next week….

While Jason M. is in the middle of his move, a couple of us volunteered to assist with the Weekly P&P. Make sure you visit Andy and Mike’s blogs for the other two portions. Here is what’s been going on in your favorite blogs for the past week:

• Lightroom Killer Tips – by Matt Kloskowski. Tune in to read up on the Volume Browser – something I didn’t even know about before, thanks Matt!
• Black and White Photography – by David Beckerman. David has taken an interest in Infrared photography lately, and he’s got some pretty cool results this week. My favorite is the 97^th & Park Avenue shot.
• Jen Rinaldi dives into the HDR scene with some pretty eye-popping results. Nice work Jen!
• Indograhams – by Scotty Graham. I must admit I’d not been to his blog before, and man was I missing out. Based out of Jakarta Indonesia, he has some pretty amazing landscapes to work with and his “Skywatch Friday” posts are a sight to behold!
• Invisible Green Photography – by Marcus John Taylor – Great blog – all visual from the get go, which is nice. If you want detailed info, Marcus shares this too. Check out his August 4^th post – you’ll be glad you did!
• Jason D. Moore – Okay, it seems kind of weird to be doing a post for Jason’s blog about Jason’s blog, but he had a really cool link this week for a site called FindYourArtSchool.com Gotta love the info Jason puts out on such a regular basis!
• Jenny Arnez shares some shots from a recent camping trip – looked like fun Jenny!
• With the blogosphere all abuzz about Lightroom 2.o, John Nack shares some insights about what may make the biggest difference. Aside from that, he reveals his age and b-day this week! Happy Birthday John, and man, do I feel old!
• Laughing Lion Design – Jennifer Farley. She’s discovered a neat typographic toy and produced some cool-looking results!
• Mike Palmer shares some family photos on his blog. The image of the tall daisies from Tuesday surrounding his kids is a pretty striking one.
• One Shot Beyond Photography – by Heather McCullah. Heather’s got a nice touch, and her recent shoot of a band produced some cool results. I could easily see any of these shots beyond the cover graphic for a CD. Good stuff there Heather!
• If you like grain and old school looks to photography, then you simply must visit Jim Larimer’s blog, as he has mastered the art of this technique. Also, Jim is in Colorado, so that’s yet another reason to like him as well as his work!
• Finally, in case you’ve been living in a cave, Scott Kelby is throwing a worldwide photowalk to announce his newest book on Lightroom 2.0 With leaders in various cities, it is sure to be one of those “where were you during the event of the year for 2008?” moments. Not only is our own Jason M. a leader, but the main person accredited with popularizing photowalks, Jeff Revell is leading two walks. Be sure to read Scott and Jeff’s blogs for all the latest scuttlebutt on this well-publicized event.

So, that’s it for my contribution to the Weekly Photography and Photoshop User’s Blogroll, on behalf of Jason D. Moore.  Thanks for tuning in, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.  Happy shooting and keep watching those apertures!

Wanna hear something neat?  Listen to Leo Laporte’s show #478, dated August 3rd, 2008.  It’s not in the show notes (which is why I couldn’t find it), but my call-in made it on the air.  Go to the 48 minute mark, and you’ll hear me asking about SEO for WordPress.  I was driving through St. Louis at the time, but nevertheless, it was kind of cool to hear the Q&A on The Tech Guy.  Thanks to Leo Laporte for pointing out to m e the space issue that web browsers can have.  As you all know, that has since been fixed, but the nod goes to Leo Laporte on his Tech Guy radio show, #478!

Also, a nod goes out today to Tim Solley, from Photowalking Colorado.  I looked at the images long and hard, and after careful consideration, decided that his shot was the all-around best image.  Thanks to everyone for contributing, and we have winners all-around.  Here’s the prize winners:

• 1st Place – Tim Solley, $25 Gift Card to B&H Photo
• 2nd Place – Brian Reyman, DVD of all CB Video Episodes to date (as of 8-8-08)
• 3rd Place – David Phillips, CD of all CB Articles to date (as of 8-8-08)
• Honorable Mention – Alvin

I’ll be in contact with each of you to schedule a date to feature your blog/flickr gallery/website here at CanonBlogger.  To claim your prizes, I’l also need each of you to please email me with your physical mailing address so I can get the awards out.  Congrats to all, but special congrats to Tim for his first place finish!

Okay, I’ve narrowed things down to the finalists for my first ever photo contest.  This was really hard because all had strong shots and the execution and composition of each was also equally impressive.  However, a decision has to be made, so here goes:

Finalist #1 – Tim Solley

Finalist #2 – Brian Reyman

Finalist #3 – Alvin

Finalist #4 – David Phillips

Tough choices, eh?  I should have a decision by the end of the week, as the rest of today will be spent unpacking the Pod (college kids bailed on me…*sigh)

Happy shooting, watch those apertures, and we’ll see you again here tomorrow!

The deadline for the photo contest is officially passed.  There were a total of 14 submissions total, so thanks to all that participated.  I’l spend the next day or two looking the photos over and decide on a winner, 2nd and 3rd place.  It will be a tough decision as there were several very cool shots.  If you’re interested in seeing all the photos submitted to the contest, stop over at the CanonBlogger photostream on Flickr here.

In other news, I know I had said an audio podcast would be available today, but it turns out there’s something called “Fair Use” and I am not sure the music intro and outtro are legal, so I have to postpone it for another day while I find some podsafe music to insert the place of the two snippets I had in there initially.  If anyone has suggestions for podsafe music that is available for download, feel free to let me know in the comments.

The Pod also got delivered today so I have spent the last 3 hours sweating off another few pounds (3 flights of stairs doesn’t ease that much…).  I should be back in the flow again tomorrow.  Until then, happy shooting and watch those apertures!

Well, the title post says it all – today is the last day to enter shots showing your version of “Freedom” in the first ever CB Photo Contest.  The winner will be awarded a $25 gift card to B&H Photo, with 2nd and 3rd places being awarded a DVD of all podcasts and a CD of all articles I’ve published to date.  Each award will also be accompanied by a day featuring the photographer and photo here on the blog.  So, get clicking and share them in the CanonBlogger Flickr Pool to get a chance at winning today.  Cut off time is midnight, Mountain Time U.S., August 4th.

I’ve also gotten hooked on the Weekly Podcast from Leo Laporte published on TWIT (This week in photography) TV.  As it turns out, Leo is good friends with Scott Bourne, who puts out a weekly podcast from TWIP (This week in Photography) that I’ve listened to regularly as well.  Photography folks certainly are a tight-knit group as I remembered on listening that Chris Marquardt is the weekly guest on TWIT for photography news and information.  Connection?  Chris is the host of Tips From the Top Floor, which I had been listening to for quite a while – long enough to name it one of the Best 7 Podcasts of 2007 here on my blog back in January.

I’d actually not been keeping up with TFtTF much lately (I guess it goes in waves for me), but I would like to take a moment to recommend each of these shows wholeheartedly.  This group is a great group of folks with such an amazing breadth and depth of knowledge, anyone could spend a few hours listening to these guys and come away with a much better understanding of photography and technology in general.  This outlet alone has enticed me to consider making a switch from video podcasts to audio podcasts.  (Tune in tomorrow for the first sample of an audio podcast!)  For the time being though, make sure you check these guys out on their respective websites:

• TWIT – The Tech Guy – Leo Laporte
• This Week in Photography – Scott Bourne
• Tips From the Top Floor – Chris Marquardt

Do stop in and give these guys a listen – if you like them, subscribe.  Also, don’t forget to tell them thanks – they all do this stuff for free, to help us all.  Thanks definitely come from me here at CB.  Anyway, that’s it for today.  Until tomorrow, Happy Shooting and Watch those Apertures!

Wow, quite a bit happened in the last week while I’ve been out of the proverbial internet loop.  Adobe released Lightroom 2.0, a worldwide Walkabout was announced by Scott Kelby over at NAPP (with prizes too!), and CanonBlogger had several entries appear in my first ever photo contest, titled “Photo Freedom”.

Okay, so that last one was a shameless self-plug, but it is a free contest to participate in.  I should also state here for the record on the contest, that the photographer retains all copyrights to their images.  This is just for fun, and to hopefully generate some more interest in the blog, so just to let everyone know, no alterior motives here at all. It’s almost over too, so don’t wait until it’s too late, submit your photos to the CB Flickr pool today to be eligible to win!

In other photo news, I’ve got pictures!  I tried my hand at a few panos (using a vertical position with my camera) while trekking across the country.  I tried the Photomerge in CS2 (on the laptop) but it did not come out very well at all.  So, I need to wait for the main desktop to get unpacked and running to push my shots through CS3.  Hopefully, we will be able to find a desk (and other assorted furniture) locally so I can get a semi-permanent setup back in place to get some quality blogging out to the readership.

Since I don’t have any shots to share today (still mobile on the laptop sitting in a coffee shop applying for jobs), here’s a few quick picks from the grab bag of my completed magazine binder:

• When shooting on a beach, cut an X into three tennis balls and stick them on the end of your tripod – it adds stability and prevents the legs from sinking into the wet sand.
• Stay organized by using gaffers tape to attach rear lens caps together.  As you loosen one, the other tightens, making for quicker and easier lens swaps when speed is of the essence (and makes for better organization of your lens cap collection).
• Keep an extra bit of gaffer tape handy by just rolling a foot or two around one of the legs on your tripod – that way if you forget the tape, there’s some available right there!

That’s it for Friday – hopefully I will return in full force on Monday, so enjoy the weekend.  Stay cool, happy shooting and watch those apertures!

Well, with the geographic relocation finished, we are now waiting on the arrival of our furniture (next week Tuesday) and the installation of the internet (Saturday) to return things to normal.  As to the missing post from yesterday, I am not sure why the queued ones did not publish past Monday.  I remember writing them, but did not see them in the WordPress interface once I logged in.  In any case, my apologies for the extended absence.

During the interim, I am able to get intermittent access through an open wireless connection emanating from a city access point apparently positioned some distance from our condo unit.  Since it’s so intermittent, I will likely hold off on posting for the remainder of the week and resume things as regularly as possible come next week Monday.  I do get email though through my cell phone and the sporadic logins from the AP, so feel freee to keep sending the awesome messages (thanks to Jen, Chris, Andy, Jason, Mike, Stephen, Scott, Tracy, and all the rest that have been keeping in touch during this transition.

In the meantime, I will share a little tidbit that others may or may not know about:  This Week in Technology with Leo Laporte is an excellent broadcast talk show, put out on various radio stations, on XM Radio, and available through podcast on a week delay basis.  I downloaded about 10 shows and listened to them back to back during my drive across the country.  I enjoyed them so much that the time literally flew by.  I even called in on Sunday and made it on the air!  I am the Jason that called in to ask a question about SEO on WordPress.  Give it a listen if you have an interest and some spare time (it’s a two hour long podcast).  I’ll get a link up to that probably next week, but if memory serves, it’s something like www.techguylabs.com for their main page.

Until next week then, happy shooting and watch those apertures!

(I’ll have a few neat pano shots to share once I get a steady connection again where I can upload high res images, so stay tuned for that…)