Love is All You Need

As most of you know, we took December and January off for the holidays.  This hopefully gave everyone time to recharge, enjoy a little down time and just relax with family and friends for December and January.  Well, it’s February and we are back in full force with the first contest of 2011.  The sponsor for this month are the folks over at Nations Photo Lab.  They really have ramped things up a notch for the new year, because this not only marks the first contest of the new year, it’s also the first contest where we will have not one but two winners!

That’s right, two people will be announced the winners for the February contest and giveaway!  Each winner will receive a generous donation from Nations Photo Lab – a gift certificate worth $150 of free printing!  That’s right, $150 of free printing from Nations Photo Lab! This prize is available to anyone, regardless of whether you are a current NPL  customer or not.  The theme for February, as chosen by our always talented Sue from the Flickr group (due to her win during the non-award winning off month submission) is the applicable theme of Love!

A couple new wrinkles that are being thrown in this time for such a huge contest…first off, all previous winners are usually ineligible for consideration in the month immediately following their winning entry – we are starting with a new year, so it’s also a clean slate, so everyone is eligible!!!

The second wrinkle (and probably the most exciting), is that for February only – every entrant will receive a $50 gift card to Nations Photo Lab – just for participating! That’s right, all you have to do is submit a qualifying entry in the Flickr contest thread for February to win a $50 gift card for printing on any product of your choice at Nations Photo Lab! *   So, all that’s left to say are the criteria to qualify.  It’s super easy:

  • Make sure your image is theme-appropriate (and family friendly/work safe).
  • Make sure I am able to download your image from Flickr.  (See the explanation for how to make sure I can download it here.)
  • Each image considered must be in the contest thread.
  • Each person is entitled to submit one image for eligibility.  Multiple entries will not be considered.
  • Each image must conform to the standard guidelines in terms of dimensions (longest side must be no longer than 800 pixels or shorter than 600 pixels).
  • All images must be taken after January 1st, 2011!
  • Entrants retain full copyright and ownership of images, but allow me to display the image here on the website to display when winners are announced, and in the monthly newsletter.
  • Entries must be submitted no later than 11:59pm on Sunday, February 27th, 2011.
  • Last but not least, have fun with the images you capture!

Questions about the submission process should be addressed in either the Contest Overview Page or the Rules of Engagement Page.

Last but not least, you may be interested in how to get to, sign into and participate in the Flickr Contest thread!

Good luck to everyone and remember to have fun!

*ETA:  In the interests of full disclosure, the $50 certificate is for new customers, so if you are already an NPL customer, feel free to enter your images as well, but the goal here is to not only encourage people to take pictures, but to print them, and to consider Nations Photo Lab as your lab of choice.  I use NPL almost exclusively (except in rare cases where they don’t have what I need, like printing on aluminum) and highly recommend them.  Here is your chance to sign up for an account for free and get up to $50 worth of printing just for participating in the contest.

The Winner Is…

Ladies and gents, we have a winner!

From the comment contest last week, the winner it none other than Richard Hales – a.k.a. #4 from the Random Number Generator:

Easy Release Winner

Congrats to Richard, and thanks to the folks from Easy Release for their contribution – if you could get in touch with me via email Richard, I’ll connect you both to arrange distribution of the license or discount code for iTunes.  Thanks to all for their participation!

Did you miss the comment contest?

On Wednesday I put out a review on some very cool software that is available for both Apple and Android devices – Easy Release, which lets you take digital model and property releases out with you in the field and people can sign the release right on your mobile device, using only their finger!  You can also email the release to yourself and the model as PDF files too!  It’s pretty slick, and while you have likely read the review, perhaps you missed that there is a comment contest going on to win the app for your own phone/device!  Priced at $10, and you can win it for free, just by throwing a comment up in the post!

Live Learning Webinar

In other news, the next Live Learning Webinar that Kerry Garrison and I are heading up for the folks over at Nations Photo Lab is ready for registration.  We can take up to 100 registrations for this event.  It sold out fast last time, and we expect things to go quick for this one too.  Sign up here:  http://livelearninglab.eventbrite.com For the inaugural one we covered some great stuff on Lightroom, and this go around, we’ll be talking ‘Shop (as in Photoshop)!  It’s only for an hour and it’s completely free!, thanks to the sponsorship of Nations Photo Lab!

Last Chance Sale on 49 Photo Tips, Vols 1 and 2

This weekend is also the last weekend before the 49 Photo Tips books are pulled from the eJunkie store to be completely revamped for an entirely new product line, so get ’em while you can!  The laundry list of tips (49 Photo Tips, Volume 1) is only $2.99 and the full color photo-included list (Volume 2) is only $7.99.  Get them both and save $5  (that’s nearly 50% off…) using the coupon code FINAL !

That’s it for the Friday Freebies (and discounts) for this week.  Be sure to get your own comments in for a chance to win!  Gotta be “in it to win it”!  Happy shooting and see you back here next week!

Software Review: Easy Release! App on iTunes!

Easy Release! is designed as a model release application that lets you get model release signatures straight from your smart phone (either Android based or iPhone based, which in and of itself is pretty cool!). Some of the cooler features of the app include:

  • Includes two standard model and property releases, which are accepted by both Getty and Alamy
  • You can add your own custom releases afterward (albeit a bit clunky)
  • You can personalize the releases to include your own information including company, your name, email, phone, contact information, and even a thumbnail photo of the person for whom the release is prepared
  • You can email the release via PDF to yourself, your client, or both – all within the app
  • You can add models, properties, etc. to your contact list (or build from there)

Having said the best features of the app, it kind of needs a few minor improvements though.  In the next version, let me import pre-made release forms for specific purposes.   While Getty and Alamy outlet acceptance is huge, there are other custom needs like TFCD and TFP that would be tedious to type out into the custom function area.  Let me use a PDF of my own creation and add a signature field at the end for models to sign.  Some photographers already have custom ones on file from their attornys (yes, I have a few) that are already created in PDF, and that import function would make this just about a perfect app!  The interface for building one internally is a bit clunky, and this would make things a lot easier.

In order to appeal to a broader market, lower the price a little…$10 is a bit much for an app that only has two forms.  Right now the appeal is there for those who do only model and property shoots, but the app marketplace seems to average around $5 for a high end app, so $10 is a little pricey.  (It’s not insanely overpriced – after all I did buy this app, but I would have liked to see it lower)  Yes, I know the ROI is lower initially, but you’d likely get more buyers from a lower price.  $4.99 is about the max I’d think apps would go for unless they were super powerful or utilitarian.  If the standard model releases covered more situations, then sure, but more and more, releases for things like TFP, exchange of services, and other variations are becoming the norm, not the “old fashioned” model releases, and the price is just a smidge high for my liking.  Different strokes and tolerances for sure, so some may find this completely reasonable, while others may find the price something of a barrier.

Here’s my screen captures from installing it on my iPod:

For those that are interested in getting a copy of this app – I did contact the developers, and they were generous enough to donate a license for some lucky reader – so, here’s the deal:

Share your own thoughts on the app here in the comments below and at the end of the week – some lucky reader (as determined from the Random Number Generator, based on comment #) will win a license key for this app!   Thanks to the developers for their generous donation, and thanks to everyone who takes the time to comment.  Oh yeah, try to provide at least some value from your own comments as that is what makes dialogs fun in the first place!  I’ll announce the winner Saturday on Twitter (you are following me on Twitter, aren’t yo?) and again here on the blog on Monday!  Good luck all, and thanks again to the folks at Easy Release!

Book Review: “Captured” by Moose Peterson

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a book here, primarily because I’ve not had as much time to really dig into a good book.  However, since Moose Petersons Captured came out, it has been on my list of books I’d like to read for a number of reasons.  First and foremost, Moose Peterson’s reputation as a wildlife and landscape photographer is pretty well known, so it’s kind of like the EF Hutton commercial – when he talks, it’s a good idea to listen.  As I’ve established a pretty good flow for gear reviews, I’ve decided to implement something similar for reading materials as well. In giving a fully detailed account, I’ll be looking at this (and all future materials) based on 5 criteria:  1)  Readability  2)  Length  3)  Writing Style  4)  Photography  and 5)  Educational Value

Captured, by Moose Peterson

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this book in each of the categories

1.  Readability

Certain authors and writers have a flair for language – where the point is very well made with an economy of words.  Points are made concisely, without a lot of meandering, and without losing the readers interest.  Others need the help of an outline to help keep them (and the reader) on track.  I was surprised to find that this book fell into the latter category.  It really did seem to go from gear, to theoretical, to anecdotal writing styles rather quickly, with abrupt changes coming literally with little or no transition between so it made staying focused on what he was writing about rather challenging.  This may be my background and experience in higher education, but I also found some of the grammar and sentence structures kind of awkward to read.  I got what he was trying to say, but sometimes I found myself re-reading sentences, paragraphs, and other sections more than once to try and get the point he was trying to make.  Score:  3.5

I guess I shouldn’t have been as surprised, because being a talented photographer does not necessarily make you a good writer or teacher, but with books there is so much editing that usually goes into the process, grammar and outlines are usually used to keep things on topic without much in the way of diversion.  However, it just felt like an awkward read, moving from one topic to another and not much adherence to any structure.  Nevertheless, I plowed on…

2.  Length

Books can be challenging to produce because there really is nothing stopping you (other than your editor) from going on indefinitely.  The problem here is that books (like speeches) can get too long and begin to lose reader (or listener) interest.  In order for a book to retain your interest over any extended period, the material has to be particularly engaging.  This is often the case with novels, mysteries, suspense, and other types of fiction.  However, in non-fiction, length can be an issue if you are not careful.  Here, the length did seem to go on longer than I would have expected for a book of this kind.  It wasn’t really that the material was dragging on longer, but it seemed that it could have been broken up into smaller chunks.  My idea for making this more digestible would have been to do that along the lines of something like the following:

The Moose Peterson Chronology

  • Moose Peterson – History in the Making: Learning all about technical and techniques in photography  (Volume 1)
  • Moose Peterson – Building a Reputation and Respectability in the field of Photography (Volume 2)
  • Moose Peterson – Working in a Digital World of Photography (Volume 3)

Having shorter books and compartmentalizing the topics for discussion would have made the readability much easier, and likely built in residual sales from those who purchased the first one.  But, to each their own I guess.  Score:  2.0

3.  Writing Style

It is easy to see that Moose is a technical person.  From his approach to the craft, figuring out what works and what doesn’t, to his business acumen and gear selection, the technical nature is something I can and do respect.  I wish the technical side came out more in the writing though, because for me the approach seemed more haphazard than it could have been.  There were sections where he would try to be funny, and while I got the humor, the delivery was just a bit easy to predict.  The technical areas came across well, when he described how he figured out lighting problems in caves, and timing the photography window for bird hatchings were quite insightful, but in other areas it made things drag more.  Anecdotes were a bit too dry, and could have used a more light-hearted approach, something along the lines of Joe McNally.  Score:  4.0

4.  Photography

There is a reason why Moose Peterson is such a successful wildlife and landscape photographer – he is good!  The landscapes and wildlife he shares with the reader in the book are just tremendous!  This is what all wildlife and landscape photographers should aspire to as the benchmark here is quite admirable, and the quality here is unsurpassed.  For this reason alone, I am glad the book was as long as it went, because it afforded me the opportunity to see a great deal of his portfolio.  Score: 5.0

5.  Educational Value

Captured falls into a category that I would best classify as educational, because there really are so many nuggets of wisdom and experience in these pages.  Sometimes they are well set-up, and others are buried in the text.  To get all the brilliance that resides within, you do have to read the full book, but what you come away from it with is worth the price paid for the knowledge.  You get to cut your teeth with Moose as he cut his when he began.  And while it takes a while to go through everything, the end result is worth it!  Score:  4.5

*****

Would I recommend Captured to others?  I’d give this an equivocal yes, depending on what it is you are looking for, and where you are in your own learning curve.  For beginning photographers, the finer points that exist here would likely be lost on a first read, and I could not see reading this book twice.  If you are an intermediate photographer or well along the path of photography, then this is probably more your speed because you can readily identify the nuggets and pearls of wisdom that emanate from the pages.  Averaging the scores, the summary score for Captured is:  3.8

Category Score
Readability 3.5
Length 2.0
Writing Style 4.0
Photography 5.0
Educational Value 4.5
Average 3.8

Has anyone else read this book?  What are your thoughts on it?  What about other books you are reading?  Feel free to share your own thoughts and insights in the comments below!

What I’m Reading

Reading material is a gold mine, not only for inspiration, but for education.  The field of photography is one where you can never know everything there is to know, and there will always be people who see things differently that you can learn from and gain insights and inspiration.  For that reason, I am always reading something.  Here’s a portion of my reading list lately in the hopes that you can find some insights and inspirations too!

Books

  • Captured – Lessons from Behind the Lens of a Legendary Wildlife Photographer, Moose Peterson

Captured - by Moose Peterson

  • Photo Trade Secrets, Volume 2, Zeke Kamm (forthcoming)

Photo Trade Secrets, Volume 2 - by Zeke Kamm

Magazines

  • National Geographic – December 2010 Issue
  • Shutterbug – February 2011
  • Consumer Reports – February 2011
  • Bits and Pieces
  • Arizona Highways – January 2011

I guess my nose is always in a book or something!  Got any suggested reading items?  Share your own reading lists in the comments or with me via email.  Happy shooting (and reading)!

The Live Learning Lab!

For a while now, my good friend Kerry Garrison (of Camera Dojo) and I have been working in concert with Nations Photo Lab to build a new interface up at their website for a learning resource guide, which will be serving up free monthly webinars!  With both myself and Kerry Garrison as hosts, we launched our first webinar yesterday with a sellout crowd of 100 people in attendance!  It was a lot of fun as we tackled several subjects relating to Lightroom and how to process your images.  I took on creative crop overlays and ND filters while Kerry handled the portrait retouching aspects of Lightroom.

The Live Learning Lab
The Live Learning Lab

Our schedule is the second Wednesday of every month so another will be forthcoming here in a few weeks for February.  We’ll be covering a lot more than Lightroom, including Photoshop, probably some photography composition techniques, and much much more.  We’re working on a guest host schedule too, so it’s worth checking out.  There’s no gimmicks, no fuss, no muss – just a way for the group to collectively give back to the entire community!  Each webinar is about an hour long (our first went about 15 minutes over), and they will all be accessible via instant archives immediately following the webinar too.  It’s great to view live because you can ask questions as you think of them, but if your schedule doesn’t permit, the archives will be available for your enjoyment too!

 

It’s high time…

Over the holidays, the SLR was in great demand for the family portrait work, and I pulled it out periodically for some “street-style” photography.  I found myself instead getting out my 4 year old P&S camera, which is very long in the tooth to say the least.  So, I’ve decided that it’s time to retire the one and venture into new territory.  I am currently waffling between three cameras:

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

The G12 is a compelling camera.  The features I am liking are the LCD resolution, the f2.8 on the lens, and the manual controls over the exposure triangle (shutter, aperture and ISO).  It helps that I can also shoot in RAW which would fit my existing work flow.  The biggest cons for me are the proprietary battery, the MP count (I’d rather have 8 than 10 for this size sensor – makes for better noise handling in my opinion), and the price tag.  (Really?  $500 for a P&S Canon?  I can get an entry level SLR for that price…take it down $100 and you’d have a lot more buyers!)

The Powershot SX130 IS  is equally compelling.  With the larger 3″  LCD, acceptance of regular AA batteries, and manual controls, it’s tempting to go with this option.  The problem is that the Megapixel count is so high.  I wasn’t thrilled with the 10MP count above, so 12 here makes me very nervous.  After all, let’s face it that Canon’s handling of noise is not at the standard of the Nikonian crowd.  Here it’s also not the budget-buster that the G12 is either – a very enticing element to consider.

The Powershot SX 120 IS is no slouch either.  Saving a little more coin is always a good thing (it retails $20 cheaper), and is back down to 10MP for the sensor.  The problem here?  Saving $20 also compromises the ability to control things manually.  Frame rate is also noticeably slower too.  That’s a lot to lose to save a few pennies.  I likely will not go this route as it’s just too much being sacrificed for a minimal short term savings.

So, it’s really between the G12 and the PowerShot SX130 IS.  I think I am leaning toward the latter simply because I am not going to sacrifice as much in functionality.  Still have to check out some reviews and DXOMark ratings though.  A final answer should be forthcoming soon, but that is the upshot of where the Christmas Cash is gonna ching!  Of course, new gear is always coming out and Spring time is no exception.  That will lower the cost of entry on these current generations considerably, so I might hold off for a month – see what happens in the market to these three!

Some, of course, will ask why I didn’t consider the new SX30 or the A12000.  Truth be told, in Canon’s line-up, the A series is a notch below the SX series for a reason…it’s just as beefy!  As for the SX30, I read several reviews on it and the noise level at even ISO 400 seems high to what people were expecting.  I’m just not willing to throw money at a P&S for no reason other than “because it’s new”.

Let’s turn the perspective outward…anyone out there get any Yuletide Yen they’ll be using for new gear items?  What are you getting and why?

 

Pictures in the Park and other sundry stuff

One of the ways in which I make sure to stay active is to volunteer in local photography groups.  One such group is organized through Meetup.com and we affectionately call ourselves the Denver Photowalk Group.  (Pretty original eh?)

Our fearless leader has taken some pretty impressive initiative to organize several walks over the course of the next 12 months.  He’s asked us to also throw out any ideas as we move into 2011, and a few are percolating for me.  Here’s what I’ve come up with thus far:

Pictures in the Park

I forget where I saw this before but the idea is kind of fun.  Here’s whatcha do:

Step #1:  Get a bucket full of cheap candy.  Spend maybe $5-$10 at the dollar store and get some variety.

Step #2:  Create a poster or something that advertises your outing with a catchy or pithy slogan.  Something like “FREE CANDY!”  or “CLICKS FOR CANDY!”.  You get the idea, and be creative.  You want to attract people.

Step #3:  Assemble your groupies and start snapping each other.  If you want to push things a little, have some strobes around on portable light stands (that catches eyes too!).  When people approach, just say something along the lines of “We’re practicing photography, and would love to take your picture!  We’re giving away free candy for just a few minutes to practice posing and lighting.”  If you want, you can set up a download place on your website (or Flickr if you are working on the cheap) for people to visit afterward and get copies for themselves.

Step #4: Have fun!  Learn from one another and share techniques.  Collaboration and free exchange of ideas are key.  In sharing what you know, you may also learn from others.  The end result:

  • People have fun pics for free
  • You get to practice posing and lighting
  • The event may encourage others to join the group and have some fun

Other Sundry Stuff

Frequency

As you may have sensed by now, I have decided to take a step back from blogging every single day this year.  The looming deadlines of writing intensely every day for a number of years has taken its toll, and I must admit, the quality is not what I am used to producing.  Instead, I will be blogging and writing less often.

Journals

That being said, I do enjoy writing.  I really do.  And evidence indicates that people enjoy reading what I write when I take my time and produce good quality material.  So, I will be putting out one journal article each and every month.  The blog version will be an abbreviated version (think Reader’s Digest), and a longer version will be available on a subscription basis.  While I’ve not decided exactly how that portion will work, it’s something I’d like to give the dedicated readers, listeners, and supporters on a premium level.  So, look for some announcement on that soon

Podcasts

The toughest part of starting something is knowing when to say when and stop.  The podcast is a tough call, because while I love putting them together, it takes a huge chunk of time to schedule guests, record a discussion, post production, upload and host.  They will likely not disappear entirely because I think everyone enjoys them when they do happen.  But at the same time, I don’t want the quality to suffer there either.  So, when time permits, yes, these will continue.  It always helps here to have reader input – if there’s someone you’d like me to chat with, or a topic you’d like me to address, let me know in the comments or via email!  I am always open to suggestions and ideas.

Webinars

This is perhaps the most exciting thing that is forthcoming…a major sponsor and supporter of the blog is Nations Photo Lab and they have given myself and Kerry Garrison of CameraDojo.com an opportunity to publish live webinars once a month for free to share with the community.  These webinars will cover a wide range of topics, we’ll likely have guests, and basically be another venue to give back to the community that has been so generous to us.  There are several spots left, and we are assembling a waiting list as we can accommodate 100 people in the event.  To register, stop over at http://livelearninglab.eventbrite.com to register for the first Live Learning Lab sponsored by Nations Photo Lab and hosted by myself and Kerry Garrison.  It’s gonna be fun, you’ll get a great inside scoop on some of the nitty gritty on Lightroom 3, and best of all – it’s free!

Well fellow photogs, bloggers, and readers, that’s about it for today.  Let me know your thoughts on the new “agenda” for 2011.  What kinds of groups do you participate in?  Got any event ideas?  What about the podcast and journal topic ideas?  Share those as well, as moving forward, a lot of the content will hopefully be encouraged or at least initiated by you! Happy shooting and have a great weekend!  With that parting thought, here’s my parting “shot” of the week – a nice assembly of lines and shapes while waiting in Denver Airport:

Airport Shapes
Airport Shapes

 

The Woosh of the Wind!

Journal Entry #1 – 2011Snowmobiling in Copper Mountain

Date:  January 1st, 2011
Location:  Copper Mountain Colorado
Temp:  -20 Fahrenheit
Wind:  10-20mph
Wind Chill:  -41 to -45 F!

What is this a great day for?  You guessed it – a snowmobile ride!  Seriously, I went on just such an excursion the morning of the 1st!  I layered up in my best winter gear:

  • Layer 1 – Thermals (long underwear)
  • Layer 2 – Lounge pants
  • Layer 3 – Blue Jeans
  • Layer 4 – Snow suit

It worked quite well as I never really got all that cold!  I took off from the house in Keystone CO where we gathered for the holidays with family, and drove the 45 minutes from 9900 feet to the 11,000 foot mark.  Nearly two miles above sea level now where the air is downright thin!

 

Snow and Ice in the Air
Snow and Ice in the Air

It was a nice tour, led by the well-regarded folks of Summit Concierge and their services across the Colorado Rockies. The tour guides were friendly, we got some handling time in a track loop to familiarize ourselves with the equipment, then they split us into two groups of six for some pretty exciting scenic views.  One group was a family or two, then the other was mostly adults (myself included, although I felt like a kid – adrenaline surging as we whipped around at about 30-45mph on our Polaris snowmobiles!).

The Whole Gang!
The Whole Gang!

As we crossed the mountains, with snow-covered pines, and gorgeous mountain-scapes.  Of course once we rode above the timber line, the scenery was just the white snow against the slightly paler misty sky.  It wasn’t snowing as at that temp, it’s just too cold.  Instead tiny bits of ice dusted the sky with hints of bluer skies behind the flakes of snow and ice.

At the summit!
At the summit!

I did imagine that we would get a bit cold in our extremities, as we whipped along.  After all, with a -20 gauge on the thermometer, 20mph winds and us tooling around with another 30mph of wind, it was likely very nearly around 50 below zero! But the handles of the Polaris were heated!  As you moved, the heat increased to snuff out the effects of the wind.  When we stopped I even took my gloves off to pull out the camera for some photography!  No gloves!  in 40 below temps!

Heated Handlebars Below...
Heated Handlebars Below...

The camera though, did not have the pleasure of heat, so it didn’t last too long, even inside my external snowsuit to shield it from the bitter cold.  I got perhaps 45 minutes of shoot time from the two batteries I packed.  The point and shoot fared better as it was inside my own snow jacket pocket, closer to the warmth of my own core heat. But it even capitulated to the cold after being taken out for a mere 20 minutes!  I found this out at one of the rally points…

Rally Point Break
Rally Point Break

Regardless, it was a great ride, with half pipes, remarkable scenery and even a stop for hot chocolate halfway through (the tour guide started the heaters as we began the trek)! For the adventurous – this is definitely one to consider when  you go to book your next adrenaline tour!  It was a great way to usher in the New Year!  How did you celebrate the start of 2011?  Share your thoughts, shots, and feedback in the comments below or via email.  Don’t forget to share socially too!

And finally, for those that read all the way through the journal article, here’s a short video I took from my Flip HD Video (Christmas Present):

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