Tag: web links

What’s This? – Week 8

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As readers have reminded me, I fell behind the 8 ball a little on sharing a “What’s This?” pic since we started our move from SC to CO.  So, now that things are settling down again, the weekly photo challenge returns with gusto.  See if you can decipher the object I’ve cropped down to this:

What's This? - Week 8

Any ideas?  Feel free to share them in the comments section below.  Correct guesses win…well, not much, just bragging rights.  But bragging rights are better than nothing, eh?  So venture a guess, who knows – you may get to brag!

In other news, the NAPP photowalk is coming up this weekend, so if you’ve not registered in a city near you, venture over to http://www.photoshopuser.com/photowalk to see if you’re near one that has any openings left – it should be a lot of fun, and that will have more than bragging rights for prizes!

I’ve not mentioned them in a while, so if you have 5 minutes to 5 hours availabe, stop over to 1001 Noisy Cameras for all the latest on camera news and information.  They’ve got everything from reviews, to sales ranks, and links to relevant blogs and official rumors of upcoming gear.  While they admittedly state that the rumor comes from DPReview, there is a suspicion that Canon will announce a 50D at Photokina this year!

What’s This? Week 5 – or is it 6?

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This last week have been rather hectic for me, so I honestly don’t remember what week we are on for the “What’s This?” theme.   I think it’s Week5, but perhaps someone could confirm this for me in the comments.  Truth be told, I also have not had the luxury of much surf time so I don’t have much in the way of web traffic to point people to. Just a couple links to float out there for you.  First, this is day 6 of the first ever CB photo contest “Photographing Freedom”, so keep that in mind.  News and info on that available from the July 3 post here.

In web news, I will say that there was an amazing post by a guest writer at Scott Kelby’s blog today. (I am going to refrain from my personal thoughts on the subject, but it’s worth reading – especially if you have a background in higher education like I do). I’d be interested in hearing what others think on this subject in the comments.

The other fun bit of news also involved another guest writing on Scott’s blog, courtesy of John Nack, one of the senior staff over at Adobe.  He wrote on his appearance about the desire for transparent windows and was met with a little bit of ruffled feathers from others in the field.  Check out the respective posts to the discussion here, here, and here to get Matt K.’s take, John’s take, and then Jeff Revel’s take.  Interesting world we live in.  Three people all with direct ties to “the man” and three different opinions on it.  I wonder which way Adobe is going to go on this?  While I realize that there is some agreement on parts of it, and alternatives vary depending on whether you’re talking about transparency or translucency, but to me, it’s a window that I have off on my second monitor anyway, so I don’t really care.  Go with John’s approach and devote R&D to other more meaningful improvements.  But, I said this would be a quick post today, and this is starting to ramble, so I’l leave it up to the readers:  Where do you think PS development should go?

So, moving quickly to the “What’s This?” subject for this week, I went through some of my own archives to see if I could find an interesting crop (and I did), so here is a crop of a much larger image. I’ve tried to keep some of the context, but at the same time make it intriguing to guess what this is. So, without further ado…What’s This?:

What's This - Week 5?

Last week, in case you hadn’t guessed it – it was a flower!  Congrats to those who knew and saved their comments for a more challenging post (ahem – today!)  Good luck, have fun, Happy Shooting and we’ll see you here tomorrow!

Wednesday Walk around the Web returns

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Surprise!

As the final hours approach me here on Tuesday, I still find myself struggling to capture something of interest that would be a fun topic for the “What’s This?”, so, a rather easy one is up for your guessing pleasure. Truth be told though, this is kind of lame, and as such, I would like more of the focus for today’s post to be the traditional “walk around the web” Here’s what’s going on this week in photo land:

  1. First, stop over to Scott Kelby’s blog – guest writer John Nack from a little company called Adobe will be filling in, and if you don’t already know who he is, and why we listen, stop over at his blog to catch up…
  2. Next, some shout outs to…well, myself sort of, but also to Scott Eggleston, over at Weekly Photo Tips. He chose an image I shared with him over on his blog as a monthly winner in his photo contest! While I am flattered to have won the prize, it’s just more germane to say that as I was packing things up the other day, I was talking to my wife about how I wished I had some convenient way to pack my AA batteries! Hello Alanis Morrisette, isn’t that ironic? He also had a post on late last week on how to shoot reflective surfaces with a YouTube video too – very informative!
  3. Next, Brian Reyman over at Professional Snapshots has his third in a series of lighting tutorials he’s posting on. Very useful and a great presentation of the info there. I’ve been reading Brian’s blog for a while now and he has a truly innovative way of thinking. Shout outs to Brian! 🙂
  4. Visual Realia continues to keep my creative juices flowing, even though I did not come up with a very good image for today./ Look at Andy’s blog any time you need a kick start for your creative voice. His last three images of normal playing cards, show how anything can be beautiful if well visioned and composed!
  5. Finally, stop over to Hyperphocal for some great reading material if you have some time. It’s becoming quite the repository of excellent photo-related articles. A couple recent articles include the subject of Getting your photos into gallery shows, and Reasons to watermark your imagery. Like I said, great reading all around!

Since others have discussed it, particularly today, it bears mentioning (at least acknowledging anyway) that Nikon has released to new bits of gear – the D700 body and the SB-900 flash. Rather than regale you with tons of links on both of these, let’s just say that since reading quite a few posts from some respected photog-types, it seems people are curious about teh new body, but almost to the tune of 75%, they are expressing more excitement over the flash. Even Michael Johnston from The Online Photographer
picks up on the news, and throws in an off-handed remark about the new flash (and two new PC lenses that I’d not even read about until hitting his blog). Just goes to show you, the bells and whistles are there to generate new interest, and in many cases, it works! Having said that, it seems more and more that the tried and true utilitarian upgrades and additions to a camera line are what pulls repeat buyers back for more.

Until tomorrow, happy shooting and watch those apertures!

As a shameless self-promotion slug, as we move toward the holiday weekend, it’s time too brush up on your night photography. Remember what apertures and shutters are and how they relate? Refresh over at The Online Photography Test , hosted right here at CB! So, stop over there to test your A&S awareness (among other things) before heading out to shoot for the day! Don’t forget to pick up the feed for CB if you haven’t already.

What’s This: Week 4

Jason5 Comments

Now in it’s last installment for the month of June, “What’s This?” has become the most popular subject for the blog. Gary correctly guessed that last week’s What’s This was a shower head, so props, kudos, and congrats to Gary! Let’s see if someone else can mount a challenge this week. Here we go (and no more hints)…this week’s What’s This is:

What's This? - Week 4

Good luck to everyone!  If the fun continues, I may be able to start offering prizes too (depends on whether any vendor would be interested in sponsoring the “What’s This Weekly”…so, Canon, Adobe, USRobotics, Apple, Microsoft, Joe’s Tire Shop…anyone interested? 🙂

Just kidding – this is all just for fun, so there’s not any prizes, just bragging rights, and hopefully a way to provide creative spark and motivation to look at things differently! 🙂

In the web news this week, just a couple things that may be of interest:

  • ProPhotoLife has another video out on studio product lighting – 10 minutes well spent!
  • TWIP does a video podcast on lighting a model in studio – also about 10 minutes…
  • Digital Photography School has a 6-tip session on reducing camera shake – about a 3 minute read if you include the comments
  • Tim’s Digital Darkroom via  a connection over at Hyperphocal has some very cool shots of a light bulb shattering (scroll down)…1-2 minutes depending on what else you may find of interest
  • Naturally, Hyperphocal gets a nod too, not only because of the great articles they have there, but also because I have the “Cleaning your Gear” posted as an article there from yesterday – stop over and read their other articles – the one for today on Inkjets versus Dye Sub printers was very educational for me!

Altogether, about 30 minutes of stuff, so if you have half an hour to spare – take some time and visit these resources as they all have some really good content.  In the meantime, feel free to share other links to resources in the comments (as well as guess at this week’s edition of What’s This”).  Happy shooting, watch those apertures, and we’ll see you back here on Thursday!

Tuesday Trip around the Web

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There’s been a slight change of plans on the weekly schedule this week. Friend and fellow-blogger Jason Moore is out on “assignment” again (partying things up in France actually!), and a couple of us are filling in for his weekly P&P blogroll post where he summarizes the imagery activities of fellow Photoshop and Photography bloggers as they share them with the world. Three of us share the duties this week, so be sure to visit Andrew’s blog (Visual Realia) and Michael Palmer’s site for the other portions of the P&P. So…without further ado:

  • PhotowalkPro – Jeff Revell had a couple interesting things this week, but the most recurring theme is the upcoming photo walk for the Georgetown area. Make sure you get the dates when you visit his blog.
  • Samuel Barr is out traveling (great travel shots too), but congrats go out to him for being selected for the “Photo of the Week” over at Calumet Photo.
  • Sean Duffy is traveling to, and has some pretty incredible shots of the Eiffel Tower.
  • Strobist – It seems everyone is traveling as David had a few posts left from his trip to Dubai, and as recently as yesterday was sharing shots from Joe McNally’s trip. Pretty incredible stuff, and you can always get your fill of lighting gear, including beauty lights and trash bags for the really hard core.
  • Terry White’s Tech Blog – Read about Snowballs, Snowflakes, and Screenflow, but don’t get him started on DirectTV (I feel ya Terry – had a few experiences myself with large conglomerates).
  • The C Spot – Clayton talks about his visit to Michael Switzer’s open house for Design Works Studio.
  • The Digital Story – Derrick’s podcast talks about the merits and downsides of keywording your photos. Worth a listen, and it seems the best time to do that is on import – *phew! Got one right*
  • travel+ photography – Michael appeases the readership with a weather shot from Arkansas, but has had his hands full with buying a house – stop over to congratulate him on the new digs!
  • Visual Realia – Andrew demonstrates again his creative talents with some great photography and poetic verse. I don’t know how he finds verses that fit the imagery so well. Check out Old Friend, Bloom, and Josh McElwee for some truly inspirational captures!
  • watchThisspace – Steve takes a break but leaves us with a really cool apple abstract – come back soon Steve – your vision and creative talents will be missed!
  • What The Duck – Cartoon + photography + humor = Aaron Johnson – a new chuckle every day!
  • Weekly Photo Tips – Scott is taking his blog down for Memorial day to commemorate the occasion and is asking for readers to contribute imagery for his slideshow. A truly awesome gesture and I would encourage everyone to join in the effort.
  • What The Heck Journal – Martin has some great shots here, but without dates it’s hard to tell what’s recent and what’s been up a while. Lost in the Woods is kind of spooky, but an amazing shot nonetheless. Corridors is also an amazingly unique perspective and presentation of B/W photography.
  • Where is Ben – This week, Ben is teaching a fine art class on nudes at the LEPP Institute (Los Osos, CA). His blog photo is pretty abstract, but just indicative of the breadth of his vision and skills.

Just another manic Monday

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You know I had to do it eventually…

Although, this week it could not be more true…I was on the first item of a “honey-do” list yesterday, upgrading the thermostat, and could not get things reconnected.  Since it was a Sunday at 7pm the odds of getting an HVAC tech out was just not an option.  As the temperature went up throughout the house, it had similar effects on my processing…I actually had to shut dwon after a thermal warning from the main PC.  So, today after work, I had an HVAC tech out to fix the A/C, and resumed my post processing.  With another 200 or so shots to go through for the shoots that I have CD’s due for tomorrow.  With the evening meal behind me and an early start tomorrow, I really am not going to have time for a regular post  today, so to catch up on the news, stop over to Jason Moore‘s site for the latest in the last week.

If the blog links are not your style, some excellent reading fodder can also be found over at The Online Photographer – there actually was an excellent article there over the weekend that talks about the increasing use of advertorials in magazines.  Very similar to the idea I talked about recently that the “fluff” in magazines is starting to out-weigh the content.

As always, enjoy the week, and don’t forget to trip that shutter occasionally – happy shooting, watch those apertures, and we’ll see you tomorrow!

Day swap

Jason3 Comments

I was having some issues with the post production and rather than hold off until late tonight to release the tutorial, I figured it’d be better to just swap Tuesday and Wednesday’s posts, so today is an early edition of my week around the web:

  • Jason Moore did his weekly round-up, and also saw his 600th post – congrats Jason!
  • Andrew at Visual Realia has a really great take on the theme of flowers and dewdrops – check it out for some inspiration!
  • I read up on the Copyright Law and Orphaned Works Act pending in Congress. Not good for us – good for corporations. Read up and submit your works today!
  • Thanks go out to Lisa, from Sage Family Studios, who is a fellow NAPP member for mentioning this in those forums.
  • Mark Brian, (sorry Brian, I am always wanting to call you Mark for some silly reason) from Professional Snapshots, has an image that will melt your heart (congrats again mark), and a Layers book review (by Matt K.) to make you green with envy (I want the book now).
  • The Online Photographer did an article on the sadness following the Kentucky Derby. If you are a softie like me, be warned, kind of heart-wrenching, and my heart goes out to the owners.
  • For fellow bloggers, this may be of most interest, as I finally took some time to read ProBlogger. I still have my work cut out for me! Definitely worth a read (or twenty) if you have the time – lots of ways to improve your niche, writing, style, professionalism, and much more!

Finally, it is worth noting that Dubai seems to be the hot spot lately. many of the most active and visible blogs on the web including the likes of Scott Kelby, Jeff Revell, Joe McNally, and now David Hobby, along with other notables have been visiting a growing body of budding photographers in the area. Some gorgeous and inspiring works have been posted over the last few weeks on all these guys blogs. Go check them out for a major dosage of creative inspiration here, here, here and here. If you stop in, take some time to share your thoughts with them – if you think I work hard at blogging and photography, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to these guys, both in breadth and depth! Amazing stuff out there…

Well, that should keep you tied over until the tutorial can get wrapped up tomorrow afternoon (I’ll forgo a morning post since this is going up later than normal). Until tomorrow; Happy Shooting and Watch those apertures!