This is an eclectic selection of links for around the net. Without further ado:

Photo Instruction Resource

I’ve been a fan of professional photographer Will Crockett and the photo instruction on ShootSmarter.com for years now. The free content (and there’s a lot of it) is accessed by subscribing to the weekly Shoot Smarter newsletter. Once you’ve signed up you can access the wide variety of useful content, ranging from using a light meter on studio portraits to documenting the working of a shot. They also have instructional DVDs and other educational materials available for purchase.

Photoshop / Lightroom Contest with Benefits

Brian Auer at Epic Edits Weblog has come up with another great contest to benefit photographers, the Photoshop / Lightroom Action and Preset Extravaganza. Have you developed your own favorite action or preset for one of the image editing programs, something that has made your life easier or enhanced your workflow? Would you like to share it with the world? Entering your action or preset in the contest has a couple of benefits: you will have a shot at a number of cool prizes and the entries all become part of an online resource of presets for photographers. Hurry, though, the contest ends January 2. Complete details are available at Epic Edits.

Business and the Changing Times

Chase Jarvis had a recent post titled “After Photography” (which is also the name of the book featured in the commentary). It’s an intelligent post on the changing world of photography, a hot topic around the photo blogosphere. The post closes with a mention of “cheese” at the end, which reminded me of my favorite business book of all time: “Who Moved My Cheese?”. It’s a short, simple book about a few mice dealing with an ever changing environment. If you haven’t read it yet it‘s well worth the 30 minutes or so of cover to cover reading. It should be available at your local library, bookstore or you can find it here on Amazon.com.

Creativity

New Year’s Day is coming up and I’m especially looking forward to it because of the launch of my new photo a day project for 2009. As a result, I’ve been thinking a whole lot about creativity. There was a helpful post about reaching one’s potential recently on another of my favorite blogs, A Photo Editor. This article features videos of Ira Glass, the producer of “This American Life”, a wonderful weekly radio broadcast on NPR.

Glass talks about reaching higher levels and says “the most important possible thing you could do is do a lot of work. Do a huge volume of work. Put yourself on a deadline”. It sounds reasonable to me, especially coming from someone at the top of their field.

Thinkin’ ’bout a lens

Hey, I’m enjoying the new Olympus E520, it’s a fun little camera. The things I’ve read pretty much ring true, it’s a well-made camera that’s a little more susceptible to noise than the competition. With after Christmas pricing on photo equipment so darn low I’m eyeing a Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX . The kit lens does a great job stopped down but the f2.8 all the way through (coupled with the built in image stabilization) should help with low light / noise, assuming the Sigma is decent wide open. Is anyone using this lens and would you recommend it?

That’s it for this week, I’m sure many of you may have more time off work coming. I’ll be out shooting when obligations aren’t calling. Gotta be ready for a photo a day!

- Jim T.

Are you ready to start looking back at 2008? A number of prophotolife readers have identified The Boston Globe’s “Big Picture” section as a favorite for photojournalism. The Globe has just published the first part of  “the year 2008 in photographs (1 of 3)”. There are 40 photographs in all and I admit to viewing each photo and reading every caption. Thanks to the working photographers that captured these images I know more about the world than I did before viewing them. I’m looking forward to the next 2 parts of the series.

Guess who just got a new camera? After talking about getting a new point and shoot I finally pulled the trigger and ordered a camera (actually, a DSLR) I’ve been curious about for some time:  the Olympus E-520 w/ 14-42mm lens. Why the E-520? The small size, the 4:3 aspect ratio, built-in image stabilization and some really great discount prices. As a long time Nikon and Canon user I just really wanted to try something different. Various reports of the camera’s relatively limited dynamic range and high ISO noise had me hesitant but, hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’m looking forward to giving it a good workout as my 2009 photo a day blog camera. I’ll keep you posted on how it works out.

While thinking about getting a new camera I went to some resources that are often overlooked, the camera manufacturers own websites. It’s obviously a competitive marketplace and the camera makers are trying to run special promotions and provide information that brings added value to their consumers. If you haven’t checked out the manufacturer sites in a while they have more info these days than just camera and lens specifications. There are also shooting tips, special promotions and rebates aplenty. Here are some highlights from the major camera makers:

• Nikon Digital Learning Center
• Canon Digital Learning Center
• Pentaxian (this section of the Pentax Imaging website highlights 4 pro shooters who use Pentax, complete with a video, photo gallery and equipment list for each)
• Olympus Digital School in conjunction with Photoflex – bonus: there’s also a drawing for an Olympus e420 and various studio lighting outfits.
• Sony is the latest to the digital SLR game and if there’s any sort of photo educational info on the site I couldn’t find it. But…WOW…do they ever make a lot of electronic products.

That’s it for this week, time to do some last minute Christmas shopping and charge up the battery on this Olympus! Have a good weekend and we’ll see you next week…

- Jim T.

I think we’re just starting to scratch the surface of the many ways photography may be presented online. Following are a set of links to personal web favorites, a diverse collection that assures me that the best is yet to come for photography and online publishing.

Dave Beckerman’s blog was mentioned many moons ago in around the net. He’s been publishing this blog online for years, an open chronicle of his life as a New York City street photographer. Dave, to me, is the pure essence of artist, photographer and blogger. Without the internet we wouldn’t know this man’s story and he possibly wouldn’t be making his living solely through photography.

We’ve watched photojournalism evolve online with the development of audio slideshows (as in this New York Times piece, Photographer’s Journal: Terror in Mumbai).  But we now also see the powerful, singular image coming back to life online in a big way with a trend toward big photographs. I remember first experiencing the impact of double-page spread images in LIFE magazine. Until recently, the tiny little images used by online publications has, in my mind, paled in comparison. Now there are presentations like The Wall Street Journal’s Photo Journal that put powerful photojournalism back in our face in the large, screen-filling sizes that such photographs deserve. I hope that more online publications give this kind of weight to the presentation of worthy images.

This next link is, in many ways, the opposite of the last mention. The Photo Stream uses a mass of tiny little images in a way that is far less contemplative. But it’s noteworthy, I think, because of the very distinctly “web” way the site utilizes photography. Each little photograph represents a link to a news item, a way for our very visual society to connect with the news that interests them. Whether The Photo Stream is the future or a novelty remains to be seen but, regardless, it’s innovative.

Maybe magazines will survive without being printed but, instead, distributed in an online pdf format. More and more print magazines are offering digital additions through online distributors like Zinio (Search all of Zinio’s 1000+ titles online). Yes, if printed publications continue to disappear there would be a loss. But I’m beginning to accept that it wouldn’t be in vain, that photography has more to gain than lose by an online migration.

It will be interesting to see what another year will bring for photography and online publishing. While some things seem predictable, there are always surprises, and some can be complete “game changers”.

Have a good weekend, all. By next week I’ll have some photos from the new studio to share…

- Jim T.

The first mention I’d like to make is the beautifully presented website of Maria Angela Photography. Maria left a comment and I followed the link to her site and was really impressed. The home page automatically filled the screen and the whole experience was professional. Sometimes Flash sites seem bulky and slow but the Flash effects loaded quickly and effortlessly, adding up to a notable website experience for potential clients.

Are you planning to upgrade your web presence? Many photographers favor going with one of the high quality all-in-one template / hosting services. You’ll have access to multiple template designs, web hosting and customer support. Here are some links if you’re in the market and interested in a little comparison shopping of online galleries for photographers:

big folio – our studio used big folio for a peripheral project and were very pleased

BluDomain – a favorite of many wedding and portrait photographers

Live Books – popular among commercial / advertising photographers

Speaking of Live Books, they have a series of online video interviews with talented photographers. The most recent is this interview with famed photojournalist Harry Benson. One note: for some reason, the video didn’t want to play until I updated to Adobe Flash Player 10 (but that only took a couple of minutes).

A great quote from Benson in the video, on photojournalism: “A good photograph can’t be duplicated, it cannot happen again. It’s over. It’s a moment in life, in history…”

If you’re cool with hosting your own site, programs like Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2 can generate a variety of online galleries for photographers (free trial downloads from Adobe let you “try before you buy”). If you don’t have such a product you can use something like the Flash gallery freeware called (imagine this) “Flash Gallery”. I haven’t tried it personally yet but the demos look intriguing. A Google search on photo gallery software turned up a bunch of options, many of them freeware.

If you have any additional info on webgallery suggestions or what’s working for you, don’t hesitate to post a comment. From time to time I’m asked about professional photography website design services so let me know if you have any recommendations.

Another week down…the studio is still a mess of boxes because we’re tied up with post-production. It looks like December will be quieter on the shooting front, though, which should allow us to get things sorted. Tomorrow we’ll head to IKEA to pick up a couple of things and it should start looking like a studio (and not a storage space) soon.

Have a good weekend and see you next week,
- Jim T.

The new studio is "box city".

It was easy to find links for this week’s around the ‘net, there’s a lot of great posting going on. Here are my favorite six for this week, ranging from pretty photos to the business of photography to some info for the tech junkies. Hopefully something for everyone:

National Geographic Photo Contest

Looking for inspiration? The results from National Geographic’s 2008 International Photography Contest have been posted. The winners and honorable mentions appear, most with judges comments below them. If you haven’t been to National Geographic’s online photography section you’ll also find sections of photo tips and other info of interest to photographers.

Analysis of a Wedding Shoot

If you’re considering shooting weddings…or if you’re already a wedding photographer and want to compare notes…David Ziser has started a comprehensive series of posts titled The Analysis of a Wedding Shoot (part 1 here). This is an extremely helpful guide showing how he and his team go through the wedding photography process with a client. The posts are full of the valuable insights and attention to detail that have made David a leader in the profession. Part 2 was posted this week with more to follow.

Food Photography Tips

Professional tips for better food photography is an informative piece posted on Ask the Photographer. It lists background on Lou Manna, the featured photographer, and a host of tips from food prep to lighting. I just recently stumbled across the site and there’s some really nice content well worth a look. Plus I admit to being partial to the site design (it might look a little familiar to prophotolife readers).

Wireless Remote Comparison

This next link is an answer to a number of reader questions regarding wireless remote triggers for strobes. I have a hard time keeping up with all of the options out there but, thankfully, DIYPhotography.net has posted a huge product comparison in Exploring Small Strobes: Going Wireless. Listed are five of the top selling options, complete with pros, cons and price comparisons. If you’re trying to make sense of it all this is a great place to start.

Shooting Tethered in Lightroom

Lightroom expert Matt Kloskowski has listed some options for shooting tethered into Lightroom. Also check the comments below the post for some reader solutions for specific camera models.

Creating Custom Color Profiles

Here’s one for the extremely technically savvy: Creating DNG Profiles for Adobe ACR Processing. If you understand what that means then I’ll bet your interested. If it makes no sense then this one might not be for you. This Northlight Images article shows a method for creating your own custom color management profiles when using DNG files and Adobe Camera Raw (the RAW processor in Photoshop and Lightroom). I haven’t had time to really dig into the article but plan to when time allows. Let me know if anyone gives it a go, it looks pretty interesting.

That’s it for this week. If you head out shopping for Black Friday, good luck. I’ll be eating leftover turkey and surfing the net between naps, a real day of relaxation. Have a good weekend and I’ll see you next week…

- Jim T.

Though we all enjoy discussing photography, I admit there’s something I do like better: actually taking photographs. That’s why I’m pleased to be a part of DIYPhotography.net’s latest project titled “Something New – A Photography Project“.

Udi at DIYPhotography.net is always sharing great DIY tips and ideas to bring photographers together and he has a wonderful concept here. There are many aspects to the project and they all have to do with sharing and learning, both photo equipment and ideas. Photographers worldwide are encouraged to pair up with another local photographer to share a piece of photo equipment (which can be anything…a dslr, lens, strobe, tripod, you name it). Then the photographers will join each other on a shoot and write a review on what they’ve had an opportunity to try. And, of course, we want to see the photos!

Complete details are available at DIYPhotography.net, including info on the prizes offered. The sponsor of the project, BorrowLenses.com, will be providing three prizes in the form of free two-week rentals on camera bodies and lenses of the winners choice. It’s a great opportunity to handle some nice photo equipment you might be interested in trying out. Udi and I will be joined by Brian Auer from Epic Edits Weblog to do the judging.

In response to recent photo biz questions I’d like to point out some really informative links. These are for everyone interested in photography as a business:

The ASMP has a wealth of free information in their business articles section, starting with Business Tips for the Freelance Photographer through Crafting a Marketing Strategy to Delivering Great Customer Service. If you check out any of those articles you’ll find links to even more info on the website. I have to say I’m proud to be a part of the organization and the fact that they freely give away this knowledge in order to elevate the standards of all photographers. Good stuff.

In direct response to a question on model releases and what they should read, I’ll mention that our studio uses the adult, minor and property releases provided by the ASMP. Again, this particular info is accessible by anyone. Members do get additional access to even more detailed info but there’s heaps there for anyone to browse.

And, lastly in the business category, one of our former photo assistants has started their own business and we were talking about taxes today. I recently discovered that the IRS has an extensive collection of educational videos for small business startups and owners. Where better to get the information than straight from the source? I especially liked the title of “how to set up and run your business so paying taxes isn’t a hassle”. Many prophotolife readers may find “what you need to know when you run your business out of your home” helpful. I’ll note that clicking on the video titles didn’t get them to play for me, I had to use the “download” option and then all was well.

We’re moving Daylight Photo to our new location over the next few days, the boxes are packed and strewn all about. Throw in seven hours of video tape that needs edited, a few days out of town for Thanksgiving and it’s safe to say I’m not likely to get bored any time soon! Before long I’ll be able to show you the new place, something I’m looking forward to.

That’s it for this week. I hope you have a good weekend and I’ll see you on Monday…

- Jim T.

Every so often I come across an online video that is truly exceptional. This TED presentation by David Griffin called “Photography connects us with the world” is one those videos. Griffin is the director of National Geographic magazine and, as such, he’s extremely qualified to discuss the storytelling power of photographs. It’s definitely worth a watch for anyone interested in photo stories.

The next vid is also from TED, this one from well-known nature photographer Frans Lanting (National Geographic, Audobon, Time). He takes nature photo stories one step further by telling the tale of our planet’s evolution through photographs. Starting at the beginning of time through to the present, Lanting tackles a monumental subject in a creative way: telling the story of life itself. The photographer devoted five years to the project and it has me thinking of photo story subjects in a very different way.

The Big Photo List

The attached photo is from our every-other-month ASMP pints ‘n’ pixels meeting. Daylight Photo hosted this month’s meeting once again, the last such hurrah in our current studio. In a couple of weeks we’ll be in our new space and a new chapter will begin. The reason I wanted to share this group photo is because it shows something great about organizations like ASMP. There in the back row you’ll find the national ASMP President, Todd Joyce, standing alongside first-time attendee (and faithful prophotolife reader) Noah Hutson. Everyone is there to learn from each other and keep the fun spirit of photography alive: photographers helping photographers.

You may not have professional aspirations but would still like to share your photo passion with others. You say there’s no camera club in your area? Maybe there is…have you checked out the worldwide Big Photo Club and Photo Organization Listing? The website look is definitely old school but the amount of collected information is staggering. Big props to the volunteers putting it all together.

Time to wrap up and turn my attention back to packing the studio for the move. The new, smaller space means simplification and shedding excess, something we’re looking forward to. And, hey, we’re downsizing from 9 computers to 5! I know, I know, it probably sounds ridiculous…but it’s a start. Have good weekend and I’ll see you on Monday…

- Jim T.

Staying out of ruts means keeping the wheels turning, so today and tomorrow I’m attending a Photoshop workshop here in Cincinnati, organized by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the ASMP. The guest instructor is Atlanta-based commercial shooter Jim DiVitale. There’s always something to learn from such seminars and DiVitale isn’t just a Photoshop magician, he’s a well-respected advertising photographer, first and foremost. As a result, his information prioritizes efficient workflow and practicality over pure “wow factor” (though he has plenty of that, too). My kind of seminar. DiVitale is just one of the many talented members of  Scott Kelby’s (Photoshop Insider) stable of Kelby Training instructors, each of whom has their own specialty, personality and style. I’ve been lucky enough to see a few of them in action.

I also really enjoy the camaraderie at events like this. Before spending another $200 on the latest photo gadget, I hope you’ll consider investing that money on a nearby photo workshop, conference or seminar because knowledge is power. Yes, it helps keep the prophotolife fires burning when you make purchases through the links here on the site (and I’m very appreciative every time you do)…but I’m telling you to spend your money on a seminar, instead? Yes, because I’ve seen how it energizes people, how it energizes me. A cool thing is that one of my favorite affiliates, Calumet, believes very strongly in offering educational opportunities at their multiple locations. If you’re interested, they have listings posted under the “Events” section at Shop Calumet Photographic – It’s Where the Pros Go.

Learning photography is a fun ride, there are so many places to hop on and off of the educational merry-go-round. For those who have emailed recently searching for info on hardware for triggering strobe units, I’d like to point out the Lighting 101: PC Cords and Pocket Wizards entry on Strobist.com. I’ll be honest, the options for wireless triggers changes faster than I can keep up with and the Strobist community lives, eats, breathes and sleeps info on that particular topic. While many of you already know the Strobist site well, newbies will find plenty of solid info in the rest of the Lighting 101 collection. Yes, I generally prefer studio strobes to speed lights when possible but light is light is light…and so are the ways they are triggered.

Speaking of light, I’ve been inspired recently by professional photographer Gregory Heisler’s portraits. Or, more accurately, I’ve been inspired AGAIN by Heisler. He was a young, successful magazine photographer in the 80’s when I was just learning photography. After not viewing his work for years these latest portraits have really struck a chord, especially the beautifully simple black and white images. It makes me want a big ‘ol window light, north light preferably, to shoot large format portraits by.

North Light Window

Hey, wait, I do have a big ‘ol north window light to shoot portraits by! Or I will soon, to be more accurate. The photo above is a shot of the natural light studio window in our new Daylight Photo space. The space is raw (just like the files) and we’re interested in keeping it edgy, less slick and more urban. Yes, it’s time for a change. We’ll be housed inside a large converted warehouse that is also home to the American Sign Museum, a fun, colorful, neon spot to hang out. Lots and lots of flavor and updates as we get settled.

Sooner or later autumn will reach the Midwest but this last month has felt like summer. They even had the air conditioning cranked up in the seminar today! It feels good but it doesn’t feel quite right, if that makes any sense.

Have a good weekend, keep shooting and I’ll see you on Monday…

- Jim T.

*a preview photo for next Monday

It’s hard to escape the news these days. There’s a monumental election about to happen in the U.S. next Tuesday and the turbulent financial times are affecting businesses worldwide, including the photo industry. There’s some sad news but I’m also feeling more positive on the near-term outlook for my own studio, Daylight Photo. More on that in a bit.

One of the biggest photo news stories around the net this week has been the demise of Digital Railroad, the online photo marketing / licensing site that helped photographers market their own stock and editorial work. The ASMP sent out an email this past Tuesday with notification that Digital Railroad would be closing their doors almost immediately. 24 hours later an official closing notice was posted on the DR website.

You may remember that PhotoShelter recently discontinued their own photo licensing division in order to concentrate on the company’s core photo storage business. PS and DR were regarded as being very friendly and fair to photographers. It’s disappointing to see that their business models didn’t prove to be viable because there were a lot of people pulling for them.

The aforementioned ASMP memo did list optimism about two other image distributors who may be of interest to photographers: Image Warehouse and ImageSpan, a new company that promises to “power new ways to monetize digital content”. I’m interested in hearing more about them as time goes on and will share any news.

Speaking of the presidential election, I noticed Mike Fox, Photojournalist, announced a new project on his blog recently. The object is to record (in photographs) your day on Election Day, November 4. This is an important moment in history and it makes sense to record the sights of the day, something I probably would have overlooked without the reminder. Mike is requesting photo submissions for use in an online multimedia presentation. One of his other sites, Photojournalism Online, has samples of the interesting work he’s doing with multimedia.

As for me feeling particularly optimistic about my own studio, well, things are busy and that’s a good thing. But it’s also been a really “good kind of busy”. I think clients are a little shaken up by the uncertainty of the market and advertising. It’s causing them to slow down just a bit and think things through more thoroughly and deliberately, it seems.

For awhile there every job seemed like a fire drill, where we did things as fast as possible to meet nearly impossible deadlines. Now clients are concentrating on quality again, a welcome development. The reason they’re coming to Daylight Photo is because they appreciate quality and experience. It seems to be a return to value and return on investment, rather than focusing as heavily on turnaround time and cost. I hope the trend continues!

In Monday’s post I want to walk through a past editorial assignment with you (motorcycle photo above), showing how I’ve used a photo opportunity to pitch multiple story ideas and maximize income. Until then, have a good weekend and I’ll see you next week…

- Jim T.

A couple of weeks ago I received an email announcing my friend Cathy Murray’s newly self-published 11” x 11” calendar, Good Kitty 2009. As photographers, most (if not all) of us harbor a desire to see our work published. It’s really cool when someone you know pulls together their images and produces a product like this, publishing 5,000 pieces in her very first effort.

Cathy obviously has a passion for felines and photography and a calendar is a great outlet for her work. Putting a first-time project like this together totally on one’s own can be difficult, though, so she teamed up with the Citizens for Humane Action (an animal shelter in Columbus, Ohio) and an illustrator to make it all happen. Then, in true cat lover fashion, Cathy decided that her reward would be the satisfaction of a project well done and all of the proceeds would be donated to the CHA shelter.

It seems like a winner to me and a smart way to get that first project published: Cathy gets her calendar printed and learns the ropes of publishing while finding a built-in audience through a good cause. Plus, there are always residuals for “doing the right thing”. If you or anyone you know loves cats and would like to support a good cause, more info and calendars are available for order by clicking the photo above.

While I’m sure there are dangers when photographing cats, let’s now travel halfway around the world to witness the most dangerous of all photographic assignments: war photography. The other day I stumbled across a 40 minute documentary on hulu.com about two young photojournalists working in Israel’s West Bank and Gaza Strip. This really is a rare look into the lives of freelance photojournalists, chronicling their journey as they pitch ideas to editors, shoot in dangerous situations and then return to show their work to the same editors.

Talk about passion…they have nothing but their cameras to protect them from gun- and rocket-fire. They also talk about tightening budgets and the sacrifices necessary to do their jobs. If you have the time to spare, I strongly recommend watching this piece.

*Note: bummer, I just found out the hulu.com videos aren’t available outside of the U.S. I don’t want anyone to go away empty-handed so I found this 3:40 minute video segment below (subscribers can view video in post on prophotolife) from the independent film “War Photographer”, which follows James Nachtwey . Yes, we heard from Nachtwey a couple weeks ago but there’s some really spectacular footage on here,  where there’s a video camera mounted on his SLR while shooting during a conflict. It’s an interesting point of view, hearing him speak about where the photos are ultimately published while seeing his POV while photographing.

Hey, it makes me want to get out and shoot something I’m passionate about this weekend. Have a good one and I’ll see you on the other side of Sunday…

- Jim T.