Pixiq

Photography Links Roundup: 02/03/2012

damien@pixiq.com — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:57:00 +0000

Here's a look at some photography goodness from around the Internet in the last week.

Also, I'm testing out different formats for these weekly roundups so feel free to leave comments. Enjoy!

Why Wedding Photographers Prices are “Wack”

petapixel.com - Earlier today my friend and fellow photographer posted a link to a craigslist ad from a woman in Seattle looking for a wedding photographer. The woman was upset because she thought that $3,000 for ...

3 Minutes with Photographer Sean McCormack

digital-photography-school.com - Fashion photography has always had a magical aura to it, as it accentuates the best of design and human form. In addition to the expected attention to lighting and shooting there is a great deal of...

Take More Photos – Keep Less

digital-photography-school.com - A guest post by Sam Levy, founder of citifari, New York Photo Tours.In today’s environment, with the development and increased mobility of digital cameras, it has become easy and inexpensive to tak...

Flashes in the Dark: Low light Photography

noupe.com - Jan 25 2012 Photographers put a lot of focus and emphasis on the lighting for their pictures. After all, lighting is a powerful instrument in setting the overall tone and feel of the piece. Even wh...

12 Most Embarrassing Family Portraits… with Pets

Oddee.com - Published on Today 2/2/2012 under Misc - by Gracie Murano Unless otherwise noted all photos were previously seen on the amazing websiteAwkward Family Pet Photos For the man that gets behind everyon...

Panasonic DMC-GF3 Review

digital-photography-school.com - If this is the way it’s going, I’m all for it: smaller, interchangeable lens cameras, with decently-sized sensors and sophisticated image processing internals. Panasonic and Sony seem to be waging ...

College launches course devotde to iPhone photography

bbc.co.uk - 3 February 2012 Last updated at 07:39 ET Isle of Wight beach taken on iPhone and treated with Snapseed and Filterstorm apps A college is planning a new evening course entirely devoted to taking bet...

beyondmemory Photography Competition - Call for Entries ~ Photography News

photography-news.com - February 3, 2012 /Photography News/ beyondmemory is an open call for works which invites artists to reflect on contemporary photography and video’s role in perceiving history and collective memory....

Geological Photography: Antelope Canyon | Abduzeedo

abduzeedo.com - Following our brief series of geological photography, today I present you a place bursting with colors and shapes. It's the Antelope Canyon, located in the Navajo Nation Parks, in Arizona. This pla...

Antonio Bolfo, the Police Officer With a Camera

lens.blogs.nytimes.com - There are all sorts of reasons why people become New York City police officers. Tradition. Family ties. The pension. Antonio Bolfo’s reasoning was simple.“I was bored,” he said.It was 2006, and Mr....

Watch: Jolie O'Dell on TWiT

damien@pixiq.com — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:18:00 +0000

Check out Jolie O'Dell as she talks all things technology, and about her upcoming book Android Photography: A Guide to Mobile Creativity from Pixiq Publishing on Leo Laporte's This Week in Tech.

Jolie's book is available for pre-order at Barnes and Noble and at Amazon and will be available wherever books are sold soon.

About the photography book:

Take great photos with your Android™ smart phone! Despite the popularity of Android™ and its huge app store, there hasn't been much information to be found on making the most of its in-phone camera. Now, this enlightening guide helps users get a great shot, anytime, anywhere. It details many of the great apps available for Android™; shows how to apply them to create, edit, and enhance images; and explains the easiest and best ways to share those pictures with friends and family.

Photography Links Roundup: 01/29/2012

damien@pixiq.com — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:32:00 +0000

Here's a look at some photography goodness from around the Internet in the last week.

The Secrets to Great Silhouettes - lightstalking.com - By Phil Hill on 24 Jan 2012 in Shooting This is a guest post by Phil Hill, a travel photographer from the UK based in Australia. You can see more of Phil’s great work at his travel photography blog...

10 Ways To Improve as a Photographer » JMG-Galleries – Jim M. Goldstein Photography - jmg-galleries.com - Recently I was presented the question, “How does one improve as a photographer? This question came from a well seasoned photographer and it got me thinking of the things I’ve done in the past. Whil...

11 Ways to get Free Marketing for Your Photography - digital-photography-school.com - One of the challenges of charging for your photography is figuring out how to get clients. You’ve got the technical know-how, but what about the business and marketing side? Strapped for cash and l...

Map showing tree density in America — Lost At E Minor: For creative people - lostateminor.com - I’ve loved and admired the work of Canadian Illustrator Isabelle Arsenault as far back as I can remember. I have such a soft spot for her charmingly old fashioned French aesthetic. Read more The gr...

10 awesome apps for iPhoneography - matadornetwork.com - With a series of shots in London, Larissa Olenicoff demonstrates how different iPhone apps can alter your photos. IT’S NO SECRET that iPhones can take some pretty great photos, which is a godsend f...

Life Archive of Photo Enthusiast Being Uploaded to Flickr One Image at a Time - petapixel.com - During his lifetime, MIT engineer and businessman Nick DeWolf founded the giant electronic testing company Teradyne and designed more than 300 semiconductor and electronic test systems. In his sp...

World Press Photo Of The Year 2010 >> TotallyCoolPix - totallycoolpix.com - 01. Daniele Tamagni, a freelance photographer based in Italy, has won the 2nd Prize in the Arts and Entertainment Stories category with the series The Flying Cholitas in Bolivia: Lucha libre (Boliv...

Joni Sternbach Curtis Wehrfritz Daytona Beach: Photographers Joni Sternbach and Curtis Wehrfritz exhibit in Daytona - orlandosentinel.com - "He Speaks With the Raven as a Man," dagguerotype by Curtis Wehrfritz (Curtis Wehrfritz / January 26, 2012) 10:37 a.m. EST, January 26, 2012 WHAT: Old techniques, modern vision. That's the unspoken...

Macro Photography by Nadav Bagim - pphotographyb.blogspot.com - Amazing macro photographs by Nadav Bagim, talented insect male photographer, who based in Ramat-Gan, Israel.

Minolta AF 35 Big Finder: My Party Camera - lomography.com - As all the cameras I currently own, I bought it in a second-hand shop: I saw it and it looked very solid and resistant. Moreover, it looked very easy to use, since it's totally authomatic and I wan...

Photography Links Roundup: 01/20/2012

damien@pixiq.com — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:23:00 +0000

Here's a look at some photography goodness from around the Internet in the last week.

Here are 10 tips to improve your portfolio from Lindsay Adler on Scott Kelby's blog.

Did you know that you're most creative when you're at your groggiest? It explains why I get little sleep and kinda prefer it that way. Probably not good for my health though...

Here's a great interview of Kazuto Yamaki with Sigma on their next focus. NEX and Micro Four Thirds users rejoice!

Did you know that ice can make some really interesting macro photography? Pretty cool stuff.

Here's a great interview with Cory Rich on the complexities between photography and videography.

I'm a big fan of double exposure photography and here's a great profile on Oliver Morris who does some really great work in that area.

Oh, and in case you somehow missed it. Kodak filed for bankruptcy. Crazy.

Also, I wanted to chime in about SOPA and PIPA. First, this is my personal opinion and not representative of Pixiq. I tend to want to think that photographers in our era are sitting in a strange place when it comes to issues like this. On the one hand we're supposed to be protecting our images from piracy. Those are our images. We created them. That said, the Internet is our tool for sharing and distributing our work. SOPA and PIPA are too broad and powerful to deal with a problem like this. If you don't know what SOPA and PIPA are and how they will/won't affect you, as a photographer, then consider reading these posts about photographers and SOPA and PIPA:

SOPA and Photography at APhotoEditor
Why SOPA/PIPA Affect All Of Us at Virtual Photography Studio
SOPA and Your Business at Splendid Communications
SOPA: Should Photographers Care? at Making it as a Pro

There are ton of other websites trying their best to explain SOPA and PIPA and how it will, or will not, affect their customers/fans/followers/readers/etc. Do some research and contact your representative to let them know how YOU feel about it.

Have a great weekend everyone. Now go take some pictures!

Save Money on Photography Deals with Photo Dough

damien@pixiq.com — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:55:00 +0000

If you're familiar with sites like Groupon and Living Social (and who isn't these days?) then you'll likely be interested in a newish site that offers coupons tailored specifically to photographers. It's called Photo Dough and it aims to help photographers save dough on services, software, and gear.

The site boasts "daily deals" and I signed up a couple of weeks ago to see what kind of deals I would get.

First, you should know that you aren't likely to get daily deals as the site is fairly new and they are probably still working on getting enough clients to offer up some goodies for photographers. I'm sure they're working hard on this.

That said, the site has sent me a fair amount of interesting deals.

Here are a few of the recent deals that were sent my way that I found pretty compelling:

$49 Video - Learn the Business of Photography with Kevin Focht (Save $80)

Book Brides NOW! Here's 60% Off a 5 Month SnapKnot Diamond Membership

$89 for Digital Darkroom Secrets Video Workshop - More than 5 hours of video (save $81)

$23 for ShootSmarter DVD: Ultra Portable Power Portraits with Will Crockett! (Free Shipping)

$20 for Three Designer Fishbombs. Never Lose a Lenscap or Filter Again! (save $25)

They've had camera bags, cameras, frames (digital and analog) and tons of Photoshop software plugins and templates.

Most of the stuff is aimed at wedding and portrait photographers but there's certainly enough variety that I think most photographers would be able to find a few gems in there no matter their area of expertise.

You can check out all of the recent deals they've had to get an idea of what kind of photo related stuff they've been able to bring to the table so far. I must say, I'm pretty impressed.

Check out Photo Dough and let us know what you think.

Photography Links Roundup: 01/06/2012

damien@pixiq.com — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:07:00 +0000

Here's a look at some photography goodness from around the Internet in the last week.

If you’re a commercial or stock photographer it would be wise for you to know exactly what it is you are shooting for.

If you’re working on your collection of photo books here’s a good roundup of the best photo books from 2011.

There’s an interesting new photo community called PopSafari and NextWeb has the details. Check it out.

As photographers working in the digital age it would be wise for all of us to shorten our time spent on monotonous tasks. Dropbox can help with that. This frees you up to go spend more time behind your camera!

Speaking of saving time, Glyn Dewis shares his most used Photoshop plugins. I repeat, go spend more time behind your camera!

You don’t have to use Photoshop to make really cool and effective illusions with your photography. This is fun stuff to add to your arsenal!

Here’s an international call for artists that I thought many of you might find interesting.

There’s a photographer who is using Google’s street view images to create, or recreate, works through his own lens. It’s an interesting take and a good piece on the artist. I’m willing to bet that some would argue that he isn’t “really a photographer” as he’s appropriating the automated works. Check out the comments on the piece as the argument about whether or not this artist can/should call himself a photographer. It’s really interesting.

Also, check out this piece on entertainers moonlighting as artists. It’s always good to have creatives working in multiple platforms, if you ask me...you did ask, right?

Is travel photographer becoming endangered? What do you think?

The British Natural History Museum hosts an annual contest that invites wildlife and nature photographers to submit their best work, and the stories behind it, to vie for a spot in the yearly publication, Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

To keep up with more great photography news and links don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and/or on Google Plus where I share links and talk about the photography world at large.

Photography Links Roundup: 12/30/2011

damien@pixiq.com — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:36:00 +0000

Have a safe New Year and use a designated driver!

Photojojo has a host of ideas for photo projects for a snappy new year.

You can have CameraTrace email you if your camera gets stolen and someone tries to sell it on the Internet.

Ever wonder how they make those amazing time-lapse Earth videos?

Phototuts+ is looking back on 2011 and forward to 2012 as well through thier lenses.

Feature Shoot has a nice feature of photographer Rune Guneriussen. Here's one of the photos but I do suggest clicking through the link to see the whole feature.

The CoffeeShop Blog has a nice little editing 101 post "Easy editing with levels". A good primer.

If you have a ton of photos to edit at the same time and you're struggling with your workflow here's an article that might help.

If 2012 is the year you go pro then start here.

eBooks are all the rage. And why not? Here's a roundup of the top photography eBooks of 2011.

How do you spend your time as a photographer?

The Top 11 Books by Pixiq in 2011

damien@pixiq.com — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:11:00 +0000

This year was a stellar year for our Pixiq authors as they released some truly fantastic photography books throughout the year.

If you didn't get one of these as a gift over the holidays I suggest getting one now. It's always okay to treat yourself to some great photography knowledge.

Here are the top 11 selling photography books by the Pixiq publishing team in 2011!

The Art of iPhoneography

The world's most popular cameras today are the ones on a cell phone--and this guide will help iPhone owners get the best photos possible from their equipment. Not only does The Art of iPhoneography explain how to choose, load, and use the best of the apps, it also focuses on the specific techniques that define this genre of picture-taking, and the skills photographers need to develop their creative “i.”

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Nobles.

Digital Wedding Photography: Art, Business & Style

With more than 35 years as a top wedding photographer, Steve Sint knows the industry inside and out. That's why the first two editions ofWedding Photography were THE authoritative references to the profession. Now, Sint covers digital with the same skill and thoroughness, showing how photographers can take full advantage of its technical potential. He covers every aspect, from getting the job to taking the right shots to selling the albums, marketing your work, and making a profit-while keeping everyone happy along the way.

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Nobles

New Epson Complete Guide to Digital Printing

The very best guide to the world's best printers--now updated with information on the newest products!

Renowned digital photography author Rob Sheppard shows photographers how to get the most out of their Epson printing equipment. He outlines the most efficient workflow, provides printing tips and techniques, and suggests a wealth of other methods that go far beyond the basics. How-tos for handling the most up-to-date technologies, step-by-step tips, and practical, proven real-world strategies that Rob has learned from experience will help photographers the produce top-quality prints they want…right at home.

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Nobles

Rethinking Digital Photography: Making & Using Traditional & Contemporary Photo Tools

Photography is changing at the speed of light--and this imaginative manual offers an amazing look at unconventional imaging methods, both digital and analog. Detailed and playful, it presents ideas for repurposing old cameras, making photo devices out of common household items, and creating unique images with today's cameras, mobile phones, software, and other digital technology. From using TTV cameras lens to panorama and 3D shooting, these techniques will expand any photographer's repertoire!

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

The Creative Photographer

For most photographers the picture is the end product of the creative process. For Catherine Anderson, it's just the beginning. In a wide array of projects using techniques from Photoshop to needle and thread, she shows beginner and experienced photographers alike how to turn their pictures into handmade objects of art-from books and collages to customized greeting cards.

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Self-Portrait Photography: The Ultimate in Personal Expression

A leader of the most popular trend in photography teams up with fellow superstars of the self-portrait movement to deliver a lavish, inspirational book to a community of dedicated fans. They showcase the many possibilities of their audacious art form: posing for their own cameras in costume, in the nude, while performing stunts, against unusual backgrounds, and in other imaginative ways.

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Pro Digital Portrait Lighting: The Definitive Reference to Lighting Setups

With more than 100 diagramed lighting setups-and eight shots showing the effect on the final image-this manual is a must-have for studio portrait photographers. In addition to the advice on equipment and on achieving a particular look, this reference confronts one of the major challenges faced by portrait photographers: matching the lighting to a model's skin. It demonstrates every conceivable lighting setup on four models of varying skin tones, making it easy to plan a shoot.

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Focus On Digital Portrait Photography

People love to take photos of people--and capturing a portrait that's more than just a snapshot is a dream for many beginning- and intermediate-level photographers. The latest book in the Focus on Digital series is designed to help them meet that challenge. With each lesson presented in a single, easy-to-grasp spread, it presents the techniques required to achieve a portrait that's beautifully composed, well lighted, and fully captures the subject's personality. Award-winning photographer Jenni Binder demonstrates how to shoot in a studio and in the field, and analyzes the many styles of portraiture, from formal sitting to spontaneous slice-of-life.

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Advanced Imaging

The digital revolution has opened a world of new avenues for photographers to explore: now, they have the ability to replicate the image quality of sophisticated, traditional photographs, or to take their art into another realm altogether. Advanced Imaging collects these creative alternatives in a single, inspirational volume. It explores using highly evolved, digital techniques such as HDRI, focus stacking, infrared, scanography, panoramic stitching, and vintage processes simulation, to produce cool-looking images.

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Digital Image Transfer: Creating Art with Your Photography

Ellen G. Horovitz, an inspiring artist and teacher, guides readers through imaginative photo projects that transform cherished analog and digital images into works of art. Horovitz expands on traditional photo transfer, taking it to an entirely new level using digital software techniques and a wide array of innovative materials and methods, including cocoa powder, Citrasolve, copper, and packing tape. Starting with traditional photos, digital files, and instant photo emulsions, Horovitz fashions 2D and 3D art pieces, showing readers how to use conventional processes and new exploratory techniques-even left-over materials-in the creation of meaningful photo art.

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Digital Close-Up Photography Q&A: Great Tips and Hints from a Top Pro

When the camera gets close-up, it reveals details of color, shape, and texture we might never notice in real life. With this gorgeously illustrated step-by-step guide, Paul Harcourt Davies--whose name has become synonymous with macro photography--shows just what can be achieved with a digital camera, taking us into worlds many photographers never thought possible to record. He provides straightforward answers to frequently asked questions about the process, from equipment, software and composition to HD video and time-lapse video sequences, making sophisticated concepts understandable to the layman and empowering all photographers--whether they're using a mobile camera, modest point-and-shoot, or sophisticated DSLR.

Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Now get yourself a book and take your photography to the next level!

Photography Links Roundup: 12/23/2011

damien@pixiq.com — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:09:00 +0000

Here's a look at some photography goodness from around the Internet in the last week.

DPS has a nice little round up of gifts for photographers under $20. While it may be a little late for getting gifts in time for the holidays this may be one to bookmark for yourself in the event you end up with some gift cards or cash!

I love gingerbread. It's one of my faves. I also love cameras (who knew?) so it was a really nice little surprise to spot this gem on how to make gingerbread cameras! I should send this to my wife.

Wedding photographers beware! You cannot use copyrighted music on your websites! I shouldn't even have to bring this to anyone's attention. You wouldn't want some other business using your photos without your permission or without paying you, would you?

It's too easy for us to start a discussion on whether or not film is dying (or already dead) but there are still tons of photographers out there who shoot film (I'm one of those BTW) and it scares me a little when I read a piece like this one from Ctien at TOP about scanners and burning our bridges. If you shoot film I recommend reading the article.

Speaking of film, here's a good reminder of the sunny 16 rule.

So smartphones are taking over the photography world. Yep. That's a big chunk.

CompactFlash Association announces the recently adopted XQD(TM) specification as a new Memory Card Format

Here's a really great article on why wedding photographers should list their prices the right way. I like the article because it's not from a photographer and sometimes it's good to get the perspective of customers rather than peers.

Happy Holidays everyone. Be safe and kind!

Canon Idea Mine App Preview

damien@pixiq.com — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:02:00 +0000

Cool new app from Canon promises to help photographers with inspiration.

I had a chance to visit with Paul Pierson of Carbone Smolan Agency at PDN's 2011 PhotoPlus Expo and get the low down on this new app for photographers.

This app is aimed at hitting creatives right where we need it the most. At our "creative blocks". Canon is looking at becoming a partner of inspiration and we could all use a little help with inspiration from time to time.

Of course they worked with some of today's top photographers in a round-table discussions to come up with great ways that they could help structure your thinking about projects. It's pretty impressive really.

Here's a quick video I shot of the app and some of what Paul and I discussed. Excuse the glare.

You turn on the app. You're presented with fields to fill in. The fields are location, subject, feeling, and technique. You then hit done and it creates a great little graphical inspiration type poster for you to refer to as you're working these projects. Once you've finished you'll be able to attach an image and file it away and pat yourself on the back. Nice.

So what if you're drawing a blank? You're stuck without any ideas but you're in a really cool location or something? This is the part of the app that I think is the coolest. You fill in what you can, leave the rest blank, then hit randomize. Bam! Instant idea for you to go photograph something awesome. What's cool about this is that it makes you have to think a little, or a lot, outside your box. That's always good for getting your creative juices flowing.

It can be a full destination for an idea or a place to jump-start. You can save and sort them.

There's also going to be a link to the Canon Digital Learning center on the final version but it wasn't on the beta that I saw so I cannot comment on how well that aspect is integrated into the app itself.

During our chat I really picked Paul's brain on where Canon was heading with this app. It's not complete. It's not ready for prime time, but it's really close and I have little doubt that when we do see it released it will be a success.

So if it's not complete then what's missing? It's missing social aspects that I feel would greatly benefit the photography community. I'd love to see some Twitter and Facebook integration. A way to share your idea directly from the app. Maybe some Flickr or Google Plus integration although I think we'd have to wait until Google opens their API for that to happen.

How cool would it be for photographers that are doing 365 or 52 photography projects to use this app, share the idea about what they're going to go capture, then share their image? You could have Flickr groups and Facebook pages and other cool challenges based on this app.

There's a world of opportunity that I think Canon is missing if they don't open this app up to sharing. But I have a feeling that those things will come. Until it does, I'll happily use the app as is...once I get my hands on it.

So when will we see the Canon Idea Mine in the app store? There's no official date but it's expected to come out in time for the holidays for the iPhone but not the iPad and we will, of course, update you when it goes live. Until then...