Scott Kelby's World Wide Photo Walk...

As (I am sure most of) you are aware, Scott Kelby is organizing a world wide photo walk for August 23rd, 2008. Today Scott post a Q&A about the walk that you should check out.

If you want to find out if there is a walk near you, you can look for your city here.

Yours truly (that would be me) is hosting the walk in Portland Maine, here is the details page.

The walk is limited to 50 people (and 20 have already signed on) so don't wait until the last minute to reserve your spot.

As the walk gets closer I will be posting more information, details, do's, and don'ts for our walk, so be sure to check back.

Adobe announces the release of Lightroom 2!...

Today Adobe announced the official release of Lightroom 2 and you can get Lightroom 2 right here!

The upgrade for Lightroom is just $99 and the full versions is $299.

Now this is kinda cool...

I arrived home today and found a package had arrived for me in the mail, it was a CD on which I had been hired to do the photography.

Musician/artist Jennifer Comeau had asked me to do the photography for her debut CD, and though it was a fun afternoon of taking pictures, several months have passed and with wedding season in full swing I had forgotten all about it.

I pulled the CD out of the package, trying to figure out who had sent it to me and then it dawned on me, "Hey, I took those pictures!"

;)

To learn more about Jennifer and her music (or see images from her wonderful photographer) you can visit her website here.

(click on image to view larger)

A few more, then it's off to Philadelphia...

Here are several more images from beautiful Lancaster Pennsylvania.

We are leaving for Philadelphia in a couple hours, and it is going to be a busy (shooting) weekend, so I'll see ya next week.

Click on any image to view larger.

Hello from beautiful Lancaster, PA…

This place is gorgeous! We are already planning a trip back in the fall.

Here are some shot from earlier today.

Click on any image to view larger.

Hey folks….

I am leaving for Amish country for a couple days of shooting and then off to Philadelphia this weekend to shoot a wedding.

It is quite likely I will not be posting until my return next Monday.

See ya then.

Be safe, be happy.

And these baby images...

Are from my last newborn session.

Click on any of them to view larger.

Sunday evening engagement session…

This weekend the weather in Maine has been horrid - large amounts of thunder, lighting, wind, and rain. Trees have come down, rivers have flooded, and people have been running through the streets arms flailing and screaming “the end is coming, THE END IS COMING!”

;)

And I had to shoot an engagement session with this weekend for a wonderful couple Jen & Joe. If it didn’t happen tonight, it wasn’t ever going to happen because there was no place in the schedule to fit them in before we shoot their wedding in two weeks.

Well, we sat in our cars at the beach hoping for a break in the weather, we waited, and waited – finally we got exactly 15 minutes to shoot before the skies opened back up. It was just enough time to get their session done.

Here are a few, click on any image to view it larger.

One more goody to close the week...

This one came from a reader Giles, who lives in London England.

He wrote to tell me about a free program with capabilities similar to those of Photoshop called GIMP.

This from the GIMP website: "GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring." and is available in three flavors, Windows, MAC, and Linux.

You can learn more about GIMP and its features at this link.

Giles praised the capabilities of GIMP, but was also honest about what he considered its short comings: "Unfortunately it's not all good news for the Gimp. It's not as user friendly and intuitive as Photoshop, and does take some effort to learn how to use it properly. In fact, even though it can do many of the things that Photoshop can do, many Photoshop users get a bit annoyed with it as it isn't a direct clone and many features are in different places and under different menus".

Regarding his last comment, there is another project out to address that very issue, GIMPshop, "GIMPshop is a modification of GIMP, intended to replicate the feel of Adobe Photoshop. Its primary purpose is to make users of Photoshop feel comfortable using GIMP".

Not everyone has (or wants to spend the) bazzillion dollars to buy Photoshop and GIMP certainly looks like a real and viable alternative.

Here are a couple images that Giles was kind enough to share, he used GIMP to create a calendar for his family.

Thanks Giles.

(click on either image to view larger)

Check out this resource...

Ever start following links from site to site and end up on a cool website or blog, but if you had to explain exactly how you got there, you couldn't?

I came upon f/1.0 but couldn't tell you how I got there if you offered me a fistful of money.

Ed Zawadzki has a very nice blog, with a bunch of instructional and educational posts.

What first brought me there was a 4 part series he is doing called "The Nuts & Bolts of Off camera Flash", you will find part 1 here, and part 2 here.

After reading these (well written) posts I started snooping around his blog and found other good things, like:

Shoot Fireworks Like a Pro

The 15 Second DIY Adjustable Snoot

Quick & Dirty Seamless Backdrop For Small objects

So take some time and go visit Ed at f/1.0 and do some snooping of your own, you'll find some really good stuff.

The slideshow from our last wedding...

This is from the wedding of Margit & Eric that we shot on July 5th.

What a fun wedding, not only was it obvious that the bride and groom were deeply in love, but you got the real sense that the guests felt the same way about them.

Here's the link to the slideshow.

And your job (should you accept it) is to find the Mickey Mouse hidden in the image below.

(click on image to view larger)

I love photographing children…

My favorite shot in the panel is the first one on the left. Look at the smile on her face and the excitement in her eyes as she watches her dad drink from the fountain.

(click to view larger)

Get your free Lightroom presets here!...

Earlier this week we showed you where to get free Photoshop actions, today we'll show you where to find free Lightroom presets:

1. Here you will find 85 presets from Jack Davis
2. Inside Lightroom has (roughly) 75 presets from various developers
3. Lightroom Presets has another 25 here
4. Kelsey Smith has 50 presets here, and 10 B&W presets here
5. Steller Times has 3 here
6. 640 Pixels is giving away 15
7. That 70's set is free from Kim Long
8. Get The Daido Moriyama Kit by ReallyJapan
9. These are from Heather Green Photography
10. Here are three from Snowdon Photography
11. 9 Fill Flash Fixer presets from Jon Tehero
12. No list would be complete without Matt Kloskowski's presets

The following presets are camera or lens specific:

13. Nikon D300
14. Nikon 18-200 VR Lens
15. Leica M8
16. Canon 40D

Have a great weekend!

A bunch of Nikon links...

The following are links of interest to my Nikon friends:

1. A significant firmware update for the D3 has just been released, here is the Windows version, and here is the MAC version

2. The D300 also has a firmware update but is more minor in nature, Windows is here, MAC is here

3. The latest camera from Nikon is the D700, read all about it here

4. If that isn't enough, here are 12 pages of details and specifications on the D700

5. A review of the D700 from Nikonians.org

6. Another new release from Nikon that has slipped in under the radar is their new flash - the SB-900, here are the details

7. If you want to know more about the SB-900 you can read Joe McNally's review here

8. Here are some SB-900 details from DPReview.com

Hundreds of Free Photoshop Actions...

Here is a list for several hundred (and pretty darn good) FREE Photoshop actions:

1. Here are 39 from PanosFX.com
2. Elated Action Kits offers 47 here
3. Reyns Wim Photography has 70 free actions
4. Finesse FX has 67 free actions
5. 13 from Pioneer Woman Photography
6. 22 actions on About.com
7. 20 actions from ActionFX.com
8. The Light's Right Studios is offering 30 free actions
9. Here are 13 actions from Turning Turnip
10. And finally, 156 actions are available here from various sources.

So that's 455, 460, 466, a lot of free actions.

Free is good, enjoy!

Photoshop User TV...

One of the things I look forward to on Mondays is that weeks episode of Photoshop User TV.

So imagine my surprise when it came time for the hosts to give their recommendations for photography websites and the handsome, articulate, and ever talented Dave Cross gave a thumbs-up to Weekly Photo Tips!

I always thought that Dave Cross was the was the brains and driving force behind Photoshop User TV, this simply confirms it.

;)

But seriously, great show, great guys, and if you use Photoshop Matt, Scott, and Dave should hold the top spot on your educational resource list.

And thank you Dave!

What a phenomenal weekend!...

The 4th was spent with friends and family, canoe races, softball games and then relaxing by the pool with lots and lots of food.

Then it was off to the Eagle Mountain House in beautiful Jackson, NH to shoot a wedding.

What a fun couple, Margit and Eric are wonderful people. You know when the pastor is wearing a Mickey Mouse tie, and the bride walks down the aisle after the ceremony to Disney theme music, you're in the right place.

Not only did everything go perfectly, my good friend Mark Hensley came and shot with me.

Here are a few of the shots, click on any image to view it larger.

Happy birthday Weekly Photo Tips...

"Happy birthday to you"...

Today is the first birthday of Weekly Photo Tips, it made it here because of you the readers, THANK YOU!

Your support has been amazing, here are some of the numbers:

In our first month we averaged 4 visitors a day, the past month we are averaging 279 people daily.

Here are some more numbers:

This past year we have had 40,343 visitors

with 55,205 Page Views

701 people have subscribed to Weekly Photo Tips

You have come from 132 Countries

Top 5 Countries:

1. United States
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. Australia
5. Germany

Bottom 5:

128. Botswana
129. Bolivia
130. Mongolia
131. Kenya
132. Laos

Top 5 Viewed Posts:

1. The best Lightroom training DVD I have seen
2. I'm back - with Matt Kloskowski
3. That Gritty Dave Hill Look
4. The importance of monitor calibration
5. Take the flash off your camera

I have gotten to shoot with Scott Kelby, Stacey Kane, and Mike Palmer.

Made friends with Vincent Versace and Matt Kloskowski, had (email) conversations with David Ziser, Joe Photo, Jason D. Moore, and people all over the world.

Almost every week a package arrives with some photographic doo-dad to be tested and reviewed.

As a photographer does it get any better?

And I have you to thank, because without you this blog would be nothing.

Please know that I will make every effort to make year two even better.

I will be celebrating the 4th with friends & family and will be shooting a wedding out of state this weekend so you will not hear from me again until next week.

Be happy, be safe.

and thank you, thank you, thank you......

TinEye update...

Currently there is a waiting list if you want an account, but the good folks at TinEye have given us a handful of accounts to give out to our readers.

So if you would like a TinEye account email us your name and the email address you want to use for your account and at the end of today we will randomly pick 20 of our readers who submit their info to receive their own TinEye account.

Email us now... and good luck.

June 2008 Photo Contest Winners...

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the June 2008 Weekly Photo Tips contest winners, click on either image to view a larger version:

The first image, "Flower", is from Jason Anderson:

Location: Unknown
Equipment Used: Canon 550 EX, shot through diffuser with a Sigma 70mm macro lens, f22, flash on with shutter sync of 1/200th @ 1/500 second, ISO 1600
Post Production: tweaked the exposure in Photoshop, cloned out a few spots, ran through Noise Ninja, and applied a little output sharpening

Be sure to check out Jason's blog.

The second image, "Beach Ballerina", is from Melissa Belcher:

Location: Florida
Equipment Used: Canon 40D, a 28-135mm lens, lighting was good old sunshine
Post Production: post production with iPphoto - fading the color and blurring the edges

You can visit Melissa's website here.

Jason will be getting an original Battery Caddy and a copy of Lou Jones latest photography book.

Melissa will also be getting an original Battery Caddy and a copy of Doug Gordon's "Weddings with a Video Light the Easy Way" DVD.

Congratulations to the June winners and and the July contest is now open!