Personal Life Media

On this weeks' show, I take a few minutes at the beginning of the podcast to share my thoughts and experiences from the recent Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk that occurred on July 18th, as well as an admitted confession from a dedicated Canon shooter!

Also on episode 27, I sit down and talk with Rich Charpentier - photographer extraordinaire.  He hails from Prescott, AZ, and has some wonderful HDR work, as well as some great stories and "chronicles" from his travels and living in an Airstream

Of course, the show is rounded up this week with a few listener questions and answers, as always.  Just a reminder that the OnOne Software Plugin Suite 4.5 contest has about ten days left, so make sure you get your "Numbers" themed shot in soon.  Prize package worth $500 retail, just follow the link in the show notes.  Happy Shooting all and have a great week!

On this weeks show, the interview was so much fun we talked for almost an hour before we realized it so the rest of the show I tried to keep things short.  So, I took a look at some:

Photo News

• Worldwide Photowalk
• Canon
• Ritz

Also, I had a few Contest News announcements, followed by the interview with Terry Reinert, and of course, rounded out the show with a few listener Questions and Answers on things like hair lights, filters, and the exposure triangle!  (Ooooh, sounds fancy!)

Download the show today, and get complete show notes, with links and more over at the blog.
Exposure Triangle
Filters
Hair Lights

This week’s show is a doozy - I talk about the latest contest, (#3 for 2009), have a fun conversation with Jason Loucks.  then tackle some tips on photography fireworks.  Of course the show always takes care of a couple listener questions and answers, so it’s 45 jam-packed minutes of photography fun.  Here’s a teaser on the show notes:

• Win a copy of Onone Software Plugin Suite 4.5 - valued at $500!
• Learn about designer/photographer Jason Loucks
• Get some tips and Tricks on shooting fireworks
• Take in a few listener questions and answers

All that on this week's show, with more details, links and notes on the blog!

On this weeks show - really episode #24 (I goofed the intro and said it was #25) - a short discussion on how I do reviews of hardware and software for the blog and podcast, an interview with Erik Bernskiold, and lots of listener questions and answers.  Rounding out the show this week are 10 tip for capturing your best shots this summer.  Stop over to the blog for all the details, links, and show notes.  Don't forget, if you're picking this up from the folks at PLM, give the show a shout by "Digging" it.  iTunes reviews and feedback are always appreciated, as are blog comments and email.  Thanks for tuning in, and enjoy the show!

On this week's show discussion centers around some news and events from around the web and over at the blog.  A couple blog announcements, some links to contest info and other stuff is all available from the blog's show notes, so be sure to stop over there to get the skinny on things like Photo walks, contest info, and blog news.

Also on this weeks show - a lot of listener questions are taken - half the show!  Thanks to everyone for taking the time to submit their questions for consideration too.  Feel free, as always to share your thoughts, comments, and feedback either here at the PLM site with Diggs, on iTunes via the review option, on Twitter, in the blog comments, or with me directly via email. 

Thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you next time!

On this week's show, we take some listener questions, provide a little background and insight in some answers, the segue into our second half - an interview with none other than Tom, Hogarty, Senior Product Manager for Adobe Lightroom.  It's a great segment, where we talk about the design of Lightroom, how it fits into the photographer's work flow, and where development of the industry as a whole is likely to head.  And to top things off, a contest, with - you guessed it - a copy of Photoshop Lightroom 2 going to the lucky winner.  More detailed notes available on the blog.

This week’s podcast episode should be available shortly over at Personal Life Media.   You’ll want to listen when you really can dedicate the 25 minutes as it’s a pretty rapid fire show this week.  A couple learning opportunities presented themselves to me recently and I wanted to share these before they got too fuzzy.  As a result, I didn’t really get into the news of the last week, or address any listener questions.  However, there are still some show notes and a sample portrait over at the blog, so be sure to stop there and pick up the feed.  Diggs, reviews, and such (as always) are appreciated and encouraged!

On this weeks show, I take a look at the power of the pen - the artist statement.  For those of us with aspirations of sharing our work with others via art shows, galleries, contests and competitions, the value of the artist statement can make the difference between getting into a show, gallery or other event and buying a ticket.  So, if you want to learn what the artist statement is, how to write one, and things to consider, this is the show for you.

Stop oer at the blog for the rest of the show notes, and don't forget to Digg above here at PLM, and review the show on iTunes if you like it!  Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next week!

Hey all, this week’s show is done and boy are you in for a treat!  Not only is there some pretty ground-breaking news from the computing world, but the theme for this podcast is blur!  I take a (hopefully) clear look at different types of blur you can get in your images, what can work, what will not work, and how to correct for different types.  Got some great listener questions and answers that tie in very nicely to the theme, and as, always the photo tip of the week.  Here’s a few of the show notes:

News Links - HP z800 Specs - (listen to the show to find out why this is so amazing it’s the only news story!)

Focal Length/Crop Factor/Shutter Speed settings - check the blog for details

Listener Questions:

• DOF Preview button
• Battery Length
• Portrait Lenses

Be sure when you stop over to the good folks at PLM to get the podcast, to check out the Lensbaby Composer - a great resource for managing blur in your photos!  Happy shooting all and don't forget to stop by the blog for the show notes.

In preparation for the next podcast, due in no small part to a technical difficulty with Garage Band, I’ve set up a dedicated computer and recording space (call it my dedicated recording studio) and the audio quality is off the charts better than anything I’ve done before.  Ironically, the new topic for this weeks podcast is also about sound - the sound of shutters and how they can impact the feel of the camera, and how they can effect a moment is significant enough to warrant consideration.  Make sure you tune in for this one from the good folks over at Personal Life Media to get all the news, info, and latest from Learning Digital Photography!

Listen in to the podcast right here at Personal Life for the answers and full details on all the show segments.  In the meantime, what does your shutter sound like?   It doesn’t even have to be a Canon camera, listen to your camera whether it’s Canon Nikon, Olympus, Sony, Pentax, Panasonic, Leica, Hasselblad, etc! Find out why in the podcast up now over at Personal Life Media  The rest of the show notes, including additional links referenced in the show are over at the blog.

Remember to Digg the podcast page too - more listeners means more questions and answers, and more fodder for podcasts!

Welcome to the show notes for week #17 of Learning Digital Photography.  Here's the show notes for this week's podcast...

First off, I've done some further tweaking to give a little more consistency and structure to the show for your listening pleasure.  The three segments that I am going to try to regularly stick to will be:

1. News, Events, and Information from around the community and industry - here I'll share nuggets, information, and other useful snippets from the most recent days and weeks of activity within the photography community.  Sometimes I'll share information that's available elsewhere, and other times I'll offer my own perspectives on the news and events that shape the industry.
2. Authors and Artists from within and related to the industry of photography are also an area I would like to devote some time to since the Thursday Thoughts series has not seen much attention lately (not that I am planning to either - I think it's just on sabbatical!), and I had the good fortune of actually sitting down with an area professional recently which provided a source of inspiration for this weeks show.
3. Sources of Inspiration - As artists I think we are always searching for and discovering new sources of inspiration.  Often these can come from well known venues such as photography magazines, galleries, and the like, but I am not adverse to featuring unusual or new sources either.  This week, I will be featuring an unusual source of inspiration, so make sure you stop in for this segment too!

Head on over to the blog for the remainder of the show notes and links!

So, this last weekend I went on the photo meetup group outing for the month of February into Eldorado State Park, south of Boulder, and had many an opportunity to capture some landscape and macro work.  Some great views were had and I only hope that they all come out as well as this one did.  While hiking up a trail of slippery snow and ice (it was cold out Saturday morning), I saw this fissure that was pretty intense looking because it was only partially lit.  I thought about it for a second and decided to bracket some exposures to see if it would turn out with some HDR massaging.  Not only did it turn out better than I would have thought, I was also very pleased with how Photomatix did with this.  I would highly recommend this software to anyone interested in HDR work.  Not only is it more intuitive than Photoshop, the results were much more gratifying!  You can buy Photomatix for PS, Lightroom and for either Windows or a Mac over at http://www.hdrsoft.com

Some other web links I learned about recently also include fotoblur.com and usefilim.com  Both are much more cognizant and respective of photography copyright than other social and photo networking sites like Flickr and Facebook (we all know about the Facebook Terms of Service fiasco, right?).  One thing I like about both Fotoblur and Flickr is that you are limited in how many images you can upload daily.  This requires you to be more careful about what you publish, and as a result, you are more thoughtful and objective of what work is worth posting and sharing online.

Last but not least, the podcast that I had intended to put out last week was delayed for a few days as I put the finishing touches up on a home improvement project.  (We finished out one of the basement rooms - expect to see some photos on that makeover forthcoming!)  The good news is that not only is the basement room on the verge of completion, but that the podcast is up for this week.  Naturally, the title of the podcast will match the blog post title, as the show notes follow closely to todays content.  Stop on over to Personal Life Media for the show, or pick it up in iTunes!  (Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the review section of iTunes too…the more the merrier!)

With the “New and Improved” podcast starting out at PLM this week, there’s a couple exciting things to announce.  First off, the drawing for the Think Tank Photo Streetwalker bag was done live on the podcast this week, and the winner was announced in the lead segment.  Congrats go out to the winner (you know who you are!), so do get me your address so I can ship you the bag post haste!

The meat segment (aka middle segment) I talk about some new sources of inspiration - specifically the grocery store and in a restaurant.  The next time you are at a restaurant, take your camera because the table makes for a great tripod, and you can get some really cool shots.  Case in point, is the new gallery I have set up here at the blog, titled Tabletop Photography.  I’m also sharing a few sources of inspiration from the grocery store too (tune in tomorrow for those).

The listener questions were really good ones from Meredith and Jason, where I take a look at the value of carbon fiber and the issue of when and where are we permitted to photograph.   Last but not least, the photo tip of the week concerns copyright and registering your work, so make sure you stay tuned for that.

Lots of photo goodness to share, so make sure you tune in for the audio, and stop by the blog to pick up the link for the photo gallery.  Photos, podcasts, and questions galore.  Enjoy the day and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!  Happy Shooting!

While the folks at Personal Life Media continue to work behind the scenes at getting the show re-branded, I’ve been encouraged to keep producing podcasts so, this week, the podcast returns.  Here's the show notes:

• The Boneyard Backstory
• Think Tank Photo Streetwalker Review
• Blog/Podcast Maintenance
• Listener Questions and Answers
• Photo Tip of the Week

As you may have noticed if you’re picking up the feed, I am also uploading all the “What’s This” images to the Canon Blogger Flickr Pool.  As that content arc has ended, I thought it might be fun and of interest to see the entire gallery of photos that have gone up on that subject over a period of roughly 23 weeks.  (Almost half a year of images there to rack your brain on!)

As we head into the weekend, be sure to take your camera with you - never know when a photo opportunity will present itself, so as the Boy Scouts always said:  “Be Prepared!”  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here Monday morning!

That’s right, this week is the final podcast broadcast for CB this year!  It’s a good one though with an announcement of the new product line I’ll be reviewing.  For those of you getting this in feed readers, here’s the short version:

1. Christmas Wrap-up:  A few last minute gift ideas for the photog-type in your circle
2. The New Product Line Review Announcement (you gotta listen to find out! )
3. The Value of Starting Over
4. Listener Questions and Answers

• Dave from PA - Hot shoe flashes:  tungsten or flourescent?
• Lynn from WI - Are 3rd party batteries safe?
• Kevin from CO - Best way to learn photography

Tomorrow, the last What’s This of the Year, and then lights out…nothing again until next week. The next edition of Thursday Thoughts will come back the second week of January (I couldn’t find it in myself to ask someone to put something together for New Years Day any more than Christmas Day!) That means you’re actually gonna have to spend time with family, friends, and loved ones for a few days. Oh darn!  Hope that shopping is almost done!  If not, be sure you tune in for those last minute gift ideas!  Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

P.S.  What made this week’s podcast different from any other podcast I’ve done this year?  (Other than the fact that it’s the last one of the year…)

Well, I was going to save the podcast for Tuesday, but decided since some of the information was from this week that I had better put it out before it gets “old”, so a new podcast is available for your listening pleasure.  Consider it your Friday Food For Thought!  (I know, I gave it a different title within the audio recording).  Here's the short version of the show notes:

• Working for Free
• Basic Composition
• Holiday Events
• Listener Q&A
• Photo Tip of the Week

In other news, according to Google Analytics and Feedburner data, CB hit an all time high in reader count yesterday with 566 people tuning in for Jen’s interview!  Thanks again go out to Jen Rinaldi for taking the time to sit down and participate in the Thursday Thoughts series.

Not much other news to share - going out on two meetup events tonight in downtown Denver so should have several Christmas-y type pictures for sharing throughout the week next week.  Last but not least, here’s your Friday Funny from What the Duck:

Yup, I talk about 3 different types of cards that make for cool holiday gifts this year for the photographer you know.  That, along with online photo contests, the nomination announcement for the Top 8 of 2008 blogs/podcasts are now open, and of course, listener questions.  I do have to apologize for the audio quality as I had to record it on the fly using the MBP in my car!  Not too shabby after putting it all together, but not the greatest either.

Here’s the show notes:

Web Links

• Top Blogs of '08 Nominees
• Listener Questions and Answers
• Photo Tip of the Week

With so many blogs and podcasts out there, it’s tough though - some were in it last year, so should I give consideration to others?  Who do I go with?  Let me know your favorites in the comments and the tallying shall begin.

In other blog-related news, don’t forget to vote in the poll on the sidebar!  Only a few weeks left there.  I’ve also got a link to my twitter, to my Google profile page (you’ve got a Google profile page, right?), and more I am sure will be forthcoming.  So twitter me, I’ll tweet ya back!  Until next week, Happy Shooting!

Hey all, welcome to the Tuesday blog post for CB - today the latest in the Canon Blogger Digital Podcast Series is up for your mobile listening pleasure.  It turns out I can ramble on for quite a bit as I take a look at three distinct topics:

• Making Money in Photography
• The Value of Social Networks
• and some Free Web Resources that you may have missed

I also take the usual spate of reader/listener questions (great ones this go around, so thanks and shout outs to Marcus, Krista, and Nick!  In the future, send me links to your websites so I can return the generosity on the podcast and here on the blog post.  For now though - thanks!  Also, I’ve set up a special email address for listener questions.  You can keep using the original (Jason <AT> canonblogger <DOT> com, but now a special one has been set up at:  questions <AT> canonblogger <DOT> com too!  So, share your questions, comments, and feedback through the many opportunities here at the blog and via email.

A couple of show notes:

The 1st segment is a more detailed look from yesterdays post on The Cost of Doing Business, and talks about the details involved in creating a business plan.

The 2nd Segment looks at the value of social networking, so naturally here, I will suggest you stop by and say hi to me on Twitter, Flickr, and through the various forums I participate in.

And last but not least, on the subject of freebies, my apologies for the two contest mentions from Popular Photography, but they have since closed (I hate it when they don’t indicate that at the source page!), sorry!

The latest podcast episode has been published and in this week’s episode I talk about a new podcast to hit the airwaves - Digital Photography Life, hosted by none other than Scott Sherman and Michael Stein.  If these names sound familiar it’s because I have talked about them and their podcast before when they used to host The Digital Photography Life.  Tune in to the podcast to listen to the details  Their show notes are posted on Scott’s blog, and their show is right here at Personal Life Media.

The podcast also raises an interesting question about the disconnect between creative thinking versus communicative thinking and looks at the disconnect that often occurs between these two mindsets.  I’ve not heard anyone talk about this specifically before, so would be interested especially in reader thoughts on this particular subject!

Last but not least, I also look at some of the more exciting things that were a part of Photoshop User Magazine’s latest issue (December 2008) including the Gonzo Gear Guide from Scott Kelby, and the 100 Greatest Photoshop tips!  Of course the show, as always, is rounded out with a few Q&A, and a Road Tip for you.  So, download the latest to your iPod, MP3 player or listen on your commutes…

Tune in to this week’s episode of the Canon Blogger Podcast Series, Episode #6, from either the blog or your feed readers today!  I also tackle a few listener questions, and offer up a photo road tip for the listening audience.  So, pick up the feed today, or stop in to the blog to not only download the show, but also to see the other content that isn’t in the daily feeds (things like the Online Photography Test, Colors and Textures Galleries, polls and more!

As I tinker a little with the audio quality of the show and try to make things more seamless and enjoyable, you’ll notice I am pushing the show out in segments, with some music to break things up in little snips between the subject material.  If you like it, chime in via the comments section of the blog.  If you don’t like it, well…chime in via the comments section of the blog.  If you are ambivalent, well…chime in via the comments in the blog!

Hmmm…seems like someone would like to hear what the listening audience thinks of the changes in the format for the audio podcast.  And it also seems that the feedback can easily be done via:  the comments section of the blog!

If you’ve listened to the show and are still yearning for more, please stop by fellow podcasters Scott Sherman and Michael Stein’s new podcast series:  Digital Photography Life.  Formerly, these guys hosted the Digital Photography Show on another network and they’ve since moved on.  Their first show on the new network right here at Personal Life Media is up and ready for your listening pleasure, so do stop over and give it a listen - great to have them back on the air!  Their podcast can be found linked on the right.

Today, I take a look at some lighting resources online, some great patterns inside CS3 (not available in CS4), and I take a few listener questions and answers, including recording software, crop factors, and photo terminology.  Finally, I wrap up with some contest news, a road tip and a poll update.  Be sure to tune in for a show chock full of useful resources!

Today, I take a somewhat introductory look at the prevalence of photography forums across the internet.  With communities cropping up for every nuance and interest, one literally has dozens, if not hundreds upon thousands to choose from.  Everything from lighting, to portraiture, landscape, architecture, and even food photography has a community of avid participants.  What to make of it all?  Which ones are good and which are not as beneficial as others?  I’ve referenced a few communities here from time to time, including ones that I still participate in on a regular and on-going basis.

As my interests wax and wane into different specifics, I find myself moving from one community to another in search of what I am looking for and I suspect others do the same.  What are we looking for?  Well, that can vary depending on where we’ve been and where we want to go.  So, to kind of help clear the air on all the vagaries of photo forums online, I cobbled together my weekly podcast to talk about three basic types that I see all over the internet.

In this week's episode, I look at off-camera lighting, specifically at radio transmitters, infrared transmitters and a number of different companies that deliver products.  Pricing from various websites was also reported.  As prices may change, and sales may happen, those are approximate according to the date of publication.  So, if you have questions about off-camera flash, this may be a good starting point.  Tune in to get the low-down on everything from PocketWizards to Cybersyncs, Skyports and more.

Find out about various online groups and communities galore through Flickr, Strobist, and locally, the Colorado Strobists as great resources for learning past the DIY stage.

In this episode I take a look at some "best practices" for post processing noise and sharpening with your images inside of Photoshop.  There's also a few web links of interest, including one on how to make your own backlight!