An Open Letter To Canon

PictureCorrect: Top 10 Most Popular Photography Articles of 2011

The following 10 articles were the most popular articles on PictureCorrect for 2011. Go here to read all about them.

1. How to Use Depth of Field

2. Top 10 Photographers Every Student Should Study

3. How to Take Photos in Low Light

4. Low Light Photography Tips

5. Steps to Macro Photography and Tips

6. How to do HDR Photography

7. Time-lapse Photography

8. Aperture and Shutter: Science of the F-stop

9. Street Photography Tips and Techniques

10. Swedish Nature Photographer of the Year Exposed as Fraud

Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera

Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera Website

Sony A77 Resource Page

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RELATED LINKS:

• Sony Website: Sony a77 DSLR Camera and Lens
• DxOMark Review of Sony a77
• DxOMark Comparison: Sony a77 versus Nikon D700, D90
• Purchase on Amazon

DxOMark

A comprehensive list of general camera ratings from DxOMark. The Overall Sensor Score is based on all characteristics of a camera sensor, independent of the camera lens, and for a general purpose use case. The Use Case Scores take into account the sensor performance for three typical photographic use cases: the Portrait Score, based on Color Depth; the Landscape Score, based on Dynamic Range; and the Sports Score, based on Low-Light ISO. This very helpful list is also set up so you can compare cameras and lenses.

Sony α77 DSLR Camera & Lens

This new camera from Sony looks very interesting. Here's how Sony describes it:

"Step up to an incredible shooting experience with this α77 DSLR camera and included 16-50mm zoom lens. Featuring Sony's top-of-the-line Translucent Mirror Technology, you can focus and shoot simultaneously for fast, precise performance and continuous shooting of up to 12 frames per second, complete with continuous auto focus. Capture amazingly-detailed images that make for gorgeous enlargements thanks to an impressive 24.3-megapixel sensor. The world's first DSLR to offer a choice of super-smooth 60p, standard 60i or richly cinematic 24p movie modes all at Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, you can capture incredible, high quality AVCHD or MP4 videos of all your memorable moments (records in 29-minute segments). A Tru-Finder™ OLED electronic viewfinder offers remarkable resolution and high contrast for outstanding depth, plus allows you to view setting adjustments in real time for the best possible picture."

Here are a few of the features that really interest me:

24.3 MP; best-in-class resolution - You get incredible detail and gorgeous enlargements thanks to a 24.3 megapixel sensor. It’s the highest resolution among APS-C DSLRs, as of August 2011.

HD Movies4 at 60p, 60i, or 24p - Capture spectacular HD Movies4. This is the world’s first DSLR to offer a choice of super-smooth 60p, standard 60i or cinematic 24p, all at Full HD 1920x1080 resolution. AVCHD™ codec delivers stunning picture quality. MP4 codec offers smaller files for easier upload to the web.

HD movies with full manual control - Now you don’t need to surrender control when you shoot HD movies. Enjoy the full expressive potential of Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority or Manual (P/A/S/M) control in HD movie mode.

6-image layering - Leverages the fast BIONZ processor to capture six images in a fraction of a second, and then combine the data. The result is one incredible single image that gets a cleaner result in Multi-Frame NR mode or sharper nighttime pictures in Hand-held Twilight mode.

Auto HDR built into camera - Captures more scene dynamic range than a single exposure can handle—and more range than photo film. Combines the best highlight detail from one shot, the best mid-tones from a second and the best shadow detail from a third for one incredible shot. (Recommended for still subjects.)

Handheld Twilight mode - Get gorgeous shots at night without a tripod. Combines six frames into a single image for smooth, low-noise evening shots. (Recommended for still subjects.)

ISO 16000 sensitivity - Incredibly clear low-light pictures without sacrificing detail, made possible by the low-noise Exmor APS HD CMOS image sensor and refined BIONZ® image processor.

Sweep Panorama Mode - Capture expansive landscapes automatically. Press the shutter, sweep vertically or horizontally. The camera does the rest, continuously shooting images and stitching them together.

For more information, go here.

Kessler Timefest 2011

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Related Links:

• Kessler TimeFest 2011: Behind The Scenes
• TimeScapes Website
• Tom Guilmette Blog
• Kessler Website

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Light It Magazine (Designed for the iPad)

Download the free premiere issue at http://kel.by/LightItApp Get more info on Light It at: http://kelbytraining.com/lightit

Great Photographers: Manny Librodo

Go here to check out the amazing photographs of Manny Librodo.

The Candid Frame Interviews Scott Kelby

Scott Kelby is a photographer, writer and educator. He is the founder of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals and the Kelby Media Group. He has authored over 50 books on photography and photo editing and created the event which is Photoshop World. His books, video, podcasts and workshops have helped nurture the work and career of thousands of photographers from all over the world. He has a abiding passion for sports photography as well as playing a mean guitar. You can discover more about Scott and his own photography work by visiting his blog and you can find out about the many things his organization has to offer by visiting the NAPP website. 

Listen to the Candid Frame's interview with Scott Kelby.

Sunfellow Fine Art

The newest member of my growing family of websites has been born: Sunfellow Fine Art. As I mention on my bio page, nature has been calling me and I’ve been spending more and more time attempting to capture “fine art images that quiet the mind, open the heart, and stir the soul”. This new website is dedicated to sharing those images with others who long for deeper connections. Come take a look. The image above — “Milky Way Over Cathedral Rock” — is the most popular image on the site so far, but more are on the way.

How did I shoot this image? Here's what I have posted on my new website about it:

Milky Way Over Cathedral Rock
Background Information

By David Sunfellow

This was one of the first night sky images I ever shot. It is a photo of Cathedral Rock, Sedona’s most famous rock formation, shot from the Back O’ Beyond side. Oak Creek is located on the other side of the rocks. The glow on the left-hand side of the image is coming from the Village of Oak Creek. If you look carefully, you’ll notice that Cathedral Rock is lit up slightly on the right-hand side. This glow was produced by a flashing light from Sedona’s small airport, located on nearby Airport Mesa. The airport light flashed across Cathedral Rock every few minutes.

Since this was one of my first night sky shoots, I did some research before hitting the trails — and then made some interesting discoveries once I was out on the rocks.

Most photographers use fast lens (2.8 or lower), with cameras set at high ISO settings (1600, 2000, 2500, 3200). The higher the ISO, however, the more noise you get in your image. 

Next, you have to figure out how long to leave your shutter open. Most modern cameras provide you with two options: set a timer on your camera to automatically open and close your shutter, or use a manual control to open and close your shutter yourself (which is what I used). The longer the camera’s shutter is open, the brighter and more detailed your image will be. But since the stars in the night sky are moving, if you leave your shutter open too long, the stars will begin to streak across the sky. And, yes, some portions of the sky are actually moving faster than others. 

Once you factor all these issues in, how in the world can you hope to shoot a brilliant, crystal clear image of the night sky?

The short answer is most of us can’t. That’s because most of today’s cameras — even high-end cameras — can’t pull in enough light, fast enough, to get crystal clear images of the sky. In order to get beautifully clear images, you need to mount your camera on a motor-driven telescope that has been carefully calibrated to follow the stars across the sky while your camera’s shutter is open long enough to pull in as much light and detail as it can — without pulling in too much (which will wash everything out).

And, of course, you also need a dark sky — something that is becoming increasingly rare as cities, and city lights, spread across the planet.

Assuming you don’t have a motor-driven telescope that is small enough to lug into exotic, dark sky locations, the best you can currently hope for is something like this:

Get a camera that can shoot RAW images at a high ISO. Attach a fast lens to it (preferably a prime lens, rather than a zoom). Mount your camera on a sturdy tripod. And, finally, limit your shutter speed to no more than 30 seconds.

That’s what I did.

In post production, I used Adobe Lightroom to adjust the colors, contrast, noise, luminosity, and other settings. Then I merged two versions of the same image in Adobe Photoshop and ran a few special filters on it to help the light and colors pop.

Capture, by Peak Design

Capture, by Peak Design from Peter Dering on Vimeo.

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Backpack Position from Peter Dering on Vimeo.

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Peak Design Website

Quick Way To Determine Shutter Count

Looking for a quick way to find out the shutter count on your DSLR cameras? MyShutterCount.com allows you to upload an image from the camera in question and it will tell you how many times the shutter has been used. MyShutterCount.com supports Nikon's NEF, Pentax's DNG and PEF, and JPG.

Helpful notes: The shutter life expectancy for the Nikon D90 is 100,000 actuations; the shutter count for the Nikon D7000 is 150,000.

Click here to view previous posts on determining shutter counts.

TimeScapes: Rapture

TimeScapes: Rapture from Tom Lowe @ Timescapes on Vimeo.

• TimeScapes: Rapture Website
• TimeScapes on Facebook
• Tom Lowe On Google+

Spectacular Wallpapers From Trey Ratcliff

Spectacular wallpaper images created by Trey Ratcliff can be downloaded here.

Trey Ratcliff: What's In His Camera Bags

Trey Ratcliff On Creating HDR Images

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Go here to find out more about Trey, Photomatix Pro (the software he demos in this video), and a bunch of other software he recommends when shooting/processing HDR images.

A Grand Canyon Wedding

I'm posting this video of a Grand Canyon wedding because it reminds me of the small, intimate, and spectacularly beautiful weddings that regularly take place in Sedona. The Grand Canyon, for those of you who may not know, is about 120 miles north of Sedona. As someone who has shot weddings in both locations -- Sedona and the Grand Canyon -- I think Sedona is by far the more photogenic location!

That said, I thought the wedding Jared photographed was especially beautiful -- the couple, the ceremony, the location, the weather, the images Jared captured, all made this wedding something special...


Photography Notes: A Wedding at the Grand Canyon from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

Peter Langenhahn: Capturing An Entire Day In One Image

Sydney Harbour

Sydney Harbour NYE Time-Lapse 2010 from Murray Fredericks on Vimeo.

Photos From Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle Volcanic Chain

Photos from the Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain. 

Sources: The Daily Mail and The Boston Globe.

Photos From Leah & Corey's Wedding

Just finished adding a few photos from Leah and Corey's wedding to my photography website and photography Facebook page. These photos were taken from a balloon sailing over Sedona in the early morning...

Photos From Robyn & Alan's Wedding

Just finished adding a few photos from Robyn and Alan's wedding to my photography website and photography Facebook page. These photos were taken at one of my favorite locations in Sedona: Bell Rock.

Martin Schoeller Photographs Five Of This Years TIME 100 Honorees

TIME commissioned photographer Martin Schoeller, to photograph five of this years TIME 100 honorees -- Amy Chua, author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother; Oprah Winfrey, Wael Ghonim, the Google employee and Egyptian activist who helped lead the revolution; chef Grant Achatz, and comedian Amy Poehler.

Low Light Photography Tips - Infographic

An infographic for shooting in low light situations. Click the graphic to view full-sized image.

Source: SnapBlog

Firmware Update for Nikon D7000 Now Available

D7000 Firmware Update 1.02

Create Layered Files In Lightroom

Perfect Layers is the fast and easy way to create layered files in Photoshop Lightroom. With Perfect Layers you can create and edit multi-layered Photoshop files directly within Photoshop Lightroom or use it to combine images from within other applications. Use it to change skies, composite multiple images together and retouch portraits using the built-in blend modes. We're extremely excited about Perfect Layers and hope you'll enjoy trying out the completely free Perfect Layers Public Preview Release.

• Combine multiple images into a layered Photoshop-compatible file

• Adjust layer size, position, blending mode and opacity

• Use the built-in layer masks and masking tools to blend multiple layers together

• Layered files are easily opened in Photoshop if needed

• Super fast launch and file-opening speed

Download FREE beta version here.

Terje Sorgjerd's 'The Mountain'

Terje Sorgjerd visited El Teide, Spain’s highest mountain, to film this amazing video. According to Sorgjerd, El Teide “is one of the best places in the world to photograph the stars”. The mountain is also the location of Teide Observatories, considered to be one of the world’s best observatories. Click here for more information.

Photoshop In Real Life [Music Video]

Time-Lapse Auroras Over Norway

One of the largest auroral displays in recent years has appeared at the border between Norway and Russia, shown in this time-lapse animation near Kirkenes, Norway by Terje Sørgjerd in March 2011.

Aurora are often green when high energy particles strike the Earth’s atmosphere, causing the air to glow as electrons recombine with oxygen. Other colors are occasionally noticeable when atmospheric nitrogen is affected.

Nikon's New ME-1 Stereo Microphone

"Record crystal-clear sound and significantly reduce autofocus noise on your compatible DSLR camera using this compact stereo microphone. The ME-1 Stereo Microphone connects to compatible DSLR cameras that have a 3.5mm Mic jack and features new innovation that significantly reduces autofocus noise from being recorded." -- Nikon Website

The New Nikon D5100

Photoshop for iPad Live Demo

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RELATED ARTICLE:

Why Photoshop for iPad Marks the End of the Desktop Computing Era
By Jesus Diaz
Gizmoto

The real Photoshop for iPad exists. Adobe showed it yesterday and it looks like a solid digital darkroom. But, more importantly, it marks another step in the ongoing evolution that is changing the way humans interact with machines. One that, in fact, is putting back our human nature into computing.

The new Adobe app just confirms the paradigm shift that is already happening, another piece towards something that I predicted even before the iPad was announced: We are witnessing the beginning of a new computing era, after the punch cards, the mainframe, the command line PC and the mouse with its graphical user interface...

3rd Nikon Update

3rd Notice On The Impact By The Major Earthquake In Northeastern Japan
Nikon.com
March 31, 2011

Original Link

The Nikon Group would express our deepest condolences to the victims of the earthquake and extend our profound sympathy and heartfelt concern to those individuals and families suffering from the disaster.

The following is an update regarding Nikon Corporation and its group manufacturing facilities.

Safety of the employees

As have previously informed, to our deepest regret, death of one employee of Sendai Nikon Corporation has been confirmed and safety of three employees is not yet confirmed in the area of Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture.

Reopen of operation at the manufacturing facilities and outlook on the future production

One of our own plants and seven of our manufacturing subsidiaries are located in the disastrous region of Miyagi Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture *. All of these facilities have resumed their operation now with reopen by yesterday, March 30 of Sendai Nikon Corporation and Miyagi Nikon Precision Co., Ltd.

It has been becoming clearer that we will be able to secure parts/components including their replacements through our investigation of the current conditions and possible measures to secure the procurement in our collaboration with our business partners. However, we have a concern that the situation may continue where our production cannot fully satisfy our customers’ requirement due to inability of full swing production worsened by the planned blackouts of electricity. While we will do our utmost effort to overcome such expected difficulties, we will be most grateful if our customers could understand such circumstances.

Forecast of effect by the damage to our business performances

We are continuing our endeavor to evaluate how the immediate damage by the disaster and planned blackouts of electricity will result in our group companies and business performances. We will announce our findings immediately when it is judged that there will be important change in our forecast.

* Locations of each plant and manufacturing subsidiaries

Mito Plant, Nikon Corporation : Mito, Ibaraki Pref.
Sendai Nikon Corporation : Natori, Miyagi Pref.
Miyagi Nikon Precision Co., Ltd. : Zao-machi, Katta-gun, Miyagi Pref.
Zao factory, Nikon-Trimble Co., Ltd. : Zao-machi, Katta-gun, Miyagi Pref.
Tochigi Nikon Corporation : Otawara, Tochigi Pref.
Tochigi Nikon Precision Co., Ltd. : Otawara, Tochigi Pref.
Kurobane Nikon Co., Ltd. : Otawara, Tochigi Pref.
Nasu Nikon Co., Ltd. : Nasukarasuyama, Tochigi Pref.

40 Amazing Shots Of Motion Blur In Photographs

See all 40 images on Smashing Hub.

Video: Creating A Hubble Galaxy In Two Minutes

Hubble images are made, not born. Images must be woven together from the incoming data from the cameras, cleaned up and given colors that bring out features that eyes would otherwise miss. In this video from HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope, a Hubble-imaged galaxy comes together on the screen at super-fast speed.

Learn more about how Hubble images are made by visiting Behind the Pictures.

National Geographic Wallpapers

Fantastic collection of breathtaking National Geographic wallpapers.

GelaSkin for iPad Sunfellow

After a year of waiting for Apple to come out with their second generation iPad, which includes a built-in camera, I lined up and bought an iPad 2 with WI-FI via their online store. It arrived a few days ago and is beautiful. I love it. In a future update, I plan to post a list of my favorite apps.  For now, I thought some of you might be interested in knowing where I ordered a protective cover for the back of the iPad, which is made of beautiful, albeit slippery, aluminum. I ordered the back cover via GelaSkins, which allows you to select from a large gallery of images, or upload your own. I chose to upload my own (included below). The cost, not including shipping, was a surprisingly inexpensive $19.95! Better, GelaSkins also offers stylish clothing for lots of other products, including iPhones, iPods, cell phones, laptops, netbooks, tablets, eReaders, and more.

My only complaint: most of the images that GelaSkins offers -- at least the first few hundred I rummaged through -- were dominated by what I considered to be unattractive, modernistic images -- so I applied to be one of their artists and see if they would like to expand their gallery offerings to include at least a few Native American rock art images from Sedona. We'll see what happens...

2nd Nikon Update

2nd Notice On The Impact By The Major Earthquake In Northeastern Japan
Nikon.com
March 22, 2011

Original Link

The Nikon Group would express our deepest condolences to the victims of the earthquake and extend our profound sympathy and heartfelt concern to those individuals and families suffering from the disaster.

We have set up the Emergency Headquarters for Disaster Control headed by the President on March 11 immediately after the earthquake, and have been gathering safety information of our employees, examining damage to the manufacturing equipment and continuing every effort to resume operation at the earliest possible. The following is an update regarding the impact of the earthquake on the Nikon Group and outlook on the future production.

1. Safety of the employees

To our deepest regret, death of one employee of Sendai Nikon Corporation has been confirmed. Safety of three employees is not yet confirmed in the area of Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture.

2. Damage to the manufacturing equipment and outlook on the future production

One of our own plants and seven of our manufacturing subsidiaries are located in Miyagi Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture in the disastrous region*. Operation has been suspended at all of them after the earthquake.

At Tochigi Nikon Corporation, operation has started from Friday, March 18.

At Sendai Nikon Corporation and Miyagi Nikon Precision Co., both of which have been severely damaged, operation is expected to resume by the end of this March. Operation at the remaining facilities will start tomorrow on March 23.

Even after operation resumes, we have a concern that the situation may happen where our production cannot fully satisfy our customers’ requirement due to inability of full swing production caused by problems such as the planned blackouts of electricity and procurement of components from our business partners. While we will do our utmost effort to overcome such expected difficulties, we will be most grateful if our customers could understand such circumstances.

We assure to extend our best support for restoration of the facilities hit by the disaster to our customers of Precision Equipment and Instruments business, and repair/servicing to our customers of Imaging business suffering from the disaster.

3. Forecast of effect by the damage to our business performances

We are continuing our endeavor to evaluate how the immediate damage by the disaster and planned blackouts of electricity will result in our group companies and business performances. We will announce our findings immediately when it is judged that there will be important change in our forecast.

* Locations of each plant and manufacturing subsidiaries

Mito Plant, Nikon Corporation : Mito,Ibaraki Pref.
Sendai Nikon Corporation : Natori, Miyagi Pref.
Miyagi Nikon Precision Co., Ltd. : Zao-machi, Katta-gun, Miyagi Pref.
Zao factory, Nikon-Trimble Co., Ltd. : Zao-machi, Katta-gun, Miyagi Pref.
Tochigi Nikon Corporation : Otawara, Tochigi Pref.
Tochigi Nikon Precision Co., Ltd. : Otawara, Tochigi Pref.
Kurobane Nikon Co., Ltd. : Otawara, Tochigi Pref.
Nasu Nikon Co., Ltd. : Nasukarasuyama, Tochigi Pref.

Nikon Announcement Concerning Japanese Earthquake

Notice On The Damage Hit By Major Earthquake In Northern Japan (Japan's Tohoku Region)
March 14, 2011
Nikon.com

Original Link

The Nikon Group would like to express its profound sympathy and condolences to the victims of earthquake in Major Earthquake in Northern Japan (Japan's Tohoku region) on March 11. The effects to our group companies are as follows.

Measures To Cope With The Situations

We have set up the Emergency Headquarters for Disaster Control headed by the President on March 11 immediately after the earthquake, and are taking the necessary steps. We are currently endeavoring to normalize our business as early as possible through our BCM (Business Continuity Management) teams established in each in-house company.

Damage To Our Group Companies

2-1. Damage to equipment and buildings

Our group companies, including Sendai Nikon Corporation, Natori, Miyagi Pref., Miyagi Nikon Precision Co., Ltd., Zao-machi, Katta-gun, Miyagi Pref., Tochigi Nikon Corporation, Otawara, Tochigi Pref., Tochigi Nikon Precision Co., Ltd., Otawara, Tochigi Pref., and other subsidiaries as well as our Plants suffered damage to some part of the equipment and buildings. We are suspending operations there and continuing to evaluate further details of the damage. We are unable to announce how soon the operation will resume due to the regional interruption of life-lines although endeavor for restoration are under the way by some of our maintenance personnel.

• For the list of our group companies

• For the list of our plants

2-2. Damage to personnel

Injury is reported to some of our group employees. We are currently continuing to gather safety information of our personnel and its family members.

Forecast Of Effect By The Damage To Our Business Performances

We are concentrated in evaluating how the immediate damage by the disaster and controlled interruption of electricity started from March 14 will result in our group companies and business performances. We will advise our findings immediately when it is revealed that the damage would further expand.

Nikon's Sendai Plant Shutdown, Damaged

The Japanese site Asahi reports that Nikon’s plants in Miyagi Prefecture (where Sendai is located) are virtually impossible to resume operations in 14 days. The buildings were damaged but still standing. The Sendai factory produces high-end and pro level Nikon SLR cameras. Sendai Airport, which has been badly hit by the tsunami is only a few kilometres from Nikon's Sendai plant. -- Source 1 and Source 2

The Sendai plant is not very large but it is where the top level pro Nikon bodies have been built since the mid or late 1970s, so it is the home of the F3, F4, F5, F6, D1, D2 and D3 series cameras and much of Nikon's engineering staff is located there as well. -- Source

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Location of Nikon plants. -- Source

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Nikon has shifted much of its manufacturing facilities to Thailand, with some production (especially of Coolpix cameras and some low-end lenses) in China and Indonesia. The company constructed a factory in Ayuthaya north of Bangkok in Thailand in 1991. By the year 2000, it had 2,000 employees. Steady growth over the next few years and an increase of floor space from the original 19,400 square meters (208,827 square feet) to 46,200 square meters (497,300 square feet) enabled the factory to produce a wider range of Nikon products. By 2004, it had more than 8,000 workers.

The range of the products produced at Nikon Thailand include plastic molding, optical parts, painting, printing, metal processing, plating, spherical lens process, aspherical lens process, prism process, electrical and electronic mounting process, silent wave motor and autofocus unit production.

As of 2009, all of Nikon's Nikon DX format DSLR cameras are produced in Thailand, while their Nikon FX format (full frame) cameras (D700, D3, D3S and D3X) are built in Japan. The Thai facility also produces most of Nikon's digital "DX" zoom lenses, as well as numerous other lenses in the Nikkor line.

-- From Wikipedia on Nikon

Related Links:

• Google Maps: Location of Sendai Plant In Japan
• Nikon Sendai Plant Visit (09/15/07)
• Wikipedia on Nikon

Kudos Bridal Fair Cover Shot

Most of you who have been following me, know that one of my images was used as the theme image for the 2011 Sedona Bridal Fair. Along with appearing on websites, banner ads, post cards, and tickets, it also graced the cover of the February 16th special issue that Kudo’s created for the Bridal Fair. In case you missed it, here’s what the cover of that issue looked like. Thanks to Jane Perini, the graphic artist that created the cover, for sending me a high resolution copy. Click on the image below to see a larger version.

Nikon Releases "Distortion Control Data Upgrade" For D90 & D5000

The Distortion Control Data firmware upgrade is available for Nikon D90 and D5000 cameras. This is used to correct barrel and pincushion distortion during shooting and editing. To download this upgrade, go here.

Terry White: 5 Things I Do To Every Portrait

Is Wedding Photography Broken?

Here's an important article all my wedding photography friends should read and ponder:

Wedding Photography – The State of the Union
Are Weddings Broken?
By David Ziser

Excerpts:

"Last year at an Imaging USA luncheon with some of the most prestigious photographers in attendance, one of the top wedding photographers in the country said, 'Weddings are broken.' I think this statement reflects the state of wedding photography for many photographers nationwide."

...

"I know of three wedding photographers, photographers that were the leading wedding photographers in their respective cities who were all but out of the business in 2010. One drives a large cross country rig (and loves it BTW), another is driving limos to make ends meet, and another 30 year wedding photography veteran works at a popular retail outlet for the same reason -- no business. (He loves his new part time job too).

"The turn down in sales is not just limited to wedding photography either. It’s encompassing all areas of the photographic profession including family portraits, high school seniors, and all the services professional photographers have been offering their clients for the last 40-50 years."

"And the real fact of the matter is that it has all happened in the last 24-36 months. Photographers were having their best years in 2006 and 2007. Things started to go south with the crash of the economy in October of 2008. Although the “Crash of ‘08” certainly played a major role in the downturn of wedding sales averages, I believe the downturn was due to more than this single event."

...

"The point I’m trying to make is this. The market crash hit all vendors, photographers included, regardless of the market segment they served. The consumer was cutting back, and appeared to be cutting back across the board."

...

"Let’s look at I call the “Wal-Mart Effect”... In 1985, about the age today’s bride and groom were born, there were 882 Wal-Marts throughout the US. That number has grown to over 8,400 worldwide, nearly 10x the figure 25 years ago. What’s my point? Today’s wedding buying generation has been bombarded their entire lives with “…that we are lowering prices everyday” in Wal-Mart, Target, and K-Mart ads. Every retailer is offering deals and today’s bride and groom want a deal too. Today’s wedding buying population is, like it or not, a Wal-Mart population -- looking for the best deal all the time, even in their wedding photography."

...

"OK, a quick review... The aspiring photographer is getting better and better with the ease of use the new digital cameras provide and the bountiful amount of all the free training online. The whole world loves digital photography. But in October 2008, the stock market goes from 14,000 to just below 6,600. The housing bubble bursts and unemployment starts to shoot up dramatically!...

"People need to supplement their income; they’re excited about photography; they’re been trained to know an F-stop from a shutter speed; Craig’s List and eventually Facebook, sure seem like an easy and cheap way to advertise -- the new breed of weekend wedding warrior is born. And, they are entering the wedding market at an exponentially increasing rate."...

"Smart phones, and P&S digital cameras make photography more accessible to everybody, Facebook makes the sharing of any photographs easier than ever to with family, friends, actually the world. Are high school wallet photos even necessary any more? This combo begs the question, 'Is professional photography even relevant anymore?!'"

Kudos Ad & Canvas Print

Crunch time for SWPA wedding pros who are running ads in the extra-special Sedona Bridal Fair pullout that Kudos will be printing for us. February 16th is the publication date. Here's the ad I am running for Sunfellow Photography.

Canvas prints of this gorgeous image are also available through my Fine Art America gallery.

National Geographic: Best Wallpapers of 2010

To download these wallpapers (and discover more like them) go here.

2010 Sedona Celtic Harvest Festival

The video and images from the 2010 Sedona Celtic Harvest Festival are now finished! The event video is posted above, and is also available on the Sunfellow Productions YouTube channel. 117 photos from the event, which took place Saturday, September 25, 2010 in Sedona, Arizona, are posted here. All 600 plus images are available here. And, finally, a web page describing all aspects of our coverage is located here. The 2010 festival was a pleasure to film and photograph and the people, like usual, were marvelous! Special thanks to Dorothy O'Brien for spearheading this event -- and allowing me to record it for the second year in a row. Videos and photos from the 2009 Festival are located here.

Great Photographers: Markus Schwarze

The work of photographers like Markus Schwarze takes my breath away...