Stop Bank Abuse: Move Your Money

Does having an well-developed sense of social justice come along with being a photographer, or pursuing other artistic professions? I don't know. I do know most of the photographers I know have a strong interest in people, social issues, and doing their part to improve the world. So here's something we can all do to move power away from mindless, soulless corporate interests and put it back in the hands of the little guy and our local communities.



For more information, go here.

Nikon Now On Twitter

Want to stay up with the latest news from Nikon? Want to have a way to reach Nikon, directly, with your praise, concerns, feedback? You can now follow Nikon on Twitter!

Skitch

Now this is cool. I use it all the time. Skitch!

Fastest State Trooper Alive

This has nothing to do with photography (except that photographers tend to have a good sense of humor). I have also not been able to verify whether or not it is true. A friend emailed it to me and I laughed so hard I wanted to share it with you. Click on the article to view a larger, more readable version.

Scott Kelby's Redesigned Portfolio

Scott Kelby posted a link to a new portfolio that RC Concepcion created for him. I like it! Kelby's blog post can be found here.

Valuable Tip: Remove Your Batteries

For fear of batteries leaking, I'm good about removing batteries from devices that I store for long periods of time. I haven't bothered, however, to remove them from devices that I use regularly or irregularly -- and this recently caught up with me. I have two Nikon SB800 flashes. I use one as my primary flash and the other as a backup. When I went to check the batteries in my backup flash, they had leaked, badly! Since a replacement flash costs in the neighborhood of $500.00, this could have been a major problem. Thankfully, I was able to clean up the mess and get the flash working again. But from now on, I remove batteries from everything I'm not using, especially my most critical (and expensive) cameras and accessories. A word to the wise.

Download YouTube Videos To Your Computer

Want to download YouTube videos to your computer, iPod, or PlayStation Portable, here's what I use: TubeSock.

Viveza 2

I first reported on Viveza in March of 2009. Viveza 2 arrived a couple months ago and I finally got around to upgrading. The creators of Viveza have added a lot of cool features to an already "must-have" plugin. Scott Kelby, Editor of Photoshop User Magazine describes Viveza 2 as "a time-saver and 'game changer' for anyone who makes a living at photography. Mind-blowingly easy and incredibly accurate!" I concur. You can find out more by going here.

My Wedding Website

If you haven't visited my wedding website recently, you might want to swing by and take a look. I've added a few new images to my home page to spice things up...

Data Rescue 3

In the past I have used Disk Warrior and TechTool Pro to attempt to resurrect hard drives gone bad. Recently, I heard about Data Rescue 3. I haven't purchased this software yet, but plan to. If you have any experience with it, let me know what you think. It is available for both Macs and PCs.

Product Description:

"Data Rescue 3 is the best digital data recovery software on the market for recovering files from a problem hard drive or that have been previously deleted. Data Rescue 3 is for computer data recovery and works when other tools fail. Data Rescue 3 is also completely safe to use since it does not attempt any risky repairs to the drive it's scanning. Data Rescue 3 is the safest, most powerful software for data recovery. Data Rescue 3 is the same software used by many data recovery services! Data Rescue 3 has saved our customers from having to use a data recovery service, which can cost thousands.

"You will need to save your recovered files to either an internal or external hard drive (USB or FireWire), removable media device (such as a Zip or MO) or a networked drive.

"Q: Why is Data Rescue 3 different than other products on the market?

"A: Focusing on data recovery, instead of hard drive repair, Data Rescue 3 will work in more cases, recover more effectively, and deliver your files in better condition than other utilities you may have tried in the past. Data Rescue 3 analyzes your entire hard drive looking for your data, then it meticulously re-assembles your files and stores them to a different location."

AppZapper for Mac Users

I came across this little jewel last night, downloaded it, took it for a spin, and was so impressed I bought it and started "zapping" (getting rid of) lots of old, unused programs and their corresponding (and often very difficult to find) files. Extremely easy to use and did exactly what it promised without mucking anything up. It's also beautifully designed and inexpensive: $12.95. All Mac users should have this: AppZapper for Mac Users.

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3

Product Description:

"Scott Kelby, author of The Digital Photography Book, volume 1 (the world’s best-selling digital photography book of all time), is back with a follow-up to his volume 2 smash best seller, with an entirely new book that picks up right where he left off. It’s even more of that 'Ah ha -- so that’s how they do it,' straight-to-the-point, skip-the-techno-jargon stuff you can really use today to make your shots even better.

"This book truly has a brilliant premise, and here’s how Scott describes it: 'If you and I were out on a shoot and you asked me, ‘Hey Scott, I want the light for this portrait to look really soft and flattering. How far back should I put this softbox?’ I wouldn’t give you a lecture about lighting ratios, or flash modifiers. In real life, I’d just turn to you and say, ‘Move it in as close to your subject as you possibly can, without it actually showing up in the shot.’ Well, that’s what this book is all about: you and I out shooting where I answer questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I’ve learned, just like I would with a friend -- without all the technical explanations and techie photo speak.'

"Each page covers a single concept on how to make your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you’ll learn another pro setting, tool, or trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. If you’re tired of taking shots that look 'okay,' and if you’re tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, 'Why don’t my shots look like that?' then this is the book for you.

"This isn’t a book of theory -- full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts. This is a book on which button to push, which setting to use, and when to use it. With nearly 200 more of the most closely guarded photographic 'tricks of the trade,' this book gets you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos every time."

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2

Terry White's Best of 2009 Top 10 Gadgets

EXCERPT:

"Happy New Year! It's that time once again to take a quick look at my favorite gadgets of last year. The gadgets I've chosen were the ones that I used the most and that had the most positive impact on my day-to-day life. These gadgets were either introduced in 2009 or had significant updates in 2009. These are the gadgets that I would recommend to a friend without hesitation. So let's get to it…"

Check out Terry White's Best of 2009: Top 10 Gadget Picks

Scott Kelby's “Best of 2009” Picks

EXCERPT:

"It’s important to note right up front that I didn’t say 'Best photography gear' or 'Best Photoshop stuff' (though both of those are represented). Instead, this is just my favorite 'bestest' stuff from 2009, (including things like songs, movies, travel stuff, food, etc.) presented in no particular order. Hope it starts off your New Year right! (By the way; make sure you read my disclaimers at the end of the list)."

Check out Scott Kelby's “Best of 2009” Picks.

My First Animoto Slide Show

Speaking of Animoto (read the post that follows this one), here's a slide show I created when I first heard about Animoto. This video was created in January of 2008 when Animoto was charging $3.00 per video, or $30.00 a year for unlimited videos. Now they're charging $249.00 a year, which is a pretty darn steep increase! My first post about Animoto can be found here.

5 Essential Sites for Professional Photographers

Jeana Lee Tahnk of Mashable has compiled a list of "5 Essential Sites for Professional Photographers". Her original post is located here. The five sites she recommends are:

1. LiveBooks - Custom-designed or pre-designed web sites
2. ShootQ - Web-based studio management for photographers
3. Animoto - Turn photographs into dynamic video presentations
4. LicenseStream - Keep tabs on all licensed content
5. LabPrints - Links to professional labs around the country

Behind-The-Scenes With The Lightroom Team

Julie Kmoch, Lightroom senior development manager, shares secrets of the Lightroom development process, her favorite Lightroom time-saving tip and some of her wildflower photos.

Lightroom 3 Learning Center

Most of you have probably heard that Adobe has released a beta version of Lightroom 3. They have also made this beta available to the general public, for free, until April 30, 2010, which is when the beta expires. There are a bunch of mouth-watering features, including new algorithms that allow for more accurate and sophisticated editing of images. You can download the new beta here. For some great video tutorials, check out NAPP's Lightroom 3 Learning Center and Adobe's own video tutorials.

Ashley & Mike's Wedding

I've posted a few photos from Ashley & Mike's Wedding. They were married at Red Rock Crossing in Sedona, Arizona. Susan Perry of Weddings in Sedona was the minister.

Merry Christmas!

50 Beautiful Free Icon Sets For Your Next Design

Click here to see 50 Beautiful Free Icon Sets For Your Next Design.

Mr. Hitler Not Happy About The Canon 7D...

Popular Science: The Year's Most Amazing Scientific Images

View all 61 images here.

Orangutan Photographer A Hit Facebook

PHOTOS TAKEN BY AN ORANGUTAN PROVE A FACEBOOK SENSATION
Daily Mail
December 3, 2009

Original Link

A 33-year-old photographer has become an online sensation with pictures of her daily life at a Vienna zoo enthralling thousands of fans.

But Nonja is no ordinary snapper -- she is an orangutan.

Her pictures have won over more than 8,500 fans on Facebook since the zoo launched an online photo album of her work on Tuesday.

She is proving so popular that hundreds more fans are becoming her online 'friends' each hour.

However, the blurry images of Nonja's climbing rope and food and her companion's shaggy red-brown fur have won lots of admiring comments from fans, the photographer herself appears not so interested.

Using a specially-adapted Samsung ST 1000 digital camera, Nonja is rewarded with a raisin that drops out of the equipment each time she takes a snap.

The Vienna Tiergarten zoo set up the project to help keep Nonja and her three hairy ape friends entertained in their enclosure.

'Of course the apes don't care about the pictures, they are just an accidental side product,' zoo spokesman Gerhard Kasbauer said.

'They just know that when they press the button, a raisin pops out.'

The popularity of Nonja's online album means she is now on her way to becoming a fully-fledged orangutan icon.

Her photos can be seen on her Facebook page here.