Wednesday, January 19, 2011

This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (9-15 Jan ‘11)

As we started a new year, our first assignment was Best of the Year – 2010. Gosh, if we thought it was hard to pick a winner in the normal weekly assignments, it was even harder to pick one from this assignment. There were a lot of really excellent photos, and I think we wound up with more finalists than ever before, and from there we narrowed our choices down to a top 3. It definitely wasn’t easy. But our winner this week was crockny’s bird photo. In a way, this is what the assignment is all about. Crockny said that they had been working on bird photography for the last year, and that it had been constantly improving. Well, we agree crockny! This was just an excellent shot. Great colour, great composition, excellent sharpness, and the fact that the bird had a berry in his mouth too was just perfect! Well done crockny! We all wish you luck on your photographic journey. Our first runner up was xfile001’s Train to Leander. It almost looks like a ghost train from the long exposure. You can see the lights, but you just barely see the train. It’s one technique that looks easy, but it can be very difficult to et a good shot with. And last, but not least was GoranMarich’s “Teky & Mihaela”, his wife and 2 month old daughter. This one was just sweet, the emotion that is captured here is heartwarming, and while we’re sure that this is a photo that will stand out to GoranMarich for years to come, it stood out in our picks of 2010 as well. Great job everyone, and great job to those who didn’t win as well. Keep trying in the new year!

We also started another assignment this week, and continuing our new year theme, we want you to show us what Brand New means to you. As a new year rolls around, many of us start new things. New diets, new goals, new parts of our lives, so we want to see what brand new means to you. As always, a quick reminder of the rules. First, your photo must have been taken between 5-19 January 2011. Second, your post in the assignment thread must include the words “Assignment: Brand New” and the date the photo was taken. Finally, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s useful if you can include some of the main data like camera, lens, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. Next week we will start our Spot of Colour assignment. Colour really impacts where we look in a photo. Bright colours tend to draw our eyes to them first, and that tends to become the most important part of the image. This week is about using colour to bring attention to an area. It is important to note that this assignment is not about selective colour where an image is black and white with one part left in colour. This assignment is about having something that is colourful that draws your eye.

Have You Ever Doubted Your Photography Skills?: Sometimes it seems like the best photographers (or at least the photographers whose photos we really like) don’t struggle at all. They seems like they’re always great and they’ve always been great. But, what happens then when you’re doubting yourself and your skill? Do you ever? Come share your thoughts over in the forums.Enough Gear?: There’s always one more lens or maybe a new body, or another piece of gear that would improve our photos, isn’t there? Maybe not. This thread is about reaching a point where you have all the gear that you need. Have you reached that point? Do you think you ever will reach that point? Join in the discussion in the forums.Thoughts on the Most Common Mistakes: A new year also means that many people are considering going into a new business. But what are the most common mistakes that new photographers going into business make? If you’ve started your own business, why not share your experiences in the forum. And if you’re just starting out, check out this thread for some advice from those who have been there before.What Are You Proud You Learned in the Past Year?: Last week we asked what your goals were for 2011. But let’s look back a little bit. What are the goals that you set in 2009 that you finally realised in 2010? Come share your accomplishments for the last year.To IS or not to IS?: IS (for Canon users) or VR (for Nikon users) is a feature that is coming on more and more lenses, but is it worth the extra cost? Share your thoughts over in the forums.

Nicole is a DPS Forum moderator and keen photographer from New Zealand. See her blog and Flickr account.

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How to Find Photography Buddies

A Guest post by Kat Landreth.

You and your camera are best buddies. Your camera never complains about how long your shot is taking and it never eats your snacks while you’re not looking. You make a great pair. But if your camera is your only shooting partner, you’re missing out.

It’s nice to have at least one other person watching your back while your eye is glued to a viewfinder. You know, safety in numbers. It’s also great to have another photographer’s perspective on a shot. Keeps things from getting stale. And it’s priceless to have an assistant to hold up reflectors and do other dirty work while you man the camera.

Here’s my favorite part:

You can swap gear!

Me: “Wanna try my new 50mm?”
You: “Heck yes… you wanna give my 100mm Macro a go?”
Me: “You know it.”

So quit thinking of photography as a solitary hobby and get out there with some other photographers. Finding them is easier than you’d think.

Lots of colleges have photography departments and you don’t have to be a photography major to take a beginning photography class. Some even offer weekend short courses (not for credit) for folks who just want to brush up on their skills or learn how to use a digital camera.

Community centers and local art galleries are good places to look for classes too. And of course, there’s Craigslist.org. Taking any photography class is a great way to meet other people who want to go out shooting.

I just started a photography club with some people from a photography class I took this year.

This website lets you find people in your area who are interested in the same things you are. Let’s say you join a Meetup group for local landscape photography. Members of the group will suggest times, places, and goals for a Meetup. If enough people want to take pictures of the beach at 5:00 pm on Saturday at the Santa Monica Pier, then the Meetup is confirmed and you go for it.

This is a great way of meeting people without a big commitment.

In my area there’s a photography Meetup group for just about everyone. People join groups for everything from street photography to boudoir photography. And if you can’t find just what you’re looking for you can always start your own group. Sign up for Meetup.com (it’s free) to find out what’s going on in your area.

You ever try to get three people with different schedules to pick a time and place to meet? This should be a relatively simple task but it always ends up a complicated mess when I’m in charge. Maybe I’m just bad at keeping track of dates and deadlines.

But there is hope for me yet! I’m using Facebook to help organize the photography club I just started. So far so good. The best part is, I don’t have to be in charge.

If you already know some people who want to shoot with you, but you’re having trouble getting everyone on the same page, try using a Facebook group. Members of a group can message each other and create events. Getting group members to RSVP to Facebook group events is a really convenient way of getting busy people together. It’s a lot easier than playing phone tag and explaining schedules and conflicts to one person at a time.

…shooting with other photographers is a really valuable experience. If you’re going solo 100% of the time, you’re missing out. But finding other photo taking types is easy. You don’t have to go it alone if you don’t want to.

These aren’t the only ways to find other photographers to shoot with. So let me know in the comments, how did/will you find your photography buddies?

Kat Landreth runs PareandFocus.com, a website for photography basics on a budget. Because we all want great pictures but we can’t all be doctors.

Guest Contributor This post was written by a guest contributor to DPS. Please see their details in the post above. Become a Contributor: Check out Write for DPS page for details about how YOU can share your photography tips with the DPS community.

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This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (9-15 Jan ?11)

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Weekly Assignment

Hot Threads

Have You Ever Doubted Your Photography Skills?: Sometimes it seems like the best photographers (or at least the photographers whose photos we really like) don’t struggle at all. They seems like they’re always great and they’ve always been great. But, what happens then when you’re doubting yourself and your skill? Do you ever? Come share your thoughts over in the forums.

Enough Gear?: There’s always one more lens or maybe a new body, or another piece of gear that would improve our photos, isn’t there? Maybe not. This thread is about reaching a point where you have all the gear that you need. Have you reached that point? Do you think you ever will reach that point? Join in the discussion in the forums.

Thoughts on the Most Common Mistakes: A new year also means that many people are considering going into a new business. But what are the most common mistakes that new photographers going into business make? If you’ve started your own business, why not share your experiences in the forum. And if you’re just starting out, check out this thread for some advice from those who have been there before.

What Are You Proud You Learned in the Past Year?: Last week we asked what your goals were for 2011. But let’s look back a little bit. What are the goals that you set in 2009 that you finally realised in 2010? Come share your accomplishments for the last year.

To IS or not to IS?: IS (for Canon users) or VR (for Nikon users) is a feature that is coming on more and more lenses, but is it worth the extra cost? Share your thoughts over in the forums.

Post from: Digital Photography School

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What shooting video on an LG Optimus 2X looks like

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There were a lot of cool cameras on display at CES 2011, and there were a lot of cool phones with cool cameras as well.

Several of them were at LG’s booth, and one of them was the Optimus 2X dual-core Android phone. It can record video at a full HD resolution of 1080p.

You can see the results of the footage above. You will notice how clear and colorful that it is. If you really want to see it clearly, click on the vid to go to the YouTube page, and you might be surprised at how clear and clean it can be.

I’m not certain when the LG Optimus 2X is ready to come out, but you might want to check out our sister site of mobilewhack in order to get the exact release date.

Source

Tags: LG, LG Optimus, LG Optimus 2X, LG Optimus 2X video camera

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GIMP 2.6 for Photographers

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GIMP 2.6 for Photographers by Klaus Goelker is a beginner’s guide to GIMP, an open-source image editing tool that runs on Linux, MacOS and Windows. Topics include the basics of image editing and simple adjustments, as well as advanced techniques using layers and masks, stitching panoramic images, and preparing high-quality black and white photographs from full-colour originals. A companion DVD includes GIMP installation files for three operating systems, and a number of freeware programs including IrfanView, Hugin, and much more. The 384-page volume is available for $39.95.

Press Release

GIMP 2.6 for Photographers — New from Rocky Nook

Image Editing with Open Source Software

Santa Barbara, CA, January 18, 2011 — Image editing has become a crucial element in the photographic workflow. Image editing tools, most notably Photoshop, are usually sophisticated and deep applications, and are fairly expensive. The only open source tool in this market is the GIMP, which has developed into a powerful, multiplatform system running on Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows.

GIMP 2.6 for Photographers (Rocky Nook, $39.95 USD) is a beginner’s guide to the only open source image-editing tool that provides a no-cost alternative to expensive programs such as Photoshop. Topics include the basics of image editing and simple adjustments, as well as advanced techniques using layers and masks, stitching panoramic images, and preparing high-quality black and white images. The most important editing functions are presented in individual, easy-to-follow workshops.

GIMP 2.6 for Photographers has evolved from classroom materials that the author developed and taught in courses and workshops on image editing with the GIMP.

A companion DVD includes the following valuable resources:

· GIMP installation files for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X
· Sample images used in the workshops
· IrfanView freeware program for Windows
· FDRTools basic software for HDRI image processing
· Hugin open source software for stitching panoramics
· Plus much more…

About the Author

Klaus Goelker is an architect and photographer who lives and works in Munich, Germany. He also teaches courses on image editing at a local art school. He chose GIMP to teach this class because it was free and yet powerful enough to do serious photographic image editing.

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