A camera bag "must have" for under $10...

Here is a tool you should have in your camera bag... NO exceptions.


It's a multi purpose air blower and it can be yours for only $5.75 (with free shipping).

I have one in my camera bag and another one in my flash bag and use it for things like blowing of around the lens mount before I change lenses. I use it to blow off dust from either end of a lens and for blowing gunk out of my camera body (just be sure to hold the body with the lens mount facing down).

They have a check valve in the back so it is not sucking the dirt in that you're trying to blow away.

These are from Adorama are made of a nontoxic, environmentally friendly silicon rubber, and are resistant to both high and low temperatures.

It also has a removable nozzle so it can easily fit into your bag.

So head over to Adorama and get yourself a blower (or two).

Our review of "Taking Stock"... a great book!

I just finished the book "Taking Stock: Make money in microstock creating photos that sell" by Rob Sylva and it's coming to you with a two thumbs up recommendation (if I had more thumbs it would get them too).

Rob comes at the subject of stock photography from both sides of the fence, he is a stock photographer AND an image inspector for iStock Photo.

This book is well written, it has a ton of images that help demonstrate and reinforce what he has to say, and is very easy to follow and understand.

One of the things I really like about the book as the inclusion of the images from other stock photographers, including their thoughts and ideas behind that image, and their advice to those considering entering the field of stock photography.

Some of the chapters are:

* Tools of the Trade

* Shooting Tips From the Pros

* Digital Darkroom

* Digital Editing

And these incredibly important topics:

* Avoiding Rejection

* Seeing Like an Inspector

These two chapters alone are worth the price of admission and who would know better than an image inspector?

Rob asks a simple (but powerful) question, "are you working inside the sweet spot of your equipment?". Great question. Why ask your gear to do something it was not designed for, know your limitations and work within them.

He also provides a download link to a group of his own images that he rejected and includes text explaining the reason for their rejection, a great learning tool.

And he wraps up the book discussing the importance and the "how to" of meta data, titles, descriptions, and keywording. It doesn't matter how good your images are if a potential client can't find them while searching.

This is just some of the great information you will find in "Taking Stock", but if you want to find out how well the chapters are put together and how much information is included you don't have to take my word for it, you can (download and) read the entire third chapter of the book right here.

Oh, one last thing... MONEY.

How much money can be made in stock? Take a look at the Christmas tree on cover of his book, it is a tree in Rob's yard that as of the books printing has made him over $13,000.

And this is not as rare as you think, take a listen to this interview with Rich Legg, in it he talks about many things (regarding stock) including the importance of having your camera with you all the time, which allowed him to take a picture of a flower while waiting at a fast food drive drive through, an image that has made him thousands and thousands of dollars.

I am not suggesting you stop shooting portraits, weddings, or whatever your photographic specialty is, or that you will retire from one stock image, what I am suggesting is that what you will learn from "Taking Stock" will help you refine your eye to make the images you are already shooting attractive to those who purchase stock and might just add some jingly in your pocket.

But wait, there's more, Rob will be the guest speaker for the May meeting of the Maine Photographers Coalition, so go get the book, come to the meeting, and learn from Rob directly (and ask a question or two).

Here are a few links for you, first for Rob. Here is his stock Flickr page, his main Flickr Page, and, and because he is a Lightroom expert you will find Rob doing a Lightroom Pro Q&A over at Matt Kloskowski's blog "Lightroom Killer Tips".

We have posted several times on the topic of stock photography, you will find thoses posts here, here, and here.

Little House on the Prairie...

In all my years in medicine I NEVER saw a case of scarlet fever.

In fact the closest I ever came to it was on an episode of "Little House on the Prairie".

Well, guess what has invaded my house this week? Yup, scarlet fever. It is absolutely debilitating but thankfully it responds beautifully (and rather quickly) to antibiotics.

Today is the most normal day we have had around here in about a week, so starting tomorrow things should be on their way back to (our version of) normal here on the blog.

I have a pile of boxes, one or two arriving every day this past week, each containing a photographic do-dad (or two) for review. So I am waaaaay behind.

See you tomorrow with a review.

Our David Tejada workshop is official...

Come join us on the weekend of September 17 & 18 for a two day workshop with small strobe artist extraordinaire David Tejada.

David is one of the most highly regarded location corporate photographers out there, known for his dramatic and innovative photographic lighting techniques and graphic style.


He shoots both domestic and international assignments for graphic design firms and Fortune 500 companies. With 25 years of annual report photography experience, David is equally at home hovering in a helicopter over a drill rig in the Andes, creating dramatic lighting in a laboratory setting, or shooting a CEO portrait in New York City.

During the workshop David will demonstrate how to control and modify the quality of light produced from a typical shoe mounted flash. You’ll learn how to properly use umbrellas, soft boxes, snoots, grids, silks and bounce techniques. We’ll discuss using a single strobe combined with existing light as well as more complicated multiple light set-ups.

This workshop is designed for the emerging pro or for those contemplating doing so.

This workshop does not show you how to use your camera, you should understand the relationship between shutter speeds and F-stops and what the difference is between f/1.4 and f/22.

This workshop is limited to just 10 seats so that each attendee will have plenty of personalized attention, signup before those few precious seats are gone.

Learn more about David Tejada at his website, his blog, the "Small Strobes Big Results" site, or over at Strobist (here and here).

Well this was a pleasant surprise...

At the end of last week we found out the the arrangements for an exchange student visiting from Okinawa Japan had fallen through and they were looking for a "new home".

We became that home.

For the next 11 days we will have a "new daughter", she is 16, and her name is Yumika.


Yup, I now have 4 teenage daughters under my roof... the crowd of people who think I am a silly old man continues to grow.

My first thought when I met her was how brave she is, to be thousands of miles from home, away from her family in a house of strangers, and surrounded by people who speak a language she barely understands.

Yesterday we hooked the computer up to our TV, ran Google Earth, and watched her eyes light up when we found her home, her grandparents home, and her school.

They lit up again today when we dangled a live Maine lobster a foot in front of her face.

;)

We have been spending a good deal of time trying to show her our life, our culture, and learn about hers too.

Today she presented us with some beautiful gifts from her home, a small statue of Japanese deities, booklets about her home, chopsticks, and other very cool things.

We are having a great time and are hoping to give her the experience of a lifetime.

(clicking on any image will open it larger and in a new window)





So the point of this post is to share with you something very unexpected and wonderful that has happened to us and to let you know that posting to the blog has the potential of being somewhat sporadic for the next 11 days, so please be patient.

Would you like $50 from Simply Canvas?...

If you attend the meeting this coming Monday (March 7th) of the Maine Photographers Coalition every person who walks through the door will get a $50 gift certificate from Simply Canvas.

There will be many other fabulous door prizes as well.

The topic for this meeting is "Printing & Selling Fine Art Prints" and the featured speaker will be Joe Ciarcia from Gamut Prints.

Joe will be discussing:

*Upselling Fine Art Prints- how to add fine art prints to your current product line

*Quick tips for marketing fine art prints to your current and past clients

*Best practices for printing/profiling your own fine art prints

*Paper comparisons- look at and touch paper samples from the leading paper companies

*The value of outsourcing- outsourcing vs. in house printing

The Details:

*Doors open at 7pm, the program will start at 7:30pm

*We will meet at Stacey Kane's studio in Scarborough- 134 Black Point Road, Scarborough, ME

*Administrative Fee: $10

*Make sure you bring a business card to drop into the fish bowl to be eligible for the other great door prizes

*Please RSVP if you haven't done so already.

So please, come and hob nob with your fellow photographers, you will meet seasoned professionals as well as photographers who are just starting out, there will be young and old, good looking and... well... me.

;)

Hope to see you there.

Beautiful High Speed Photography (and tutorial)...

I was recently turned onto the images of Swiss photographer Pascal Bovet by one of our readers (thanks Shayne) and just can't get enough of his work.

Not only is his imagery stunning, he shares with us the setup shots AND has put together a detailed tutorial on high speed photography.

Many of his mages stay with the theme of our latest "shiny" photo contest, check these out:


The setup for the three glass shot can be found here.


The setup for the five glass shot is here.


The balloon shot setup is here.

I'm not even going to tell you what the one below is, or how it was shot, you'll need to check out his website for the details. ;)


Click on any of the above images to view larger and in a new window.

So, be sure to check out his website, his tutorial, and his Flickr page.

And Pascal, if you see this post thank you so much for sharing.