Another reader contest/giveaway!...

We are giving one of our readers a brand new copy of the book we recently reviewed (and loved!) "Food Photography" by Nicole Young.



The contest is open to everyone and the rules for participating are pretty easy and consists of just these two little things:



1. Leave a comment on any blog post or any one of our YouTube videos.



2. Upload an image of food that you shot to our Flickr group.



The winner will be chosen at random from all of the qualifying entries and announced on the blog on Friday September 9th.



You can find more detailed information on how to join our Flickr group here.



Good luck to all and really looking forward to seeing your images!

TICKETS, TICKETS, GET YOUR TICKETS!!

It's that time of year again! Time to attend the Ottawa Wedding Palace Bridal Show. Taking place on September 10th and 11th 2011 not only is this Ottawa's premier wedding show, it's home is now one of Ottawa's newest premier venues - the Ottawa Convention Centre.



Each year Viva posts a Wedding Show Survival Guide to help make your day an enjoyable and productive one. This year, the Ottawa Wedding Palace Bridal Show has come up with their own so we thought we'd share their tips with you.



1. Register online and enter to win the Bride's Night Out prize package!

Make sure you also register when you arrive at the show. Registering at the show will enter you into all of the grand door prize draws.



2. Create a temporary email address to be used while you are planning your wedding.

This way you can delete it when you no longer are interested in receiving special offers or hearing from the vendors.



3. Bring adhesive address labels.

This will save you a lot of time when you enter for prizes at individual booths. Most exhibitors will want to know your wedding date so make sure to add this information to your label along with your email address.



4. Don't forget your pen!

You're going to see so much at the show and talk to so many wonderful vendors that your head will be spinning by the time you head for home! Make sure to write notes on brochures or flyers from your favorite vendors while you're at the show, as you're about to drop them into your bulging goody bag - it'll help you sort out who all was who once you get home and start taking stock of the day! Collect any information you are interested in - take it home to look over again when you have some quiet time.



5. Make it a girl's day out!

Bring your friends, your wedding party, and your mom along to enjoy the big show! This gives them all a chance to feel more involved in your Big Day, and you'll be glad to have objective friends or family there to help you with your planning. Plus - it also means extra hands to help share carrying home all of the loot you're going to gather! (Want to bring the groom? Remind him that there will be delicious samples of all sorts of things, like BBQ and luscious wedding cake!). It is nice if your fiancé attends with you so that you are both involved in the planning process.



6. Make it a weekend event!

The show is open from 11am - 5 pm both days over the weekend - so if you get a bracelet for re-entry (available at registration), you can return for free on Sunday! Visit on Saturday with all of the gals in your wedding party, and then come back with your groom on Sunday to show him what you have discovered! (This works especially well if the groom has a limited amount of time or if your man is allergic to wedding shopping!). Don't forget to take in at least one of the two fashion shows that will take place each day (12:30 & 3:30).



7. Ask lots of questions, that's what the exhibitors are there for!

This is your big chance to talk with all kinds of wedding professionals - so don't be shy! Talk to the vendors and ask questions about their services, get the details on the wedding packages they offer, and how they can best serve you on your very special day! (A great tip: bring along ribbons or swatches with your wedding colors! This can help our vendors best help you!)



8. Bring your cheque book or credit card in case you decide to book services or hold dates with a deposit.

Many vendors will offer special day-of-the-bridal-show discounts, and many vendors or wedding venues book fast, so if you find the perfect photographer or your perfect wedding spot, you will want to be prepared to put down a deposit! Be sure to check on refund policies before giving any money, and read the contract carefully before signing.



9. Wear comfortable shoes (opt for your running shoes instead of the Jimmy Choos) and have a great time!



10. Relax and have fun - this is your wedding. Enjoy every moment - the day will be here and gone before you know it!



Don't have your tickets yet? Viva la wedding has 5 pairs of tickets to give away to the first 5 brides/grooms-to-be that email us. Some of our favourite exhibitors you won't want to miss... Barbara Ann Studios, Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello, Groovy Linen, Melissa Jonston Photography, Mikaza, Photolux Studio, Quality Entertainment, Restaurant E18hteen, Stonefields Heritage Farm, The Westin, and With Love Bridal Boutique. Enjoy the show!

A (brave) man and his dog...

You know the routine, if it's the weekend I am (most likely) off topic.



Those who have followed this blog for very long have read my posts about the military (like here and here) and dogs (here and here), so this week when I read the story about the loss of Navy Seal Jon Tumilson and saw the images from his funeral of when his dog walked up to his casket and laid down I knew right away I wanted to share it with as many people as I could (though I doubt few have missed it).





I tried to explain to my teenage daughters the bravery it takes to deliberately put yourself in harms way, to run towards danger when every fiber in your being is telling you to run the other way, all the while knowing you may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice, to give that last full measure.





It has been my honor to personally know such men.



Sometimes I think it's not that we are a great country, it's that we are a country made up of great people... people like Jon Tumilson.

Our "Chasing the Light" book winner is...

Before we announce the winner I want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in this contest, a bunch of people left comments, joined our Flickr group, and uploaded some outstanding images. If you haven't checked out the Flickr images you really, really should.



The winner of our "Street" image contest was randomly selected from all who entered using a program called "The Hat", the person who will get a copy of the book "Chasing the Light: Improving Your Photography with Available Light" by Ibarionex Perello is....



Drum roll please... (Flickr name) Hadleygrass!!!!



Here are a few of the images he uploaded for the contest:









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

Okay Hadleygrass, the ball is in your court now, just drop us an email with your snail mail address and we'll get the book right out to you.



Congratulations!



Be sure to be here on Monday because we will be announcing our very next contest (not wasting any time), we will be giving away the book "Food Photography" by Nicole Young.

Review of "Food Photography" by Nicole Young...

Before I jump into the review let me say this "please, please, please don't be turned of by the word food!", because "Food Photography: from Snapshots to Great Shots" is a book that is for anyone who owns a camera.



Even if you don't "shoot food" you should read this review (and more importantly the book).



I love Nicole's writing style, it is both disarming and very engaging. Often I read an educational book with anticipation, waiting for the next factoid, the next "learning moment" to present itself, but because of her writing style I just enjoyed reading and would be surprised when each nugget of knowledge fell upon me.



The first 80 pages of the book covers photography fundamentals, gear, and lighting that is useful and informative to any photographer.



Only after thoroughly covering these topics does Nicole move into food, and she covers it more in-depth than anyone else I have seen and does it with authority (I think) because she does it all, she shops for the right ingredients, she cooks it all, then does her own styling, and only after all this she photographs it. So she understands more than most how the ingredient or cooking impacts the final shot.





My mother has the habit of when she shares her recipes with others of "accidently" leaving out one small key ingredient so their final dish is never quite as good as hers, not so in this book. Nicole has held nothing back.



Wanna know how to take old pieces of fence and turn it into an interesting table top, it's in there. Which is better, real ice or fake? Nicole explains (in both words and pictures).



One of the (many) things I love about this book is "pouring over the picture" a segment where Nicole covers every aspect of a shot, gear, food, framing, color coordination, and camera settings... nothing is left unexamined or unexplained.



Only after covering everything under the sun about food does she move into Photoshop, both in general and specifically as it applies to food. And again, this area is thoroughly explained in both word and photo, each editing step shows both the image being edited accompanied by the Photoshop dialog box so each step is easy to follow and understand.



And did I mention she discusses monitor calibration? I love this woman.



;)



The final chapter "Behind The Scenes" takes you through multiple photo shoots (from start to finish) including 50 images (or more) from the food prep, styling, lighting, shoot, tips, and post processing.



From soup to nuts as they say (sorry, I just could not stop that from coming out).



"Food Photography: from Snapshots to Great Shots" is such a good read, I got from cover to cover in just 2 sittings, which if you know me, is really quite an accomplishment and it's so full of useful information you can barely pick it up.

A GREAT book.

Be sure to check out her blog and her tutorial section, it is chock full of great photography information.

A new, free lighting Magazine from Scott Kelby!...

Today Scott Kelby released a new iPad-only digital magazine called Light It: A How-To Magazine for Studio Lighting and Off-Camera Flash through KelbyTraining.com. The debut issue is free and available now on iTunes in the App Store.



Light It is for photographers of all skill-levels who use lighting or want to explore lighting concepts.



The free debut issue of Light It features contributions from executive editor Scott Kelby, with features from editorial photographer Zack Arias and one of today’s most influential hotographers Joe McNally. Regular contributors include Matt Kloskowski and Rafael "RC" Concepcion from The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP).

You guys are good!...

I have gone through some of the images you folks have been uploading to our Flickr Group for our latest book giveaway and they are outstanding.



It was hard to whittle it down to just six representative images.



So if you haven't yet, head on over to Flickr and take a look, and there is still time for you to upload your own images as well.



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