Joe McNally is insane...

This is probably the most amazing photo shoot I have ever seen and absolutely proves that Joe McNally is either the bravest or the craziest man I know.

Maybe a little of both.

;)

Enjoy the following video.

Chase Jarvis: The Portrait Sessions Vol. 1...

"Chase Jarvis: The Portrait Sessions Vol. 1" ($21.95) are the second set of cards released by Trade Secret Cards, the first set was "Strobist Favorites" ($19.95) and you can read our review here.

All the things we liked about the first set of cards remains unchanged:

1. You'll get 22 cards with a phenomenal image on one side and a lighting diagram, tips, and insight on the other.

2. The cards are printed on UV protected thick stock so they are durable and will stand up well to being carried in your pocket or your camera bag from one shoot to another.

3. Shipping is inexpensive, only 99 cents flat shipping fee (regardless of how many sets you buy).

4. Shipping is fast.

5. Customer service is outstanding.

The only difference between this set and the first is the content that is covered.

The first set of cards leaned towards portraiture and product shots, the latest set is more about fine art and commercial photography.

What I like best about these cards is that they are a great learning tool, as you recreate a scenario from one of the cards it really makes you think "I wonder if I..." or "If I moved this light here and..." your creative juices start to flow and you end up with a vision that is all your own.

You really can't go wrong buying either set of these cards, they are well thought out, well made learning tools.

Their name may be "Trade Secret" but they are not dong a very good job keeping that secret, and we as photographers are better off because of it.

This makes me squeal like a little girl...

There is a new and FREE lighting diagram creator application for the iPhone and the iPod Touch called Strobox that has me pretty darn excited, but then at my age it doesn't take much.

;)

It is a great tool for jotting down your lighting setup when you are on location or in the studio.

There are a couple things I wish it would do, like edit saved diagrams or make a diagram that is larger than the existing screen (it's not scrollable) but it really doesn't bother me that I can't do these things and I doubt it will bother you.

Don't tell the developers but this is an app I would have been happy to pay for.

This really is a handy dandy tool and you should rush right over to the App Store and download Strobox now!

Woo Hoo!

While checking my stats I saw that we have topped 1,400 subscribers... what a pleasant surprise.

Thank you!

Great holiday deals on memory cards...

Here are some great deals on memory cards, all of them come with free shipping! Ho, Ho, Ho.


SanDisk 4 GB Extreme IV Compact Flash Memory Card - Pack of 3 - screaming fast at 45 MB/s! $59 ($149.95 with a $90 rebate).


SanDisk 8 GB Extreme III Compact Flash Memory Card - Pack of 3 - 30 MB/s - $69 ($149.95 with an $80 rebate).


SanDisk 8 GB Extreme III Secure Digital High Capacity Memory Card, Class 10 - Pack of 3 - 30 MB/s - $169 ($259 with a $90 rebate).

Here is the link to the downloadable rebate form.

Some very good news for photographers...

This past year saw the birth of "DTown TV" a show dedicated to all things Nikon digital hosted by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski.

I can't tell you how many really cool tricks I learned by watching their weekly episodes and how sad I was when the final episode aired last month.

Well, the show has been resurrected but instead of being about Nikon the new focus is "all things DSLR", studio lighting, on location lighting, post processing, gear, and lots of special guests.

So tune in on January 7th for a brand new season!

Help Portrait Day in Biddeford Maine...

Mark and I decided to focus our attention on a local food pantry, so we gave 50 "free portrait" certificates to the director and asked her to hand them out to both volunteers and clients.

So that we didn't have everyone show up at the same time (and better control the flow for the day) we also gave her an all day schedule with open time slots in 15 minute increments, as the certificates were handed out they could pick their own portrait time (the schedule thing worked out real well and something you might want to consider should you do a similar event).

The certificates had instructions on when and where to come to get their free portrait, directions, a map, and contact information should the have any questions.

We received a call from from a woman just before our day was "scheduled" to begin and said that her friend had very recently had a baby and did not have her own certificate and she wanted to know if she could she give her certificate to her friend because she really wanted her friend to be able to have a portrait with her new baby.

We told her to keep her certificate and simply bring her friend and new baby along, that they could all have their portraits done.

There was a moment of silence and then a very tearful voice came over the phone, “thank you, thank you, thank you”.

Another man brought his son in for a portrait and after we handed him the print he stared at it for awhile and shook our hands thanking us (repeatedly), explaining this was going to be a Christmas gift for his wife... the only gift he was able to give her.

We took 26 portraits Saturday and only 2 people that were scheduled to come didn't (but they did call to tell us they had sick children and couldn't make it).

I was touched at how warm, how genuine the appreciation was from the good people who came to our studio.

Probably the most surprising thing for me was when the day was over and I had gone home, I started to tell my wife and my mom the events of the day and was suddenly overcome with emotion, I had to pause a couple times and then finally I just had to walk away.

It was a very good day.

Things we will do differently next time:

1. Get the word out sooner, it would've been wonderful to have done more portraits.

2. Print 5 x 7 images, the "choke point" for us was actually printing out the 8 x 10 image to give to the client, so a smaller image will print faster.

3. After hearing some of the stories, framing their images may prove difficult, so next year we'll see if we can get a craft store to donate frames.

Here is a short video from our day, if you are a subscriber you will need to return to the blog to view it or follow this link to YouTube.