Single-Serving Photo

How many times have you held up one of your photographic prints in the light of day—actual, real day—and thought That’s not at all what I bargained for? Never? Well that’s good. You must be one of the lucky ones, or one of the blind ones.

Even with the best equipment that money can buy, ICC profiles, spectrophotometers, an iron-clad color management workflow, and a high-end monitor, your eyes are the ultimate judges of your work. But eyes, they don’t work alone; you can’t see anything without light, and the quality of the light will have as much an effect on what you see as the color of the print itself.

I got onto this topic after reading Michael Johnston’s overview of his Viewing Station. All these years I’ve been experimenting with lights in my studio space, let’s call it Single-Serving Photo HQ—or, as my friends call it, my bedroom—and I never once thought to write about it.

After the jump I’ll tell you how to dramatically increase your viewing conditions for about $15. (more…)

I’ve read at least one account of how to move photos from one Lightroom catalog to another, which is pretty common if you travel with a laptop and make edits in the field (as I do). It’s a tremendous help to be able to spend hours on the flight home organizing and even editing images, but all of that work would be for naught if there wasn’t a nice, easy way to move those images and their corresponding metadata onto your primary computer.

Fortunately, there is! I will tell you how! (more…)

This sweet video from someone called “cobbler” on Metacafe shows you how to make a rather ingenious image stabilizer, which I have decided to call an “inverted monopod.”

I won’t ruin the surprise, nor will I keep you from the video, which is right here:

(View the original video on Metacafe)

Personally, I think this idea is brilliant and I give a tip of my cap to “cobbler,” whoever and wherever they may be.

The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA (I like to say it “pa-hum-sah” just to be a jerk), dropped a bomb on us recently with a new set of regulations governing lithium-based batteries in public transportation (chiefly air travel, but presumably any transportation system under the DOT’s oversight).

Of concern are so-called primary lithium or lithium metal batteries as well as the somewhat more common lithium ion batteries so familiar to photographers. The regulations basically prohibit loose spare batteries in checked baggage and also place a number of other restrictions on the number and variety of batteries that can be kept in carry-on luggage.

I became concerned because I will be flying out to the California coast at the end of February to scout locations for future art photography workshops and making that voyage across the country is enough of a hassle without TSA inspectors throwing all of my batteries away.

Here I will make a valiant effort to summarize what has already been said by others and tell you why I think this “emergency” might be somewhat blown out of proportion. Continue after the jump! (more…)

Here are some ideas for New Year’s resolutions to refresh and enliven your photography.

Try something NEW

Experiment with unfamiliar genres. If you normally shoot fine art landscapes, try still life. If you are a sports shooter who is interested in making artistic images, try landscapes. Get outside of your “comfort zone” and attempt something fresh.

Upgrade to a digital SLR

I know, this isn’t really a philosophical “turn over a new leaf” resolution, but maybe this year is the year to step up to a digital SLR camera and really take your photography to the next level. Here are my digital SLR recommendations for first-time owners in 2008:

• Canon Digital Rebel XTi (about $530 from B&H, camera body only)
• Nikon D40 (about $475 from B&H, with 18-55mm lens)
• Nikon D80 (about $780 from B&H, camera body only)

(In in the interest of full disclosure, I do get a small kickback from B&H if you order any of those products through the links on this page. So, please do!)

The Nikon D40 is a solid 6.1 megapixel SLR that B&H sells in three different kits, one with the 18-55mm lens, one with the 18-135mm lens, and one with both the 18-55mm lens as well as 55-200mm lens. The D40 is a solidly built camera with all the features one would need to start learning about the fundamentals of photography and is no slouch in image quality, either. The D40 comes in your choice of a black or silver plastic body (internals and lens mounts are, of course, made of metal).

A step up in price from the Nikon D40 is the Canon Digital Rebel XTi (or 400D for those not in the States). Aside from the bonus of being able to choose from any of Canon’s world-class EF lenses, you get a solid 10.1 megapixel sensor and essentially the same software features (save for a few) that Canon’s higher-end cameras have. The Rebel XTi comes in your choice of a silver or black plastic body (internals and lens mounts are, as above, made of metal).

Yet more expensive is the Nikon D80, a true workhorse in this price range, and a camera that will carry you years into the future with its exceptional array of features and its high image quality. Also 10 megapixels, what the D80 brings to the table is not higher resolution, but simply better features.

I encourage anyone interested in getting into the SLR marketplace to carefully scrutinize Digital Photography Review, the award-winning camera review site for feature comparisons and informed opinions.

Take a class

PC World suggests, in an article titled New Year’s Resolutions, that taking a class is a fun and exciting way to turn over a new leaf with your digital camera.

Photojojo also suggested taking a class in their recent post 19 New Year’s Photo Resolutions — Goodbye 2007, Hello Two Thousand and Awesome!.

Coincidentally I will be an instructor on several art photography workshops this coming year, first in Death Valley National Park (California), then Chicago, of course the Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee/North Carolina), and finally Acadia National Park in Maine. I’m also teaching a beginning-level three-day course on digital workflow out in Santa Cruz, California (a great place to be no matter what the season) in July.

There are plenty of spots available in all workshops at the moment, so don’t hesitate to reserve yours now!

Read all about the workshops and register on our website, Art Photo Workshops.

Take more photographs

The best and fastest way to get better at photography is to take more photographs. I have personally resolved to make 2008 a very productive year of photography and to be more diligent in my experimentation (which was the purpose for creating this blog in the first place those years ago).

So from me to you, my wonderful readers, HAPPY NEW YEAR!