Yep I am a sucker for any photography book about birds. But in this case, I have a right to be. Alan Murphy is one of the premiere avian photographers in America. He’s published a book on CD Called “Guide to Songbird Setup Photography,” and it’s a good one.
It’s a step-by-step guide on how to attract and photograph songbirds – yeah songbirds. If you have ever tried to even find and get a good look at songbirds you know how hard it can be. Alan shows you not only how to find them, but how to get them on a good perch, in good light and close enough to photograph.
The book is worth the money just for the images. If you want to know what publishable bird photos should look like, this is your guide.
It’s not cheap, but it’s more than a book. It’s really a workshop on CD for those who are serious about songbird photography.
Alan is the real deal and so is this book. It’s available on CD from BIRDS AS ART. It sells for $50 plus $3 shipping and handling to US addresses. Shipping to Canada is $6.00. It is $8.00 for all foreign orders.
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This post sponsored by WHCC – White House Custom Colour – Get Five Free 8×10 Prints From WHCC
Click the picture to watch the video
Coming off the success of the Zi8 Kodak has created a new pocket video camera that’s capable of 1080p video, underwater recording (up to 10 feet), comes with image stabilization, a two inch color display – and oh yeah, it shoots pretty darn nice five megapixel 16×9 stills. And it retails for less than $150!
I have always relied on my iPhone in situations where the Playsport would function best and side-by-side, the Playsport wins hands down. It offers better video and better stills. It’s similarly sized and only weighs a quarter of a pound. It fits in your shirt pocket.
I tested it making a little movie of my new 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8. I was impressed with the ease of operation. I spent less than a minute looking at the manual. I popped a 16GB SDHC card in the camera (good for five hours of 720P recording) and went to town. The controls are intuitive and very easy to use. There are only seven buttons total on this camera. There’s one to turn it on/off. There’s one to put the camera in LiveView mode, there’s a video playback button, there’s a toggle wheel for zooming in and changing recording modes, there’s the capture button, a trash button and a menu button.
The Playsport comes in black, blue and purple. It is easy to grip thanks to a rugged rubber outside edge. There’s also a wrist strap and a tripod socket. They even throw in an HDMI cable so you can hook the Playsport right up to your HD TV right out of the box. Very nice touch. A USB power cable is also included that doubles as a download cable so you can get images to your computer.
The IS actually works. It’s electronic rather than optical so it only works to a point, but given the price of this unit I’m amazed it’s there at all.
Kodak also includes a way to help you see the LCD screen on sunny days. It’s called the LCD Glare Shield. Hitting the LIveView button cycles you through different display screens making it easier to see.
I played a bit with the smart face tracking software and in good light, it works reasonably well.
I’m very impressed with the quality of the video I got from this $149 camera. It could be better of course. The low-light performance is on par with similar cameras but not as good as you’d get from a larger DSLR that shot video. Nor should it be at this price point.
I’m not a fan of proprietary batteries and the Playsport has a free, rechargeable battery included with the camera, but I’d prefer it run on standard AAA batteries which are widely available anywhere in the world. It might be due to the camera’s small size that Kodak had to go with the proprietary battery.
My only complaints are small. In my pocket, the ON button kept accidentally getting pressed, draining the camera of power. An On/Off lock button would be nice. A small carrying case would be nice, even a cheap felt one, since the LCD can get scratched.
If you’re a Windows user, the Playsport ships with software you can use to edit the movies. Mac users will need to use iLife software.
For an inexpensive pocket video camera, I think the Kodak Playsport is pretty tough to beat. It has some pro-features at a consumer price. Highly recommended.
Photo by Jessica Lark
I spoke at WPPI about using Twitter for business. For those who could (and could not) attend the class, here is a PDF version of my slide presentation. (http://www.aperturenatureworkshops.com/wppipreso.pdf)
Contrary to what you hear from some of the “experts” Twitter can be used to generate business for photographers. In my presentation I made the case for that and gave some tips on how to make it work. See the PDF for more information.
I’d also like to offer a list of resources that photographers might use to enhance the value of twitter.
Twitter-related Tools to Improve the Power of Twitter
1. Bit.ly
One of the big selling points of Twitter is the brevity of each tweet which is limited to 140 characters. Since traditional URLs take up lots of space, this tool enables you to use an abbreviated URL. It also keeps track off how many clicks are generated on this abbreviated URL thus providing useful feedback on what is working.
2. Twellow.com
Twellow serves as the yellow pages directory for Twitter. It enables you to find people who live near you or share your interests. This means that you can conveniently follow them if you choose.
3. Killertweets.com & Twitbacks.com
Create a personal brand. You need a Twitter background that suits the image that you want to project. Killertweets charges a price, but provides many striking backgrounds from which to choose. Twitbacks is free, but nowhere near as impressive.
4. Twi5
To check on spamming, Twitter has limits and you may only follow a total of 110% of the number of your followers. You need to quickly eliminate those who do not follow you back so that you can follow new prospects. This site allows you to “unfollow” the “unfollowers”.
This invaluable tool allows you to see all of the action in your account within one single application, enabling you to automate Twitter to run on autopilot.
Great service that helps you count followers over a period of time. Offers projections and all sorts of important data for those who are serious about Twitter.
7. Klout.com
A way to measure Twitter influence and informs you what sort of reach, demand, engagement, velocity and activity. You can use it to search for topics and find the influencers relative to that topic.
Grades your influence based on number of followers, power of those followers, updates, followers/following ratios. Also provides rankings.
9. Twitpic.com
This tool lets you use Twitter to post photos.
10. Ad.ly
Measures audience engagement.
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This post sponsored by WHCC – White House Custom Colour – Get Five Free 8×10 Prints From WHCC
If the crowds on the show floor and in the classrooms were any indication, the wedding and portrait photography market is alive and well. More than 14,000 photographers attended WPPI’s annual trade show and conference in Las Vegas last week.
The classrooms were overflowing with young, eager photographers who wanted to learn anything and all they could to improve their photography businesses. Some classes were so popular that WPPI had to run them twice to give everyone a chance who was interested opportunity to attend.
The trade show was split into two areas and was flat out huge. There were hundreds of booths. I hurt my knee and wasn’t able to walk well so I didn’t visit all the booths, but I did manage to see some old friends.
Some of the highlights for me included participating in the Nudeior workshop led by Carlos Baez, assisted by Jessica Lark and sponsored by Photofocus with food courtesy of Pictage. I’ll be writing a separate post about this experience. It was great.
Copyright Jessica Lark
I spoke on behalf of Kodak on Tuesday night on the topic of using Twitter to help your photo business. We had a good crowd despite the fact that the talk was counter two of the biggest parties and a class with Jasmine Star. Kodak was kind enough to give me one of the first Kodak Play Sport underwater, 1080p video cameras as a gift. I’ll also be reviewing that separately.
Copyright Jessica Lark
I got to meet the president of Hasselblad USA and got my hands on their new 40MP medium format digital camera. You can read more about that here. http://photofocus.com/2010/03/11/hasselblad-h4d40-first-impressions/‘
I also had the thrill of being one of the 20 speakers at the first-ever Photographer’s Ignite – http://photographersignite.com/. It was the most amazing (and quick) two hours of my life. Mark Twain once said, “I’d like to write you a short letter but I don’t have time, so I wrote you a long one instead.” It’s hard to be concise – it’s easy to be a blowhard. Each of us that presented at Ignite had five minutes. That’s it. Someone else controlled the slides. It was fun, invigorating, inspiring and cool. The presentation was the last day of the conference and many had already gone home, but still, the very large room was packed and standing room only. It had the feel of a rock concert or a MacWorld Steve Jobs keynote. If you want to see what the crowd looked like from our vantage point on stage, check out this photo – http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=11402693&id=854345337 – I was honored to be involved and Kevin Kubota deserves major congrats for organizing and running the event.
Last but not least, I had the chance to spend lots of time with some old and new friends, got to meet with some of my long-time sponsors, signed up some new sponsors and generally got to eat way too much great food. I had hoped to meet some photographers I really admire. It was close, but at the last minute I did get to meet Tamara Lackey. Don’t let her movie star looks fool you – she’s one of the top children’s photographers working today and I’m hoping to get a guest blog post out of her soon. While I won’t remember all the cool photographers I met some do stand out – Katie Trujillo, Riz Crescini, and Sarah Petty to name a few.
I’ve never been to a WPPI event. It was fun, but large. I probably prefer the smaller boutique conferences since it’s easier to actually get to meet and spend time with folks, but this wasn’t bad for a large conference. Perhaps I’ll see you all there again next year.
Congrats to @Annakim13 who won the latest 5DMKII in our Twitter contest
It’s the single most expensive camera I’ve ever given away on Twitter. A Canon 1D MK IV, worth $4999.
I am doing it again, with the help of @WHCCPro.
Here are the basics but PLEASE read all the rules.
1. You must be 18 years or older to enter
2. You must be following me http://www.twitter.com/scottbourne
3. You must send out the following tweet EXACTLY as it appears – failure to do so will disqualify you – do NOT put @ sign in front of scottbourne anywhere in the Tweet
4. The prize will be awarded on June 15, 2010
5. If you live outside the US you are responsible for any taxes, custom duties and shipping in the event you win
Here’s the tweet you should send…
Win a new Canon 1DMKIV or $5000 of photo printing/product from @WHCCPro & Scott Bourne. Pls RT. Info at: http://bit.ly/dlsAhA
We keep a record of each tweet in a database and then a random number generator picks the winner. Due to the volume of requests we receive, we cannot and will not answer ANY questions about the contest on Twitter or via e-mail. The information you need is all right here.
Our sponsor is WHCC:
WHCC is a full service photographic and press printer serving professional photographers around the world. WHCC offers a wide range of products with turnaround times, pricing and levels of quality unparalleled within our industry all with free UPS shipping. We offer photographic prints, high end canvas gallery wraps, incredible album and book products, as well as a steady stream of new and innovative products for any type of photographer. Check out www.whcc.com for all the details and see how WHCC can become a valuable partner in your success as a professional photographer.
Here’s some of the fine print – PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.
If you’d like to enter to win, first, go to Twitter and if you don’t already have an account there, set one up. It’s free. Then follow me – Scott Bourne. Go to http://www.twitter.com/scottbourne and click on the Follow button that appears under my profile.
That’s it. Just follow me on Twitter. (http://www.twitter.com/scottbourne) Send out the tweet listed above – and you’re done.
But this is important – only do this ONE TIME! It does not in any way improve your odds if you Tweet this message more than once. You will not be penalized if you do it more than once, but it won’t help. If you do send it more than once, you’ll just make your followers mad and you WILL NOT increase your odds. PLEASE don’t ask me to check if you’ve already entered or if your entry qualifies. I get tens of thousands of entries.
If you are already following me on Twitter – you don’t need to un-follow and then re-follow. In fact, if you follow and un-follow me more than twice, you will be blocked. People who follow me just for the contests and who drop in and out will be blocked from my Twitter account.
You must be at least 18 years old to win. All taxes are the responsibility of the winner. The decision of the judges is final. The winner will be announced on Twitter.com, scottbourne.com and Photofocus.com, June 15, 2010, sometime before Midnight, PST.
This contest is void where prohibited by law. The contest is open to anyone, world wide as long as you live in a country where contests such as this one are legal. If you live in Quebec Canada for instance, you may not participate since contests like this one are illegal there without payment of a bond. It’s your responsibility to ensure that contests like this one are not prohibited by your local law. Actual prize awards will only happen after your execution of an affidavit of eligibility.
You may choose between the new Canon 1DMKIV (body only) still in the box or a free $5000 gift certificate from WHCC. *NOTE: If we have a winner located outside the US, they will pay shipping of either the camera or the goods they purchase using the gift certificate.
We reserve the right to substitute a different camera body in the event that the 1DMKIV is discontinued or we feel a higher quality body is available which is similarly priced, i.e., we may or may not elect to offer a newer version of the 1DMKIV should Canon announce same before the end of the giveaway. Nothing here shall obligate us to give away a newer camera.
In the event of an international winner, neither Bourne Media Group or WHCC will be responsible for delays in prize delivery caused by Customs clearing.
We check the ScottBourne Twitter account for a list of followers. We verify the aforementioned re-tweet. We throw all that information at a random number generator and pick a winner.
You will not be able to enter as long as your tweets are private.
We will not answer questions about the contest other than to point you to these rules.
If any part of this makes you uncomfortable, or if you don’t like the fact that I do these giveaways, please don’t participate.
For the rest of you – I promise to (as in the past) make sure that you get plenty of good content from me here and on Twitter in between the giveaways.
Thanks for your support.
We ran a contest with the help of Scan Cafe – here are the details. http://bit.ly/8SJuMT
We checked all the entries and randomly selected and lucky @ramoncarcases is the winner.
Didn’t win? Don’t despair. There’s another giveaway tomorrow and tonight I’m announcing the next quarterly giveaway – it will be the most expensive single prize I’ve ever given away. With the help of WHCC I’ll be giving away a:
Canon 1D MK IV
Details coming on that contest very, very soon.
Please note, if you decide to unfollow me because you didn’t win, I’m okay with that, but you won’t be allowed to re-enter the next camera giveaway.
Thanks for being a part of Photofocus.
Photo Courtesy Bambi Cantrell - Copyright 2010 - All Rights Reserved
I just had one of the most surreal experiences of my life. People who know me are probably on the edge of their seats since I’ve had lots of surreal experiences. But this one is right up there. I had my portrait made by Bambi Cantrell. Although she needs no introduction to many of you who make portraits for a living, not everyone in my audience is familiar with her, so I’ll take just a moment to explain who Bambi is.
Her list of accolades and accomplishments is long indeed. She was honored in July 2008 by the Russian Federation of Professional Photographers, and was presented with the prestigious “Golden Eye” award; an award only given 10 times in the history of the organization. In 2007 American Photo Magazine named Bambi Cantrell as one of the “10 Best Wedding Photographers in the world.” Cantrell was honored by Microsoft Corporation in 2006 by being named the first woman “Icon of Imaging” in their elite Icons program, and to this day provides photographic educational training to photographers worldwide. In 2003 the United Nations honored Bambi Cantrell with its ”International Leadership Award,” and in 2001 Bambi was honored with “The Lifetime Achievement Award” the highest honor given by The Wedding Portrait Photographers International Organization.
In addition to being an internationally recognized photographer, Bambi Cantrell is also an accomplished author. She has three best selling educational books, “The Art of Wedding Photography,” “The Art of the Digital Wedding,” (with Skip Cohen) and “The Art of People Photography.”
In other words, Bambi is a pro’s pro.
Photo Courtesy Bambi Cantrell - Copyright 2010 - All Rights Reserved
While in Vegas for the WPPI conference, I had the pleasure of having my portrait made by Bambi. Just one of the many perks of being friend’s with Skip Cohen is that he knows everyone. And while Bambi and I had spoken at the same conferences, and been introduced before, I didn’t really KNOW her. Skip KNOWS her and thanks to his relationship and persuasive ways, he talked Bambi into taking time out of one of the busiest schedules in the world to shoot me.
I’ve heard many photographers say what I’m about to say. One of the reasons I became a photographer was that I hate having my picture taken. As long as I have the camera in my hand, I rarely have to suffer the indignity of being the subject of the photo. Let’s face it, I’m not exactly male model material. So one of the reasons I went to the best in the business is that it was going to take the best in the business to make a portrait of me that didn’t completely suck. In fact my goal here was to end up with a photograph that made me a little less gross than I am in real life!
I had no idea what to expect from this experience. I knew I was nervous and that I wasn’t looking forward to it. NOTE: That’s the way many of the people who wind up in front of my camera feel so it’s good to stop and have the same experience so I can feel some empathy towards their fear.
Photo Courtesy Bambi Cantrell - Copyright 2010 - All Rights Reserved
Bambi called me up to her suite at the convention hotel. She sat me down and started probing me for information. She wanted to figure out who I am and what I’m about. But she did all this probing with a camera in her hand. And WHATEVER I was expecting, I wasn’t expecting what happened next. You see, Bambi Cantrell is a crazy woman. She’s a spazz! She kicked off her high-heel shoes and started jumping around on the hotel furniture trying to get a good angle to shoot me from against the natural light coming in through the hotel window. She started calling me “darlin’” and “BooBoo” – (BooBoo????) and was laughing and asking questions and making monkey sounds and it was just plain wild. She jumped up on a table and the couch. She warned me that she never knew what was going to come out of her mouth. She moved me this way and that. All the while, she was encouraging me, saying “You’re gonna’ love the way these turn out.” She also kept asking me questions.
Now at this point in the story, you may want to take a breath. I sure did. Within five minutes of arriving at Bambi’s hotel suite I felt like I’d been in the middle of an Indiana Jones movie. This woman has TONS of personality and energy and no matter what shape you’re in when you arrive for a portrait session with her, you’re going to be tired afterwards.
Bambi decided that we should move outside. As we left her suite, we didn’t get 10 feet down the hall before she screamed at the top of her lungs “STOP!” She saw a painting on the wall near her room at the MGM Signature Grand that she liked and asked me to stand in front of it. Well, “asked” isn’t exactly the word I should use. She commanded me. She’d yell “Move 10 feet this way NO stop just two feet, no wait a minute, what’s your dog’s name….no stop right there, look this way, pull your hat down. No back this way, now move forward NO I mean backward….” Excuse me, but my fingers are getting tired at this point. That was about 10 seconds of an hour-long experience. Bambi is just a nut. There’s no other way to describe it. As an aside, if you want a comedic break from this story or just need to take a nap before finishing it, take a break – when you can, watch this video – http://twt.tl/j3Vz6CB – Yep – that’s Bambi. Now you’re starting to get the complete picture – of her that is.
Back to my journey – and yes it was a journey. Bambi eventually got me outside and we did more of the same dance when she’d move me around and yell things like “Who’s your daddy?” (Mind you, I’m pretty sure that was the first time I’d been asked that question in that manner! At my age, there aren’t many first-time moments so I’ll never forget that one.)
All the time that I was with Bambi I was doubling over with laughter. She was laughing at herself and laughing with me. She was constantly reassuring me, asking me questions, moving me, posing me and while I went into the experience being pretty sure I was going to hate every second of it, I enjoyed the heck out of it because I enjoyed Bambi’s antics.
She told me we were done and we started walking back to the hotel. We hadn’t made it very far but it was maybe another minute to the front door and sure enough, she saw something else that caught her attention and WOW – she started the routine all over again.
We finally got back to the room and I retrieved my belongings. We went our separate ways. We both had appointments so I thanked her and she said I’d get the pictures in a few days.
So what happened here? Is this how the pros do it? You bet! Let me break it down for you. Bambi is a master. She knows what she wants. She’s looking for light. She’s looking for a relaxed subject and she’s looking for images that tell a story about the subject.
During the time she was asking me questions, she was partly getting to know me and partly just trying to occupy my mind so she could get some expressions out of me that would be familiar to people who really know who I am and what I’m about. What’s most impressive to me is the fact that there was never any discussion about me wearing anything other than my usual Tommy Bahama shirt and hat. I wear that stuff almost everywhere I go, no matter what the weather, the time of day or the location. If I were a preacher officiating at a wedding, I’d still be wearing my big, comfortable, bold Hawaiian shirts. And my Tommy Bahama straw hat is really my signature. Bambi instantly figured that out and didn’t question my wardrobe choice. She wanted to shoot the real me and she did.
The results of our session are posted here in this article. You’ll note that I am no better looking than when we started, but Bambi managed to capture photos of me that I actually like. That’s happened only twice in my life before. There’s a reason Bambi is an icon in this industry. She knows what she’s doing. But if you were an innocent bystander watching her work, you might assume she’d been at the bar an hour too long. You see, that’s how pros do it. Thank you Bambi Cantrell. You’re simply the best!
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Photofocus Episode 33
Host: Scott Bourne (www.scottbourne.com or www.twitter.com/scottbourne) & special guest Jules Bianchi www.julesbianchiworkshops.com http://julesbianchi.com/ or www.twitter.com/julesbianchi
Show notes by Bruce Clarke (www.momentsindigital.com or www.twitter.com/bruceclarke)
Welcome to Episode Number 33 of Photofocus with Scott Bourne and special guest host Jules Bianchi. Photofocus is the show devoted to your questions about anything photography related including gear, technique, locations, etc. Your questions will shape the direction of this show so be sure to send your questions to photofocus@me.com. We will try to answer as many as we can but we get a lot of questions so we’ll try to take a collection of questions that represent a particular topic and present them together.
This week we kick things off with a question about metering modes:
Question One – Metering Modes
Several people wrote in to ask what metering mode they should be using when operating their camera.
Jules: Normally I leave it on average metering and don’t change it since I tend to shoot in manual mode most often. I’ll take one shot in Aperture priority, check the histogram, make my assessment of the scene and then switch back to manual mode.
Scott: I tend to use Matrix metering since I’m usually photographing wildlife and don’t have a lot of time to switch modes as the birds are flying by.
Question Two – Focal Length
Jared in Indiana asks: Will there be any difference taking a photo at 100mm using a 70-200mm lens and a photo taken at 100mm using a 55-135mm lens assuming all other things are equal?
Jules: The answer is no but the thing to think about when choosing a lens are the other features. For example, my 70-200mm has IS and opens up to 2.8 whereas the 55-135 goes wider.
Scott: In terms of composition, 100mm is 100mm is 100mm. The quality of these two images may not be the same due to the quality of the lens (e.g. sharper, brighter, etc.).
Question Three – Un fogging a Camera Viewfinder
Tom Timson asks: How do you un fog a camera viewfinder when you’re shooting outside in bad weather?
Scott: The easiest solution I’ve found is to wrap your mouth around the viewfinder and suck. That will remove all the moisture from the viewfinder and clear it up. There are some solutions that you can put on the viewfinder that are supposed to prevent it from fogging up but I’ve found you have to reapply these solutions often.
Sponsor – White House Custom Color
Photofocus is sponsored by White House Custom Color. I’ve actually sold my printer and they do all of my printing now. Visit http://www.whcc.com/landing/ScottBourne/Blog/ for your five free 8 x 10 prints. They have a great new photo box now which is a great way to package your prints. You can also follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/whccpro read more…
Photo Book Review – No Plastic Sleeves: The Complete Portfolio Guide for Photographers and Designers
Author: Larry Volk and Danielle Currier
Publisher: Focal Press
Review by Conrad J. Obregon
Visual professionals usually introduce themselves to prospective clients and employers by presenting a portfolio. No Plastic Sleeves: The Complete Portfolio Guide for Photographers and Designers
After an introduction to general principles, the book launches into a discussion of branding, followed by cover design; materials and forms; layout, including a brief discussion of grids and typography; construction of the book; digital and on-line portfolios; promotional materials, like mailers; and professional materials like resumes and business cards. There are appendixes that list other print and on-line resources. Interviews with students, teachers, and employers were sprinkled through the book, although most of the interviews just reiterate points previously made by the authors. There is also a companion web site.
As a photographer, the first question that occurred to me was whether the methods and goals of photographers and designers were so similar that one book could deal with both groups. While design firms may be looking for customers, the portfolios being described here seemed more designed for individuals seeking employment. For most photographers their portfolio is more often used to secure one-time (or recurring) assignments or perhaps to get an exhibition space. The book’s bias seemed to me to be in favor of job-seeking designers. For example, one chapter describes the preparation of a portfolio book, including even the creation of covers from scratch. Perspective employers of designers may be interested in the craft involved, but photography buyers will be more concerned with the images the photographer presents, probably making it more cost and time effective for a photographer to purchase one of the more elegant portfolio covers available.
In many cases, I found that the authors dealt in general principles rather than providing detailed examples of how to accomplish something. (The authors did provide plenty of illustrations of final products.) For example the discussion of branding discussed its importance but did not show concrete examples of a particular individual’s product so that it was easy to see how the portfolio reflected the individual’s brand. It may be that the concept of branding doesn’t have much application to individual portfolios. Moreover in the case of photographers, it might have been better to talk about a style rather than a brand.
As another example, in the chapter on layout, the authors mentioned image sequencing which is certainly important to the presentation of the portfolio. However the discussion was limited to a general discussion of sequencing; the presentation of a number of thumbnails from one portfolio without comment; and reference to one classic book on the subject.
The design and preparation of a portfolio must be closely integrated with an individual’s marketing effort, and while the authors acknowledged this, it seemed to be scanted. For example, for the fine arts photographer, a matted series of pictures is often a far better way to make a portfolio presentation than a book, although either a book or a DVD may be useful in gaining the opportunity to make a presentation.
This book may serve as an introduction to preparation of a portfolio, but it will be most useful in the context of a larger group of books on marketing photography and design.
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This post sponsored by Ray Flash – Ring Flash Adapter
