Mpix & NAPP

Let me tell you about a membership that is actually worth paying for. Quite frankly, many of the photo societies are, as far as I am concerned, a waste of money. If you're like me, you don't have a surplus of cash to go around and yet you want to learn about photography, sharpen your skills and grow with the industry, right? I was a member of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), and never did figure out what I got out of it except over-priced insurance. Well, the best value for your money has got to be a membership with the NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals). This is a group of professional users who have a background in photography and graphics and they want you to to be great at Photoshop. Sounds silly, but it's true. They really desire to share what they know. I guess it is the true spirit of Web 2.0. Seriously, these folks have made it a money making business to help us. And they do a darn fine job of it, I might add. For $99 a year you get a subscription to Photoshop User. (I was buying that before I joined anyway) That alone saves you money when you join. You get access to the NAPP website and numerous tutorials as well as forums with personal help. You get discounts off name brand items like Apple Computers and software and services like the Mpixs. Mpix is one of the finest photo processing labs out there. I have used them and can vouch for them personally.

Now speaking of Mpix, these guys are currently offering a discount on NAPP membership. Join before July 30th and NAPP will reduce the annual membership from $99 to $89. As an added gift, NAPP will send you The Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Beginners DVD featuring Dave Cross ($69.99 US value). This best-selling DVD will walk you through a full range of Photoshop® functions, tools and techniques. Very cool! Too bad I am already a member.

For more details follow the link HERE to Mpixs.

AIPO Dry Box

I am now officially back online. After a lot of blood sweat and even some tears, we have internet in our home (and thus my office). So, I hope to get back up to speed and be a little more regular in blogging again. Please forgive the decreased number of entries. It has been many days of trips to Starbucks just to check email. Our new setup should prove a little more convenient.

A few people have emailed me in the past about how to take care of your photo gear in a wet, damp tropical region. Until now, I had no real answer as it was not a real concern of mine. When you travel and shoot for two weeks in Indonesia it isn't really a big deal. You stay in hotels that are air conditioned and thus dry. But living in Penang, the weather is warm and very humid (around 85% today) and no one lives with the AC on all the time. Not sure why, it must be too costly, so we don't do it either. So what to do now about a lot of costly camera gear in a place that is a mildew nightmare? Enter AIPO Dry Boxes. (no website for these folks. Go figure!)

AIPO Dry Box AP-68EX

This is a Taiwanese company that, until last week, I had never heard of. I dropped into my friendly local camera shop "Click n Snap" and asked them the same question I just asked you. Salesman Matthew Chuah pulls out a Dry Box. It is a really slick looking cabinet, all black enameled and glass. It is basically a thermidor for your camera and electronic equipment. Quite frankly, it is a pretty simple box in one way but rather complicated in another. So rather than sit here and try to write all the theory on how it manages temperature and humidity, I will pass on a nice review I found that does a much better job at explaining how this little black box works. You can access the sales description/review HERE. at Sha Shin Ki I took home the AIPO Dry Box AP-68EX. It is 15"X15" square and 20" tall. I bought mine for around $200 USD. The space is tight and I probably should have gotten a larger one, but they would have had to order it and that could have taken weeks. So to save on cost, I got the largest they had and it all fits in fine. In fact I have room for the new 5D that Canon may never release, sigh. It has two removable and adjustable shelves and thus gives you three areas to stack your equipment. I have my 5D body with the battery grip, most of my lenses including my 70- 200 2.8 on the bottom shelf. The in the middle shelf my H4 Zoom digital recorder, my 50mm 1.8, two Pocket Wizards and two flashes. On the top shelf there is not much room left so I have two WD Passport Drives and my Pocket Rocket full of CF cards just to be safe. I keep the relative humidity set at 43. I wish I could tell you where to purchase this in the States but with AC running in every home, I don't think there is a big need. So I hope this is the answer to the humidity problem. I'll let you know.

A Day of Shooting

Yesterday (MY time), I had the change to finally get out and shoot. To be real honest, I was a bit disappointed. Maybe with myself, maybe with the area I shot, I am not quite sure which. The day before Alou and I were in George Town (Is this city spelled with one word or two, I see it every way?) looking for furniture for the house. I kept seeing great images. So, yesterday afternoon I grabbed my camera and took Jessie out and we went to take some pictures. Out of the handful of people I try to take a snap of, most asked me not to, very suppressing. I will say this, they all were Chinese. So maybe this makes a difference. Mr. Goh and Mr. Tan could not understand why people cared and were eager to have their photo's taken. So HERE are a few images from the first day of real shooting in Penang.

By the way, if anyone knows how to embed a slimbox gallery like the one I used here, into a blog please email me and let me know how to do it. But until then, if you want to view the photos from yesterday click the image above and travel to the gallery.

India's Fuji Super Six 2009

Check out the Fuji Super Six HERE. For a look at the Fuji Super Six 2008 photographers visit HERE.

A Camera, Two Kids and a Camel.

The new book out by Annie Griffiths Belt is about her life as a Nat Geo photographer and her 20 years of marriage and 18 years of parenting. It is titled "A Camera, Two Kids and a Camel." $23 at Amazon.com. This I have to read. My main gripe about National Geographic is that so many of the photographers I read about have lousy marriages and families. This is a breath of fresh air. Check it out HERE.

Fingerlings

Finally Blogger fixed the upload issue

I had the pleasure to shoot some family pics of the Fish family, in the water. Where else would you take pictures of fish? These are good friends of mine and I hope they like them. Here are samples of their fingerling's.

Joe McNalley & Packing

It is 5:30 am and I can't sleep. So I got up to check my email and I saw a blog post from "The Strobist." Hobby linked a YouTube video of Joe McNally speaking at Google's headquarters a few weeks back. This is really good stuff. McNally is real. Not many pros will show you their bad images and their screw ups. He is a down to earth photographer that connects with most of us. Like Chase Jarvis, you feel Joe wants us to succeed. He does everything he can to help us make it, so if we bomb at this work it is not because we were not told the "secrets."

Buddy, David DuChemin also has a "how to make it as a Pro" blog running today, check it out HERE.

In packing news, things are going well. Some good news, I just found out that because my daughter and wife are both United Premier Executives and I am 1K we each get 3 bags at 70lbs! This is a huge help in moving out to Malaysia. Instead of going out and buying new suit cases we bought some inexpensive footlocker type storage boxes from a local sporting goods store. Made by Contico, these boxes are tough ABS like plastic and should take the abuse of the baggage handlers well. Then later, we can use them as storage for items in Malaysia.

Not Magic, Just CS3 Auto Align.

This afternoon, I did a photoshoot of a friend's two little girls. As often when photographing children, they were wiggly. So I have one ok shot of the two girls in the grass (fig 1) and one not so good (fig 2). But if I could combine them, I would have a winner. Enter, CS3's Auto Align. Using Auto Align, I opened the two images and dragged one of them onto the other. Then I highlighted both layers and ran CS3's auto align command (fig 3). Once it aligned them, I simply made a layer mask on the top image and erased the unwanted part of the upper image in by painting black on it's layer mask (fig 4) and then we have a great image that the parents can me proud of (See above, click for larger view). Better to shoot it right the first time, but when it just doesn't work out that way, auto align just might help.

fig 1

fig 2

fig 3

fig 4

Lightstalker.org - A Photojournalist Aide

Others of you may already know about Lightstalkers.org. Lightstalkers is a network for journalists, especially photographers and other media types that find themselves constantly traveling, dealing with visas, gear issues and all the other frustrations our folks in our line of work face. It is a great experiment working towards networking photojournalists directly with one another. It is a free site and open for anyone who shares this lifestyle. There are some great resource links such as posting of assignments and opportunities, events and workshops relating to travel and photojournalism around the world, gear for sale, tech support for everything from Lightroom to negative scanners, even housing around the world. But the most interesting and most helpful has to be the travel link where you will find photographers asking questions about, "best way to embed with US troops in Iraq " or the easiest way to get into North Korea. The site comes with other perks like a Slideshow Pro gallery of up to 50 images. What it isn't, is a place to be discovered. There are way too many photographers on it and you will be just another one of many. But I do think it could prove useful for planning that next adventure or remote shoot.

Lumen Dei One Day - A Success

David Duchemin and his friend.

David introducing his "exposure triangle."

The Lumen Dei One Day is over and it went very well. No, it went great and I gotta tell you, I had a blast. For one thing, I really enjoy hanging with David Duchemin. It is scary how much we think a like. My wife thinks we are our own best fans, a mutual admiration society. David is one of the best instructors I have sat with. He made the class light and informative. It is always fun to teach with him. I manage to stumble through my part. We had 26 participants all with varying degrees of expertise. We had a wide range of photographers, from amateur to advanced, and that presented some unique challenges, but we had a great time. I also want to thank PDI for their help in providing the facilities and pushing the workshop to their employees. The reviews seem to be very positive. Many stated, "It was the best $99 they ever spent." Now, to figure out how to do this from Malaysia.

The Lowepro Fastpack 350... Great gear for your gear

By Chase Bowers

I recently had the opportunity to try out the Lowepro Fastpack 350 (the red version) on a trip through Sumatra, Bangka, and Belitung in Indonesia. I was assisting NGO and travel photographer Matt Brandon on the trip. We took daily treks through cities and villages, along river banks and through jungles.

I am not a professional photographer, but I had several pieces of equipment essential for my daily travels that this bag handled well. In the bottom section of the bag I carried a point and shoot, a camcorder, a mini tripod, an audio recorder, some of the wiring associated with each of these, and 2 sd cards that fit securely in velcro pockets made just for them. This portion of the bag has velcro dividers that were very convenient as I was able to set up the bag to meet my specific needs on the journey. Inside the bottom flap I carried my travel documents along with copies of them, and my power adapter for my MacBook.

In the main top section I carried a pda with accessories, pens and headphones, along with international electric converters and a card reader. In the outer top section I carried a small book, snack bars, drink powder packs, batteries, and an aftermarket all weather cover. I never needed the rain cover as the water resistant material on the bag worked fine against the occasional light shower that passed. In the laptop section I carried my 13 inch MacBook.

I found the Fastpack 350 a delight to carry. It was lighter than my previous day pack, though I was carrying more equipment in the Lowepro bag. The weight distribution system involving shoulder adjustments, a sternum strap, and a waist buckle helped me get through the 14 day trip without any back or shoulder pain, which is a rarity for me.
Also, I was able to quickly get to both cameras and the tripod while leaving the bag on my left shoulder (it slides right around the torso for very fast access). This was nice when I needed footage or photos quickly. When the bag was tossed in the back of our SUV, or laid on the ground in a village, dirt wiped away easily. It held a water bottle securely and the mesh pouch also served as a resting place for the camcorder when I needed to set it aside for just a moment.

Also, for travel in the cities, the setup of the bag keeps both computer and cameras secure against snatching when it is with you. When I did not have the computer with me, the notebook compartment held small purchases so my hands remained free. Having traveled with a variety day packs over the last several years, I have finally found one with the look, ease of use, and carry capability I need.

I thought a small drawback to the bag would be the lack of an all weather cover, but the one I bought aftermarket was inexpensive and fit nicely into the bag without hindering my packing room. And I never needed the cover as the water resistance held off the light rain of occasional showers very well. This bag has a cool look, a great feel, and the versatility I need for trips all over the world. -- CB

The Fastpack doubled as a pillow.

Sumatra Sample Gallery Posted

As is common on trips like this, I am up at 4 am - my mind spinning. I have some great news, besides the fact that I arrived home safe and into the arms of my loving family; I was able to retrieve the data from my corrupt Lightroom files. I had given up any hope of getting usable data from the offending files. I had started redoing all my work on the long flight from Tokyo to San Francisco. With a combination of lack of sleep and the notion of redoing many hours of work in front of me I began feeling depressed. I made one last effort of opening the data from inside the application itself and by a miracle it opened. So I quickly made a new backup and all seems well - by the grace of God!


I made a small galley with a sampling of the best of the images HERE. I hope you enjoy them.

One other note of business. David Duchemin and I are getting many inquiries into the Lumen Dei One Day course coming up on April 5th. Many folks have sent in their $99 to hold their seat. We are limited to 25 participants and we have had many more inquiries, so send in that check soon to reserve your spot! With one month to go, seats are going fast!

An Animoto Christmas

I really like the simplicity and creativity of the Animoto video creation. Here I took some images from my family's Christmas Reunion and made them, in just a few minutes, into a slick and impressive video. You can do a 30 sec mix for free and a longer one is only $3. I know this sounds like a commercial, but it really is fun and a great way to share images with friends and family.

Shahidul Alam

A blog I recommend and link to in the sidebar of this blog is Tewfic El-Sawy's "The Travel Photographer". Tewfic often highlights talented photographers on the net. His blog has led me to many creative sites and todays link is no exception. Shahidul Alam's multimedia presentation of his trip up the Brahmaputra is fantastic, full of color and adventure. His use of audio and graphic within the slide show is very creative. A treat for the eye. Go here to view the multimedia presentation and here to read Tewfic blog.