Over 75,000 views on Youtube. . .

This is hard to believe. As you know when I gave my first (3 times now) "An Introduction to HDR Photography" presentation at B&H last year they made a video and put it on YouTube.  As of today it has over 75,500 views.  That's insane.  You can see it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3CPavb2NWs

My new Lumix G5. . .

I just got back from a great trip to Arizona. My friend Roger took me to this wonderful old mining/ghost town just outside of Jerome. The photo above is a portrait of the Gold King Mine owner Don Robertson.

This photo was taken with my new Lumix G5. I'm really sold on the micro-4/3 camera. I can carry this thing all day without my arm, neck and back screaming at me. I love the 9mm -18mm lens but the jury is still out on the 45mm - 200mm. I'm not sure it's the lens or the shooter (me) that is giving my fits. I'll let you know.

I'll be teaching in Berlin

I have been invited to teach my "Introduction To HDR Photography" at Calumet Photo in Berlin on May 11.  How cool is that. The above picture is of the Reichstag in Berlin taken the last time I was there.

TWIP podcast talks about micro 4/3 cameras

On this weeks episode of "This Week In Photo", Frederick Van Johnson interviews Giulio Sciorio. You can find it here.

Giulio is a professional photographer who has sold all his big gear and now shoots exclusively with a micro 4/3 camera. He tells you all about small cameras at his blog, "Small Camera Big Picture".

If you're thinking about buying a smaller camera, you may want to check out his blog. I'm really liking my Lumix G5.

My first picture using a Panasonic G5 mirrorless camera

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This is the first HDR photo I took using my new mirrorless Panasonic G5. Here are a few first impressions. The camera is certainly light in weight, but not too light. It feels good in my hand and great for walking around New York City. Before going out, I took some time learning the menus, that was a big help, so I had the camera pretty well set up to do the things I wanted. I do like the touch screen.
This is a five shot HDR processed using Photomatix and NIK software. There was very little noise to deal with in post. A lot better than my Canon 50D. All in all I think this is going to serve me well.
I'm going to Arizona in a few weeks and only taking the G5, an Olympus 9mm-18mm lens and a Lumix 45mm - 200mm lens.

I'll let you know how that works out. MTC

Ask yourself these questions. . .

What kind of photographer am I? What do I like to shoot? Portraits, landscapes, streets etc. Once you have answered these questions, go to sites like 500px http://500px.com and study what others are doing. It's a great way to get inspiration and improve your photography.

Happy New Year

I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year.

HDRSpotting just got an up-grade. . .

You may just want to check out this site. To be honest, I used to post images on HDRSpotting some time ago.  It was a bit primitive.  Now Trey and his group have made some great improvement. It is free and if you want a Pro level membership, there is a cost of $3.97/month. You can find it here.

Topaz offers a great money saving deal. . .

 There's only 2 days left to save 30% on the NEW Detail™ 3 and ALL other Topaz programs! Featuring the most comprehensive detail enhancement technology, a boost in processing speed, an edge-aware masking brush and an updated interface with new presets, it is easier than ever to create high-impact images with beautiful definition and clarity. Get it now for 30% off (only $27.99) and get incomparable detail control!

Just enter the code "MoreDetail" when purchasing (valid through 12/16/12). Interested in purchasing other Topaz programs? You can use this 30% discount code for the Bundle, Bundle upgrades and ALL individual programs!

Help-Portrait tomorrow. . .

Tomorrow, our Princeton chapter of Help-Portrait will take, print and frame 70 plus individual and group portraits for those who could not normally afford or have access to a professional portrait. The total number of people will be somewhere around 200 guests. It's going to be great.

Topaz Labs Announces a free upgrade to "Detail"

A few days ago Topaz Labs announced that they will be releasing a free upgrade to existing users of their Detail software.  They will be announcing purchase details in a few weeks.
If you have read this blog for a while, you know that I love the Topaz products. As soon as I test drive it, I'll let you know what I think. It looks exciting.

Here are some of the new features:
* Ultimate Detail Control. Selectively control small, medium and large detail throughout your entire image or specifically target details found in shadow and highlight areas.
* Improved Performance. An enhanced workflow with faster processing speeds and the ability to handle larger images.
* New Presets Explore a variety of new presets that offer detail enhancement styles for every type of photographer and any type of image.
* Preset Collections. All of the presets are broken down into collections allowing you to take control of your preset workflow and organization. It also features the new ability to create your own collections.
* Effect Mask. Selectively brush detail in or out using the tools in the Effect Mask tab.
* Opacity Slider. Control the overall strength of your applied detail enhancements using the Opacity slider (located in the Effect Mask tab).
* Improved Toning Control. Achieve more natural and consistent tone throughout your image with the integration of the Topaz IntelliColor™ technology.
* Interactive Sliders. With the improved image processing speed you can now see your results instantly as you move the adjustment sliders.
* Split Screen. Get the perfect look every time using the 2-screen split view for easy before and after comparison.

This Week In Photo meets Creative Live

This week Frederick Van Johnson (TWIP) interviewed Chase Jarvis, one of the founders of Creative Live. Creative live offers free on-line courses. These courses cover many different subjects including photography,  software ,design, business and filmmaking taught by exports in their field. You view the show live in real time. If after that, you would like to own the class video, there is a fee.

I think you should at least check it out.

An exciting few days coming up. . .

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Today's picture was taken in Germany last year. This in the entrance to some kind of way out gallery.  Weird.

Anyway, tomorrow I'm doing a HDR workshop at Unique Photo in New Jersey. Sunday I'm helping out at a Meet-Up Photo walk in Princeton and Tuesday I'm giving my "Introduction to HDR Photography" presentation at B&H in New York for the 3rd time . Cool.

Brian Matiash makes a good case. . .

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I remember the first time I introduced myself as a photographer. I was giving an HDR workshop and the words just came out.  I surprised myself.  I wasn't hit with a bolt of lightening so I guess it's OK.

Brian, of On One software fame and a photographer, makes a good case for just that today as a guest on Scott Kelby's blog. It's worth a read.

A great suggestion I hope to follow

I listen to "This Week In Photo" every week. By the way, you should also. Anyway, Frederick Van Johnson was interviewing Trey Ratcliff about social media. Frederick asked Trey something about posting an image a day on his blog stuckincustoms.com. Trey explained his filling system for organizing the images he felt are good enough to be posted. One of my biggest problems with writing this blog is not things to talk about but in organizing my photos to post. How stupid am I. With this new system, I hope to do a lot more posting.
You can listen to the interview HERE.

Thank you Calumet Photo

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Things are getting back to the new normal after the storm a few weeks ago, at least in my area.  I know there are lots of people still hurting, badly. Some members of our local photo meet-up group maned a truck in the snow last week collection food, bottle water etc. for those at the Jersey shore.  The photos of that area and New York are heart breaking.  I wish them all the best.

Anyway, on Saturday I taught a class at Calumet Photo in Philadelphia. It was a small group, but we had a good time. I want to thank Calumet and the people that came. Lets do it again soon.

The photo above is a street scene in Philadelphia.

Don't forget to vote

Today is the day. For those of you in the US, it's you're obligation to get out and vote.  I know there is going to be a lot of confusion in New Jersey and New York due to Sandy. Our polling place has been move several time as the electricity has come back on in town.  It's now on the Princeton University campus.
Find your polling place and VOTE

Just before the big storm hit...

Just before the big storm

It's been a rough few days here in New Jersey, USA. I guess you all at least heard about the hurricane that took out the electric for over 2,000,000 homes, including mine for 5 days. If you have seen any of the photos of the destruction, you'll see all the misery it caused to a lot of people. The prediction is for the possibility of another storm later this week. Oh my.

Well, I took this image in Philadelphia last week-end just before the storm hit.  It's a 3 image HDR processed using HDR Efex Pro 2 and finished with some of the other NIK plug-ins.

A friend asked if I had taken any picture of the damage.  I don't have the heart to do that. 

Over 35,000 views for my HDR presentation at B&H

I've given my "Introduction To HDR Photography" presentation at the B&H Photo Super Store in New York City twice now, with a 3rd coming up in Dec. The video of the first presentation is up on You Tube and has gotten over 35,000 views. You will not be able to see it on the screen, but there was a full house of over 80 people. How cool is that?  You can find it here.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3CPavb2NWs