My #1 tip for HDR shooters. . .

Click photo to view larger

My #1 tip for any HDR shooter is this, "HDR is not a substitute for taking a good picture". So take good, interesting pictures. If you do, you're well on your way to making a great HDR image.

"Work the scene" - I always show this slide at my workshops

I took this series of shots while in New York City a few months ago. I must have taken these and 8 or 10 others from other locations. I never saw the red building until I started walking around to the other side. I took another series of just that.

When I'm talking about composition at my workshops, I always show this slide, "Work the scene". It's a great tip to use when your out shooting.  Something attracts your attention. Don't just take the shot and walk on. Investigate the subject from all angles. Keep shooting. The best final image may be just a few inches or a few feet away.

I'll be teaching for the Digital Photo Academy next week-end

Click the photo to see it larger

Next week-end I'm teaching 2 classes for the Digital Photo Academy. On Sat. I'll be in in the Lambertville / New Hope area and on Sunday at Princeton University.  Very cool. You can check out the classes at www.digitalphotoacademy.com

Click on the image to view larger

We're off to Maine for a few days to see our kids. Always a good time and a chance to take some interesting photos.
My HDR Processing and Post processing class yesterday, at Frank Veronsky's Meet-Up, was outstanding. You guys did a great job processing and asked wonderful questions. Thanks to all that were there.

This post is not about photography. . .

It's much bigger. Our son Adam's company, Montana Music in Berlin, just signed a contract to become an affiliate of BMG Music Publishing (Sony). We are very proud of him. Take a look here montana music.de

HDR Efex Pro 2 is very cool. . .

I've just downloaded and tried HDR Efex Pro 2, from NIK Software. They made some really good changes.
1st - it's faster.  That's a good thing.  2nd- They simplified the interface and the sliders.  That's another really good thing.  If you start from the top of the control panel, on the right, and just work your way down, it's pretty simple with good results. I strongly suggest that you give it a try.  You can download a trial version here and if you decide to buy it you can save 15% by using the discount code AKESS.

I'm excited...

Click on the image to view larger

The new University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro held a photo competition a few months ago. It was open to all photographers in the area. We had access to the entire hospital before any patients were transferred from the old Princeton Medical Center.  Great fun.  Photographers were asked to submit 3 images in each of 2 categories, exterior and interior.

My photo was awarded 2nd place in the Exterior competition.  Very cool.

I just posted my Fall workshop schedule on my website

It's going to be a busy workshop season, but lots of fun.
I have expanded my HDR lectures to include not only more technical information, but HDR in the context of taking and making good pictures. I demonstrate HDR processing software (Photomatix and HDR Efex Pro 2) and NIK post-processing Software (Viveza 2 and Color Efex Pro 4).
I'll also be leading some photowalks, with the focus on Composition, for Digital Photo Academy, in the Lambertville/New Hope area. Take a look at the schedule her
http://www.alankesselhaut.com/workshop.html

Canon introduces the EOM -M mirrorless Digital Camera

Yesterday, Canon introduced a 18.0 MP mirrorless camera. The specs look quite promising. One of the things I like most, aside from the size and weight, is that I'll be able to use all of my Canon lenses. That's cool. Not available until mid Oct. it will give me some time to read all the reviews. You can check it out here.

NIK Software announces HDR Efex Pro 2

Click image to view larger

RC, one of the photoshop guys from NAPP, has the announcement today on Scott Kelby's blog. He also has posted a cool video about the new features. There is a new interface with some new sliders integrated from some of their other pieces of software. One of my biggest complaints about the old version was that it was slow.  RC Says they fixed that, cool.
I'll be testing it myself in the next few days. It looks like it has real possibilities.