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

Click image to view larger

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.