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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...

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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

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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.

Ask yourself this question, "Am I a photographer or am I an artist"

When giving a presentation or workshop I always ask if anyone in attendance has ever asked themselves this question. For the most part, only one or two people raise their hands. I shouldn't be surprised anymore, but I am. 

I go on to explain that I have given this question a lot of thought and I have concluded that I'm both. I consider myself a photographer when I'm out shooting and an artist when I come back to process and post-process my images.

It's an important question to ask yourself. The answer may surprise you.

B&H Photo announces my HDR Workshop

I'll be presenting an expanded version of my "Introduction To HDR Photography" at B&H Photo in New York City on July 10th. We'll talk about the technical aspects of HDR and how they work in the context of taking and making good photographs. It should be fun. Join me if you can. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/eventDetails.jsp/id/1291

Be patient. You may just have to wait.

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We went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art earlier this week. No tripods allowed by the way. Walking down the hall and looking to my left, I saw a group of people looking at these 2 paintings. It had all the elements for a good shot, except the people of course. I had to wait for about 15 minutes for this moment.  I think it was worth it.