The Digital Photo Guy

Shoebill Stork Video

Anyone who’s taken a Wild Animal Park “Hands-On” Photoshoot with me knows of my fascination with the shoebill stork whom I’ve nicknamed “Fred”. He’s an interesting bird, not just for his massive beak but also because he almost seems to be observing the people who stop to view him. A friend and former student who is an aviculturist sent me this link.

Monday Morning Tip

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Monday Morning Tip

OK, so it’s a little bit past morning. It’s my blog and I say it’s still Monday Morning in some remote corner of the world.

I presented a Photoshop Elements webinar this past Saturday and had prepared seven short videos to be played during the webinar. Unfortunately, the instructions for loading the videos were incomplete and I couldn’t get them to play. So, rather then let go to waste, I decided to upload them as my MMT for this week.

The videos cover PSE7 Organizer, Quick Fix & Smart Fix, Create a Slideshow, Bypass the Annoying Splash Screen, Workflow – Crop, Workflow – Levels and Workflow – Sharpen. Click to read more

Desert Wildflower Photoshoot – Extra Sessions Added

The rangers at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park are forecasting peak wildflower blooms between Sunday, Feb 21 and Saturday, Mar 13. I’m pretty sure the flowers will still be there on Mar 20 & 21 but, just to be safe, I’m scheduling a workshop for the weekend of Mar 13 & 14. Current registrants have been notified and they will have first dibs. Each workshop has 4 slots so you can register for Saturday, Sunday or both days. Click HERE for registration details.

Wild Animal Park “Hands-On” Photoshoot Workshop

Back by popular demand. I’ve scheduled a WAP Photoshoot for March 6. Several people have asked for this workshop so here’s your chance. As always, the workshop is limited to just 4 students so everyone gets my full attention. Unlike many expensive worksops where the instructor is off shooting his own photos, I stay with my students and help them make decisions about exposure, focus and composition. Click to read more

Some photographers transcend photography and become icons. Ansel Adams is such an icon. I’ve read lots of articles about Adams, sat through many lectures about the him and admired all of his iconic images but it seems that every new story has a different nuance about this multi-faceted giant. I really enjoyed this video and hope you will too.

The reason I found this video was because I was at Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Refuge in Los Angeles over the weekend. It was pleasent and interesting but not exactly what I would call a wildlife refuge (except for the baggy-pants homie birds). Anyplace I have to keep an eye out behind me isn’t exactly a natural pool of serenity.
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I’ve had several requests for the Cheat Sheet I published last year so I resurrected it. The purpose is two-fold. First, make the dSLR Cheat Sheet available to those who missed it the first time and second, point out the new, cool Search Box at the top of each page. As a test, I entered ‘cheat sheet’ and it immediately popped up several articles where I had mentioned the Cheat Sheet. Be sure to read the companion piece (registration required).

Lest you think I’ve suddenly gotten smart, let me disabuse you of such silly notions. I paid Paul Schroeder, a really smart guy in Luxembourg, to make changes. My participation was limited to writing design specs and sending payment. The trick when developing a website is to hire someone who is both a designer and a coder. Many great designers can’t write code to save their lives and many coders can’t design their way out of a paper bag. Paul’s designs tend to be light and airy but I felt comfortable he could adapt the dark theme used on this site. If you need a web site designer, contact Paul.

Why I Use Double-Opt-In for Registrations

I received feedback saying the double-opt-in registration was too much trouble so I’d like to tell you why I do that. First, I hate spam. I really, really hate, detest, loath and revile spam. Therefore, I don’t ever want to be accused of sending spam. Sometimes, people register and forget. Then, they receive e-mails from me and think I’m spamming them. A double-opt-in system reduces the chances of that happening. Second, mental midgets have been known to register others as a way to harass and annoy people. This avoids that problem. Third, robotic web scrapers roam the internet scraping content off web sites to be used for their own malicious purposes. I’ve found links to my site from sleazy operators for who-knows-what purpose.

It’s not my intent to make it difficult for readers to access this site but I feel I have a responsibility to make sure it’s safe and enjoyable. The double-opt-in system sends an e-mail to confirm that you really registered and that you’re a real person. The second e-mail containing the password is manually sent so it doesn’t always go out immediately.

A Stomach Churning Photoshoot

I’ve heard the difference between a Fairy Tale and a Southern Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out, “Once upon a time…” while a Southern Fairy Tale starts, “You ain’t gonna believe this $!*&…” This video is of the Southern Fairy Tale variety. David Hobby, publisher of the wildly popular Strobist site, has a YouTube video of a recent shoot that can only be described as “insane”. Check out the rigging on the videographer as he films a kayaker doing even more insane things. I used to think racing my bicycle 200 miles across Death Valley was crazy but that was a piece of cake compared to this.