The Digital Photo Guy

Backing Up is Hard to Do…

By now, most of you have discovered that it’s not IF you have a hard disk failure but WHEN you have an HD failure. Most of you theoretically believe in backups and try to faithfully follow a schedule. The operative words are “theoretically” and “try” because many still haven’t fully bought in.

Those who try are discovering that backing up a couple hundred megabytes is a totally different animal than backing up several gigabytes. And, when you get to several dozen gigabytes, the desire to chuck it all is overwhelming. Well, I have several hundred gigabytes and it’s nearly impossible with current technology.

The above devices are on the bleeding edge of technology. It’s called the bleeding edge because, if you’re not careful, you’ll cut and bleed all over yourself. Normally, I hate being this far out along the edge because there are always numerous “oops” and “oh $h1t” gotchas that prevent the technology from delivering all that it promises. In this case, it delivers everything as promised. Click to read more

Finding a Good Workshop

As mentioned in a previous article, one of my entries to the 2010 San Diego Fair won the Panasonic Digital Photo Academy Sponsor’s Award. The prize was a $150 gift certificate for one of their advanced classes. I used it this past weekend to attend a field workshop led by Fred Greaves, a San Diego based photojournalist who has covered many major San Diego news stories including the devastating wildfires of 2003 and 2005. Fred had just returned from Afghanistan so it was also interesting to hear how today’s wars are so different, yet so similar, to Vietnam.

Fred’s field workshop was along Sunrise Highway in the Laguna Mountains. It was probably the hottest day in many years. On the same day, 4 hikers and their dog were rescued by the Sheriffs Dept while a 2nd dog died in the 110°F heat. We met in Pine Valley, a wide spot on Old Route 80, just 2 miles from the southern terminus of Sunrise Highway, at 6:30AM but the actual workshop didn’t start until 9AM.

The photos above were made while it was still relatively cool. The first two were from a rest area I had passed dozens of times but never stopped to photograph. I liked the way the slopes overlapped each other as they receded into the distance. The third was simply an old tree trunk that reminded me of space aliens.   Click to read more

Close but No Cigar

Once again, not all of my entries were accepted for the San Diego Fair. This year, 4 of 5 entries were accepted and the fifth was rejected. See if you agree with the judges. Here are my entries. Post your guess as to which was rejected in the comments section (below).

On the other hand, the number of entries were up slightly from last year. I believe there were 4000 entries this year, up from 3800 last year. About 1/3 were accepted so I guess I’m ahead of the odds. Based on random chance, only 1 or 2 would have been accepted. Of course, being accepted is just the beginning. Now, I wait until June 11 for the results. Someday, I’d like to think I may be in the running for Best of Show.

Click to read more

This is What the CEO of Facebook Thinks of Your Privacy

Totally OT (off topic) but every once in a while, I read about something that is so breathakingly dumb that I have to share it with my readers, friends and family.

I’ve never felt completely at ease with Facebook (FB) because of privacy issues. Now, there’s some evidence that my suspicions are warranted. This link will take you to an article in Silicon Alley Insider, a vertical segment of Business Insider. Read the transcript of an IM (Instant Message) exchange between Mark Zuckerberg, FB CEO and a college buddy shortly after Zuckerberg started FB. This should make your skin crawl.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…

Learn What’s Hot and What’s Not in dSLR Lenses & Gear

FREE 1 hour webinar, tomorrow, Saturday, May 15 at 9AM Pacific Time. Click this link to attend. If you want to register for the drawings, use this form.

Gear Webinar – Open Registration

Because a number of registrants have not confirmed their attendance, I’ve cancelled their reservations and opened the webinar to the general public. On Saturday, May 15 (this coming Saturday) at 9AM Pacific Time (10AM MDT, 11AM CDT, Noon EDT), click this link and follow the instructions to enter the meeting room. If you want to register for the door prizes, you should use this form. If you just want to attend the webinar, use the above link.

1st Annual California Photo Festival

I just registered for the 1st Annual California Photo Festival sponsored by Light Photographic (formerly Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging). Since this is the first year, it’s a bit chaotic but the line-up is impressive. Rick Sammon will deliver the keynote at the end of 5½ days of field and lecture classes in every aspect of digital photography including nature, landscape, wedding, portrait, glamour, macro and more.

Among the noted photographers and instructors are Rob Sheppard (readers of this site know Rob from a Photoshop Elements webinar he taught), Jim DiVitale, David Wells, Jane Conner-Ziser, Jennifer Wu and many others. Many are Canon Explorers of Light, an elite group of Canon contract photographers.

If you can swing 5½ days and $449, this looks to be an incredibly useful photo workshop.

Discovered by Discovery Channel (Kinda)

About a month ago, I received an e-mail from a person claiming to represent Discovery Channel (Planet Earth, Mythbusters, Deadliest Catch, etc) asking if I could teach them Photoshop via webinar. I was skeptical so I snooped around to make sure the e-mail really originated from DC.

I was told they needed someone to teach two employees, who had never even launched PS, much less used it, to do basic photo and graphics editing. They needed immediate help as well as long-term instruction.

When I sent them a quote, I was told they “didn’t have any money for training” and needed a lower price. I found it curious that a company that had just hired Oprah to narrate a film didn’t have a few thousand dollars. As I negotiated with them, they told me they had an immediate project and would I do the job as a part of the training. At that point, I was getting bad vibes. I told them I would schedule time and resources as soon as I received payment. I never heard back from them. This had taken place over 3 weeks and it was clear their intent was to get me to do the job for free.

Bottom line, be careful. There are lots of companies looking for photographers and artists who are desparate enough to do free jobs in hopes that something will come of it. I hope they didn’t find someone gullible.