Sunday, December 30, 2007

Create Post-It Art with Photoshop Elements

Proving that the artistic uses for a product are limited only by your imagination, the Capstrat design firm created a mural completely out of Post-It note pads. They outline the process as well as how to use Photoshop/Photoshop Elements can be used to analyze an image and translate it into a Post-It creation. Visit their site for detailed instructions as well as how to use Photoshop/Photoshop Elements to create an image like the one above.

For more creative uses of Post-It note pads, visit the Shoplet.com Office Supplies blog.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Learn from 87 Different Photography Blogs


It is amazing how much you can learn reading blogs, tutorials and watching videos on the Internet. This listing of blogs is the most comprehensive one I've seen of useful photography information.

Thanks to Daniel Hellerman's Photography Minded blog for bringing to my attention this comprehensive listing of photography blogs. It was originally compiled by Brian Auer and published in his Epic Edits Weblog. The illustration above is from his blog.

Here are the sites:
  1. digtal Photography School — (RSS)
  2. JMG-Galleries — (RSS)
  3. Photocritic — (RSS)
  4. 365 Portraits — (RSS)
  5. Strobist — (RSS)
  6. Kwerfeldein — (RSS)
  7. Joseph Szymanski — (RSS)
  8. File Magazine — (RSS)
  9. PhotographyVoter — (RSS)
  10. Photopreneur — (RSS)
  11. The Daily Critique — (RSS)
  12. Catchy Colors Photoblog — (RSS)
  13. photodoto — (RSS)
  14. daily dose of imagery — (RSS)
  15. NYCgraphix Blog Photo — (RSS)
  16. Photoshop User TV — (RSS)
  17. DIYPhotography.net — (RSS)
  18. Earthbound Light — (RSS)
  19. Earth Shots — (RSS)
  20. fotohacker — (RSS)
  21. Digital Shot — (RSS)
  22. DSLRBlog — (RSS)
  23. goldengod — (RSS)
  24. Neil Creek - Photographer — (RSS)
  25. Words: Irrational — (RSS)
  26. Alphatracks — (RSS)
  27. MAKE: Imaging Blog — (RSS)
  28. outafocus — (RSS)
  29. Stuck In Customs — (RSS)
  30. A Walk Through Durham Township — (RSS)
  31. Photography Tip — (RSS)
  32. Tips From the Top Floor — (RSS)
  33. Planet Photoshop — (RSS)
  34. Chase Jarvis Blog — (RSS)
  35. Beyond the Obvious — (RSS)
  36. Rick Wezenaar Photography — (RSS)
  37. Motivation — (RSS)
  38. LeggNet’s Digital Capture — (RSS)
  39. Digital Photography Blogs — (RSS)
  40. Photojojo — (RSS)
  41. Absolutely Nothing — (RSS)
  42. Words in Images — (RSS)
  43. About Photography — (RSS)
  44. Photowalking.org — (RSS)
  45. photonovice.net — (RSS)
  46. Single-Serving Photo — (RSS)
  47. Assignment Construct — (RSS)
  48. San Miguel Photo of the Day — (RSS)
  49. F/1.0 — (RSS)
  50. RDD Photo — (RSS)
  51. Current Photo Contests — (RSS)
  52. xlt’s photo blog — (RSS)
  53. Photoshop Insider — (RSS)
  54. Photo Business News & Forum — (RSS)
  55. kebrunella — (RSS)
  56. Camera Porn — (RSS)
  57. Paddling with a Camera — (RSS)
  58. PopPhoto Flash — (RSS)
  59. Flak Photo — (RSS)
  60. A Visual Treat — (RSS)
  61. Light and Shadow — (RSS)
  62. Dan Heller’s Photography Business Blog — (RSS)
  63. Photoshop Support — (RSS)
  64. Autofocused — (RSS)
  65. Rickmann Design Photography — (RSS)
  66. The Work of Daniel Hellerman — (RSS)
  67. Thomas Hawk’s Digital Connection — (RSS)
  68. Taking Pictures — (RSS)
  69. Sharing My Light — (RSS)
  70. Brian Larter — (RSS)
  71. Hey Girl, Nice Shot — (RSS)
  72. Keen Eye — (RSS)
  73. LiBeCo.nl — (RSS)
  74. Jeff’s Photo Gallery — (RSS)
  75. eclectic — (RSS)
  76. John Nack on Adobe — (RSS)
  77. Rob Galbraith DPI — (RSS)
  78. Found Photography — (RSS)
  79. mannedspace — (RSS)
  80. The Online Photographer — (RSS)
  81. My Camera World — (RSS)
  82. Phill Price — (RSS)
  83. Changing Perspectives — (RSS)
  84. Complete Digital Photography — (RSS)
  85. Itsy-Bitsy Photo Blog — (RSS)
  86. Pengkuei Ben Huang — (RSS)
  87. Thalia’s Musings — (RSS)
Brian Auer's post links to an excellent overview of RSS, which stands for Real Simple Syndication. It is a way of keeping up with activity on one or more weblogs without having to visit each one. If you are not using RSS to keep up with your favorite photographic areas of interest, you owe it to yourself to get started now. The Digital Photo SIG blog uses RSS to populate the headlines on the right side of the page with new headlines on photography.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Learn About Composition in Less Than Five Minutes




Want to learn the basics of photographic composition in under 5 minutes? Click on the video above for a brief overview in a five step framework. Thanks to Lifehacker for blogging about this post that originally appeared on Videojug.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Make Your Own Holiday Cards from Stock Photos

Are you looking for a way to personalize a card with images of your family? Check out this tutorial from GraphicReporter.com blog written by Lesa Snider King. She’s a stock photographer and chief evangelist for iStockphoto. Her personal mission is to teach the world to create—and use—better graphics. I had the pleasure of meeting her this past year when she spoke to the Cleveland Digital Publishing Users Group.

Her directions feature photos from iStockphoto, a wonderful service that provides a large variety of photos at economical prices. In addition to these photos, you can use those that are available for free legally through a Creative Commons License on sites such as Flickr.

These techniques can be used for greeting cards of any kind.

Take Pictures of Christmas Lights

Have you tried taking pictures of holiday lighting displays but never quite got what you want? If so, You'll like this post.

This post came to my attention from the Lifehacker blog. You can view the video in the web page by clicking on the image below. Happy Holidays!


Friday, December 14, 2007

Buying and Using Your New Digital Camera: Saturday, 12/15 1-4 p.m.


In the market for a new digital camera but don't know what to look
for? Have a new digital camera and want to learn how to use it? Join
the Cleveland Photographic Society on Saturday, December 15 from 1 to
4 pm to learn about CPS and to get your camera questions answered!

They will also preview the Photography Classes that start in January:
Fundamentals of Good Photography
Introduction to Digital Photo Editing
Basic Digital Photography (new class)

Stop by, get to know the group and bring your cameras and questions.
Refreshments will be served.

Date: December 15, 2007
Time: 1:00 PM
Ends: 4:00 PM
Location: 9543 Broadview Rd, Broadview Heights, OH
map: http://www.clevelandphoto.org/meetings.cfm
Cost: FREE

Monday, November 12, 2007

Photo SIG Meeting Thursday, 11/15

Photo Credit: Sidereal

The November meeting of the Digital Photography SIG will be Thursday, November 15th at the Maple Heights Library, the usual meeting location.

The topic will be Photo Show and Tell. Please bring you photos in any of the following formats: prints, CD ROM, flash drive, or SD/XD memory cards. Time will be allocated based on the number of people who want to share photographs. Please bring work that has not been seen before by the group.

In addition, will demonstrate the weblog for the digital photo SIG and show how to post comments.

Where:
5225 Library Lane
Maple Heights, Ohio 44137-1291
Off Libby Road between Broadway & Lee (map)
Phone: 216-475-5000

When:
Thursday, November 15, 2007, 6:30 p.m.

Thanks for the October Meeting:
Special thanks to Maureen Ryan of Utrecht art supplies for her demonstration, refreshments, and gifts at the last meeting. Several of the Logan mat cutters she demonstrated are now on sale. Contact her at the store for details.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Leonard Nimoy Photographs: The Full Body Project




Leonard Nimoy, of Star Trek fame, has recently completed a series of photographs called the The Full Body Project. The series features pictures of full figured women and examines issues of beauty and sexuality. The R. Michelson Galleries in Northhampton Massachusetts is exhibing the work until January 15, 2008. Visit the website for the exhibit here for the artists' statement and photographs from the exhibit. Listen to an NPR radio interview with Nimoy here.


Saturday, October 20, 2007

12 Megapixels for Less Than $500

I saw the fantastic new Canon G9 shown to me by one of the attendees at yesterday's Cleveland Photographic Society meeting. The camera combines the portability and form factor of a point and shoot with the features and resolution that one would expect from a digital SLR (including raw image capture). The graphic above is from this review from dpreview.com. The display is large and the animated display reminded me of graphics in Apple products. Best of all, you can get it for under $500 (per Amazon.com) at this time. Here is a Youtube video in German but you get to see the display and features.

Update: Here is a video in English from Cameralabs.com that is more detailed than the German one above.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Are You Concerned about Photo Piracy?

Photo Credit: Flickr member Wolfy

Professional photographer Anton Sheker was shocked to discover that picture he posted in his blog had been used without his permission in the travel section of a daily newspaper. Read more about photo his situation and photo piracy here. The offending paper covered his allegations in the paper. Sheker and the paper are both in the Phillippines. Sheker's blog about photography in the Phillippines describes both the initial use of the photo and the paper's coverage of his concerns.

Did our regional paper, the Plain Dealer, do the same thing? Photographer David Lay thinks so. He posted a photo on the JPG Magazine site. The next thing he knew, his picture appeared on the the PD website and on the cover of the Friday Magazine as one photo in a 5 x 5 photo grid of 25 photos. You can find his posting on Brewed Fresh Daily with links to his original photo and the website where his photo was used. (JPG Magazine is a website that allows members to post photographs and have them voted on by visitors to the site. JPG picks photos from the site for its magazine. The first six issues were printed exclusively by Lulu.com, and can be viewed and downloaded free at this page. )

How concerned are you that your photos will be lifted from places you've authorized and used in other places without permission? Do you watermark your photos to discourage this?

Update: Brewed Fresh Daily cited this post and people made comments there. Commenters include David Lay and Anton Sheker.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Inspire Your Photography With a Visual Diary

Here is a technique for inspiring your photographs: keep a diary of images taken by others as inspiration for trying new things. Digital Photography School has a great article on how to do this.

This photographer had gotten in the habit of cutting out images that inspired her from newspapers, magazines, advertising brochures, postcards etc. She even printed shots from online to stick in her visual notebook. The other section of her visual notebook was a place for writing and drawing ideas. When she thought of an idea to photograph in the day to day of life she’d make a note of it (or even draw a little sketch to help her remember) so she could come back to it later to do a photo shoot around the idea.

Read more here.

Carve Your Halloween Pumpkin With a Photograph


Before and after Pictures

Want to put your child's face (or that of a friend or relative) on a pumpkin for Halloween? Using a photograph and your favorite image editing software (like Adobe Photoshop Elements) you can carve a picture on a pumpkin.

I first saw this technique demonstrated by the Pumpkin Lady on the Screen Savers, that technology show that used to be on Tech TV.

Basically, you create a high contrast version of your image and transfer it to a pumpkin. The pictures above came from masterpiecepumpkins.com which provides great step by step instructions.

If you'd like another approach see the Pumpkin Lady's site or this blog entry from the Okuda Family. This tutorial gives a great explanation on how to punch the holes to make the pattern.

If you succeed in carving a pumpkin from a photograph, please take a picture and post a link to it in the comments. Here are step by step instructions for taking pictures of your halloween creations. Happy pumpkin carving!

George Washington (by the Pumpkin Lady)

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Creative Oxygen for Your Soul: A Presentation by Gigi Clark

On October 21st, the Society of Northern Ohio Professional Photographers (SONOPP) presents a seminar by Gigi Clark entitled Creative Oxygen for Your Soul. Gigi Clark is a professional photographer who specializes in teaching others how to tap into their creative potential as artists. Here's more on her background:

These days you can express your creativity with both your camera and your computer. She believes both cameras and the software tools available need to be demystified so photographers can use them creatively. Beware of thinking, however, that these images are therefore "digital tricks".

In her workshops, Gigi also shares some of the marketing and promotional strategies she uses to bring in, book and serve her clients. She hates the idea of "short-changing" or "nickel-and-diming" her clients, and she explains how she avoids it. In life and in business, what you give determines what you get back, so generosity is her by-word

Where:
Holiday Inn
4181 West 150th Street
Cleveland, OH 44135

When:
October 21, 2007
1 PM to 4 PM

Cost:
$39 for SONOPP members
$55 non members in advance
$60 at the door
For more Info or credit card payment:
(440) 570-3983

About SONOPP:
The Society of Northern Ohio Professional Photographers was formed in 1949 to provide "a professional photographic association to allow professional photographers to network with each other, to share tips and experiences, to train new photographers in the profession, and to help consumers in selecting the right photographer for their needs."

October SIG Meeting: Matting & Mounting Your Photographs

Photo by Moonriver&Me

The October meeting of the Digital Photography SIG will be Thursday, October 18 at the Cleveland Heights Utrecht Store.

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN LOCATIONS.


The topic will be matting and mounting your photographs. Store manager Maureen Ryan will do a demonstration of how to mat photographs for display. She will cover
  • how to cut double and single mats
  • ways to mount photos to backing board
  • how to hinge mats
  • use of several mat cutting tools
Ms. Ryan will demonstrate using actual photographs. Bring a photo with you if you'd like to have it mounted. We will chose from the photos that people bring.

Where:
1798 Coventry Rd
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118-1630 map
Phone: (216) 371-3500

When:
Thursday, October 18, 2007, 6:30 p.m.

About Utrecht:
Utrecht is a national art supply store that sells over 15,000 professional quality art materials and supplies from over 500 of the world's leading brands. The store was founded in New York city in 1949.

Thanks to all of the people who responded to the survey. This meeting topic was chosen based on your responses.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Hear Rick Sammon at OSU on Friday, October 12th


Cord Camera is sponsoring a talk by photographer, author, and world traveler, Rick Sammon at OSU. He will share pictures from around the world, discuss the business side of being a freelance photographer, and share his favorite Photoshop techniques.

Where:
Fawcett Center Auditorium, OSU Campus
When: October 12, 7-9 pm
Cost: $20
For more information contact: Cord Camera

Three of Rick Sammon's 27 books
Photo courtesy ricksammon.com

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Turn Yourself Into A Werewolf (Using Photoshop)

Photoshop can do a number of Halloween transformations. Here is a tutorial for taking a picture and transforming the subject into a werewolf. Although written for Photoshop, it looks like all the steps can be completed with Photoshop Elements.

I learned of it from ImagingInsider.com which reported on a posting in Good Tutorials. The posting originally appeared in Aviva Directory.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Version 6 Adobe Photoshop Elements Now Available

Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 has been released by Adobe recently. I've been reading the Photoshop Elements forums and the consensus seems to be that if you have version 5, upgrading to 5 may not be worth it. If you have an earlier version, it is more of a judgment call. You can read for yourself here. There is a feature comparison between the different versions here. Take a look at the version comparison chart.

If you are considering getting the Photoshop Elements 6 and Premier Elements 4 package, there appears to be a couple week delay before Adobe will ship the boxed version. This forum participant was not informed of the delay until after purchasing the product and was understandably irritated.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Create Online Photo Greeting Cards using Flickr


Flickr user acfou has created an online application that allows you to search for a photo that is licensed for open use, and to post that picture on a website with a greeting. The link above has examples of photos he or she has created.

Here is a link to the picture above. I created it by searching for the keyword "smile." I was then able to look at a bunch of thumbnail pictures and then drag the image I wanted into the site. Then I created the text and the site gave me a link which could be pasted into Flickr. The site is called phreetings.com, a combination of "phrase" and "greetings."

I Created a Youtube Video with Adobe Photoshop Elements



Here’s a video I created using Adobe Photoshop Elements. I’ve never uploaded to Youtube before. It was easier than I thought.

Nikon's Innovative Advertising Campaign


Kudos to Nikon for an innovative advertising campaign that shows the joys of photography. Nikon gave cameras to 200 people in Georgetown, South Carolina and got testimonials and pictures for their marketing campaign. Visit the Picturetown site to see for yourself. The site is in Flash so I can't give you direct links but click on "the story" link for the text of what they did.

Amazing Demonstration of New Photo Visualization Technology

This video is an amazing demonstration of new photo display technology by Microsoft architect Blaise Aguera y Arcas. It is a presentation that took place at the annual TED conference. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. They have posted over 150 presentations by thought leaders on their site. Thanks to Brewed Fresh Daily for bringing this to my attention.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Learn How to Create Photo Slide Shows Like This



The Digital Photography SIG meets Thursday, May 17, 2007 at 6:30 p.m.

Topic:
"How to Share Your Photos using your Computer" by Rob Erick.
Rob will demonstrate commonly used features of Adobe Photoshop
Elements culminating in the creation of a slide show complete with
music, slide transitions, and Ken Burns–style panning and zooming.
Rob is an instructor in the Cleveland Photographic Society's upcoming
Digital Imaging Workshop and will be able to answer questions about
the program.

Location:
5225 Library Lane
Maple Heights, Ohio 44137-1291
216-475-5000
Off Libby Road between Broadway & Lee

Time/Date:
Thursday, May 17, 2007 at 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Cleveland Photographic Society Free Summer Photography Workshop


Cleveland Photographic Society
Open House and FREE Summer Photography Workshop
May 5, 2007
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Prepare for great Summer photography and get to know CPS with these free and informative mini-seminars. ALL are welcome!

Saturday and Sunday, May 5th and 6th, 1-4PM.
9543 Broadview Road, Broadview Heights

The Cleveland Photographic Society (CPS) presents a Photography Workshop for Summer Vacations. The CPS Photo School instructors will discuss:

“Getting the Most out of your Digital Camera”, 1:30 PM
“How to Take Better Vacation Photos”, 2:30 PM
“How to Share Your Photos using your Computer” 3:30 PM

Visitors are invited to bring their cameras and photo questions for free assistance by the members. There will also be an exhibit of CPS members’ photos, information on the CPS photo schools, and lots of great refreshments. All are welcome.

Located at 9543 Broadview Road, Broadview Heights, next to the Broadview Heights Police Station, on the City campus, CPS enjoys weekly meetings for members and visitors, photo competitions, critiques, field trips, and many social activities. CPS conducts two schools of photography: the Fundamentals of Good Photography and the Digital Imaging Workshop.

Click here to download a pdf map to CPS from Broadview Heights:
http://www.clevelandphoto.org/downloads/CPS-Map-BH-4.pdf

The Society was formed in 1887 and has a proud history of photographic education and accomplishment in Northeast Ohio. If you would like to be a better photographer, stop in at the Workshop.

For more information:
http://www.clevelandphoto.org/events.cfm?month=5&year=2007

Charles Burkett

Monday, March 19, 2007

Exhibition: A Song for Unsung Heros: African American Soldiers in the Civil War

Special thanks to the Friends of Photography of the Cleveland Museum of Art for bringing this to my attention.


A Song for Unsung Heros: African American Soldiers in the Civil War

An exhibition of the work of photographer William Earle Williams

Williams will be in Akron to lecture on his work as part of the Bidwell Visiting Artist Lecture series on Wednesday, April 4 at 6 pm in the auditorium of

Folk Hall (150 E. Exchange St., Akron).

An opening reception for the exhibition will follow, from 7:30-9 pm. All events are free and open to the public.

The exhibition runs April 2 -25 in the Emily Davis Gallery of the Mary Schiller Myers School of Art, The University of Akron

Williams’ work in these photographs seeks to bring recognition to the contribution of African American troops to the Union victory. African American soldiers, who were over 180,000 strong, have been considerably underrepresented in the documentation of the Civil War. As Williams noted while creating the series Gettysburg: A Journey in Time (1986), the stories of the sites that serve as relevant landmarks in the story of minority soldiers were given little to no mention in historical documentation. The combination of these realities served as the motivation for Unsung Heroes, as he asked himself, “Are these sites not as equally important to our country’s history?” Williams’ responded by creating a pictorial documentation of these notable landmarks and a historical record of a forgotten national memory.

Williams was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2003-2004, during which much of Unsung Heroes was created. Recently, Williams has been granted a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, as well as a Pennsylvania Council of the Arts Fellowship. His work has been exhibited in many major institutions, such as the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Smithsonian, and his photographs can be found in the permanent collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Williams served on the national board of the Society for Photographic Education from 1997-2003. He is currently a professor of fine arts and curator of photography at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania, where he has been since 1978.