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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.