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WIN a Photography Book – Comment on this Post!

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The folks over at Peachpit Press saw how many folks entered my last (first) book give-away contest — so they kicked down a few (TEN!) more for me to hand out! These are from their new book series, “From Snapshots to Great Shots” … these books are focused (no pun intended) on teaching you how to make great photographs, not just on every little dial and button.
To win one of these books all you have to do is comment on this post.
RULES: You can only pick one book, and make sure you specify in your comment which book you want. And if you win, Peachpit will pay for shipping! All you have to do is COMMENT! But, PLEASE be sure to enter your email address on the comment form or else I won’t be able to contact you.
The books you can win cover…
  • Canon 50D
  • Nikon D5000
  • Canon Rebel T1i
  • Canon PowerShot G10 or G11
If you own one of these amazing cameras, you need a book that goes beyond a tour of the features to show you exactly how to use your camera to take great pictures. With these books, you get the perfect blend of photography instruction and camera reference that will help take your images to the next level! These books are illustrated with large, vibrant photos from the author and the Flickr community — and they teach you how to take control of your photography, to get the image you want every time you pick up the camera.
Remember, to win one of these amazing new books all you have to do is write something clever in the comments area below — and mention the book you want to win. That’s it! ….

Good luck!

Filed Under: Featured, Photography Tagged With: , , ,

Fight, or Light?

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On the most recent This Week in Photography show we tackled a topic that lately has been coming up more and more. Photographers covering a disasters like Haiti, Katrina, 9/11, the southern California fires, etc. have to ask themselves – when is it appropriate to put the camera down and help your fellow man?

Or, is documenting the situation, and helping with your skills behind the camera – documenting history, the correct course of action?

Of course there is no “correct” answer. Military photographers in active war zones have to deal with this question, sometimes on a daily basis. Imagine needing to make the choice between shooting with your D3, or your M16. Not getting the “shot” is probably always better than having to get a shot of morphine—or worse.

We “casual” photographers rarely have to deal with this choice. But when it does come—and you have to make the choice—what would YOU do?  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Photography Tagged With: ,

2 Killer iPhone Photography Apps

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TiltShiftGen
First up is TiltShiftGen. This app has got to be one of the most underrated iPhone photography applications in the iTunes store. That’s likely due to how its creators have positioned it… wrongly. Even the name hides the power of this thing. For example, in the all-important iTunes title, the developers call it a “Fake DSLR”, and say it “will allow you to create retro miniature pictures”. Sorry guys, but this application does SO much more than create fake miniature pictures. In short, TiltShiftGen has become my go-to application for creating the “look” I like from my iPhone pics. Now I’m admittedly fickle when it comes apps on my iPhone — some sexy new number might show up tomorrow and catch my eye. But for now, I’m completely in love with this one. But why?
Well, for starters I’m a HUGE fan of shallow depth of field, over saturation, vignetting, you know… that sort of stuff. The user interface, features, and speed of this application allow me to create some pretty cool effects very quickly, and just using my thumb. Take this image for example. It’s a simple shot of a Japanese garden taken at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, CA. With about four quick corrections (Blur, Saturation/Contrast, and Vignetting). The image went from “oh nice”, to “oh my!”.
For $0.99, I don’t think this is an application you can afford NOT to purchase.
PhotoGene
Second on my list is PhotoGene. This app is my “Swiss Army Knife” of iPhone Photography. It’s kind of like Photoshop on the iPhone. Kind of what Adobe’s Photoshop iPhone app should’ve been really, complete with cropping, saturation, rotation, sharpening, borders and more. The power of this app becomes clear the first time you see a histogram on your iPhone with shadow, midtown, highlight sliders. Most of what I need for basic on-the-go pixel pushing is tucked neatly in this application. There are a few features I’d love to have, like some sort of rudimentary cloning tool, and more control over the size of borders, etc.
But for my $2.99, I’ve already gotten WAY more than my money’s worth out of this application.
Photographers like Chase Jarvis were early to recognize what a game-changer having a decent camera with you at all times is. But the iPhone camera is so much more than just a camera. Not only do you have a camera with you, but one with photo-manipulation software and a way to share your creations. All of this wrapped up in one pocket-sized package.
So celebrate the restrictions, and the new capabilities of this new kind of image-making. In future posts I’ll go into detail on my other iPhone apps, and how I use them. In the mean time, post your favorite iPhone apps in the comments, and check out a few of my iPhone pics on Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredjohnson/

1. TiltShiftGen

First up is TiltShiftGen. This app has got to be one of the most underrated iPhone photography applications in the iTunes store. That’s likely due to how its creators have positioned it… wrongly. Even the name hides the power of this thing. For example, in the all-important iTunes title, the developers call it a “Fake DSLR”, and say it “will allow you to create retro miniature pictures”. Sorry guys, but this application does SO much more than create fake miniature pictures. In short, TiltShiftGen has become my go-to application for creating the “look” I like from my iPhone pics. Now I’m admittedly fickle when it comes to apps on my iPhone — some sexy new number might show up tomorrow and catch my eye. But for now, I’m completely in love with this one. But why? [Read more...]

Filed Under: iPhone, Photography Tagged With: ,

Is Digital Manipulation Evil?

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I’ve spoken at length about my stance on digital manipulation on the This Week in Photography (TWiP) podcast. On the show we banter about the topic, but in this quick video I explain how I really feel about it.

Pixels are born to be punished… unless they weren’t.

Filed Under: Featured, Photography Tagged With:

Steve Simon – Photojournalist

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Steve Simon, born in Montreal Canada – and now a resident of New York City is one of the busiest photographers I know. He’s created an impressive body of work that can be viewed on his website, and looking at his work you’ll see that he is one of those photographers that always seems to be “in it”. He’s a true photojournalist, and seems to be willing to put himself in harms way to get the story.

Steve has published several books, including a favorite of mine Heroines & Heroes: Hope, HIV and Africa. I had the honor of sitting down with Steve for a few minutes last week in San Francisco to record this video.

Steve is also a regular guest with me on the This Week in Photography podcast, and it was great to have this informal off-air conversation with him.

Filed Under: Featured, Photography Tagged With: , ,

Nicole Young – iStockphoto Contributor

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Nicole Young is an excellent example of a next-generation stock photographer. She is a regular contributor to iStockphoto and has seen some impressive revenue generated from her images. 

She is refreshingly humble and open about her work, and was eager to share tips, techniques, and encouragement for other photographers considering the micro-stock arena.

Filed Under: Featured, Photography Tagged With: , ,

Michael Adams – Son of Ansel Adams

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An up-close and personal conversation with Michael Adams, son of legendary photographer Ansel Adams. 

In this brief interview, Michael and I discuss what it was like growing up as the son of one of the worlds most prolific and respected photographers. Michael’s background is very interesting on its own – having been a physician, Air Force General, and a fighter pilot, it seems the Adams’ family produces some pretty over-achieving genes!

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Merkley??? – Artist, Blogger, Flickr-er

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Merkley is one of the most popular photographers on Flickr, with over 17,000 contacts, and millions of photo views, he’s a real testament to how digital imaging technology has changed the way we consume photography. The last time I sat down and had a chat with Merkley he told me if it wasn’t for Photoshop and Flickr none of this (his photography) would have been possible.

In talking with Merkley, one of the things that impresses me is the his total disregard for his tools. He’s more focused on the end result than how he got there. As you’ll see in the video, having the most expensive camera doesn’t necessarily make you a great artist.

Much of Merkleys work is done with a simple point-and-shoot camera — and Photoshop of course.

Filed Under: Featured, Photography Tagged With: , , ,

Candy for Candids!

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I met up with Photojojo CEO Amit Gupta last week in San Francisco. Check out this video to hear how he suggests convincing strangers to pose for photos. And he wasn’t kidding! There’s even a write-up on his website with tips and instructions on how to best utilize “candy for candids”.

Amit in NYCApparently Amit has a history of bribing passers-by with candy. Having recently relocated back to the Bay Area from NYC, he’s now spreading his technique for impromptu portraiture to the left coast. Here is some photographic evidence of the Lollipop Photographer in action. And it looks like this movement may be catching on.

Be sure to head over to Photojojo and subscribe to the newsletter... it’s awesome and a must read.

Oh, and here’s a link to that song???????? I was referring to in the video. Somehow I don’t think these are the Lollipops Amit was referring to.

Filed Under: Featured, Misc, Photography

Merkley??? is NOT a Photographer.

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Merkley

Meet Merkley??? You’ll need to read his blog to find out what the three question mark thing is all about.

It’s not very often that one gets the opportunity to meet a true artist. Not only is Merkley a true artist, he’s one of the top photographers on Flickr. In the time he’s been a member on the site, he’s managed to gain a following of almost 15,000 “contacts”. That’s an amazing audience for any photographer… on Flickr, or otherwise. Even though he vehemently claims that he’s NOT a photographer.

It might be his saturated, irreverent and unapologetic photographic style, or as he told me.. “maybe it’s because people just like looking at naked women”. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect while making my way to his home in San Francisco. I already had Flickr on the brain as I’d just finished recording an episode of This Week in Photography (aka TWiP), and during the show I had the opportunity to ask a few questions to Flickr’s Community Manager Heather Champ. I wish I’d asked her about Merkley.
[Read more...]

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