Macworld SF this year is going to be heaven for those interested in digital photography and podcasting. Over the next week, I'll be posting interesting tidbits from the upcoming events so you'll be prepared to follow the action starting Jan. 8.

One of my most anticipated events that week is the Mac Podcaster Meetup starting at 6pm on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007 at the Apple Store (One Stockton Street, San Francisco, CA 94108). We have quite a lineup including Leo Laporte, Adam Christianson, Ken Ray, Scott Bourne, and many, many, more (including yours truly). We're going to be discussing Macworld highlights, podcasting, and anything else of interest to this geeky crowd. I'll try to capture some audio from the event and post it. But if you're in town that night, I think you'll have a blast if you stop by.

Technorati Tags: The Digital Story

You're Not Ken Burns -- But FotoMagico slideshows are so good that people will believe that he helped you.

The December 2006 photo assignment, pool of light closes at the end of day on Sunday, Dec. 31. You still have a little time to send in your entry.

Participating is easy. All you have to do is attach your assignment photo to an email and send it in. Title your subject line: Photo Assignment [month, year]. Attach your entry making sure that it is no wider than 600 pixels. Include a few sentences about why you took this approach, the camera you used, and any setting details that you think are important. Address your email to: derrick@thedigitalstory.com.

If you can, don't remove the EXIF metadata as you prepare your image. I like to list this information with the picture when it's displayed in our gallery.

As an example, this image of Apple CEO Steve Jobs was captured in Oct. 2005 when he unveiled the iPod 5th Gen video at a press event. Steve is standing in the pool of light while others mill about in the shadows.

I've been testing fine art papers for Epson and HP "B" sized printers, and I've come across a real diamond in the rough. Epson's Watercolor Paper Radiant White costs less than half as much as their Velvet Fine Art Paper, but produces comparable results with a higher archival rating.

Both papers have a bright white surface that produce vibrant images, feature texture and weight that feel good in the hands, and dries instantly for easy handling. I've done many side-by-side prints with both stocks, and the watercolor images come very close to the vibrancy of those printed on Velvet Fine Art. The kicker is, you can get 13" x 19" (Super B size) sheets of Epson Watercolor for about a $1 a sheet, and the Velvet Fine Art runs about $3 a print.

Another interesting note is that the archival permanence for the Watercolor is 92 years compared to 61 years for Velvet Fine Art. I can use the regular sheet feeder on an Epson R2400 for the Watercolor, but had to use the manual sheet feeder for the Velvet, which is a heavier paper stock.

No doubt, the Epson Velvet Fine Art paper is fantastic. It is heavier than the Watercolor and has a better D-Max rating. But when I put large B&W images next to each other (printed on both papers), I'm thrilled by how well the Watercolor prints hold up to those on the Velvet Fine Art... for about a third of the price.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, product review, The Digital Story

I'm a big fan of portable, sturdy tripods, and I have a decent collection of three-legged critters that I use regularly. During the holidays, I received a new addition to my stable, my first Gorillapod -- the original model. And I'm having a blast with it.

The original model, which is also the smallest, is perfect for my Canon PowerShot SD 700IS. It's a 150mm tall (6") and only weighs 45g (1.6 oz). Yet this little creature can steady your camera (up to 275 grams - 9.7 oz). in just about location -- from table top to tree limb. The legs are constructed of 10 flexible joints that enable you to quickly position your camera in just seconds. You even get a nifty quick-release head so you don't have to screw and unscrew every time you want to mount the camera.

You can purchase the original Gorillapod for $21.95, and the larger sizes for DSLRs for $40 and $50 each. The Joby site has a fun photo gallery of Gorillapods in action. In fact, there's even a flickr gallery called Gorillapod Love dedicated to these little beasties. Good pictures and good fun.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, product review, The Digital Story

ExpoDisc Custom White Balance -- Simply Better Color. Simply Better Pictures. Visit www.expodisc.com

It's true, there will be no podcast for this last week of 2006. But don't be sad, I'll have plenty of interesting posts on the web site to keep you busy. Plus, you still have a few days to finish up your photo assignment for December, pool of light. I'll be back on the air on Jan. 2 with a brand new podcast to kick off 2007.

As for today's grab shot, it was captured by Christopher Thompson. He recorded this great image while taking pictures for friends. Here's what Christopher had to say about it...

"I snapped this pic while taking Christmas photographs for a good friend's family. The four kids were pretty wound up and excited about getting dressed until it was time to settle down and sit still. Once I had set up the lighting, I stayed put and started framing up the kids while checking exposure."

"It's funny how adults have preconceived ideas about how things should go. The parents apologized to me for putting up with the wild ones, but I found that if I just kept patient, opportunities would present themselves. The kids make all the magic happen; I just try to capture a bit of it on film er flash card. You might say this was an unhappy accident."

"The Lighting set up consisted of a Lowel Omni-Light 500 Watt Focusing Flood Light as the key, a Photoflex 22" Silver LiteDisc as the fill, and a Lowel Pro 150 Watt as hair light. All lights borrowed from school. As for the camera... Canon: EOS 30D, ISO: 400, Exposure: 1/60 s at F/2.8, Exposure Mode: Manual, Lens: EF50mm f/1.4 USM, Shot in Raw + small jpg, color corrected and sharpened Photoshop CS2, Mac OS X 10.4.8, Powerbook G4"

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. If we publish it, you'll receive an ultra cool custom carabineer keychain.

Technorati Tags: candid, digital photography, grab shot, The Digital Story

The tradition is that Denver was the first city to embrace outdoor lighting in a big way, and the City & County Building is a wonderful example of this," says Mark Castleman. "It's become a holiday tradition to come down to see the lights, and there is often a line of cars, buses and carriages passing by on Bannock St at night."

"I really wanted to get both the building and a feeling of the people coming down to see it, and that's why I did such a long exposure so that the cars (and carriages) going by would render as streaks of light. (The -0.5 ev compensation was because I am still getting used to the K10 and forgot to reset it.) I did a little straightening of the image in Aperture, but other than that I left it alone. The building stays lit until the 1st of January, and then it is also lit for the duration of the National Western Stock Show staring on the 6th."

Mark used a Pentax K 10D in shutter priority mode at 6 seconds. The ISO was set to 100.

Note from Derrick

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone in the Digital Story virtual camera club a happy holiday season. Knowing many of you has helped make my 2006 a wonderful year. Peace on Earth...

In a recent review on Photography Blog, the Canon PowerShot G7 earned high praise, with the reviewer commenting that "Though I'd hate to use the word great, in almost all aspects the Canon G7 is certainly very, very good. If I had to choose a back up compact for an SLR, the Canon PowerShot G7 would currently top the list. Superb. If you haven't yet submitted your list to Santa, or want a new toy to play with to beat those post-festive blues, seek out this sophisticated contender for some serious results."

The G7 is a 10-megapixel beauty that fits in your coat pocket, but offers big features such as a 2.5" LCD, 6X optical zoom, image stabilizer, DIGIC III processor, 80-1600 ISO range, and just about every camera control you'd find on a standard DSLR.

As I've mentioned before, there is no RAW mode, and the LCD is now fixed to the back of the camera: two features that I miss from earlier models in the Canon G series. But I've talked to two photographers who own the camera, plus have read a handful of reviews such as the recent one on Photography Blog, and this camera is resonating with users. I can tell you one thing, it feels good to hold. And the images it produces are terrific. But I have to say, I really want RAW mode on a camera of this caliber.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, product review, The Digital Story

Hot off the press with over 3 hours of tips and tricks, Aperture 1.5 Beyond the Basics is now available from lynda.com. I team up with Scott Bourne to cover Aperture workflow, importing images, using image previews, wrangling with metadata, output, and plenty of new features including edge sharpening, centered loupe, and referenced libraries.

Lynda has made a couple of the chapters available for free so you can see if they're your cup of tea. If you find them helpful, you can subscribe to the service for as little as $25 a month (for unlimited access to all titles), or you can purchase the Aperture title on DVD for $99.95.

We had a lot of fun recording Beyond the Basics, and I hope it proves helpful for all levels of Aperture users.

Technorati Tags: technique, The Digital Story

You're Not Ken Burns -- But FotoMagico slideshows are so good that people will believe that he helped you.

I've just stumbled across five terrific video tutorials on new Photoshop CS3 features created by Russell Brown, Photoshop Master. The tutorials cover Smart Filters, Photomerge, converting color to B&W, Auto-Blend Layers, and the new Clone Source feature. You can watch them now for free by visiting Russell Brown's site. And of course, you can download the public beta if you're a current CS2 registered user.

Some pretty cool stuff here by one of the best Photoshop guys on the planet...

Technorati Tags: digital photography, technique, The Digital Story

What can you say about a full-featured 6MP DSLR for less than $600 US... with lens? Well, the folks over at Imaging Resource have lots to say, and they put it all in their latest review of the Nikon D40.

"Intermediate photographers wanting a camera to start a business on a budget should look to the Nikon D80 or Canon 30D, as these are more suited for professional photography. Those who already own a bagful of Nikon glass should also look to the D50, D70s (before they disappear), or D80, because you want to use that fine Nikkor equipment as long as you can. But if you're just getting started in SLR photography and want a light, sweet, competent, and simultaneously friendly digital SLR, the Nikon D40 is a superb choice."

Solid Nikon quality at a very affordable price... If you haven't made the DSLR jump yet, this is a camera worth looking at.

Technorati Tags: review, The Digital Story

Indoor sports photography offers great opportunity to take pictures without having to venture out into the snow, rain, and cold. This type of shooting is also good practice for using your custom white balance setting, playing with ISO, and breaking out any fast glass you may have available.

In this podcast, I talk about a recent shoot inside a high school gymnasium where I use my Canon 5D, a 70-300mm IS zoom, and one of my favorite lenses, the 85mm f-1.8 Canon USM. I pulled out my ExpoDisc to help me tame the indoor lighting, and pushed the ISO to 800 or 1600 depending on which lens I had mounted.

I had lots of fun and came away with some good shots. Hopefully this show will inspire you to find some indoor sports in your neighborhood and do a little shooting yourself.

Photo by Derrick Story. Canon 5D, 70-300mm IS lens at 120mm, ISO 1600, f-5.6, 1/125th second, Raw format, Custom White Balance.

Dec. Photo Assignment

I also mention the December photo assignment, "Pool of Light." I originally got the idea for this assignment by looking at some of Steve Simon's existing light pictures when he composed the main subject in a pool of light and let everything else live in the shadows. I think this is very effective.

Listen to the Podcast

Now that I've piqued your curiosity, it's time to listen to today's audio show titled, "Indoor Sports." You can download the podcast here (26 minutes).

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, The Digital Story

ExpoDisc Custom White Balance -- Simply Better Color. Simply Better Pictures. Visit www.expodisc.com

It's that time of year when indoor photography suddenly seems so appealing (and warm). In my upcoming Tuesday podcast (Dec. 19, 2006), I talk about sports photography under the lights and the lens selections and lighting challenges that go with it. Indoor sports are great fun to cover... provided you're prepared.

This image was captured with a Canon 5D, 85mm f-1.8 USM lens set to f-2.8 at 1/180th of a second. I set the ISO to 800 to deal with the relatively low light and fast moving objects, and the while balance was set to "custom" and measured with an ExpoDisc. No flash!

I'll get into all the details in Tuesday's podcast. Be sure to tune in. You can subscribe to The Digital Story podcast via iTunes.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, The Digital Story

You can download the current version of Aperture and try it for free for 30 days. This is a full, complete working edition of the application with no limitations.

Even better, the current demo version available is the same V. 1.5.2 that registered users have access to. Another thing to keep in mind... if you are a developer, you can grab this demo version, then get the Aperture Export SDK from the Apple Developer Connection site and play with writing an Aperture plug-in for the application.

No matter how you want to experiment, the Aperture demo is worth trying if you're interested in professional level photo workflow.

Adobe has released a public beta of Photoshop CS3. Registered users of CS2 can get a serial number for the beta and download it today. According to Adobe's PR firm:

"Adobe is delivering a widely available Photoshop CS3 beta to enable customers to more easily transition to the latest hardware platforms, particularly Apple's new Intel-based systems. The beta is available as a Universal Binary for the Macintosh platform, as well as for Microsoft(r) Windows(r) XP and Windows Vista computers. The final shipping release of Adobe Photoshop CS3 is planned for Spring 2007."

At first, you might have a hard time tracking down the URLs for the download. The normal spot, Adobe Labs, didn't have the download posted on Friday morning as we had heard (all the info should appear there shortly, however). But there are some direct download links floating around if you want to grab the Mac (685MB) or Windows (337MB) beta right now:

Here is the best current link for the CS3 Beta Download. You'll also have to get a registration number to run the software. That should be available here. Once you go to the serial number page, you'll need to enter your registration number for CS2 in order to receive the temporary SN for the CS3 beta. Keep in mind that you have to login in to the Adobe Labs site to do any of this. If you're not already registered, you'll have to do that first.

Over on the O'Reilly Digital Media site, Colleen Wheeler has posted more information about this beta, plus a link to a training video for it. You might want to take a look at Deke McClelland's Photoshop Beta Preview.

And finally, yes, that is the real icon for Photoshop CS3. For a long time we had thought that it was just temporary. But I've heard it's the real thing. Quite a step down from the feather...

"I was on the Huntington Beach Pier recently when I spotted this bird flying by with something in its mouth, so I grabbed a few shots," said Allen Rockwell. "When I got home, I was able to see that it was carrying a whole cracker and was being careful not to crush it."

"It's shots like this that justify the cost of the Canon 100-400mm IS L lens!"

Allen used a Canon EOS 30D, exposure set to 1/500th @ f/8, focal length: 350 mm, ISO: 100

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. If we publish it, you'll receive an ultra cool custom carabineer keychain.

Technorati Tags: candid, digital photography, grab shot, The Digital Story

One of the advantages of digitized photos is that you can easily manipulate them to look like various types of artwork, from watercolor to charcoal to pastel and beyond. Photoshop comes loaded with plenty of filter effects. But for those who want more -- such as oil paint, pencil sketch, pen & ink, comics, etc. -- Alien Skin has released a new plug-in called Snap Art.

What's different about Snap Art isn't so much the various effects such as colored pencil and watercolor, it's the amount of control over the effect that goes above and beyond the filters that come bundled with Photoshop. For each effect, you start with a palette of factory settings to choose from. Then you can customize the setting of your choice with types of brushes, different paper stocks, saturation controls, and much more. You really have a lot to play with here.

For me, the photographer (and not the fine art artist), Snap Art has more tools than I need. I seem to be able to create most of the effects I want using the filters that come with Photoshop. So spending $149 for the additional filters in Snap Art seems like overkill. But if you really like tinkering with your photographs to see how far you can push the artistic envelope, then you might want to take a look at Snap Art. There's a whole artist's studio worth of tools in this package.

Technorati Tags: product review, The Digital Story

ExpoDisc Custom White Balance -- Simply Better Color. Simply Better Pictures. Visit www.expodisc.com

Scene modes serve as a shortcut for a combination of camera settings tailored for a specific shooting situation, such as a night portrait where you want to retain some of the background information. When you go to a scene mode, your camera sets the shutter speed, aperture, white balance, drive mode, and sometimes even adjusts exposure compensation or metering pattern.

The trick is to learn which scene modes are useful for you, then know how to switch to them quickly when you encounter the appropriate lighting situation. In this podcast, I cover the most common scene modes available, and talk a bit about what's going on behind the "scenes" when you use them.

Dec. Photo Assignment

I also mention the December photo assignment, "Pool of Light." I originally got the idea for this assignment by looking at some of Steve Simon's existing light pictures when he composed the main subject in a pool of light and let everything else live in the shadows. I think this is very effective.

Listen to the Podcast

Now that I've piqued your curiosity, it's time to listen to today's audio show titled, "Scene Modes." You can download the podcast here (29 minutes).

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, The Digital Story

Add Magic to Your Slideshows -- FotoMagico presentations are so amazing that your audience will be asking how you did it.

The November Photo Assignment was "Juxtaposition," and we have quite a gallery for you. Twelve images submitted by The Digital Story members demonstrate the collective keen eyes of our virtual camera club shooters. These images are downright clever.

To produce the gallery, the pictures were first loaded into Aperture. I then added the accompanying stories to the IPTC caption field and combined it with the EXIF data from the photograph. The final step was to create a web gallery in Aperture and upload it to the Digial Story server. You can view this month's photo assignment here.

The December assignment is "Pool of Light." Start working on your contribution now. Details can be found on the Submissions page. Because of our new gallery format, you can now submit photo assignment pictures up to 600 pixels wide for horzontal shots, 400 pixels wide for verticals. Please follow the instructions carefully for labeling the subject line of the email for your submission. It's easy to lose these in the pile of mail if not labeled correctly. Also, if you can, please don't strip out the metadata. I use that for the caption data.

Good luck with your December assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for November. It's a terrific collection of images.

Photo by Steve Cooper

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story, Photo Assignment

The notion of matching a high-performace CF card to a speedy reader is appealing for those of us capturing huge Raw files. I'd never really considered a paired card/reader scenario until I came across the SanDisk 4GB Extreme IV CompactFlash Card with FireWire Reader. But now that I've had some time testing this dynamic duo, I have to say that I think it's a pretty good idea.

When you buy the kit that includes a Extreme FireWire Reader and 4GB Extreme IV CF card, you have file transfer capabilities up to 40MBs a second. That's pretty speedy. I tested this duo against my longtime favorite reader, the Belkin 15-in-1 USB 2.0, and was a little surprised with the results.

I transferred 386MBs of Raw files from the Extreme IV card to a LaCie 7200 RPM hard drive (via a PowerBook G4) in 49.7 seconds. When I put the same Extreme IV card in the Sandisk reader using the FireWire 800 connector, the data transferred in 29.4 seconds. That's quite a difference, especially when compounded over many shoots.

You'll need either FireWire 400 or 800 capability to use this reader, and it only takes CF cards. But if you want a high-speed solution to uploading lots of big Raw files, the the SanDisk 4GB Extreme IV CompactFlash Card with FireWire Reader is a powerful answer. The kit is available for $279 online.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, product review, The Digital Story

"This came about during an early morning commute when, for a change, I decided to take the ferry across the Potomac River rather than the bridge," said Alan Bushnell. "As I was leaving home (in the dark), I noticed my camera bag next to the door and grabbed it just for kicks. I'd done that a few times before, but never got the chance to use it."

When I arrived at the ferry, it was still quite dark and the combination of a recent snow with the water gave the whole river a nice low fog. I took this shot while standing next to my car on the ferry in the middle of the river. The shutter speed was a low 1/8th of second so the image stabilization on my lens was a lifesaver."

Allen used a Canon 20D, 70-200 f/2.8IS, with the ISO set to 400, 1/8 sec at f/7.1.

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. If we publish it, you'll receive an ultra cool custom carabineer keychain.

Technorati Tags: candid, digital photography, grab shot, The Digital Story

ExpoDisc Custom White Balance -- Simply Better Color. Simply Better Pictures. Visit www.expodisc.com

Imagine being able to change the focus of your shot after you've uploaded it to your computer. That's what Ren Ng will be discussing at the upcoming Camera Owners of the Bay Area meeting on Dec. 13, 2006 in Cordura Hall 100 at Stanford University from 7:30-10:00 pm.

The idea is to capture extra information at the sensor, which is missing in conventional cameras. Special processing enables physical functions of the lens to be implemented in software. This approach provides unprecedented photographic features, such as the ability to refocus photographs after the image is taken.

I doubt if this technology will find its way into camera stores any time soon, but it's certainly worth keeping an eye on. If I have a chance to make it to the Dec. 13 meeting, I'll post a follow up report.

Photos by Ren Ng

"I woke up at 4 am one morning and couldn't get back to sleep," said Jeremey Barrett. "So I made my way to earliest-opening coffee shop here in town, which is on Sugar Land's town square, and took my camera bag and tripod. This was taken around 6:30 am, and I really liked the balance of light from the sun just coming up and all the Christmas lights."

Jeremey used a Canon EOS 10D at ISO 100, set to 4 seconds at f-8. Since he was using a tripod, he was able to keep the ISO setting low thereby minimizing image noise.

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. If we publish it, you'll receive an ultra cool custom carabineer keychain.

Technorati Tags: candid, digital photography, grab shot, The Digital Story

You're Not Ken Burns -- But FotoMagico slideshows are so good that people will believe that he helped you.

I keep telling people that capture devices are so much better these days, and as a result, paying attention to correct exposure and white balance pays big dividends in post production. But I hadn't really tested my theory until the other day when I pulled out an older (Nov. 2002) Olympus C-5050 Zoom, set it to Raw mode at ISO 100, and took a series of pictures. I then made A4 prints and compared them to images I'm currently capturing with my pocket-sized Canon PowerShot SD700 IS in simple Jpeg mode. The difference in quality was stunning. The compact Canon in Jpeg mode blew away the sophisticated Olympus in Raw. No knock whatsoever on the Olympus... it's just the difference that 3 years can make during our evolution in digital photography. (And what a shame... I love that Olympus camera!)

This podcast extends that discussion and even includes some remarks about film cameras, workflow, and how to best take advantage of today's excellent capture devices.

Dec. Photo Assignment

I also talk about the December photo assignment, "Pool of Light." I originally got the idea for this assignment by looking at some of Steve Simon's existing light pictures when he composed the main subject in a pool of light and let everything else live in the shadows. I think this is very effective.

Listen to the Podcast

Now that I've piqued your curiosity, it's time to listen to today's audio show titled, "Capture." You can download the podcast here (31 minutes).

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, The Digital Story

Add Magic to Your Slideshows -- FotoMagico presentations are so amazing that your audience will be asking how you did it.

Adobe has posted new white papers and primers available as PDF downloads. These tutorials are authored by some of the biggest names in the Photoshop and post production world.

New titles available (for free) include: The Role of Working Spaces in Adobe Applications by Andrew Rodney, A Raw Workflow in the Real World: The March of the Yellow Penguins by Jeff Schewe, Calibrating the Digital Darkroom Environment by Karl Lang, Black and White Conversion Tutorial by John Paul Caponigro, and more.

You can download these tutorials and browse the entire list by visiting PhotoshopNews.com.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story

ExpoDisc Custom White Balance -- Simply Better Color. Simply Better Pictures. Visit www.expodisc.com

I've been testing the Logitech Z-10 Interactive Speakers, which are stylish desktop companions for your Mac or Windows computer. The Z-10s feature 30 watts of power driving a pair of 1-inch dome tweeters and 3-inch high-excursion woofers. They can sit on both sides of your laptop or desktop computer and deliver full-bodied audio for slideshows, movies, digital music, and gaming.

Logitech's innovative backlit display features tons of control and information for Windows users, but is only partially enabled for the Mac set. You can get all of the details about this, included set up for Macs, in my blog post titled, Logitech Z-10 Interactive Speakers for Mac Users.

At $149, the Z-10s are not cheap, but they are well designed and sound terrific. And if you've been depriving yourself of quality audio at your multimedia workstation, these speakers are a treat for the ears.

Technorati Tags: gadgets, The Digital Story

I'm a big fan of George Jardine's Lightroom podcasts, but the current one with Richard Benson and Thomas Palmer is incredible. George (who is the Adobe Pro Photography Evangelist) speaks with fine art printer and photographer Richard Benson and his printing partner, Thomas Palmer, while they recount many fascinating stories such as working on the Gilman Paper Company book, working with Irving Penn and Paul Strand, and many other luminaries.

Listening to Richard and Thomas talk about using a printing press to replicate fine art photography is a study in precision and patience. These two gentlemen are fine art masters, and George does a great job of encouraging them to discuss their craft in detail. If you're interested in fine art printing, especially as it relates to photography, you should listen to this interview.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, The Digital Story

ExpoDisc Custom White Balance -- Simply Better Color. Simply Better Pictures. Visit www.expodisc.com