I have a busy speaking schedule at Macworld Expo 2009. Here's a brief overview of the week in San Francisco.

Aperture Power Tools 2-Day Workshop

This two-day Power Tools workshop will introduce you to all of Aperture's major functions, making post production as enjoyable as capturing the images in the first place. You can read the complete course outline on the Power Tools page.

Monday, January 5, 2009, 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM; Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 11:30 AM - 6:30 PM. Room 301, South Hall. Register online here. The Power Tools workshops have an additional fee.

Five Ways to Work More Efficiently in Photoshop

With each new release, Adobe has added a handful of photographer-friendly tools to Photoshop - little gems that you might not be aware of yet. But, when incorporated into your workflow, these tools can make a world of difference. You can read the complete outline on the Users Conference page.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM. Room 2010, West Hall. Register online here. This is part of the Users Conference.

The State of the Art of Digital Photography

A group of America's leading photographers will share tips, tricks and hacks to help you make the most of your digital cameras they'll show before and after examples of software tools to make your photos sing, and they'll answer questions about how to be a better photographer. Session led by Rick Smolan. You can read the complete outline on the Users Conference page.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM. Room 2002, West Hall. Register online here. This is part of the Users Conference.

Build a Better Workflow with Photoshop

In this hands on lab, see how you can build an amazing workflow with Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw, and Photoshop. You'll learn the inside tricks that will enable you to make your images look great without having to learn complicated techniques. You can read the complete outline on the MacLabs page.

Thursday, January 8, 2009; 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM. Room 111, North Hall. Register online here. This is part of the MacLabs program.

Expert Photo Tips from Real Experts

Curious about digital photography? Want some post-production tricks? Wondering what camera is right for you? Join expert photographers and O'Reilly authors Derrick Story, Mikkel Aaland, and Deke McClelland for an inside perspective on the world of digital photography and learn to get the most out of your digital images.

Apple Store, San Francisco (One Stockton Street San Francisco, CA 94108 415-392-0202). 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM. Free.

O'Reilly Media Booth

I'll be spending as much time as possible in the O'Reilly Media booth on the Expo Hall floor. I have two formal talks there, Photoshop Made Easy on Thursday Jan. 8 and Friday Jan. 9 at 1 PM. I'll hang around afterward to chat and sign books too. So be sure to stop by and say hello. This is a freebie!

Follow me on Twitter. I'll be posting live from Macworld Expo everyday next week.

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Events! See the TDS Event Calendar for photography workshops, speaking engagements, and trade show appearances.

Technorati Tags: Derrick Story, digital photography, Macworld Expo 2009

Are you ready to have a productive 2009? Is your camera gear organized, do you have all of your registration numbers accessible, is your workflow in order? Then, once all of that is in place, have you set goals for 2009? This should be the year you finally build that website, or maybe put a show together to display at the local coffee shop.

At this moment in time, we can either look back or look forward. I'm most interested in planning for a productive 2009.

Monthly Photo Assignment

About Face is the January 2009 photo assignment. Think about creative ways to make a portrait. It doesn't always have to be the "smiling into the camera" composition. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is Jan. 31, 2009.

Listen to the Podcast

Now that I've piqued your curiosity, it's time to listen to today's audio show titled, "Get Organized and Set Goals for 2009." You can download the podcast here (27 minutes). You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes

The Digital Story podcasts are available for direct download from Apple iPhones. I've created a special mobile download page here. Just load the page in Safari, browse the podcast line-up, and click on the one you want to listen to.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

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Learn what photographers need to know to organize and edit their images with Photoshop CS4. Take a look at The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers. It fits in your laptop bag and is very easy on your wallet.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

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

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Your head will be spinning after viewing the submissions for the Nov. 08 Photo Assignment, "Whirlwind." You can see them all in the Nov. 08 Photo Assignment Gallery. There's some great stuff here!

The January 2009 assignment is "About Face." Start working on your contribution now. Details can be found on the Submissions page. You can submit photo assignment pictures up to 600 pixels in the widest direction. 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. For example, the subject line for next month's assignment should be: "Photo Assignment: Jan. 2009." Also, if you can, please don't strip out the metadata. And feel free to add any IPTC data you wish (These fields in particular: Caption, Credit, Copyright, Byline), I use that for the caption info.

Good luck with your January assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for November. It's an excellent collection of images.

Photo by Adam Miller.

Now Available! The Digital Photography Companion. The official guide for The Digital Story Virtual Camera Club.

• 25 handy and informative tables for quick reference.
• Metadata listings for every photo in the book
• Dedicated chapter on making printing easy.
• Photo management software guide.
• Many, many inside tips gleaned from years of experience.
• Comprehensive (214 pages), yet fits easily in camera bag.

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

Digital picture frames were quite popular this holiday season. And for good reason. They are an easy and enjoyable way to show off your best shots.

But if most digital picture frames are the size equivalent to snapshots, then imagine your images displayed in all of their glory on an HDTV? As prices continue to fall for large screen high definition LCDs, photographers are discovering that they can be used for more than watching Sunday sports. With screen dimensions ranging from 19 inches all the way up to a whopping 60 inches, they are the digital equivalent to large format prints.

Many HDTVs have a slideshow function built in. All you have to do is load your images on USB flash drive, plug it in to the USB port on your TV, and off you go. Also, devices such as the Apple TV have photo display software that will tap image folders on a networked computer or via your iPhoto or Aperture libraries.

For best results, make sure you crop your images to 16:9 dimensions. In this case, displaying on the TV is very much like making a print. You want to make sure the proportions of your images match the output size.

If you have access to an HDTV, take a look at its photo display options. It's a great way to impress viewers with your photographic prowess.

Technorati Tags: Derrick Story, digital photography, Technology, The Digital Story, HDTV

"I liked the look of the almost full moon coming up over the Colorado State Capitol," said Mark Castleman. And it somehow seems quite fitting for the season.

Mark used his Pentax K10D in aperture priority mode set to f/8. He kept the ISO at 100 to control noise, and mounted the camera on a tripod for a tack-sharp shot, even with a 10-second exposure.

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. We'll try to get it published for you on The Digital Story.

And you can view more images from our virtual camera club in the Member Photo Gallery.

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Now Available! The Digital Photography Companion.
The official guide for The Digital Story Virtual Camera Club.

• 25 handy and informative tables for quick reference.
• Metadata listings for every photo in the book
• Dedicated chapter on making printing easy.
• Photo management software guide.
• Many, many inside tips gleaned from years of experience.
• Comprehensive (214 pages), yet fits easily in camera bag.

Technorati Tags: candid, Derrick Story, digital photography, Digital Photography Companion, grab shot, Technology, The Digital Story

If you have an HP printer connected to a WiFi network that can produce 4x6 snapshots, then you might be interested in their mobile app, HP iPrint Photo. It's available in the iTunes App Store and works on the iPhone and iPod touch. You can now print the images on your iPhone directly to any compatible HP printer on a wireless network. That's fairly cool.

I've downloaded it and am going to give a spin today.

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Technorati Tags: Derrick Story, digital photography, Technology, The Digital Story

You're headed out the door and realize you're one gift short. What do you do? Here are five last-minute gift ideas that you, the artful photographer, can assemble in 30 minutes or less. And the best part? The recipient will absolutely love it.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Group Shot is also this month's photo assignment. This is your opportunity to practice, then publish the results. I published a podcast on group shots if you need a quick refresher. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is Dec. 31, 2008.

Listen to the Podcast

Now that I've piqued your curiosity, it's time to listen to today's audio show titled, "Five Emergency Gifts." You can download the podcast here (17 minutes). You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes

The Digital Story podcasts are available for direct download from Apple iPhones. I've created a special mobile download page here. Just load the page in Safari, browse the podcast line-up, and click on the one you want to listen to.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Follow me on Twitter

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Learn what photographers need to know to organize and edit their images with Photoshop CS4. Take a look at The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers. It fits in your laptop bag and is very easy on your wallet.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

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

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Even as good as today's digital cameras are, they can't reproduce the extended range of darks and lights that our eyes can see -- at least not in one exposure. But by combining many different exposures, we can approximate our vision with a technique called High Dynamic Range photography (HDR).

My experience with HDR hasn't always been predictable. Sometimes the final product looks terrific, and other times it just turns our weird. But I found an excellent tutorial by David Nightingale on the PhotographyBLOG that does a great job of explaining the theory and practice of HDR. I'm going to try a few of these tips and see if I can increase my success rate.

HDR image by David Nightingale

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Technorati Tags: Derrick Story, digital photography, Technology, The Digital Story, tips, High Dynamic Range

A friend of mine, Tom Bridge, recently found a Canon 5D Mark II and posted about it on his twitter page. I asked Tom if he wouldn't mind writing up his first impressions of finding the camera, and then actually shooting with it. He sent me the following report that I thought you might enjoy.

Tom's Canon 5D Mark II

Washington DC -- Yesterday afternoon, knowing that Penn Camera was sold out on the 5D Mark II for at least 3 months, I went to Dominion Camera in Falls Church. They'd told me late on Wednesday that they had one that hadn't been claimed yet, and that it was mine, were I to come over and pay for it. So I did. I picked up the 5D Mark II with the kit lens and all the assorted accoutrements.

I ran straight home, and busily set about clearing a workspace to open the box. My only disappointment after tearing through all the manuals and whatnot was that the battery came drained. I had to sit there and watch the LED blink on the wall charger for what felt like an eternity while I assembled the camera, filled out the documents, repacked the box and put it away.

This did give me the opportunity, though, to feel the camera out. For the last three years, I've used an old Canon 10D that I got second-hand. It's a work-horse, that I love to death, but it can't hold a candle to the 5D Mark II. I hardly knew quite what to expect in the upgrade.

The best way I can describe it is to go from a car that you dearly love to drive, but has clear and delineated issues you work around, to driving a brand new sport-tuned Porsche on the Autobahn. The 5D Mark II just seems to fit my hand better than the 40D or 50D that I tried out as part of this process, and the balance is exquisite with the 24-105mm f/4 IS kit lens. I was amazed at how agile it felt, despite the significant weight. Canon did a great job just with the hold-factor of the camera.

I tend to shoot aperture-priority most of the time, with my thumb on the wheel. I'm always dialing back the exposure with the 10D, even at 800 or H, so I get something that I could hold still enough to capture. Boy is that gone from the 5D Mark II. The flexible ISO metering is something that I'll have to get used to, and learn how to capture to its best ability. It's pretty astonishing, though, to see something that's shot at ISO 3200 that looks better than anything I shot at ISO 400 on the 10D.

I'll know a lot more after this weekend's shooting, but for the time being, I'm a very, very happy camper. Here's hoping for some good weather tomorrow, I've got my 50mm prime, the 24-105, and there's a beautiful Christmas display in downtown Pittsburgh where we're visiting.

Thanks Tom for the field report. If you have first impressions of a new camera you just laid hands on, please send it my way. You can get all the details on our Submissions page.

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Technorati Tags: Canon 5D Mark II, Derrick Story, digital photography, Technology, The Digital Story

"This photo was taken after a race over a muddy track at the fairgrounds in Rocky Ford, Colorado," writes virtual camera club member Eric Simon. "After taking pictures of the horses during the race, I spotted these three returning to be unsaddled and was struck by their three-across-the-track formation."

"The jockeys on each horse were chatting with each other. Even though I might have tried for a wider angle shot (if I'd had a capable lens), I thought focusing on the head and neck of the first horse would make an interesting picture, and I was actually hoping to capture the sort of picture I wound up with. I modified the photo in Photoshop to bring out detail in the shadows and made it a tad warmer to lend a slight golden tone."

Eric captured this image with his Canon XTi with a (non image-stabilized) 70-200mm F/4 lens. The statistics for this shot are as follow: 70mm, F4, 1/1000 exposure, ISO 400, Aperture Priority, center-weighted metering.

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. We'll try to get it published for you on The Digital Story.

And you can view more images from our virtual camera club in the Member Photo Gallery.

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Now Available! The Digital Photography Companion.
The official guide for The Digital Story Virtual Camera Club.

• 25 handy and informative tables for quick reference.
• Metadata listings for every photo in the book
• Dedicated chapter on making printing easy.
• Photo management software guide.
• Many, many inside tips gleaned from years of experience.
• Comprehensive (214 pages), yet fits easily in camera bag.

Technorati Tags: candid, Derrick Story, digital photography, Digital Photography Companion, grab shot, Technology, The Digital Story

Whether it's a shot of worn-out shoes from the campaign trail, or the micro-second victory by Phelps at the Summer Games, Time's Pictures of the Year for 2008 show us the highs and lows of a tumultuous 12 months.

If you have a few minutes, take a look at these 48 images. There's a lot of history here, and good photography too.

"Shoe Leather" is by Callie Shell/Aurora for Time

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Virtual camera club member Jane R sends us a terrific tip to speed up the process of rating photos in Adobe Bridge (CS3 and CS4 versions). Jane writes:

"I've got a quick tip for you. I am reading your book, The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers, and do not see this one mentioned."

"Thanks for all the good information you provide via the podcast, the website, and your books. I have copies of Digital Photography Hacks and The Digital Photography Companion. I suggested my public library buy a copy of The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers, which I am now learning from."

Thank you for the great tip Jane! I've already changed my Preferences for both CS3 and CS4.Adobe Lightroom 2.2 Update Released

I got this note recently from Adobe PR about the latest version of Lightroom:

"Lightroom 2.2 adds raw support for seven new camera models including the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon PowerShot G10. The update also includes several refinements such as enhanced performance of the local adjustment tools. In addition, Adobe's Camera Profiles are now available natively within Lightroom 2.2 and are provided automatically as part of this release. As the visual starting point for the raw processing workflow, camera profiles provide flexibility that allows photographers to quickly achieve their desired rendering."

This looks like a great update. I'll probably download it today and give it a spin.

Olympus E-30 Sample Shots on Imaging-Resouce

As you know, I've been testing the about-to-be-released Olympus E-30 DSLR. The good folks over at Imaging-Resource.com have released a terrific gallery of sample photos from the E-30 that include test targets, outdoor shots, and studio-lit settings, all at different ISO and other settings. It will help you get your head around how this camera performs. I'll continue to focus on the special features.

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Technorati Tags: Adobe Lightroom, Derrick Story, digital photography, Olympus E-30 DSLR, Technology, The Digital Story, Adobe Bridge CS4

If you haven't signed up yet, there's still time. I've put together a live presentation where I show you some of my favorite new features in Photoshop CS4. And it airs today at 10:30am PST/1:30pm EST. It is absolutely free. And all attendees receive 45-days complimentary access to The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers via Safari Books Online. That means you could download the trial version of Photoshop CS4, access my book, and decide for yourself if this upgrade is for you -- and none of it will cost you a penny.

You can register right now at this site. After the presentation, I'll have a Q&A session too. It's going to be a lot of fun.

Learn what photographers need to know to organize and edit their images with Photoshop CS4. Take a look at The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers. It fits in your laptop bag and is very easy on your wallet.

Are there times when you want to capture both Raw and Jpeg at the same time? Absolutely! In this podcast, I go over five instances where I think it's to your advantage to record in both formats.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Group Shot is also this month's photo assignment. This is your opportunity to practice, then publish the results. I published a podcast on group shots if you need a quick refresher. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is Dec. 31, 2008.

Listen to the Podcast

Now that I've piqued your curiosity, it's time to listen to today's audio show titled, "5 Reasons to Shoot Raw + Jpeg." You can download the podcast here (23 minutes). You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes

The Digital Story podcasts are available for direct download from Apple iPhones. I've created a special mobile download page here. Just load the page in Safari, browse the podcast line-up, and click on the one you want to listen to.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Follow me on Twitter

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Learn what photographers need to know to organize and edit their images with Photoshop CS4. Take a look at The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers. It fits in your laptop bag and is very easy on your wallet.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

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

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Imagine a high quality softening filter that's available for every lens you mount on your camera. And the best part is, you never have to clean it -- that is if you're shooting with the recently announced Olympus E-30 12.3 MP DSLR. One of its unique features is a selection of Art Filters built right in to the camera, with my favorite of the bunch being the Soft Focus effect.

The processing power for the Art Filters are made possible with the new TruePic III+ digital processing engine built-in to the E-30. According to an Olympus:

"When an Art Filter is enabled, not only does the camera process the conventional attributes such as brightness, contrast, white balance, hue, and sharpness, it also controls a whole subset of attributes such as shading, softening, composite and distortion. This is like taking a picture through an optical glass filter. Because the exposure and filter effects are calculated and applied during the image capture stage, the integrity of the final image is maintained."

Since the camera is actually processing the image when it's in Art Filter mode, the output is a Jpeg. But if you're shooting Raw+Jpeg, you also get the original unaltered image as a Raw file (so you get a softened Jpeg and an unaltered Raw). Let's take a look at how this works. Here's the original Raw file from an outdoor portrait:

Original Raw File with no effects applied.

Standard portrait taken with fill-flash and a 105mm lens. Now here's the same frame, but this time you'll see the Jpeg that was produced in Art Filter mode using Soft Focus. I haven't done any image editing to either the original or the Art Filter version. This is what came out of the camera.

Soft Focus Art Filter produced in-camera with the E-30

Even though the file you're looking at is unaltered, I did open a number of these images up in Photoshop to see what was going on. Olympus has applied a number of clever image adjustments to produce this effect, including moving the black point to the right of the histogram to downplay contrast.

When you capture via an Art Filter, you use the E-30's Live View function, so you can see the effect on the LCD while you compose. You can also see the final product on the LCD in playback mode.

One of the benefits of of the Soft Focus Art Filter is that it saves you Photoshop time in post production. What you see on the camera's LCD is what you get. No image editing required. But if you don't mind a little post production, you can work on the Raw file to produce a third version of the shot.

I have a technique that I include in the recipe chapter of my The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers that uses the Gaussian Blur filter on a separate layer to soften the skin (p. 120). Here's that same shot using that post production approach.

Gaussian Blur applied in Photoshop

Each image has its own look. The Gaussian Blur technique is more subtle, but requires post production. The Soft Focus Art Filter is a bit more pronounced, but well executed. Plus, it's applied in-camera. No post production required!

Other Art Filters included with the E-30 are: Pop Art, Pale and Light Color, Light Tone, Grainy Film, and Pin Hole Camera. They are all fun, and they definitely get the creative juices flowing. I have more unique features of the Olympus E-30 12.3 MP DSLR that I'll cover in upcoming blog posts. Stay tuned.

Photos by Derrick Story. Captured with the Olympus E-30 DSLR with the 14mm-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Olympus Digital zoom lens.

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Technorati Tags: Derrick Story, digital photography, Technology, The Digital Story, Olympus E-30 DSLR

"I tend to not grab my camera on the way out the door as often when it's raining as I do when it's beautiful," writes Joe Rodricks. "However yesterday I noticed this drop of water, caught for its eternity, in the grasp of a dormant grape vine. I dashed back into my house and grabbed my D300."

"On it was my default, cheap-but-amazing, Nikon 55-200. I fired off a few shots at f8 to make sure the image was sharp. I wasn't very happy as the minimum focus distance is somewhere around 6 feet. I ran back inside and put on my trusty 50mm f1.8 and set it to f4 to keep it sharp. The difference with the depth of field at f4 with the 50mm over f8 at 55mm was preferable to me, as the wall in the background is only a few feet away."

"There was just something tranquil about the whole thing that made me feel good for having captured it."

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. We'll try to get it published for you on The Digital Story.

And you can view more images from our virtual camera club in the Member Photo Gallery.

Follow me on Twitter

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Now Available! The Digital Photography Companion.
The official guide for The Digital Story Virtual Camera Club.

• 25 handy and informative tables for quick reference.
• Metadata listings for every photo in the book
• Dedicated chapter on making printing easy.
• Photo management software guide.
• Many, many inside tips gleaned from years of experience.
• Comprehensive (214 pages), yet fits easily in camera bag.

Technorati Tags: candid, Derrick Story, digital photography, Digital Photography Companion, grab shot, Technology, The Digital Story

Photoshop CS4 introduced some great new tools for photographers. I've put together a live presentation where I show you some of my favorite new features.

This online event airs on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 10:30am PST/1:30pm EST. It is absolutely free. And if that wasn't good enough, all attendees receive 45-days complimentary access to The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers via Safari Books Online. That means you could download the trial version of Photoshop CS4, access my book, and decide for yourself if this upgrade is for you -- and none of this will cost you a penny.

Seats are limited, but you can register right now at this site. After the presentation, I'll have a Q&A session too. It's going to be a lot of fun. I hope you join me on Dec. 16!

Learn what photographers need to know to organize and edit their images with Photoshop CS4. Take a look at The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers. It fits in your laptop bag and is very easy on your wallet.

I'm constantly yammering about using your camera phone as a data capture device for parking spaces, room numbers, license plates and such. But how about capturing small data, such as business cards and document paragraphs?

Well, iPhone 3G users are in luck. A new product from Griffin Technology called Clarify gives you a sliding close-up lens mounted in a durable case. When you want to record small-sized data, such as a business card, just slide the lens into place and take a picture.

Unfortunately, those of us with 1st gen iPhones will have to wait until we upgrade. Clarifi isn't available for older iPhones. If someone figures out a hack, be sure to post a comment.

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Technorati Tags: Derrick Story, digital photography, Technology, The Digital Story

So, one of the objects of my desire, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, appears to be a wonderful camera in almost every area... except, it's now 21 megapixels. On its heals, Nikon announces the the 24 megapixel DX3. Wow, big resolution indeed. But is it resolution I need?

I'm seriously asking myself this question. Right now I'm shooting Raw with a Canon 5D that weighs in at 12 megapixels. I'm also testing a new Olympus E-30 DSLR, that also captures at 12 megapixels. When I'm on a shoot, I'm capturing lots of images. And over the course of a year, the tally is in the thousands.

These are pictures that I have to catalog, back up, process, etc. My current post production system can handle 12 megapixel files. But I know that a 20+ megapixel camera will indeed stress my system. The irony is that I rarely make a print bigger than 13"x19", and I just haven't needed more resolution. So the march of more megapixels is actually a barrier to purchase instead of an incentive.

Is it just me?

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Oh, how time flies by. We launched The Digital Story in October 2005. Now, more than three years later, it's time to put a new coat of paint on the walls.

In this podcast, I go over the changes we have in store for the next version of The Digital Story. We're going to improve the user experience by updating the underlying technology (Movable Type 3 to Movable Type 4), clean up the navigation, add bigger photographs, add video, and create an entirely new area called Creative Output that focuses on printing and other fun projects.

But this is also your opportunity to let us know what you want. If you have a feature you'd like me to add, or if you have a comment on the features we have proposed, please add a comment to these Show Notes or send email to me (see the Submissions page for details).

I'm excited to bring the next generation Digital Story to our virtual camera club. I think it's a great way to kick off 2009.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Group Shot is also this month's photo assignment. This is your opportunity to practice, then publish the results. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is Dec. 31, 2008.

Listen to the Podcast

Now that I've piqued your curiosity, it's time to listen to today's audio show titled, "Time to Update the Website." You can download the podcast here (22 minutes). You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes

The Digital Story podcasts are available for direct download from Apple iPhones. I've created a special mobile download page here. Just load the page in Safari, browse the podcast line-up, and click on the one you want to listen to.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Follow me on Twitter

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Learn what photographers need to know to organize and edit their images with Photoshop CS4. Take a look at The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers. It fits in your laptop bag and is very easy on your wallet.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

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

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Pictures I keep in my camera phone -- license plate numbers for my cars, menus from my favorite take-out restaurants, parking spot numbers, store hour signs -- just to name a few. I know I've talked about it before, but by way of reminder, take a picture of things you want to remember.

How many times have you had to walk back out to the car to get your license number when registering at a motel? Slightly annoying, isn't it? And what day of the week does that favorite Mexican restaurant close? Well, I know because I have its hours sign as a photo in my iPhone. And believe me, it's a lot faster looking that up than trying to get the restaurant's web site online.

The point is, your camera phone can be a helpful second brain. We're visual people anyway. Why not use the great assistant you carry in your pocket every day?

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Now Available! The Digital Photography Companion.
The official guide for The Digital Story Virtual Camera Club.

• 25 handy and informative tables for quick reference.
• Metadata listings for every photo in the book
• Dedicated chapter on making printing easy.
• Photo management software guide.
• Many, many inside tips gleaned from years of experience.
• Comprehensive (214 pages), yet fits easily in camera bag.

"It was just a friendly game of two-on-two volleyball at Huntington Beach," wrote Kevin Miller. "Yet no one likes to lose."

Kevin captured this shot with his Canon 30D. Focal length was 105mm, ISO 400, Aperture Priority mode set to f/8 resulting in a 1/320th sec exposure.

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. We'll try to get it published for you on The Digital Story.

And you can view more images from our virtual camera club in the Member Photo Gallery.

Follow me on Twitter

-

Now Available! The Digital Photography Companion.
The official guide for The Digital Story Virtual Camera Club.

• 25 handy and informative tables for quick reference.
• Metadata listings for every photo in the book
• Dedicated chapter on making printing easy.
• Photo management software guide.
• Many, many inside tips gleaned from years of experience.
• Comprehensive (214 pages), yet fits easily in camera bag.

Technorati Tags: candid, Derrick Story, digital photography, Digital Photography Companion, grab shot, Technology, The Digital Story

The latest version of Adobe Camera Raw (5.2) features some terrific new tools. Two of my favorites are the Targeted Adjustment Tool (TAT) and Snapshots. In this screencast, Snapshots and TAT in ACR 5.2: Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers Screencast 5, I demonstrate how darn useful Snapshots are for creating historical bread crumbs while adjusting an image in ACR. If you've ever used Snapshots in Adobe Lightroom, you know that you can save the state of an image as you're working on it, and return to that state whenever you want. I think this allows for more experimentation during image editing, knowing that you can always go back to a particular spot in the process.

I also show off the Targeted Adjustment Tool. It allows you to click and drag on a particular area of the photograph and target the adjustment for those tones or colors. Many people were excited when this appeared in Lightroom, and now we have it in Photoshop CS4 too.

You can learn more by watching the 6:45 minute screencast.

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Learn what photographers need to know to organize and edit their images with Photoshop CS4. Take a look at The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers. It fits in your laptop bag and is very easy on your wallet.

Technorati Tags: Adobe Camera Raw, Adobe Photoshop, digital photography, Photoshop CS4, Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers, technique, The Digital Story

Now that we're smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, group shots are more important than ever. You may want to take one of your family to create your own greeting card. Or you my be the photographer behind the lens at a gathering trying to pull together a group shot. Either way, this podcast will help you get the best image possible.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Group Shot is also this month's photo assignment. This is your opportunity to practice, then publish the results. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is Dec. 31, 2008.

Listen to the Podcast

Now that I've piqued your curiosity, it's time to listen to today's audio show titled, "Get Great Group Shots." You can download the podcast here (24 minutes). You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes

The Digital Story podcasts are available for direct download from Apple iPhones. I've created a special mobile download page here. Just load the page in Safari, browse the podcast line-up, and click on the one you want to listen to.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

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Learn what photographers need to know to organize and edit their images with Photoshop CS4. Take a look at The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers. It fits in your laptop bag and is very easy on your wallet.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

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One thing that isn't absent from the Oct. 08 Photo Assignment, "Missing," is creative interpretation of the theme. We have well-executed shots such as a girl's missing teeth by Brian Reynolds all the way to a missing letter by Dave Bream. You can see them all in the Oct. 08 Photo Assignment Gallery. There's some great stuff here!

I also want to mention, that starting this month, the monthly Photo Assignment is going to take on new meaning. I'm going to use this as part of an overall photography course on various aspects of the craft. So there will be a podcast lesson for you, then the photo assignment to practice it. I think you're really going to like this.

Which leads us to the December 2008 assignment, "Group Shot." 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 in the widest direction. 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. For example, the subject line for next month's assignment should be: "Photo Assignment: Dec. 2008." Also, if you can, please don't strip out the metadata. And feel free to add any IPTC data you wish (These fields in particular: Caption, Credit, Copyright, Byline), I use that for the caption info.

Good luck with your December assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for October. It's an excellent collection of images.

Photo by Brian Reynolds.

Now Available! The Digital Photography Companion. The official guide for The Digital Story Virtual Camera Club.

• 25 handy and informative tables for quick reference.
• Metadata listings for every photo in the book
• Dedicated chapter on making printing easy.
• Photo management software guide.
• Many, many inside tips gleaned from years of experience.
• Comprehensive (214 pages), yet fits easily in camera bag.

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