I ran across this article, Panheads Vs Ballheads, and it got me thinking about how my preferences for tripod mounts has swung back and forth over the years.

First of all, I do use tripods. Don't necessarily love them, but they are required for many of the shots I take. I began using panhead mounts because they were easy to use. But those darn handles sticking out moved me over to ballheads for hiking and other outdoor activities. Then video came along... and panheads are so much better for movie making. Or I should say, the ability to pan is what's required.

That need led to some good moments with Joby's Ballhead X. It provides the convenience of a traditional ballhead, yet gives me a separate knob for panning control. Plus, the clamp and plate are Arca-Swiss system compatible. (You can get the Ballhead Xby itself for $47 or in combination with the Gorillapod Focusfor $113, as shown in the illustration.) Then there are other days where I go with the monster Bogen aluminum tripod with ginormous panhead. I guess I'm not a "one tripod kind of guy."

So where do you stand? Panhead, ballhead, or hybrid? This is just for fun, but it does make a difference when you have a job to do.

Find great deals at the TDS Photography Store on Amazon.

Michelle Vinay will be the featured model this weekend for the Aperture Intensive Workshop in Santa Rosa, CA. Attending photographers will have three sessions with Michelle to build fresh content for their Aperture library. We will then use those photographs for our image editing tutorials where attendees will learn portrait techniques such as skin smoothing, blemish retouching, color adjustment, and more.

Michelle will be available for feedback as students work on images of her. I know she's looking forward to working with our TDS photographers.

If you'd like to treat yourself to a photography intensive, take a look at our TDS Workshops page and peruse the schedule for 2012. There's a sign-up form available too. And if you're in Northern California this weekend, consider joining the Aperture Intensive workshop. We're going to have a great time!

The Digital Story on Facebook -- discussion, outstanding images from the TDS community, and inside information. Join our celebration of great photography!

Some people vow to shed weight or drop an undesirable habit when the New Year rolls around. As 2012 approaches, I think this is also a great time to fine tune your photo organization and backup plan. When I recorded my lynda.com title, Organizing and Archiving Digital Photos, I always had the New Year in mind.

The most important concept is "Start where you are." What I mean by that, is build your improved system for 2012, then start using it for the new pictures you take. At first, don't worry about all those other images from previous years. Once you get the new system fine tuned with a manageable amount of photos, you can begin to bring in the old stuff a chunk at a time.

By taking the "start where you are" approach, you won't overwhelm yourself or your new system while you're still working out the kinks. This prevents frustration, and will give you better odds of success.

As for creating the system itself, take a look at Organizing and Archiving Digital Photos for some new ideas. If you start building your plan now, you should be ready to implement it on Jan. 1, 2012.

More on Organizing and Archiving Digital Photos

Organizing and Archiving Overview Movie

Choosing the Right Hard Drive for Your Photo Backup

Roundtripping from Lightroom to Photoshop

"Organizing and Archiving Your Photos" - Digital Photography Podcast 290

Quick Keywording Tips in Lightroom 3

Backing Up Aperture 3 Via My Local Network

The Digital Story on Facebook -- discussion, outstanding images from the TDS community, and inside information. Join our celebration of great photography!

Photo Stream is iCloud's free picture service that shares your mobile pictures with computers and iOS devices. Like many Apple products, this first version works well, but you don't have much control over it. In this week's podcast I provide a brief introduction to Photo Stream, then explain how to set up a "reservoir system" that allows you to better control its stream. The ideal appraoch uses iPhoto 9.2.1 as the reservoir and Aperture 3.2.1 as the filter. It's a cool setup, and I think worth a try.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (31 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. You can support this podcast by purchasing the TDS iPhone App for only $2.99 from the Apple App Store.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Black & White is the Nov. 2011 Photo Assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Member Participation page. Deadline for entry is Nov. 30, 2011.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

Red River Paper -- The $7.99 Sample Kit is back! And with free shipping.

Make Your Photos Sizzle with Color! -- SizzlPix is like High Definition TV for your photography.

Need a New Photo Bag? Check out the Lowepro Specialty Store on The Digital Story and use discount code LP20 to saven 20% at check out.

Journalists are starting to get their hands on the new Panasonic GX1 CSC camera, and it's a beauty. I like the gunmetal grey version myself.

PhotographyBlog writes: "...the 16 megapixel Panasonic GX1 offers an ISO range of 100-12800, auto-focus speed of 0.09 seconds, full HD 1080i video recording, a 3-inch screen with 460k dots, built-in pop-up flash, and 4.2 fps burst mode at full resolution. Available in Gunmetal Grey and Raven Black, the GX1 will be available from mid December priced at £499.99 body only, £599.99 with the standard 14-42mm kit lens, and £729.99 with the 14-42mm power-zoom lens (from mi January 2012).

The GX1 is a member of the micro four-thirds family and shares lens mount compatibility with the Olympus PENs. With Panasonic's 14 lens lineup, including the cool pancake lens sized 14-42mm X zoom lens, plus the solid Olympus lens family, I think this is the most versatile tandem in the Compact Systems Camera world.

If anyone out there scores a GX1, please send me your impressions.

The Digital Story on Facebook -- discussion, outstanding images from the TDS community, and inside information. Join our celebration of great photography!

I recently came across one of my favorite photos of Steve Jobs. I took this shot in Oct. 2005 during the Apple event at the California Theater in San Jose, CA where Steve introduced the Video iPod.

Steve Jobs proudly displaying the new Video iPod on Oct. 2005. Photo by Derrick Story. Click on image to enlarge.

What I like about this image, is the healthy looking Steve Jobs proudly holding up the new Video iPod that played movies as well as music on a 320x240, 2.5" TFT color screen with 260,000 colors. The 30 GB model was available for $299, while the 60 GB version sold for $399. I still have my 30 GB model, serving me well to this day as the music player for my Audi. A new version of iTunes was also unveiled, allowing users to buy music videos, TV shows, and even movies.

In all the years of my following the work of Steve Jobs, I remember this day as being one of the happiest. He looked so proud and confident. And he had complete control of a packed house of journalists. It was really something to experience.

The Digital Story on Facebook -- discussion, outstanding images from the TDS community, and inside information. Join our celebration of great photography!

For the Sept. '11 Photo Assignment, TDS shooters worked with digits while exploring the theme Hands and Feet. The imagery in this gallery is clever and skillful. And which one will be the SizzlPix Pick of the Month? (These will look great Sizzled!)

"Hands of the Orthopedist at 90" by George D Purvis III

Participate in This Month's Assignment

The Nov. 2011 assignment is "Black & White." Start working on your contribution now. Details can be found on the Member Participation page. Deadline is Nov. 30, 2011.

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 this month's assignment should be: "Photo Assignment: Nov. 2011." 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 Nov. assignment, and congratulations to all of the fine contributors for September.

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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: digital photography, The Digital Story, Photo Assignment

Of the interviews I've done, this chat with Leo Laporte on TWiT Photo goes down as one of my favorites.

Derrick Story (left) and Leo Laporte on TWiT Photo, Nov. 1, 2011

At Leo's studio in Petaluma, CA - fondly referred to as the Brick House - we discussed photography technique, gear, current technology, and how to become a better shooter. Frequent TWiT viewers know how gracious and intelligent Leo is, and he's in full stride during this episode. I think you'll really enjoy the show.

Here's the YouTube version:

You can also download the free episode in iTunes and listen at your convenience. Or, if you prefer the video version (more better!), then watch here or download the show.

Thanks to Leo and the entire TWiT gang for having me on the show.

The Digital Story on Facebook -- discussion, outstanding images from the TDS community, and inside information. Join our celebration of great photography!

I'm going to be on the set of TWiT Photo today joining their great crew talking about photography. We'll touch on some of my favorite shoots of all time (such as the Iceland adventure shown below), cover gear, and of course share some tips.

Woman in the Mist, Iceland - Photo by Derrick Story. Click on image for larger size.

The fun begins at 1pm PST. And if you can't sit in on the live show, they'll publish the video so you can catch up at your convenience. It's going to be a blast!

The Digital Story on Facebook -- discussion, outstanding images from the TDS community, and inside information. Join our celebration of great photography!

A big challenge for photographers these days is distinguishing themselves from others. A pretty landscape image just isn't going to do it. I have five suggestions to help you become more notorious. Not so much being bad, but maybe a bit different. If you're going to pull this off, you're going to need some tools. After all, the Sundance Kid was a good shot too.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (29 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. You can support this podcast by purchasing the TDS iPhone App for only $2.99 from the Apple App Store.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Black & White is the Nov. 2011 Photo Assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Member Participation page. Deadline for entry is Nov. 30, 2011.

TDS Nov. Aperture Workshop

I've organized an Aperture Workshop on Nov. 12th and 13th. Signups are in progress now. If you want a registration form, or just more information, drop me a line. BTW: We include a professional model shoot as part of this workshop. Just saying...

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

Red River Paper -- The $7.99 Sample Kit is back! And with free shipping.

Make Your Photos Sizzle with Color! -- SizzlPix is like High Definition TV for your photography.

Need a New Photo Bag? Check out the Lowepro Specialty Store on The Digital Story and use discount code LP20 to saven 20% at check out.