Over the course of an event, such as WPPI 2011 in Las Vegas, I notice little adjustments along the way. Here's an example that made me smile.

On Day 3 at WPPI, the body painters were wearing undergarments. Click on image for larger size.

Earlier in the show, when I walked by the Unique Photo booth, they were body painting models, but with no undergarments on top. This has been a popular attention grabber at Vegas photo shows in the past. Aside from the attractive models, the artists are quite good. It's amazing at how fast they work, and how effective the results are.

Then, on Wednesday, I passed by the booth again on my way to see Brian Smith present at the Sony booth, and I noticed that the models were now sporting bras beneath the body paint. Looks like, even in Vegas, you have to cover up these days.

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Out of Focus Car Lights - Las Vegas, originally uploaded by The Digital Story.

This image was captured from an overpass on Las Vegas Ave., looking down at the cars and lights on the street. I was shooting with a Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L on a Canon 60D. I opened the aperture all the way to f/2.8, then manually defocused the lens to create this abstract bokeh composition.

I'm seriously considering making a SizzlPix of this image. I think it would be fascinating to hang on the studio wall.

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The Epson R3000 Inkjet Printer features high-capacity cartridges that hold 25.9 ml of ink each, more than most printers in this class. I was able to pop the hood on one today at WPPI and take this shot, allowing you to see for yourself.

Indeed the cartridges look much bigger than those in my R2400. Epson also confirmed that they are on schedule for a March delivery of the first batch of R3000s. The street price will be $849.

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Statue of Liberty, Las Vegas, originally uploaded by The Digital Story.

As soon as the Expo Hall closes at WPPI, I head outdoors for some late afternoon shooting. In this case, I liked facing the sunset and working with the interesting shapes of Las Vegas.

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I'm recording this podcast as I'm stepping out of my hotel room in Las Vegas for day 2 of the WPPI show at the MGM Grand Hotel. I wanted to hold off on recording this episode until I've spent some time here, so you're getting my impressions of the event as close to "live" as possible.

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You can also download the podcast here (21 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

Loved One is the February 2011 Photo Assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Member Participation page. Deadline for entry is Feb. 28, 2011.

TDS Summer 2011 Photography Workshop

We're making plans now for the Summer 2011 TDS Photography Workshop. If you want your name on the reserve list, just drop me a line.

More Ways to Participate

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

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

You don't have to be a guy to use a Lowepro S&F Technical vest, as proven by fashion photographer Vered Koshlano. In this Lowepro blog post, she explains why in a very fun 1-minute video recorded on the show floor at WPPI.

You can see Vered's work at www.byvk.com.

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"This is an HDR shot with a Canon 60D using a Canon wide-angle 10-22mm at 10mm and the ISO set to 800," writes Keith Burrows. "I used Aperture 3 and HDR Pro plugin by NIK software."

Moonrise, Palm Beach, Florida by Keith Burrows

"This section of beach was lit by giant spotlights from atop the seaside condos behind me. It almost made the water look like it had an underwater pool light illuminating it. I shot quite a few that night and will post them soon on my new photography site.

Keith is an associate Pastor at Acts 2 Worship Center A/G with a passion to capture the wonder & splendor of God's creation.

This is our 209th Grab Shot! Wow. If you want to review the collection that began back in 2006, go to our Grab Shots page.

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.

The Digital Story Podcast App is the best way to stream or download weekly TDS podcast episodes. No more syncing your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or even your Android phone just to get a podcast. And the best part is, The Digital Story Podcast App is your way to help support this show. Download it today!

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I'll be in rocking Las Vegas next week for the WPPI Convention at the MGM Grand Hotel. In addition to helping photographers in the Lowepro booth (#124), I plan on reporting on interesting things I see and people who I meet. I'm also going to record next week's TDS podcast from the MGM Grand.

Canon has the largest booth area, followed by Nikon and Sony. But one of the things I like about WPPI is that the expo attracts lots of smaller businesses doing creative things. I hope to share some of those goodies with you next week.

If you plan on attending the event, please stop by the Lowepro booth to say hello, or send me a Tweet at Derrick_Story.

Next stop... Las Vegas!

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As we wait for large aperture prime lenses from Zeiss and Sigma for our micro four thirds cameras, we can still create those velvety soft backgrounds right now. I've been testing adapters for my Olympus PEN E-PL2, and it's a lot of fun.

A Canon 50mm f/1.2 mounted on an Olympus E-PL2 to create this soft background effect. Click on image for larger version.

The process is quite simple. You get an adapter that allows you to mount a particular brand of lens on your camera. I've tested Zeiss and Canon adapters for the E-PL2. This allows me to use wide aperture primes on the petite Olympus to achieve effects I can't get with the kit lens.

Since the PEN cameras have image stabilization built-in to the body, any lens you put on the body becomes stabilized. You have to manually focus, and you don't get any aperture metadata. But what you do get is the ability to create shots at wide aperture.

If you want to create a big time look with your little camera, investigate adapters for any prime lenses you may have stashed in the closet.

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Hiding pictures in iPhoto '11 is a helpful technique when you want to keep an image in your library, but you don't want others to see it. It's easy to set up, and just as simple to turn on and off. In this short video, I use the technique to hide a picture of me taken after a week of Oktoberfest in Munich.

More Training Available

There are now two ways to learn and have more fun with iPhoto '11: my iPhoto '11 Essential Training ONLINE at Lynda.com, and the new iPhoto '11 Essential Training DVD that you can purchase from the Lynda.com Store for $49.95 US.

You also may want to watch Creating Smart Albums in iPhoto '11. It's a very handy technique.

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