Hi ,

With the unbelievable amount of photography related content that hits the world every day, I wonder how I ever manage to find time to sleep, eat or dress myself. Seriously, I could soak up inspirational photography stuff 24-7 and still not be full. Maybe you could too. Of course, if we did that, we’d never get out to take photos for ourselves, and we’d probably starve from lack of food and our own creativity. 

That’s why I try and filter through some the really good stuff I find each week that I think is worth passing, so that you don’t have to. That’s right, I’m taking one for the team so that you have time to go out and shoot. Me? I don’t sleep. I just shoot, edit, write, repeat. At least it feels that way sometimes.

Anyway, let’s get to it.

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Finding Oregon

Earlier this week, I saw an amazing time lapse video that was made by Ben Canales, John Waller, Steven Engman and Blake Johnson. It’s called Finding Oregon and it’s unbelievably good. Jaw droppingly good. You absolutely want to watch this. It’s just one example of what’s possible when you put your creativity into overdrive. Even if you don’t shoot time lapse, you will be entertained and awed. I guarantee it. And as you watch, keep in mind that it was all shot with still cameras.

eBooks

Next on the list, a brand new eBook by Photographer Jim Goldstein. You might recall, I featured a few of his posts on my blog back in September. Jim’s a great photographer, a great writer and he has a very inquisitive, expert mind. His book, “Photographing the 4^th Dimension - Time” is about using slow shutter and video techniques for “High Impact Photography.” 

He starts with the basics, explaining the actual part that light plays in photography and how you control it. He then goes into human perception, detailing how our eyes and brain perceive the world and how you can effectively use the camera as a time machine. 

His method chapters include making basic long exposures, light painting, composites, star trails, sequences, strobe effects, maximizing motion with still, and of course, time lapse. He also touches on cinemagraphics, or video effects for still photography. 

The book is filled with loads of practical information, charts, tables, gear recommendations and awesome photographs. He’s also included a “Field Checklist” that you can print out, fold up and stick in your camera bag, for handy reference on location. 

I’ve been following Jim’s work for awhile and he did an excellent job on this book. Photographing the 4^th Dimension - Time is packed with great information and highly recommended for anyone who enjoys playing around with long exposures, motion and time lapse. And if you use discount code IEPT5, you can save 25% through saturday. Click here to check the book.

FREE EBOOK: Another great ebook that you should absolutely get is 11 Ways to Improve your Photography, the latest offering by Craft and Vision. It’s awesome and it’s FREE. No excuse not to get it. Download it here.

Speaking of eBooks, I’ve updated Going Fast With Light with some brand new content. I’ve also fixed some errors that were discovered after publication. If you’ve already bought a copy, you should have gotten the email notice and link to the new version. Let me know if you didn’t get that and I’ll make sure you get the update. If you have’t had a chance to check it out yet, why not treat yourself to an early holiday gift that will help you explore a new direction with your photography?

Photoflex

And while we’re on the subject of lighting, I’m excited to announce that I’ve just signed on with Photoflex to be one of their Featured Showcase Photographers. I’ve been using Photoflex gear for years, it’s made well and it lasts. In fact, I’m still using some of the gear I bought 20 years ago. Look for a featured page on their website about me as well as lighting tutorials in the coming months. I’ll keep you posted on this.

Photo Workshops

As we get close to ending 2011, it’s time to start thinking of next year’s projects. I’m looking into holding my own photo workshop sometime in 2012. I don’t have details about this yet, but I do have details about a workshop that sounds like a really great opportunity: Digital Photography Workshop in France.

Held in the region of Lot, which was featured last year in National Geograpic as one of France’s best kept secrets, the Digital Photo Workshop is taught by english speaking folks who have lived in France for 10 years. The know the region like the back of their hand and in the process of teaching you photography, the take you to the kinds of places that are off the beaten path. 

I’ve gained tremendous experiences and memories attending photo workshops outside of the US, so you might want to think about putting this on your 2012 calendar. Click here for more info.

What I Use to Make My Website

Finally, I’m celebrating one year since I switched over to the new website format. People often ask me what I use to build it, and so here’s the answer: For years, I dealt with smatterings of WISYWIG, bits of HTML, tidbits of Javascript, which I can’t even decipher, and WAY too much time spent updating photo galleries and pages. 

Enter Photocrati. 

Photocrati is a Wordpress based “Super Theme” that allows for great customization, personalized logos, eCommerce, very easy updating, blogging, and maintenance. I do my own website. All of it, and as buys as I am, I need a system that allows for quick, painless updates. Photocrati gives me all that, and since I use Wordpress every day for my blog and know it like the back of my hand, I stay familiar with it. 

It’s not a free theme, but it’s well worth the very reasonable price. Plus Photocrati support humanitarian photographers around the world. They’re good people who make a great product. 

Since I’ve gotten busier, I’ve learned to outsource some things in my photography business. My website is one of them. I still have total control, but by outsourcing the design to Photocrati, I save myself so much time and effort, not to mention headaches. Every lost entire days trying to figure out some stupid HTML code that isn’t working? Yea, me too.

If you’re thinking of redoing or updating your site, I’d consider Photocrati. Take a look and see how the theme works.

That’s it for this week. Soak up the recent blog posts and keep enjoying December!

Thanks for reading!

Dan

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