Hazel's art exhibit

Hi Lisa,

My photos are now up at the Orange Library until Dec. 30th. I have a lot of new work in this exhibit. I am having a reception this Thursday, Dec. 3rd from 5-7 p.m. if anyone would like to stop by.

Regards,
Hazel

sale ends soon Borrowlenses.com

Ever want to try out a lens before you buy it?
need to use a particular lens just a couple of times a year?
Going on a special trip and need a big or special lens?

I have rented from Borrowlenses.com and they are very good. They make it simple to rent.



Get ready for fall savings with our coupons for discounts on photography gear rentals and lighting rentals. Valid 10/23/09 -12/31/09

Use Coupon code FALL5 at checkout to save 5% on rentals of Cameras, Lenses, Bags and accessories. Valid 10/23/09 -12/31/09 Terms and conditions may apply.

Save 5% on all photography lighting rentals. Use coupon code LIGHTING5 at checkout. Valid 10/23/09 -12/31/09 Terms and conditions may apply.

If you have never used our service before, we would like to welcome you to the BorrowLenses.com experience. Take 10% off your first order by using coupon code "First10".

Hummingbirds Magic in the Air

Hummingbirds Magic in the Air With Ann Johnson Prum
Thursday, December 3 at 5:00 pmYale Peabody Museum Auditorium
Preview Film Screening and Panel Discussion

Free Admission

Stunningly beautiful high-definition, high speed footage of hummingbirds in the wild combined with high-tech presentations of their remarkable abilities help us to understand the world of hummingbirds as we never have before. In this presentation producer and cinematographer Ann Johnson Prum previews her new one-hour documentary, “Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air.” The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Prum and two of the biologists featured in the film: Postdoctoral Associate Chris Clark and doctoral candidate Teresa Feo in the Yale Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. Yale Peabody Museum Curator of Vertebrate Zoology Richard O. Prum, the William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology, will moderate the discussion.

Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT
InfoTape (203) 432-5050 www.peabody.yale.edu/events

Ten Creative Flower Photography Tips

Ten Creative Flower Photography Tips
Amy Davies
Make your botanical shots stand out from the crowd with these simple guidelines
Flowers are one of the most popular subjects for amateurs and pros alike, but it can be difficult to capture something a little bit different to make your images really stand out. That’s why sometimes you need to get a little bit creative.
read the article and see the photos here:
http://www.photoradar.com/techniques/technique/ten-creative-flower-photography-tips

Archival articles

A Consumer Guide to Traditional and Digital Print Stability





A Consumer Guide to Understanding Permanence Testing





Preserving Digital Memory Files



Saving Digital Prints



Saving Digital Storage Media





A Consumer Guide for the Recovery of Water-Damaged Traditional and Digital Prints



A Consumer Guide to Modern Photo Papers





How Do You Preserve Your Ultrasound/Sonogram Print?
Most of these images are printed with thermal imaging paper. This paper can brown when exposed to the light for even a short time. They're also sensitive to heat and pressure. So keep these images in the dark, out of the attic, and be careful when handling. We strongly recommend you make copies of these important pictures with a photocopier or scanner and printer.






Going Green Fades Photos Faster
Many people are switching from incandescent to fluorescent light bulbs to save energy, but most don’t know that fluorescent fades photos faster. If you’re going green be sure to frame your photos behind glass. Glass cuts out much of the harmful UV energy from fluorescent bulbs and will help your picture remain pristine much longer.

Nik software sale

promotional code HOLIDAY2009 today to save 20% off any new product of your choice, or 10% off upgrades.*

Make the most of those holiday "hero" shots with the award-winning Nik Software tools used by photographers the world over.

To show our appreciation for your support over the years, we’re offering our lowest price ever on our most popular product – the Complete Collection Ultimate Edition! Pick up a copy for yourself, or give it as a gift!

For just $399, the Ultimate Edition gives you all five of our photographic solutions, all designed to save you loads of valuable time and money. Purchased separately you'd spend over $1000, but for the next 4 days, get them for a fraction of that cost! Use the promotional code HOLIDAY2009 while shopping to get your discount, but hurry! Offer ends promptly at midnight Monday, 11/30/09.

What you get with the Ultimate Edition:
5 high-quality, easy to use solutions for enhancing your images and fixing common photographic problems
Free copy of Viveza® 2, due in December 2009
A vast library of educational resources, including online video lessons and free live training webinars, to help you get the most out of your software
Compatibility with Adobe® Photoshop®, Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom®, and Apple® Aperture™ on the Macintosh® and Windows® platforms

Already have one or more Nik products? Use the promotional code HOLIDAY2009 today to save 20% off any new product of your choice, or 10% off upgrades.*

Shop our store >

Best of luck and much success with your photography!
Sincerely,
The Nik Software Team

winners of their 39th Annual Photo Contest

The editors of National Wildlife® are pleased to announce the winners of their 39th Annual Photo Contest.

A selection of the top 2009 images appears in the December/January issue of the magazine, and all of the winners can be viewed online at www.nwf.org/photozone/.

This year, two Grand Prize winners were selected. In the Amateur and Youth divisions, Steffen Binke of Moorobool, Australia received the $5,000 prize for his dramatic, up-close image of a dwarf minke whale.

Binke took the photo while on a dive trip in the Great Barrier Reef. Moments after its eyes emerged from the water for a “spy shot,” the whale approached the photographer for a closer look. Binke was only a few feet away when he used a fish-eye lens to make this award-winning image.

In the Professional division, Robert M. Palmer of Littleton, Colorado, received the $5,000 prize for his action shot of a bald eagle about to capture a starling.

While watching a group of bald eagles that congregated at a local cattle feed lot, he noticed the raptors were climbing into the air to catch starlings and blackbirds—not typical prey for the large birds. Palmer captured this dramatic midair scene of an eagle and a starling with his camera before his weeklong encounter ended and the eagles left the site.

See other winning images at www.nwf.org/photozone/.

The National Wildlife Photo Contest will celebrate its 40th year in 2010. This will be our biggest contest ever, with more than $30,000 in cash prizes! You can enter as many as 25 photos in any of seven categories in three divisions. The contest will open in late January and full information on how to enter will be available on NWF’s website at that time.

Photographers Ignite?

What’s Photographers Ignite?

HOT NEWS: We are now accepting proposals for Photographers Ignite sessions at WPPI 2010. If you are interested in being a presenter, please fill out our “Submit A Proposal” page!
What is Photographers Ignite? I’m glad you asked!

From Wikipedia: Ignite is a style of presentation where participants are given five minutes to speak on a subject accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for 15 seconds, and slides are automatically advanced. The first Ignite was held in 2006 in Seattle, Washington, and was sponsored by O’Reilly Media and MAKE magazine.

Photographers Ignite is all about Photography!

Les Campbell's free Sunday slide shows

Lisa -

I picked up Les Campbell's Fall Flyer for his free Sunday slide shows in the gallery and here are the remaining dates and programs for this season. The Gallery opens at 1:00 PM and the free slide programs begin at 4:00 PM. If you wish to call ahead, Les's phone number is: 413-323-7405.

Sunday, November 29, 2009:
"For the Love of the Earth"
45 min long
A wide screen tone poem of the earth with a minimum of narration.

December 6, 2009:
"Touch the Earth"
70 min long
Music and a narrative expressing respect and appreciation for the culture and philosophy of the native peiople of North America.

December 13, 2009:
"Quabbin - For the Joy of It"
40 min long
Quabbin's history, wildlife, and scenery are blended with musical selections creating atone poem of exception beauty and spirituality. A special moment is provided by a readin of "Reservation", a Quabbin inspired poem by poet Candace Curran or Athol, MA.

Les's home and his gallery are located on Ballou Street, immediately off MA Rt 9 in Belchertown, MA, and Ballou Street is 1/2 mile east of the entrance to the Quabbin Reservoir Visitor's center and 1/4 mile west of the Ware/Belchertown, MA, town lines (the Swift River).

Les cordially invites all to view these wonderful multiprojector slide shows.

Gary

The Lighthouses of Maine Photo Workshop

Lerro Productions Presents: The Lighthouses of Maine Photo Workshop

Only 6 spots left!!

Lighthouses were made to illuminate the night sky, so why not photograph them in their natural environment? The lighthouses in the state of Maine are some of the most spectacular in the United States. The rocky cliffs, variety of different lighthouse designs and winter weather are ideal reasons to make this trip one of our first workshops. Join us in our unique adventure as we travel along the coast of Maine and photograph the lighthouses from sunset to sunrise. Our group will have special access into restricted areas as well as a detailed schedule that will put us at the right place at the right time. Unlike our railroad photo charters, this lighthouse workshop will be a learning experience with teaching and photo critiques. Patrons will learn about long exposure (bulb) photography, how to mix ambient light with the unique flash patterns of each lighthouse as well as other night photography techniques. Don't miss out on this unique experience. There are only have 6 spots left so if you are interested, please contact me. I'm offering a down deposit option for those of you who want to reserve a spot but can't afford to purchase the ticket at this moment.

To see pictures and read more information on the Lighthouses of Maine Workshop, please visit: http://www.lerroproductions.com/maineworkshop.html

If you have any questions or concerns, fell free to ask. Regards, Pete Lerro

Hummingbirds, Magic in the Air

Hummingbirds, Magic in the Air
With Ann Johnson Prum
Thursday, December 3 5:00 pm

Yale Peabody Museum Preview Film Screening and Panel DiscussionFree Admission
Hummingbirds are one of nature's most interesting paradoxes: the tiniest of birds, they yet qualify as among the toughest and most energetic creatures on the planet. New knowledge gained from current scientific breakthroughs in hummingbird biology makes this a perfect time to focus on these shimmering, flashing jewels of the natural world. Stunningly beautiful high-definition, high speed footage of hummingbirds in the wild combined with high-tech presentations of their remarkable abilities help us to understand the world of hummingbirds as we never have before.In this presentation producer and cinematographer Ann Johnson Prum previews her new one-hour documentary, "Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air," which was commissioned by the PBS series Nature. Ms. Prum's Coneflower Productions, based in New Haven, produces science and natural history programs for broadcast.

Her documentary "Creating the Peabody's Torosaurus: Dinosaur Science, Dinosaur Art" won a regional Emmy in 2007 at the National Television Academy's 30th Boston/New England Emmy Awards.The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Prum and two of the biologists featured in the film: Postdoctoral Associate Chris Clark and doctoral candidate Teresa Feo in the Yale Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. Yale Peabody Museum Curator of Vertebrate Zoology Richard O. Prum, the William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology, will moderate the discussion.

Virtual Painter 5 plugin

The trial version of the Virtual Painter 5 plugin can be downloaded from this website. You can try a free trial and check it out (plugin only costs $55). You can view a short tutorial on using VP5 here: http://www.digiretus.com/tippek/cikkiro.php?SORSZAM=143

From their website:

You can turn your favorite digital photos into realistic looking paintings such as watercolor, oil painting, pencils, etc. with a few simple mouse clicks. No difficult setup is required. Your photos are turned into paintings in front of your eyes in a few seconds.

Virtual Painter 5 could not be any easier to use -- all you need to do is to select a digital photograph, taken with a digital camera, scanned with a scanner, or downloaded from the web, select one of the 16 painting styles (also called painters or filters), choose the material on which the painting will be created (canvas, wood, stucco, etc.), and let Virtual Painter 5 do the work for you.

Virtual Painter 5 is not a painting tool that you must master to create your own works of art. Rather, the filters it offers are like agents, virtual artists who have their own characteristic techniques and methods. You can preview their art and even request a few changes, but you can leave the hard work to them. Sit back and watch them paint. You're sure to be pleasantly surprised, time after time.


16 painters at your command!
Watercolor
Oil Painting
Gouache
Color Pensil
Patel
Rectangles
Triangles
Impasto
Pointillism
Silk Screen
Collage
Drawing
Airbrush
Embroidery
Gothic Oil Painting
Fauvist Oil Painting
See each painter's profile here.

The Plug-In version of Virtual Painter 5 runs as a "plug-in" to popular graphic applications such as Adobe® Photoshop®. Plug-ins are software that run inside another application to enhance and extend the application’s capabilities. The application plug-ins run inside is called the “master application" or " host application”. Please see below for a list of supported master applications. In order to use the Plug-In version of Virtual Painter 5, you need either one of these.

If you have Photoshop Elements and install the Plug-In version, Virtual Painter 5 should be added under the Filter menu of Photoshop Elements. This means that while you work with Photoshop Elements, you can easily run Virtual Painter 5 and apply its artistic effects. You don't have to switch between the two applications, everything will be done within Photoshop Elements.

26 Books Every Photographer Should Own

26 Books Every Photographer Should Own
From Ansel Adams to Annie Leibovitz, your library is not complete without these books.

A new PSA Nature Division definition

Thanks Bill for passing this along!

A new PSA Nature Division definition of what constitutes nature was adopted at the recent PSA Convention held in West Yellowstone.

The new definition is as follows:

"Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict observations from all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archeology, in such a fashion that a well informed person will be able to identify the subject material and to certify as to its honest presentation. The story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining a high technical quality. Human elements shall not be present, except where those human elements enhance the nature story. The presence of scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals is permissible. Photographs of artificially produced hybrid plants or animals, mounted specimens, or obviously set arrangements, are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement. No techniques that add to, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are permitted. Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without changing the nature story or the pictorial content are permitted. All adjustments must appear natural.”

This new definition means we have new freedoms to use digital techniques to enhance our nature images. In two recent communications Dan Charbonnet added the following clarifying comments which help to understand the new rules:

“For most people, this means that the various HDR techniques are now allowed and it means blurring the background is now allowed, provided the results look natural.”

“All images must be considered “Digital Realism”, where a photographer may perform any enhancements and modifications that improve the presentation of the image to make it more closely represent the original scene photographed but that does not change the truth of the original nature story. Cropping and horizontal flipping (equivalent to reversing a slide) are acceptable modifications. Removing spots due to dust on your sensors is allowed. Removing rounded slide mount corners on scanned images is allowed. Adding elements to your images, removing pictorial elements from your image other than by cropping, combining separate images or rearranging and/or cloning and/or copying elements in your image are not still acceptable and can lead to disqualification of your image in the competition.

Since HDR techniques and Helicon Focus techniques are techniques that enhance the presentation without changing the pictorial content, they are now considered allowable techniques. Please note that all adjustments must still look natural. Just because a technique is legitimate does not guarantee the image it was used on will get a good score.”

Tim Grey Thanksgiving "Thank You!" Sale

Thanksgiving "Thank You!" Sale

Thursday is the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, which is a time to express thanks for our family, friends, and good fortunes. As such, it seems appropriate to say "thank you" to you, the readers of my Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter. I'm very grateful for the support and encouragement (and even praise) I receive from many readers throughout the year. So, as a way of saying "thank you" to all of my readers, I'm offering a special discount of $5 off all orders placed between now and Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 26th). Whether you want to get one (or all) of my video DVDs to help you master Photoshop, subscribe (or renew a subscription) to my Digital Darkroom Quarterly print newsletter, or sign up as a member of the Ask Tim Grey eNewsletter to take advantage of special benefits and discounts, simply place an order at www.timgrey.com/order/ and I will automatically take $5 off the total price for your order. This special discount is in addition to the discount paid Ask Tim Grey Members receive off my instructional video DVDs.

Thank you for your continued support, and for providing me with the opportunity to help you make the most of your photographic images. I feel very fortunate to be able to make a living doing what I love, and the kind words I often hear from readers who feel my efforts has improved their photography is very encouraging. Thank you.

Sensor cleaning

Are there nasty spots on your images?
Is you sensor filthy and you are afraid to touch it?
Do you spend countless hours in Photoshop fixing the dark spots in your blue sky?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, let the pros at BorrowLenses.com do the dirty work for you. Place the order online for the sensor cleaning and we'll get in touch with you on the process of getting your camera to us. We work on all digital Nikon and Canon bodies.

thementorblog.net

thementorblog.net is a free website that features six of the country's top professional photographers who share new insights each week on what and how they are shooting to stay as profitable as possible.

Inkjet Printing Done Right Seminar

Inkjet Printing Done Right -- Calumet seminar (NYC) http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/info/summary.aspx?e=cf70d5cc-d896-4ec6-9bb1-013866cc6080

You have the right photo printer, but are you using it the right way? After this seminar, you will be able to make prints at home that look like they came from a custom photo lab. We’ll discuss printer technologies, basic color management and the proper use of the print driver.

You will be thrilled with your end results!

About the Instructor
Eduardo Angel was born and raised in Colombia, spent adolescence traveling to 500 cities in over 30 countries and is now based in Brooklyn, New York. He has a Bachelor's degree in Architecture as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He has been exhibited and published extensively and among his clients he has the New York Magazine and the Chicago Architectural Foundation. He has experience with studio and location lighting, color management, RAW workflow, wide format printing, and all the major professional digital manipulation and shooting applications.

Fee: $35.00

Kenai Fjords National Park Photo Tour

Since I live at the entrance to Kenai Fjords, and spend much of my summer in the Park, a tour here is a natural. The problem is, I didn’t want to be limited to day tours, hotels and restaurants. I have spent many nights on boats in Kenai Fjords, and it didn’t matter if I was on a large fishing vessel, the Park Service boat, a research vessel, or in friends pleasure crafts, every trip was a memorable experience with amazing photo opportunities. By spending the night, we can be in the fjords when the light is best, the animals most active, and with the other tour boats back in Seward- perfect!

So this is a 3 day, 2 night all inclusive boat tour limited to just 3 guests which will maximize our interaction and learning. No point in going on and on, you can read about all the juicy details here: Kenai Fjords National Park Photo Tour.

Stay tuned for a similar, but larger tour (4 guest / 4 days) into Prince William Sound, along with another 4 day, 4 guest tour concentrating on coastal brown bears and puffin!

Calumet FREE UPS Ground shipping on all orders $100 or more

Calumet Beat the holiday shopping rush, and we'll give you FREE UPS Ground shipping on all orders $100 or more.

No coupon code is needed; place your order, and we'll take care of the rest.
Offer valid on all orders with UPS Ground shipping only and must be shipped within the 48 contiguous United States. Excludes hazardous, truck, and expedited shipping methods. Order must be placed during the promotional period (11/17/2009 through 11/25/2009). Orders will ship when items are available; normal rates apply on pre-scheduled deliveries outside the promotional period.