Magic Lights...

I have to admit I have turned out to be a bit of a blog Junkie. Have been using the Google reader to combine all the blogs I subscribe to into on little readers digest online version. I have my reader set up to only load the newest entry to a subscription blog.

One of the blogs a frequently read is the Strobist. In some incestual way all these blogs are linked together. I first started to read Scott Kelby’s blog Photoshop Insider. I have read most of his books and I am a huge fan of his Business Plan and work ethic, not to mention I enjoy his writing style and photography.

Next is Matt Kloskowski. Matt has the very popular Adobe Lightroom Killer Tips blog that I read. Also, Matt works for NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals). Now Scott Kelby is the editor and publisher of Photoshop User and Layers magazines, president and co-founder NAPP and author of many books, and co-author with Matt on a few books. So Scott is Matt’s boss.

Then there is Joe McNally’s blog. I am a new reader to his blog. He has been a photographer for over 30 years and his expertise and experience is educational. He has recently released a book called “The Moment it Clicks…”. Ever since I read this book I have become a fan of his work and a subscriber to his blog.

Joe is a regular contributor to NAPP’s Photoshop User magazine. He also has on-line classes on the new Kelby Training web site. Do you see where I am going with this?

This leads us to David Hobby. Yea that’s right his last name is Hobby. What a great name. Months ago I stumbled across his blog (Strobist) and found it interesting and fascinating. David is a master of off camera lighting. Either he uses a flash or strobe or studio lighting, but his focus is getting the light away from the camera. He is also a big fan of D.I.Y. (Do it Yourself) projects. I am currently working on a D.I.Y. project that I read about on his blog, that he got from another blog.

Back to the incestual part of this post. I read Joe McNally’s blog about his trip to Dubai to teach photography techniques. Also on the trip were Scott Kelby and David Hobby. David went into the desert one evening to help with a photo shot. I say this because he assisted in setting up the Nikon SB-800 Light Tree for off camera lighting.

I imagine it will only be a matter of time before Scott Kelby will Assimilate David Hobby into the NAPP Collective. If it hasn't happen already.

David on his blog this morning has added a link to another blog. This blog talks about the use of rope lighting to show action. Here is a picture and the link to the blog. It is well worth a read. I have some new ideas now.

Picture Pirates part Deux…

The saga continues with the blatant robbery of copyrighted photographs on the internet. I dug a little deeper and discovered that an on-line canvas and print company Only-Dreemin in the U.K. had been selling some of her work from their website and also on eBaY. As Rebekka explains “a friend was searching Ebay a came a across an on-line store offering to sell some of my photographs.” She continues to explain the pains and aches of the legal process of trying to protect her copyrighted artwork.

She obtained legal counsel. Cease and desist along with recompense letters were drawn up and sent to the offending company. The company Only-Dreenim did respond by removing the photographs from their website. However no monies had be paid to Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir for the photographs that had already been sold.

Only-Dreemin had explained that they paid a lot of money to the company that sold them the rights to the photographs. They continue to explain that they have tried to contact the company or individual, and discovered that they are no longer in business.

Since flickr’s site has allowed the offenders to download copyrighted work, I think flickr should also be held accountable for recompensing the photographer for the loss of property and legal fee’s that she has incurred.

mIsSiNg LiNk:
ePHOTOzine
Thomas Hawk

Express yourself...

Looking for a way to edit you photos, but you don’t want to spend a fortune on Photoshop? Well adobe has an online solution. In March Adobe released Photoshop Express. In its current state Photoshop Express is in Beta.

If you are looking for a full featured photo editing program like Photoshop CS you are going to be a little disappointed. Come on, did you really think Adobe was going to give the milk away for free, nope you are going to have to buy the cow. However Photoshop Express is a slick program all web based and has some cool features i.e. Slideshows.

Photoshop Express enables you to:
Download and Discuss

• Try the Photoshop Express beta now
• Discuss Photoshop Express in the forums
• Adobe Photoshop Express
• Online learning center



• Upload and store up to 2GB of photos. Fix photos with options including Crop & Rotate, Auto Correct, Exposure, Sharpen, Touchup, and Red-Eye Removal.
• Make your photos stand out with effects and enhancements including Pop Color, Hue, Black & White, Tint, Sketch, Distort, and Soft Focus.
• Show off your photos in My Gallery, where you can create customized displays and let visitors play and interact with them.
• Upload your photos on Photoshop Express to your blog or Facebook page.
  

You can now link Photoshop Express with your flickr, picassa, facebook and photobucket accounts. Check it out and download it for free. Adobe Photoshop Express.

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