Scott's Photo Blog

Amazing News: We Were Nominated for Two Podcast Awards

Thank you all for the incredibly kind and supportive comments you left on the heels of our leaving The Podcast Network. We're pretty unhappy with some of the unfortunately-worded characterizations of us and our show that have been made by TPN, but we're trying our best not to respond. We don't want to be in an endless back and forth.

Besides, it would be like critiquing a calendar from 1987: It's over. Time to move on. One of my favorite sayings in situations like this is "Bitterness is a poison you swallow in the hopes it will kill someone else." We have no personal animus towards TPN or anyone there. May they live and be well.

On happier news, Michael and I hope to announce any day now the name and home of our new photography podcast. Since we can no longer reach the supportive and enthusiastic community that formed around The Digital Photography Show, we'll be counting on you to help us get out the word about it.

In the meantime, if you'd like to help us out, please consider voting for us in The Podcast Awards. Yes, thanks to your fantastic support, The Digital Photography Show was, for the second year in a row, nominated for two Podcast Awards!

One of our nominations is for the all-important "People's Choice Award," which is the equivalent of the "Best Overall" award, and the second is, somewhat mysteriously, in the “Best Mobile Phone Formatted Podcast” category. Since we don’t do anything special to format our show for mobile phones, we’re not quite sure how we wound up there, but, hey, we’ll take what we can get! At least we’re not nominated in the “Best Podcasts to Listen to with the Volume Turned Off” award.

While our time on The Digital Photography Show is done, the award recognizes the work of the past year, so we’re going to go for it. Moreover, since we can’t get our new show mentioned on The Digital Photography Show homepage or in the audio stream, receiving the Podcast Award could really help us draw people’s attention to where to find us. Plus: Bragging rights!

You can vote once a day through November 6, 2008, in this year’s Podcast Awards. Tell everyone you know! Since every other show will be allowed to promote themselves on their actual podcasts, as opposed to us, who have no voice, it’s going to be an uphill battle to win this thing. But, hey, uphill battles build character right? And they burn more calories, too.

So vote today and everyday for The Digital Photography Show in the two categories in which we are nominated. Vote here.

And stay tuned for information about what’s next for me and Michael.

Never Can Say Goodbye: Why You'll Never Hear the Farewell Episode of The Digital Photography Show

Three days ago, I posted here that Michael and I would be leaving The Digital Photography Show to launch our own podcast. I told you that our farewell episode, which Michael and I had already taped and sent to The Podcast Network (TPN), would be posting soon.

Unfortunately, it appears that episode will never air. But we don't want you to think it was our choice to end it like that!

Here's how it went down. We wrote TPN on September 26th that we would no longer be doing the show. Upon receiving my note, TPN immediately changed the passwords to our account, effectively silencing our voices. That rendered us unable to post any blog notes or new episodes.

That immediate suspension of our ability to communicate with you came as a huge surprise to me and Michael - that was not at all the reaction we expected.

Despite that, based on discussions we had with TPN, we believed would be permitted to post a final episode and note. We really wanted to say goodbye to our listeners in the actual show, since the vast majority of them don't read this blog.

In the final episode we taped for TPN, which you apparently will never hear, we said our goodbyes. We let everyone know where they could find us in the future (which is, for now, right here on www.scottsphotoblog.com). We said we would be starting a new show soon, and that it would feature the same kind of commentary, review, instruction and interviews that we love doing. We expressed our appreciation to TPN for giving us our start, and we wished the best to any new hosts who might take over The Digital Photography Show (exactly as I did in my October 10th post here).

I have to take a moment for a brief aside here. Since it breaks up the story of Why You'll Never Hear Our Last Episode, I'll indent it.

There's was one moment from our last show I really wish you could have heard.

After we ran through all our thank-you's (we actually had more of a "script" for the show than we usually do, since we didn't want to leave anyone out) Michael said there was one more person he wanted to thank. As we had already written and rewritten the list a number of times, I had no idea who he could be thinking of.

"Who?" I asked him, wondering who we could have overlooked.

"You," Michael said. He went on to say a couple of nice things then, which I really can't remember because, to be honest, I was too concentrated on not choking up.

As you can imagine, taping our last episode - saying goodbye to all of you and and putting closure to something which had been such a highlight of our lives - well, the whole thing was pretty emotional to begin with.

Leave it to Michael to almost push me over the edge.

And yes, I said nice things about him too, none of which were sufficient to let the guy know just how much I love and value him, though. No point in both of us blubbering.

Those of you who know us know that we would never have recorded a show that was ugly, unkind or unfit for posting. We just wanted to put closure to the endeavor which had been our passion for two and half years now.

We sent our farewell episode to TPN three days ago. We were subsequently informed that they wouldn't post the show, nor would they post the note we had written. Instead, they put up their own notice.

Their notice didn't mention that Michael and I would be doing a new show and it didn't link back here. Hence, the vast majority of people who listened to the show or even read the TPN blog will never know where to find us or that we'll be back on the air soon. They'll just think we disappeared and left without even the courtesy of a "so long."

They'll think "oh, those guys went on and on about how we were a community of friends and then they just quit without even saying goodbye. Jerks."

You can imagine how that makes us feel.

I won't try to characterize, explain, defend or criticize TPN's decisions in all this. It is what it is. Once TPN changed our passwords, they had total control over what got posted on The Digital Photography Show, and they have chosen to exercise their control in this way. Give us the serenity to accept those things we can't control, right? And move on.

But we did want to let you know that it was never our intention to so abruptly disappear or leave without saying "goodbye." If you know any other listeners of The Digital Photography Show, will you let them know too, please?

So, that's our story.

Starting our new show will be harder without the ability to tell listeners of The Digital Photography Show where to find us. But Michael and I are resourceful. We've also made many wonderful friends in the digital photography business over the years - you know who some of them are. Heck, you are some of them.

We'll be counting on all of you to help us get out the word about our new show. Stay tuned! And thanks for all the nice comments and emails. We really appreciate your support, understanding and patience through all this.

Show Notes for The Digital Photography Show #98

For those of you who haven't heard the podcast yet, Show 98 was our last episode of The Digital Photography Show. Awwww....

(PS: I'm posting this on the morning of October 10; it could be another day before the show is available on The Podcast Network.)

It's really hard and sad to say goodbye, but it was time for us to move on. The good news, though, is that we'll be back!

Michael and I are launching a new digital photography podcast - our goal is to begin in early November.

We're laying the groundwork now for a great show. Please stay tuned in here at Scott's Photo Blog - we'll announce where we're going as soon as we can.

In the meantime, thank you all for making The Digital Photography Show such a great experience for us. Thanks to The Podcast Network for giving us our start and a place to call home. Thanks to all the wonderful guests, advertisers and sponsors who contributed such incredible content and support.

And most of all, thanks to all our listeners for sticking with us. What a great time we've had! You guys are the best, and we hope you all join us for our new show.

We understand  The Podcast Network may be continuing The Digital Photography Show with new hosts. Our best wishes to them - if they have even half as much fun as we did, they're in for a great ride.

If you'd like to share some parting words for us, please leave your comments below. We no longer have access to our account on The Podcast Network.

In the immortal words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, "we'll be back!" (Well, those weren't exactly his words, but you know what we mean). Check back soon at www.scottsphotoblog.com.

Show Notes for The Digital Photography Show #97

Welcome to the expanded director's cut version of the The Digital Photography Show show notes.

Please consider nominating us for The Podcast Awards. Last year, we were so flattered and thrilled that you all got us nominated in two categories: People's Choice and Cultural/Arts. You can find the entry form here, and since they don't mind if you vote everyday, we don't either!

Today we're joined by Kerry Garrison of CameraDojo, a great resource for digital photography reviews and tutorials. Kerry talks about - and gives away - a sweet R Strap Camera Strap.

Don't forget to send us an answer to the trivia question by the date mentioned on the show for a chance to win the R Strap Camera Strap. You can write us here TheDigitalPhotographyShow@gmail.com. Be sure to put "CameraDojo" in your subject line.

Kerry and I also discuss Wescott lighting kits and why you should spend more on your lenses than you do on your camera.

As usual, Michael and I cover the world in digiphoto news. CNET had a video review of the upcoming Sony Alpha A900 which you can find here. As usual, Michael and I had different perspectives on CNET's review. I thought it was pretty damning; Michael is more inclined to hold his judgment. In the end, we both kind of agree - we'll  have to see more detailed reviews before deciding if Sony's first foray into the wonderful world of full frame sensors is a hit or miss.

I raved about the brilliantly-named Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28, a moniker which just rolls off your tongue, doesn't it? Read this review, which I found through the always-interesting Cameratown.

Don't those specs sound incredible? An18x optical zoom lens, 10 megapixel sensor, 2.7-inch LCD screen, face detection, a  mechanism that starts to focus even before you hit the shutter, RAW shooting ability and high-definition 1280 x 720p video? This sounds like a great camera for when I don't want to schlep the whole DSLR, but still want a wide range and the superior processing latitude you get with a RAW file. I may hop on the waiting list at Amazon.com, because they have the most liberal return policy I've ever encountered - they'll pretty much take back anything within the first thirty days, no questions asked. If you click through this link, you can join me there, or see a couple of other merchant choices, most of which have the camera in stock today.

Subscribe to The Digital Photography Show by Email and you'll get the posts announcing each new show in your inbox. That's gotta be better than most of your spam, no?

Wanna participate in the show?

• Send us an email at TheDigitalPhotographyShow@gmail.com.
• Leave a comment at www.TheDigitalPhotographyShow.com
• Call in a voice mail to US 301-637-7767
• If you're on MySpace, you can friend me!
• Join the listener-run (thanks Laurel and Frank!) Flickr group Friends of The Digital Photography Show at http://flickr.com/groups/thedps.
• Check out my first novel on Amazon.com - First You Fall. Fair warning -it's only for grownups!

Thanks! Scott

The Digital Photography Show #96 - OnOne Software's $500 Giveaway

Today we're joined by Mike Wong of OnOneSoftware, who gives away a copy of the $499 Plug-In Suite 4. I say "$499" because that's what they charge for the bundle; if you bought the plug-ins individually, they'd cost over $1000! You can get the show here. 

"Suite?" They should call it "sweeeeet!" Cause it is. ("Sweet" instead of "suite." Get it? Funny, right? That's the kind of phonetic humor I just can't do on the show. See what you're missing?) Even better, although it's called the Plug-In Suite 4, it has six great plugs:

1. Genuine Fractals 5 Print Pro for high-quality enlargements,
2. PhotoTools 1 Professional Edition
3. Mask Pro 4 for removing backgrounds
4. PhotoFrame 3.1 Professional Edition for the perfect finishing touch to your photo
5. PhotoTune 2 for professional quality color correctionz
6. FocalPoint 1 for adding selective blur and vignettes to your photos.

Schwing! Be sure to send us an answer to the trivia question we ask on the show by Sept 30, 2008, for a chance to win this fantastic bundle: TheDigitalPhotographyShow@gmail.com.

Here's just a little something something I played with in FocalPoint. This effect took about 15 seconds to apply:

Before Focal Point:

After Focal Point: 

These is just my quick example, which would be pretty good if, for some reason, you wanted to call attention to the "staff only" warning on the sign. I used Focal Point's blurring capability to put the focus on the lettering. While I was in the FC control panel, I also threw in some vignetting to darken the edges a bit. See how the blur and light work together to draw your eye to what I want you to focus on? It was so easy. This is a plug-in I'm going to love playing with.

Visit the Focal Point homepage for some better examples and the free video tutorials.

In other news, Michael and I talked about the Canon 50D and the teaser ad for a possible Canon 5D replacement. Of course, that camera is just imagined at this point, but you can buy a 50D today!  Nikon's also been making news with the D90. David Pogue from the NY Times thinks the video capacity of this bad boy is nifty.

If you just click here to Subscribe to TPN :: The Digital Photography Show by Email you'll get the posts announcing each new show in you email. That's gotta be better than most of your spam, no? We’d love to hear what you thought of the show either here on the blog or at TheDigitalPhotographyShow@gmail.com. Wanna participate in the show?

• Send us an email at TheDigitalPhotographyShow@gmail.com.
• Leave a comment at www.TheDigitalPhotographyShow.com
• Call in a voice mail to US 301-637-7767
• If you're on MySpace, you can friend me!
• Check me out on Facebook, too!
• Join the listener-run (thanks Laurel and Frank!) Flickr group Friends of The Digital Photography Show at http://flickr.com/groups/thedps.
• Check out my first novel on Amazon.com - First You Fall. Fair warning -it's only for grownups!

Thanks! Scott

Show Notes for The Digital Photography Show #94

Here's a recap of what Michael and I talk about on this week's episode of The Digital Photography Show: 

• Nikon's newest DSLR - the full-frame D700. This one looks really sweet.
• The Yahoo/Getty Deal - and my first contest right here on Scott's Photo Blog. Check it out here.
• A photo service that you may want to think twice about. Just whose photos are they, anyway.
• The sexy but mysteriously-priced AniMoto. Michael and I both thought this service looked pretty slick, but we were frustrated when we couldn't figure out how much it costs. Thanks to listener Richard H for telling us about Animoto.
• Listener Matthew Boyle's 100 Portraits.
  
• A great-sounding little clip on diffuser - the Puffer. Thanks for the tip, Steve!
• Check out how good Laurel's gotten! Michael and I want to know how she gets such great lighting.
• You often get to hear me do interviews - if you want to find out how I do on the other side of the mike, check out this interview with me about my new book, First You Fall.

Show Notes for The Digital Photography Show #93 - Face to Face with Rick Sammon

If you listened to this week’s episode, you heard that we lost the first half of our show, in which Michael and I covered a variety of photo-news, when the audio went wonky on the iMac That Ate My Life. 

Arrghh! And I thought Macs were supposed to be perfect!

But, luckily, we still had our interview with the terrific Rick Sammon. If you haven't heard it yet, you can download or listen to it here.

Rick has to be one of the nicest guys in the world. He’s also a fantastic photographer and teacher. He truly has a passion for inspiring others to take great pictures, and he’s devoted the bulk of his professional career to giving you the tools and techniques you’ll need to improve your photography.

His newest book, Face to Face: Rick Sammon's Complete Guide to Photographing People, is all about how to take better portraits.  He covers lighting, lens selection, posing and art direction to help you, as he might say, not just “take a picture, but make a picture.”

I really like how Face to Face stresses the philosophy and psychology of portraiture. Rick explains that some of your best tools aren’t in your camera bag, they’re in your heart and mind.  He encourages you to connect and engage with your subjects. The better your rapport, the better your portraits will emerge.

In this week’s show, Rick promises to give away autographed copies of Face to Face to two lucky listeners of The Digital Photography Show.  To enter, send an email to TheDigitalPhotographyShow@gmail.com with the answer to this question: How many pages is Face to Face? Please put “Face to Face contest” in the subject of your email.

You can’t get the answer from Amazon.com or other online booksellers because they got it wrong. So, go to your local bookstore, leaf through the beautiful pages, and see if you wouldn’t want to add this book to your photography library.

But, just in case your local bookstore doesn’t carry it, I’ll tell you - Face to Face features 281 pages of Sammony goodness. 

Now you know. Don’t say I never did anything for you.

Good luck on the contest!

Oh, and because Rick is such a nice guy, if you buy a copy of Face to Face, and win the contest, he’ll send you a signed copy of whichever of his other books you want (as long as he still has it on hand, that is). Check out this page to see his amazing body of work.

So, don't hold off on your purchase of Face to Face because you might get lucky. We got your back.

What the New iPhone Apps Store Brings for Photographers

I woke up this morning and was very excited to see that the new iPhone Apps store was up and running in my iTunes. It’s Christmas in July!

I understand there are over 500 applications available for iPhone 2.0s (as well as older iPhones once they are upgraded). The applications are helpfully broken down into categories, one of which is “Photography.”

There are currently nineteen apps in the Photography category - here is what the top part of the first page looks like.

I was really happy to see that some of The Digital Photography Show’s favorites now have native iPhone applications. Both are for online photo sharing sites.

SmugMug’s entry got the honor of being the first app to be highlighted in the App Store’s “What’s Hot” listing. Their free SmugShot allows you to upload your iPhone’s shots directly to your SmugMug galleries, and, as a bonus, automatically geotags them using the phone’s built-in GPS. Visitors to your gallery can click on your shot and be taken to a Google Map of where you were. Sweeeet! (Unless you have stalkers, in which case you might want to turn that feature off. Sorry, Britney!)

SmugMug’s galleries look gorgeous in their custom-built iPhone interface, too.

Also checking in with an app is Phanfare, with their free app. Their product also allows you to wirelessly upload your shots, although there doesn’t seem to be any geotagging capability. There is, however, functionality for posting your pic on Facebook.

Phanfare’s description in iTunes says their app lets you “display on your living room TV through XBox 360 and PS3.” That sentence seems to be missing a word, and I don’t know how that function would work. Bluetooth? It’s not described on Phanfare’s web page about the app. They do, however, have a neat little video that features our old friend Andrew Erlichson showing the automatic uploading to that cloud that everyone seems so fond of these days.

I’m looking forward to experimenting with these and the other iPhone apps for photographers.

Many of them allow you to upload to and explore Flickr more easily (Moblie Flickr, Exposure, MoPhoTo). Flickr has many devotees and I’m sure these will see a lot of downloads.

Other apps give you some annotation gimmicks (like drawing lines and word balloons) on your shots (Mr. Shuffle, TalkBubbles, Squiggles, iGraffiti). Cute, but not exactly necessary.

I only found one app that does what I was most expecting to see - picture editing on the iPhone. It’s called Jade, and it consists of nothing more than a single slider that adjusts “the intensity of the filter” to improve your shot. What that filter is and does, they don’t say, although one reviewer claimed it just increases contrast.

My favorite of the apps is called NearPics. It “lets you see some photographs taken near where you are right now.” This is great for people who can’t be bothered to, uh, look around. No, it probably would be fun, and, since it costs nothing, it’s one I look forward to playing with. I bet it could probably inspire you when shooting onsite to see what other photographers have done in your place.

The bummer about the iPhone apps is that, while some are free, the fee-based ones have no free trials. The Photography apps either cost zippy or run between $3-$10, with one, which allows you to dial your contacts by tapping on their picture, costing $15.

Show Note for The Digital Photography Show #91 - Scott Kelby's Back On The Digital Photography Show

It was a great pleasure to interview Scott Kelby for over an hour on The Digital Photography Show #91, which you can find here.

Scott is just the nicest guy, and we had a great time talking. I him some random questions from his newest book, The Digital Photography Book Vol. 2, and he handled them like a pro. Which, of course, he is.

As you'll hear in the interview, The Digital Photography Book is a great resource.  Volume 1 was the best-selling digital photography book of all time, so you know Volume 2 will be remarkable.

We also chat about his newest book, The Mac OS X Leopard Book. which, as a new Mac user, I could really use. No one does technical writing with the ease and humor of Scott Kelby.

If you want to enter the drawing for one of Scott's books, go to his homepage here and check out his list of "Popular Posts" on the right.  Send us an email at  TheDigitalPhotographyShow@gmail.com staring how many comments have been posted on that entry. We'll accept any correct answer between the number of comments as of today and whatever number it may reach by the contest's close on June 30, 2008.

And a great big thanks to all the  The Digital Photography Show listeners who bought my book, First You Fall: A Kevin Connor Mystery, and wrote me to say how much they liked it.  Please check out the description and reviews, and if it sounds like the kind of thing you might enjoy, please pick up a copy to support me and the show. Thanks to you, the book was briefly the 20,000th best selling book on Amazon (of course, Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Book Vol. 2 is currently something like the 121st best selling book on Amazon, but hey, it's my first effort!).

Thanks, everybody!