Photographer Joe McNally and KelbyTraining Coming to Phoenix, Arizona

Kelby Training is coming back to Phoenix. Of course they’re waiting until December when it’s beautiful here, and who can blame them. Who wants to organize a training seminar in July or August when it is 115 degrees? No one, that’s who. I’ve attended three of these seminars and they are excellent. Non-NAPP members get the whole day for only $99, while NAPP members enjoy a day of training for only $79.

This seminar is special however, as it is hosted by celebrated professional photographer Joe McNally. “Location Lighting Techniques with Joe McNally” should prove to be well worth the price of admission. He’ll cover Off Camera Flash Essentials, Multiple Flash Techniques, Portrait Techniques, On-Location Flash Techniques and more, including live portrait shoots during the class. Too bad December is so far away...

Visit Kelbytraining.com for more information regarding this and other available seminars. Other upcoming locations for this seminar include Hartford, Tampa, Atlanta, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.

Location Lighting Techniques Seminar Tour with Joe McNally

New Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book From Deke McClelland

 

New photography book release.  This is not an endorsement, I’m just passing along new release information.

Deke McClelland

Adobe Photoshop CS5 One-on-One

Product Description from Amazon.com

Master the fundamentals of Photoshop CS5 and make all of your images come alive. With Deke McClelland's unique and effective learning system, you get step-by-step tutorials, hours of DVD-video demonstrations, and lots of hands-on projects to help you improve your knowledge and hone your skills.

- Find out everything you need to know to be productive with Photoshop CS5 right away 

- Learn at your own speed with 12 self-paced tutorials 

- Try out professional techniques with engaging, real-world projects 

- Read about a particular technique and watch the video to see how it's done 

- Follow every key step with hundreds of full-color photos, diagrams, and screen shots 

- Test your knowledge with multiple-choice quizzes in each chapter

Adobe Photoshop CS5 One-on-One simulates a classroom environment with one-on-one attention as you proceed from lesson to lesson. Deke's expert advice is like working with a personal coach -- you'll learn Photoshop faster, more creatively, and more efficiently than you thought possible.

New Photography Book From Bryan Peterson

New photography book release.  This is not an endorsement, I’m just passing along new release information.

Bryan Peterson

Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera

Product Description from Amazon.com

With more than 350,000 copies sold, Understanding Exposure has demystified the complex concepts of exposure for countless photographers. Now updated with current technologies, more than one hundred new images, and an all-new chapter, this new edition will inspire you more than ever to free yourself from “auto” and create the pictures you truly want.

In his trademark easy-to-understand style, author Bryan Peterson explains the relationship between aperture and shutter speed, including how to achieve successful exposures in seemingly difficult situations. You’ll learn:

• Which aperture gives you the greatest contrast and sharpness, and when to use it 
• Which apertures guarantee the background remains an out-of-focus tone 
• Which one aperture—when combined with the right lens—creates an area of sharpness from three feet to infinity 
• How to creatively use shutter speed to either freeze an action or imply motion 
• Where to take a meter reading when shooting a sunset, snow, or a city at dusk

With new information on white balance, flash, HDR, and more, this updated classic will inspire you to stop guessing and take control of your settings for better photos anytime, anywhere, and with any camera.

New Digital Camera Reviews Posted

New reviews have been added to the “Recent Digital Camera Reviews” section.  These include the following models:

Canon PowerShot SD-1300 IS

Canon PowerShot SD-4000 IS

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX75

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10

Ricoh GRX-P10

Sony A390 DSLR

Sony CyberShot DSC-TX7

Sony Announces New 18-200mm Zoom Lens for NEX Camera Line

A new E-mount telephoto lens has been announced from Sony for their latest NEX series of Interchangeable Lens cameras.  The 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS lens should be available around September 10, 2010 at an expected retail price of $800.  The lens does feature image-stabilization and will usable on the NEX-VG10E camcorder as well.   Sony currently provides an 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 zoom lens and 16mm F2.8 wideangle lens for these cameras.

New Photography Trainer App for iPhone and Android

A new app for iPhone and Android devices allows photographers to ‘learn as they go’ when out and about with their DSLR. According to the vendor it’s like having a photography instructor in your pocket (insert inappropriate joke here). Below is the official company press release and link to the site.

Official Press Release:
Trailblazer Media announces the launch of the “Photography Trainer” app for iPhone and Android. The significant increase in D-SLR sales over the last several years has led to consumers looking for innovative ways to learn photography and how to use their cameras. Photography Trainer is designed to teach photographers how to operate their D-SLRs when they’re out with their cameras and taking pictures. The app is an interactive step-by-step guide on how to set the camera to capture photos with impact – users tell it the type of subject being photographed and the lighting they’re in, and the app guides them on how to set items like shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focus, etc. It helps users get out of “Auto Mode” to allow for more creative photography.

Unlike any other photography app, Photography Trainer explains in detail “why” to use a given camera setting, for example, using a fast shutter speed to freeze fast-moving action or a wide aperture to blur the background and make the subject “pop”. Over time, users learn the principles and become better photographers. The app is written and designed by full-time professional photographer, Paul Timpa, as a way to enable anyone to capture better images. It doesn’t require an internet connection so it can be used anywhere in the world while traveling.

Paul Timpa has helped thousands of photographers through photography tutorials on the web. He’s now created this app to take advantage of the interactive nature of mobile phone apps and the fact that photographers will have their phones with them whenever they’re out taking pictures.

In addition to the “interactive training” section of the app, Photography Trainer also features a gallery of dozens of professional photographs each with complete shooting data such as shutter speed and aperture, and exactly why those settings were chosen for that particular photo. This enables the user to see how settings affect the final image.

A third section of the app, “In-Depth Techniques” dives into further detail on a wide variety of topics including Night Photography, Sports and Action Photography, Composition, Capturing Sharp Photos, and more. It also includes a detailed HDR tutorial with complete step-by-step instructions and example photos.

Photography Trainer is available for iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android devices for $0.99 by searching on “Photography Trainer” in the iPhone app store or Android Market.

App Website: http://www.trailblazermedia.com/

Tamron Releasing New SP 70-300mm Di VC USD Lens For Nikon

The new Tamron SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD (Model A005) high-resolution DSLR telephoto zoom lens will be available for the Nikon mount on August 26, 2010, with the launch of mounts for Canon and Sony to follow soon after.

Some of the features:

• New optical system optimized for digital cameras achieves top resolution in the 70-300mm class with specialized glass elements including an XLD (Extra Low Dispersion) lens

• Fast focusing USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive), the ultrasonic autofocus drive

• The lens is equipped with Tamron’s first-ever ultrasonic auto-focus drive USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive). It achieves faster focusing making this telephoto lens perfect for photography of sports, motor racing, and other fast-moving subjects. With advanced motor technology and newly developed software, Tamron's USD delivers precise and noiseless focusing at turbo speed.

• Equipped with Tamron’s VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization

Specifications:

Model: A005

Focal length: 70 – 300mm

Maximum aperture: F/4 – 5.6

Angle of view (diagonal): 34° 21'-8° 15’

Lens construction: 17 elements, 12 groups

Minimum focus distance: 59.1"

Maximum magnification ratio: 1:4 (at f = 300mm: MFD 1.5m)

Filter size (mm): Ø62mm

Length : 5.6"

Diameter: Ø3.2"

Weight : 27.0 oz.

No. of diaphragm blades: 9

Minimum aperture: F/32-45

Standard accessories: Flower Shaped Lens Hood

Compatible mounts: Nikon. Canon & Sony Soon

New Release Candidates for Camera RAW and Lightroom At Adobe Labs

If you’re looking to get a jump on the latest updates for Adobe Camera RAW and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Adobe Labs has made the Release Candidates available. Twelve additional camera models have been included such as the Pentax 645D, Leica S2, Sony NEX and Samsung NX10 to name a few. In an attempt to sync the version number with Camera RAW 6.2, the next Lightroom release will be “3.2”.

Other improvements are added lens profiles and a laundry list of bug fixes.  Visit the Adobe Labs pages below for more details and the download files.

Download Adobe Camera RAW v6.2 Release Candidate

Download Adobe Lightroom v3.2 Release Candidate