So you might be wondering why I am reviewing a seemingly non-photography related book.  Well, photography is more than just vision, equipment and technical prowess.  If you want to make photography a career or side job then you need to think about the business side of things.  For many people this is a large chasm to leap over.  While we may be good at the creative side of things we suck at the business side.  We also tend to get caught up in the idea that we need large sums of money in order to start and run a successful business.

But not all businesses require large capital to start and this is where The $100 Startup comes in.  The $100 Startup provides you with a blueprint on how to get started with your own small business with limited financial investment.  It’s about reassessing what risk is.  Is it more or less risky to start your own small business or work for a corporate entity?  Only you can decide that but this book helps to get you thinking more about that and reevaluate what risk is.

Life shouldn’t be about working an unfulfilled job that you hate.  It’s also not about sitting on a tropical beach drinking daiquiris and watching the tide cycle through.  Life is about doing work that you are excited and passionate about and that ultimately makes a difference in the world.  As the extended title of this book states: Reinvent the way you make a living, do what you love, and create a new future.

If you are not familiar with Chris Guillebeau he is an author and writer of the blog The Art of Non-Conformity and host of the World Domination Summit for creatives in Portland Oregon.  He travels the world while running his own business selling informational products that help others find their own entrepreneurial path.

Case Studies Galore!

All of the 70 case studies highlighted in this book are people who had an idea or passion and made the decision to create a new future.  Make no mistake though; it’s not about doing less work it’s about doing better work.  It’s about working with purpose.  Chris identified 1500 people who built businesses that earn $50,000 or more from a small investment (some $100 or less).  This book speaks to the lessons they learned and provides a blueprint on how you can do the same.

What I really loved about this book is the plethora of case studies (70 detailed case studies) from a multitude of industries.  There are people who are selling mattresses, triathlon trainers, transcriptionists, interior designers, website and graphic designers and yes even photographers.  There is a guy who makes 6 figures per year selling Excel spreadsheet templates.  Another person earns over $100K helping people use their frequent flyer miles.  While they may all be doing different things there is one common thread; they are all doing something they already were skilled in and were passionate about.

These case studies are interwoven into the core blueprint which I think is great because often I find the concepts difficult to fully understand when presented on their own but when coupled with real world examples of people who started out just like me then it takes on a whole new meaning and the vision of what is possible becomes more exciting.

Skill + Usefulness = Success

In the book Chris talks about finding what he calls convergence which is the place where your passion and skill set converges with what people want and are willing to spend their hard earned money on.  Here the secret formula is passion or skill + usefulness = success.

Chris writes about ways to fine tune your passion into something that is marketable.  His Six Steps to Get Started Right Now will help get you up and running in a short period of time.

Make no mistake about what this book is however.  It’s not a get rich quick step by step instruction manual.  It’s a blueprint on changing your perspective on what it takes to start your own business based on the things you love to do and the skills you already have with minimal financial investment.  Chris provides the tools and information for you to start making the smart decisions on putting together your own business based on the skills you already have and focused on the things you like to do and are passionate about.

While it leans heavily toward infopreneurs the information can be easily applied to any business or idea you might have.

If you have been dreaming of starting your own business, maybe turning a hobby into a full time life, and are ready and willing to take the risk and put in the effort and work, then this book will definitely be a great starting place for you in taking those first steps towards your new future.  It’s informative and more importantly it guides you to take action now.

If you are really serious about starting your own photography business I also recommend the following business books that focus specifically on photography.

Every Monday I post a photo that is meant to inspire you, motivate you, cause you to pause and ponder, remind you of your dreams and hopefully entice you to act on whatever your goals may be. This Monday, May 14th it’s all about Mom’s.  Yesterday was Mother’s Day and if you forgot I suggest you get on the phone right now and give your Mom a call.  We had a great day of good food, laughter and hiking.  So the inspiration this Monday is my wife and kids.

My youngest always clowning around.

No matter what might be going on in our lives family will always play a large role in who we are.  As Anthony Brandt once said; “Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.”  I hope all the moms reading had a glorious and memorable Mother’s Day.

“Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children.” ~ Rosaleen Dickson

“The house does not rest upon the ground, but upon a woman” ~ Mexican Proverb

“No matter what you’ve done for yourself or for humanity, if you can’t look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?” ~ Elbert Hubbard

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” ~ Washington Irving

Every Monday I post a photo that is meant to inspire you, motivate you, cause you to pause and ponder, remind you of your dreams and hopefully entice you to act on whatever your goals may be. This Monday, May 7th it’s all about a great sunset and the Super Moon.

Saturday was the Super Moon and I debated about where I wanted to take photos.  What would make the most memorable image?  What foreground element did I want to include?  Where should I shoot from?  Where in the sky would the moon rise?  For that last one I used The Photographers Ephemeris which is a great tool for planning a shoot.  It tells you where and when the sun and moon will rise and set on a Google map overlay.  It does much more than this but I’ll save that for a later post.  It’s available for free download for PC and paid for iPhone and Android.

I invited a good friend to go shoot but we ended up misunderstanding where we were going to meet.  I was in the wrong place but ended up getting this sunset shot so all wasn’t lost.

Manual exposure at ISO 100, f/9 and 1/400th second

I really liked how this one turned out.  After grabbing this shot I hurried over to where my friend was and arrived in time for the rising of the super moon.  If you don’t know what a super moon is it’s the coincidence of a new or full moon with it’s closest approach (distance) from earth.  This give the moon an extra large appearance in the sky.

We didn’t see the moon at first as we were down by a river and trees were blocking our view but then I saw a bright orange glow through the treeline.

It was pretty incredible to look at and I hope you got an opportunity to view it as well.  I may write more about photographing the super moon later this week.  Until then enjoy your Monday Photo Inspiration.

Did you get a shot of the super moon?  I’d love to see it.  Post a link to your image in the comments below.

Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star. ~ W. Clement Stone

This post is promotional in nature so if you’re only in the mood for photos right now head on over to my gallery or my Flickr stream and enjoy.  But if you’ve ever thought about starting your own business but didn’t know where to start then this 72 hour sale of resources for the budding entrepreneur from Only72.com may be worth a look.

First, here is a little background on Only72.com.  It was started by Adam Baker and Karol Gajda.  They do these massive digital products niche sales 2-3 times a year for “only 72 hours.”  After that they are gone forever.  Typically they offer $1000 in courses, ebooks and digital downloads at 90% off.  I purchased their original offering and was very impressed with the value offered.  This time around they are offering a whole slew of professional resources for the budding entrepreneur PLUS a hardcover copy of Chris Guillebeaus’s new book The $100 Startup which won’t be released until May 8th.  All this for $100.

I have actually read a preview copy of The $100 Startup and I can honestly say I was really impressed.  As someone who has struggled to start my own ventures this book offers up an inexpensive path that many people have now taken to start their own endeavors as evidenced by the multitude of interviews and examples throughout the book.  I’m not one to try and dissuade people from following the so called “traditional” employment path because I think for many people it works well, but I think that if you find yourself not happy working any job then you owe it to yourself to make a change and try something different.  So even if this sale isn’t for you, definitely check out The $100 Startup book.

Of course making change is scary because it’s filled with uncertainty so we need to find ways to alleviate that pain and continue to take actionable steps toward our goals.  This is where I can see the resources in this Only72.com sale playing an instrumental role.  Here is what is included in this offering:

• A hardcover copy of Chris Guillebeau’s new book “The $100 Startup” (I’ve read it and it’s a great book on starting your own business in a non-traditional way.)
• Creating, Marketing & Designing A Blog that Matters – Corbett Barr
• Blogging from the Heart (eBook version) – Susannah Conway
• Identifying Your Passion Module + Workbook – Jonathan Mead
• Live Off Your Passion (Lite) – Scott Dinsmore
• Your Don’t Need a Job You Need Guts – Ashley Ambirge
• Freelancer Package: Unbelievable Characters, Guest Posting Guide, Beyond Bricks & Mortar eBooks – Men with Pens
• Tao of Awesome – Johnny B. Truant
• 30 Days of Courage (w/ Yoga Module) – Marianne Elliot
• Ethical Selling that Works – Pam Slim
• Double Your Ad Income – David Risley
• The Personal MBA Guide to Small Business Infrastructure – Joshua Kaufman
• How to Make iPhone Apps – Free the Apps
• Evernote Essentials – Brett Kelly
• Turning Your Hobby into a Career (download and audio program) – Alyson Stanfield
• Unconventional Guide to Publishing – Chris Guillebeau

It’s an impressive lineup of resources to get you started in building your own business.  If it sounds interesting then take a look at this link, otherwise take a look at this Monday Photo Inspiration (it’s a playable Angry Birds Birthday cake).  Remember, this sale only lasts for 72 hours.

I am an affiliate for Only72.com and do receive a percentage of each sale made through the links above.  It doesn’t cost you anything and it helps keep this site going and further my photography.  I only recommend products that I have or would purchase myself, or that I think are incredible deals and would be of interest to other photographers.  Of course only purchase things that you really feel are a good fit for you.

Every Monday I post a photo that is meant to inspire you, motivate you, cause you to pause and ponder, remind you of your dreams and hopefully entice you to act on whatever your goals may be.  This Monday, April 30th is actually my youngest son’s birthday.  He turns 6 today and is crazy about Angry Birds.  So my wife made a playable Angry Birds cake along with Angry Birds cupcakes for his party which we had on Saturday.  Yes, that’s right, a playable Angry Birds Cake.

My wife spent a lot of time making these custom hand-made Angry Birds Cupcakes.

Everyone loved the cake and cupcakes and we even had a guy from another party where we were at stop by wearing an Angry Birds t-shirt and wanted to take photos of the cake.

We had a great celebration with friends and family and the kids enjoyed trying to play the Angry Birds cake.  It was a learning experience on that.  We made a slingshot with rubber bands and a stick and screwed it to a wood base.  It ended up being a little hard for the kids to launch the birds and in hindsight we should have made some modification.  But regardless it was a fun cake and the kids ended up just tossing the birds at the pigs.

My wife created this playable Angry Birds Cake for our son's birthday party.

Finally this post would be incomplete without a photo of Joseph, the birthday boy.  He turns 6 today.  We took this photo at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn Oregon early last week.  A storm was rolling in and I love how he and his tie-dye shirt really stand out against the rolling green see of the grass field.

Happy Birthday Joseph!!!

Whatever your plans for this Monday are try and make a lot of experiments.

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better – Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you’ve spent any time around here you know I’m a huge fan of the Craft & Vision photography eBooks.  I’ve purchased every single one of them and enjoyed them all.  I think for the high quality photography information they provide there is not a better deal out there for learning and growing in photography.  Well for a limited time the deal is now even sweeter as PhotoWhoa is currently running their weekly special on the entire Craft & Vision library at 41% off.  That’s 40 high quality Craft & Vision Photography eBooks for less than $2.25 each!

This is a great deal for anyone that is wanting to learn photography or anyone that wants to take their photography to the next level.  I know that I have personally learned a lot from these books and continue to grow as a photographer using the information and insight provided throughout their virtual pages.  The authors of Craft & Vision photography books are professional photographers like David duChemin, Michael Frye, and Andrew Gibson who share a wealth of experience and knowledge with us.

You can check out all the titles included in this PhotoWhoa deal right here.  I’ve also reviewed several of these books here on the site so you can check those out if you’re curious what they are all about.

This PhotoWhoa deal is a limited time offer and ends on Monday April 30th.

I am an affiliate for both PhotoWhoa and Craft & Vision and do receive a percentage of each sale through the links above.  It doesn’t cost you anything and it helps keep this site going and further my photography.  I only recommend products that I have or would purchase myself, or that I think are incredible deals and would be of interest to other photographers.  Of course only purchase things that you really feel are a good fit for you.

Every Monday I post a photo that is meant to inspire you, motivate you, cause you to pause and ponder, remind you of your dreams and hopefully entice you to act on whatever your goals may be.  This Monday the inspiration comes from the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn Oregon.  This photo is actually from a few years ago but we are heading up there again really soon to catch the end of the tulip season.  It’s always an incredible time there with acres of beautiful and colorful blooming tulips.

Acres of blooming tulips at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

The weather here this weekend was phenomenal.  After what seemed like months of wet cold weather we had temperatures near the 80′s this weekend.  My kids enjoyed running through the sprinklers and having a water balloon fight.  So here’s a bonus photo for this Monday’s Photo Inspiration.  Have a great Monday!

This one is from 2009 at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival.

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring. ~ Oscar Wilde

Every Monday I post a photo that is meant to inspire you, motivate you, cause you to pause and ponder, remind you of your dreams and hopefully entice you to act on whatever your goals may be.  This Monday the inspiration comes from high in the Oregon Cascades.

Canon 5D Mark II | ISO 100 | 17mm | F/22 | 10 seconds

One of my favorite places is Waldo Lake high in the Oregon Cascades.  It is one of the purest lakes in the world and you can literally see tens of feet into it’s crystal clear water.  With a maximum depth of 420 feet it is the second deepest lake in Oregon (the first is Crater Lake).  Back in 2009 I captured this sunset on Waldo.  It’s a 10 second exposure which blurs the water and makes it silky smooth.  It was August which was also the height of the mosquito season and I just about went crazy from the constant high pitched whining in my ears from hoards of these irritants.  But it was worth the sacrifice to come away with this beautiful image.

Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer the goal. ~ Elbert Hubbard

I recently picked up Understanding Exposure – Perfect exposure on your EOS camera by Andrew S. Gibson.  This is the second book in a series aimed toward Canon EOS camera users.  I spent a few hours today going through this 79 page book and I really love the way the information is presented.

Here’s the thing about exposure; there is no “correct” exposure.  It really depends on what your creative vision is.  However, that being said, there are certain principles at work that every photographer needs to understand in order to take full advantage of their creative vision.  This book will provide you with that framework so that you will know how to make that “correct” exposure in just about any situation.

If you are anything like me I’m sure you know how frustrating it is to pull images off your memory card only to find many of them are either too dark or too light or not what you were wanting to achieve.  I’ve been there far too often.  Or, maybe you are a little confused about what all the exposure modes (P, Av, Tv, M, B) on your Canon EOS camera do, or how the different metering mode really work.  This book answers those questions and many more and puts that information to practical use.

The book is broken out into 3 sections.  Basic Concepts, Exposure on your EOS camera and Putting it all together.

The Basic Concepts section is where Andrew lays the foundation with discussions on how your camera actually measures light and why it often gets it wrong; the exposure triangle and how aperture, shutter speed and ISO interact to produce the correct exposure; what exposure values (Ev) are and how to make the histogram work for you.  One key topic in this section is on understanding what a stop is which I have always had some confusion on.  Andrew did a good job of explaining stops in layman’s terms and if I can understand it then you certainly can as well.

In the Exposure on your EOS camera section, Andrew builds the framework on the foundation from the basic concepts section.  This is the meat and potatoes where you delve into learning about your cameras exposure and metering modes and what situations they are best suited for.  Ever unknowingly bump that dial on the back of your camera and wonder why your images came out darker or lighter than you anticipated?  Well, you’ll learn all about that exposure compensation dial and how to use it to your advantage and how to lock it so you don’t accidentally bump it.  This section also goes into your cameras custom functions, using Live View (an awesome feature) and even making Bulb exposures.

Finally the Putting it all together sectionis where Andrew nails on the finishing touches and brings it all together with detailed explanations of the 3 basic exposure scenarios that describe just about any shooting situation.

• Scenario One: The brightness range of the scene matches the dynamic range of the camera’s sensor
• Scenario Two: The brightness range of the scene is less than the dynamic range of the camera’s sensor
• Scenario Three: The brightness range of the scene is greater than the dynamic range of the camera’s sensor

Seriously, with the knowledge you now have you’ll be able to go out and shoot in just about any lighting situation and know how you need to adjust your camera to capture the scene with the optimal exposure.  What I found really valuable here was a discussion on how to reduce the amount of noise in your images by exposing to the right.

So who is this book for?  I think this book is for any beginning or amateur photographer that struggles with getting the right exposure.  If you are a pro then you probably already know everything in this book, but if you are just starting out and want to better understand all those settings on your Canon EOS camera then this is the book you want to get.  I’ve always said that the quintessential book on learning exposure is Bryan Peterson’s book Understanding Exposure but for Canon EOS shooters Andrew’s book is gold at £7 (~$11 USD).  But don’t let being a Nikon, Sony or Pentax shooter dissuade you from this book.  While the screen shots and settings information are Canon EOS specific the generic information on exposure is true for any digital camera and you would still find great value in this book.

What could make this book better?  Tough question!  I think Andrew covered the topic of exposure in excellent detail and in a way that those without much photography knowledge can understand.  Maybe including some specific exercises to help reinforce the concepts presented could be helpful.  For example, in the section on the exposure triangle there could be some exercises that test the readers knowledge of how the same exposure can be made with different combinations of ISO, aperture and shutter settings.  And this brings up an excellent point that while reading books like this can teach us many things and expand our knowledge base, the information is worthless if we don’t get out from behind the book and go out and actually shoot (I’m guilty!).  As much as great books like this can teach us, we grow more as photographers when we get out in the field and practice what we’ve learned.  So get out there and shoot as often as you can!

You can pick up Andrew’s Understanding Exposure eBook right now for £2 off by using code exposure2 at checkout.  This code works for all eBooks and bundles but expires at midnight on Monday April 30th.

Every Monday I post a photo that is meant to inspire you, motivate you, cause you to pause and ponder, remind you of your dreams and hopefully entice you to act on whatever your goals may be.  This Monday the inspiration comes from Sanur in Bali, Indonesia.

Sunrise over the water in Sanur, Bali Indonesia

Canon 20D | ISO 100 | 70-200 f/4 | 200mm @ f/5.6 | 1/400th sec.

Up early to catch the rising sun I saw this man wading through the tidal waters looking for what I don’t know.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great. ~ Mark Twain