Welcome to season two, episode one of The Photography Podcast.

Today we are proud to announce that we are giving away 100% of our affiliate sales, do a quick review (more like a gushing) of the Scott Kelby iPad App Light It, and finish with an interview with commercial photography Erik Almas.

So here we go, and in order:

1. For awhile now we have been giving away 50% of all of our affiliate sales to support two food banks and one soup kitchen here in southern Maine, but have decided that these projects (and all the families that they support) need this money far more than we do.

So if you are looking for photography gear if you buy it using our Adorama affiliate links you will get great prices, equally as good customer service and will be helping those who are truly in need.

2. We have been Scott Kelby for some time and we love his iPad App since its inception, there are many things to love about it and you can find on iTunes, on the web, and I would strongly suggest you check our our originally review on Weekly Photo Tips. Not only can you read all the details of what makes it a great resource for photographers, you’ll also how to get two complete issues for free.

3. And finally, our interview with photographer extraordinaire Erik Almas. Our interviewer is a guest as well, it’s Mike Bowker, studio manager and digital retouch artist of the studios of Irvin Serrano.

Mike has been a big fan of Erik and also wrote the outstanding review of Erik’s DVD “Aspects of Image Making“. You can read the entire review over at the blog.

Here are just a few shots from Erik’s gallery, you will really want to visit his website and check out his stunning work.

Click on any of these images to view larger.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this interview and am sure you will as well.

Hope you enjoy episode 11 as much as we enjoyed making it  for you.

How this all got started was because Peachpit was kind enough to send us his latest book, Exposed: Inside the Life and Images of a Pro Photographer, for review and the admiration started there.

And as I learned more about the type of photography he does and the stunning images he captures I was hooked.

There will be more images in this post than we have ever included before, because I just couldn’t narrow it down any further than this, so check these out.

We talked about one of his portfolio images and how it was lit:

Base jumping (pure insanity):

Surfing:

Outdoors:

And the Patagonian Expedition Race:

Now there are important links you will want to check out, like his website and his blog.

Michael writes a newsletter 3-4 times a year, that really should be called a magazine, its full of reviews, tips, tricks, and still more of his work.

And of course there are his books.

Take a peak inside his camera bag, not only will you see the gear he shoots with, you’ll be able to read reviews on all of the equipment as well, it might help you in purchasing the special piece of equipment you’ve been looking for.

If you are interested in attending a Michael Clark workshop (and who wouldn’t be) he has two this August (in Maine Michael will be teaching on the subject of Adventure Photography and Chicago will be a Mentor Series Photo Trek), you can also find him in Santa Fe in October (another Photo Trek, this one of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta), and you can shoot surfing with him (and Brian Bielmann) at Turtle Bay Hilton Resort, Oahu North Shore, Hawaii.

You can find the details for all these workshops right here.

Should consider these or any other workshops be sure to read the article Michael wrote that covers how to choose a workshop and what our responsibilities as attendees are in preparing for  a workshop, he provides great insight and it will help everyone get the most for their money and their time.

I feel fortunate to have “discovered” Michael Clark and want to make sure others do so as well, because he has so much to offer.

Enjoy everyone.

Here are the show notes with contact info and links to different things we discussed in the photography podcast.

We would love to hear from you, if you have a question, a comment on the show, photography gear you would like to know more about, or an interview you would like to hear, please email us because we would love to know.

If you could leave a rating and/or comment on iTunes it would help make the podcast more “visible“, so that when others search photography in iTunes they will have an even better chance of finding us, you can use this link to iTunes…. and thanks in advance!

As we mentioned in this (and other episodes) Adorama is our sponsor, this not only helps us cover the cost of producing content and hosting our sites, we also take 25% of what we make to support (and stock) food pantries here in southern Maine, as well as Operation Smile. So by listening to this show and using our affiliate links you will get great photography gear at outstanding prices, while supporting folks who are less fortunate than us and can really use the help.

A true win/win.

Now on to our conversation with Nikon Legend Lou Jones.

You can use these links to read our review of his book “Speedlights & Speedlites” or to learn more about Lou Jones workshop “Boston: A Nikon Legend views his Hometown“.

If you head over to Lou Jones blog you can get a free copy of the his photography eBook on Speedlights .

You can also find Lou Jones over on Vimeo and check out his Speedlight videos , or Lou’s website to look at his photography portfolio that includes his work at the Olympics.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to the photography podcast.

First thing I should confess is that I am a HUGE Vincent Versace fan, I have been since the earliest steps of my photography journey so be forewarned that you may hear just a bit of giddiness in my voice.

So why am I such a big fan? Two reasons:

1. I think Vincent is an absolutely brilliant photographer

2. He is equally as good as a photography instructor

I have almost every one of his educational DVD’s and the problem is the first time I watch them I just sit there and stare in amazement with my mouth gaping open, it’s the second time through the DVD that I actually start to follow along and participating in the process.

During the interview we talked specifically about three of his images:

This one of the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee –

This image of Alcatraz in San Francisco bay –

And this image of the Eiffel Tower during a snow storm –

(click on any of these images to view larger)

You can learn more about Vincent Versace and see his portfolio of iconic images by visiting his website, or checking out his Flickr page.

If you’re interested to checking out his educational offering (books and DVD’s that are worth every penny) you can find them all listed over at Acme Educational.

First thing I should confess is that I am a HUGE Vincent Versace fan, I have been since the earliest steps of my photography journey so be forewarned that you may hear just a bit of giddiness in my voice.

So why am I such a big fan? Two reasons:

1. I think Vincent is an absolutely brilliant photographer

2. He is equally as good as a photography instructor

I have almost every one of his educational DVD’s and the problem is the first time I watch them I just sit there and stare in amazement with my mouth gaping open, it’s the second time through the DVD that I actually start to follow along and participating in the process.

During the interview we talked specifically about three of his images:

This one of the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee –

This image of Alcatraz in San Francisco bay –

And this image of the Eiffel Tower during a snow storm –

(click on any of these images to view larger)

You can learn more about Vincent Versace and see his portfolio of iconic images by visiting his website, or checking out his Flickr page.

If you’re interested to checking out his educational offering (books and DVD’s that are worth every penny) you can find them all listed over at Acme Educational.

Show notes for episode 6.

This week we have the pleasure of talking to Wendy Roe, a wedding photographer and Social media expert.

Before we talked to Wendy we shared two new iPad apps that we really liked, Professional Image Maker and Photographers i.

We also gave a BIG THANK YOU to all of our listeners and readers who have been kind enough to use our affiliate links to buy their gear, and because of that you are helping to feed the hungry here in southern Maine and we recently sent a check to Operation Smile that will fully cover the cost of surgery for a child in desperate need of help.

Okay, now on to Wendy.

Our conversation with her is a wrap-up from the series she was kind enough to write for Weekly Photo Tips, and just in case you missed them, here are the first 4 posts:

1. Naming and Branding Your Images

2. Web Marketing Workflow Guide to An Individual WordPress Blog Post

3. The Protocol To Announcing and Releasing on Facebook

4. Adopt and Promote Pinterest Pinning

And we finish the series by discussing “Link Building Through Directories and Local Search Engines“.

Wendy and her husband Byron are (stunning) wedding photographers out of Bend Oregon and you will want to check out the images on their website and their blog.

If you are looking for some one on one consulting to help raise your social media game you can visit Wendy here.

Thanks to Wendy for all she has done for us and thank you for taking the time to come by and listen to us chat.

Thank you to Adorama for sponsoring this podcast.

And last, but certainly not least, something that needs to be said every episode, a BIG thank you to Steve over at Home Recording Weekly for mixing this show, taking a bucket full of sound files and turning them into this podcast.

Please feel free to download the show for later listening.

Not Without Salt is a wonderful (and equal) mixture of the things most important in her life, her family, food, and photography.

So once you finish listening to her interview you need to rush right over to her blog and drink it all in.

We covered a few other things in today’s podcast.

Like the fact that we have the good fortune of a Nikon D800 in my chubby little hands and instead of doing a review telling you what I learn/like about it we want your questions, things you might be curious about regarding this latest offering from Nikon.

So if you have a D800 question please email it to us and we’ll add it to the growing list and do a show in the near future covering/answering all of the questions we get.

In our last show we reviewed the latest book from Kevin Kubota, “Lighting Notebook“, since that show it has been released as an iPad app. Three things that make this an attractive option, it’s more portable, costs 1/3 less than the book, and the app also contains videos.

Another app you might want to take a look at is Moose Peterson’s BT Journal, a magazine (app) that will take you nature photography to new heights. The first issue is free so what do you have to lose?

You can check out our video tutorial, it’s an easy and inexpensive setup for shooting shiny and reflective objects.

Thank you to Adorama for sponsoring this podcast.

And last, but certainly not least, something that needs to be said every episode, a BIG thank you to Steve over at Home Recording Weekly for mixing this show. He takes a bucket full of sound files and makes this podcast sound so darn good.

Please feel free to download the show for later listening.

Kevin Kubota's "Lighting Notebook"

Let me share with you what I like so much about Kevin Kubota’s “Lighting Notebook“.

The first 6 chapters cover most of the important things you will ever need to know about lighting.

Chapter one – is a brief history of lighting that will actually walk you back to the 1930’s.

Chapter two – goes over the “lingo of lighting“. So as you read this book (or delve deeper into your lighting education) you’ll understand what is being talked about, things like 2-point lighting, Rembrandt lighting, back-lighting, etc., if there is a lighting term, Kevin covers it in this chapter.

And just so you know Rembrandt lighting comes from, who else, Rembrandt and references the lighting style he would use when painting portraits, here is an image that is a perfect example of what this lighting style represents:

Example of Rembrandt Lighting

Chapter 3 – talks about metering, balancing natural and artificial light, high speed and rear curtain sync, white balance, color temps and more.

Chapter 4 – covers lights and lighting tools like softboxes, beauty dishes, umbrellas, triggering tools, etc..

Chapter 5 – will help you build your own lighting kit, selecting the kind of tools that will best fit your photography style and practice.

Chapter 6 – demonstrates creating light in software such as Lightroom, Photoshop, Bridge, and Aperture.

I know this is not the “fun & sexy” part of taking photographs, but you can’t build a house without a solid foundation and these first six chapters are the solid foundation you will use to build your “house of lighting techniques” on.

It’s once you have finished with the foundation that the fun truly begins, because what follows are 101 different beautiful photographs and everything you would need to know about how they were shot.

Each image is a two page spread and is set up like this:

On the left hand page is a key in the upper left corner telling you what type of lighting was used, be it Natural, Artificial, or a combination of the two.

It will also tell you if any assistants were needed, and if so, how many. Last of the keys is a cost key. It will let you know at a glance if the image was inexpensive, expensive, or somewhere in between shoot (related to the gear needed to make it happen).

The rest of the page has the finished image and a description of how the shot was setup and taken.

On the right page you will find camera settings, gear list, a lighting diagram, and two or three action shots of the photograph being taken.

If there is an alternative piece of gear that could be used to get the same results, you will find that listed here as well.

An "inside look"

The Lighting Notebook is one of those books that is a true page turner, once you pick it up it won’t leave your hands until you get to the last page, then again you may start going through it a second time before putting it down.

Just in case you aren’t picking up my “vibes” the review is two thumbs way up for this book.

This is not the first thing from Kevin that I have truly liked, as I have been a big Kevin Kubota fan for some time and have posted about what he has to offer to photographers more than once (or twice) on Weekly Photo Tips. Like:

You will find my interview with Kevin Here.

I had the pleasure of attending his seminar in Vermont, which was HUGE fun.

In this post I shared his trick on how to correctly synchronize the capture times in Lightroom for images shot from 2 or more cameras, so they will all the images will appear in the correct chronological order.

And I have raved in more than one post about his Lightroom training DVD’s, because they contain so much useful information, much more than just editing in Lightroom.

OMG, this kinda makes me look like a stalker!

I am sure if you buy this book you will find it as educational and useful as I did.

A big thank you to Adorama for sponsoring this podcast.

And last, but certainly not least, something that needs to be said every episode, a BIG thank you to Steve over at Home Recording Weekly for mixing this show. He takes a bucket full of sound files and makes this podcast sound so darn good.

Please feel free to download the show for later listening.

The Kiss

As always, thanks for coming back for another episode of The Photography Podcast.

Today, we are asking for you our listeners to help us get through the mountain of books and DVD’s that we receive from publishers. If you are interested in being considered as one of our guest reviewers please drop us an email. We will be announcing our first 6 reviewers during the second week of March. If you are not in the first group do not fret, we will keep your name in the hat for round 2.

We really want to hear from you, your comments, ideas, and suggestions, so PLEASE drop us an email or call our listener feedback line at 1-207-200-3235, because we want your input to guide where this podcast goes..

If you are looking for memory (for your camera, not your head) we have some great deals on our “Special Deals” page.

Jump for Joy

We are also making it perfectly clear today (in an effort to be as transparent as possible) that because Adorama is a sponsor, we do generate revenue (trust me, we won’t be retiring any time soon), 25% of every penny we get is split between Operation Smile and local southern Maine food pantries (here and here).

It also helps defray the cost of running our family of photography websites.

And on today’s show we have the pleasure of talking to Tim and Chris Riley of Riley Photographic.

They took the time to talk with us about their photographic practice and also to extend a phenomenal offer to our listeners and readers in celebration of our 1,000th post on Weekly Photo Tips.

Going for a Ride

We have been teasing at something “big” happening all this month and though we are celebrating our 1,000th blog post this surprise is something for you our listeners and readers.

So the surprise? For the first 25 people who register at this link, they will get a free 60 day trial of RPG Keys, free shipping, free presets… it will cost you nothing to give this serious productivity tool a 2 month test drive, at no cost and no obligation to you.

First, what do RPG Keys work with? Windows and MAC, including Lightroom (3 & 4), Photoshop (CS3, CS4, CS5), Bridge (CS3, CS4, CS5), Aperture 3 (MAC), Photo Mechanic (MAC).

Second, how can you get your set? Follow this link and click the “TRY IT” button and you’ll get to try the new USB version of the RPG mini for free for 60 days! ($10 shipping outside the US). At checkout simply enter the coupon codes listed below and your keys will land at your door step in just a few days.

Coupon Code for US Residents: WEEKLYPHOTOTIPS-USA

Coupon Code for non US Residents: WEEKLYPHOTOTIPS-INT

RPG 16 key mini

Third, how can you learn more about the RPG Keys? You can read my original review here, or even better, head over to SLR Lounge and read their in-depth review and analysis of how the RPG Keys significantly changed their workflow forever. It cut their image editing workflow in more than half.

Here is a little math for you – Average time per photo edit – without RPG Keys: 18.65 seconds per photo / with RPG Keys: 7.6 seconds per photo.

Just remember, it’s for the first 25 who register at this link.

A big thank you to Adorama for sponsoring this podcast.

And last, but certainly not least, a BIG thank you to Steve over at Home Recording Weekly for mixing this show. Essentially taking a bucket full of sound files and making this podcast sound so darn good.

Please feel free to download the show for later listening.

Thanks so much for coming back to The Photography Podcast, today in episode 2 we have the pleasure of interviewing Shutter Sister Kristin Zecchinelli.

I asked Kristin if she would share a couple of her favorite images with us and why/what made them some of her “favs“.

“This is an old shot of my kids jumping on the bed. It is not crisp, it is fluid, they are holding hands. Every time I look at this shot I am instantly transported back to that very moment and can hear their laughter and see how high they were jumping on the bed and remember how many great shots I took of them doing it. I LOVE that whole series. I love how they are such great friends. This photo just captures ALL of that for me…”

“And a recent fave is this close up of my daughter. It was right after her bath and she was sitting on my bed and I was combing her wet hair and putting cream on her dry skin and the light streaming in the window looked so pretty on her face… I got in close and captured her lashes and the contrast of light and dark on her face. I was savoring her smallness, I know all too well how fleeting it is.”

Clicking on any image will allow you to view it larger and in a new window.

Here is her BIO:

Kristin Zecchinelli is a photographer, blogger, artist, woman, and mother living on the southern coast of Maine with her small family. Kristin taps into the healing process of photography, focusing on the real and the now. Everyday moments inspire her to pick up her camera. She is driven to connect personally with others through her art and her words.

Her art has been on exhibit at the Fotofest Gallery in Houston Texas and appeared in the Beckoning of Lovely collection, the Shutter Sisters Picture Hope Project, and the Kirtsy Mom 2.0 video collaboration with well known novelist Katherine Center.

Kristin’s photography has won various awards and honors including first place in the Portland Maine 2008 Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. She is a contributing artist for Getty Images, the co-founder of  NOW Workshops, and will be featured in the upcoming book, “Hand in Hand: Crafting with Kids“. She is a contributing editor at Shutter Sisters and an Everyday Storyteller at Paper Coterie. You can find her personal blog at MaineMomma.

And I am fortunate enough to say Kristin Zecchinelli is my friend.

We really want hear from you, so you can reach us via email at Info@thephotographypodcast.com, you can send us an mp3 file (using the same email address), or by calling our listener feedback line at 1-207-200-3235.

It’s not too late to join in the February giveaway extravaganza over at Weekly Photo Tips, each and every Friday during the month they will be giving away Photography books, software, and DVD’s. You can get all the details on how to enter right here.

A big thank you to Adorama for sponsoring this podcast.

Please feel free to download the show for later listening.

Hi everyone, welcome to the premier episode of The Photography Podcast, I am your host Scott Eccleston.

The Photography Podcast is a child of  our photography blog Weekly Photo Tips and the sister video channel. The reason for creating this podcast is to fill a need that neither of them were quite hitting… interviews don’t need video, I mean really, how much fun is it to watch two people talk?

And some product reviews don’t need video, like a book, but the details of reviewing a book can use more space than a blog can provide.

This also provide us the opportunity to be mobile.

One of the most important parts of this podcast will be you, the listeners and it will involve more than just listening, we want, no need to hear from you… You can reach us by email at Info@thephotographypodcast.com, you can send us an mp3 file (using the same email address), or you can call our listener feedback line at 1-207-200-3235.

We want your questions, comments, and suggestions because you that will help shape where this podcast goes.

Prizes.

We have given away some pretty cool photography related prizes (Books, Software, DVD’s) at WeeklyPhotoTips.com and we are going to incorporate those same contests here, so if you head over to the blog you can be part of our February giveaway extravaganza, we will be giving away more photography books, software, and DVD’s and all the details on how to get involved are at WeeklyPhotoTips.com.

Now on to the best part of this podcast, Vincent Versace, one of the most influential people in my development as a photographer.

Vincent is an outstanding photographer and equally as good a photography instructor and I have never heard a person speak so well about the importance of monitor calibration so be sure to listen to the podcast for his insightful information.

Stop by VersacePhotography.com you can see is stunning work, his tutorials, books, and DVD’s… trust me, it’s a stop well worth making.

Thanks to PopPhoto for giving us permission to run that clip and Adorama for sponsoring this podcast.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and to listen, your time is valuable and we truly appreciate that you spent some of it with us.

Please feel free to download the show for later listening.