John De Bord Photography Photoblog

The Samsung Galaxy S7 - A Photographers Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (kkartphoto) — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 19:36:00 +0000

Greetings folks!
It's been quite awhile hasn't it. I admit, I have neglected my photoblog some and in later posts I will touch on why that has happened.

Today though I want to talk about something I never really thought I'd be talking about. Let's face it. Cell phones and cameras have both a stigmata and a stereotype about them. The whole "look mom, a hipster!" is one of those, the other is that the photos coming out of them generally as a rule of thumb are worse quality than a compact point and shoot camera. The latter I generally agree with.

I dropped a wad of cash on my phone. In all honesty, it's rather amazing how much these devices can and do cost. I'm prepaid so it was 100% out of pocket but I waited for a long time, a few years, for something like the Samsung Galaxy S7 to arrive on the scene. I knew it was just a matter of time until it did and I wanted something which would add to my arsenal of camera gear. Something which really would work and something that had the features I really wanted. One of the biggies of course was the ability to shoot RAW. The S7 does that in the form of DNG.

This past summer, myself and someone who I hold very near and dear to me, did a 7,800 mile photography trip that covered 4 states and hit several national parks. I had just received my S7 weeks before leaving for my trip and it was a great opportunity to really give the S7 a workout.

"Evening At Dead Horse Point"

The one thing I noticed right away about the Samsung Galaxy S7 was how sharp the RAW files were. This honestly caught me off guard because I was not expecting that. The amount of detail pulled in from the camera is truly stunning and in some ways actually rivals that of my Sony A77. Not only that but the images are sharp all the way through. The only thing I have found is that in super high contrast situations, especially those involving trees, there does tend to be some colored noise at times which is easily adjusted inside Nik's Dfine 2 which I use for noise reduction. Or a simply mask inside Photoshop using an adjustment layer of hue/saturation works as well. That doesn't happen often but it is there once in a blue moon.

"A Bed Of Wildflowers"-- Kebler Pass outside Crested Butte, Colorado.

I started processing my photos inside Lightroom & Photoshop which is my regular apps for my workflow. Considering that the images are only 12MP, things flew by. That is one thing I enjoyed, it's fast and easy. I also have bought a cheap little tripod to help me steady the camera but I mostly wanted it for video which the S7 does wonderfully. The focus points while in "Pro Mode" are rather incredible and remind me a lot of my DSLR.

"Rolling Thunder" - Arches National Park, Utah

So what are my thoughts on it all?
Well, in all honesty I do believe that the time has come and is here now to where our phones no longer take really bad photos but are a legitimate camera in its own right. Does it have limitations? Sure it does, I wouldn't try taking wildlife photos with it or astro shots but in terms of landscapes? Yeah, it certainly serves its purpose and does so that left me pretty darn floored. It used to be that cell phone shots needed all these "Instagram-esque" filters applied to them just to make them look half way decent. I can say that with the S7 that is no longer the case. In fact, it is now my second camera and I find myself being just as serious behind the lens of it as I am with my regular gear. That my friends says a lot.

If you're honestly thinking of ways to step outside the box and add to your arsenal as a photographer, then I have to say go give the S7 a good look. It's a very solid investment and one which will only put a smile on your face.
--John

Do you shoot Sony cameras? Here's the biggest unknown tip ever.

noreply@blogger.com (kkartphoto) — Thu, 30 Oct 2014 12:20:00 +0000

This autumn I spent some time down in the West Elk mountains of Colorado. All I can say is is a very huge "wow". If you've never been there you really need to put it on the "must do" list. An amazing place that really is a photographers heaven. Like any other photographer, I was both anxious and excited to get home and begin processing my photographs. So when I did I was rather startled by what I found.

I shoot Sony cameras. Right now that consists of a Sony A77 and a Sony A550 as my backup camera. There's a few things inside Sony cameras which sets them apart from others; most notably is what is called "DRO", basically it stands for "Dynamic Range Optimization". It is basically leased technology from a company named Apical and Nikon uses their technology as well, the difference however is that Nikon, unlike Sony, didn't provide them a "chip" which from my understanding basically fine tunes things. Now I know, this is really in the weeds stuff here but hang with me.

Now I imagine most photographers workflow these days consists of basically this;

*Download photos to computer

*Open Lightroom

*Import photos

*Process

*Maybe touch up in Photoshop

*Save

That "open in Lightroom" thing though got me. It got me good. When I did this, I noticed right away a complete loss of color and luminescence. I've always noticed it before but it was really never that big of a deal. However for these photos it was. Gone was the "shimmering effect" the Aspen once had and how they glowed. Lightroom was essentially zeroing out every single thing as far as settings went with my RAW files. Flat out, it wasn't reading the information embedded into the RAW files as far as creative styles go or anything as far as DRO went. What I would see on my cameras LCD would look very different than what I saw when I imported them into Lightroom. No, I don't shoot RAW+JPEG, only RAW. I couldn't figure out why this happening so I went digging. I found a few threads here and here over on dpreview and flickr which touched on this happening but not a whole lot and then I saw someone mention "Sony IDC". A light bulb went off.

Like most photographers, the software that comes with our cameras we sort of consider "just there". In fact, I would think most never even bother to install the stuff. After all, we have the latest and greatest software from Adobe. Who needs factory junk which hardly has anything included in it, right? Right. Well....no, not right, in fact....very wrong. I opened up Sony IDC just to see what would happen, expecting nothing at all and just the same thing really. Boring software and no real fine tuning tools. Boy, did I get a shock. Right away I noticed a huge difference. We're talking massive. Everything that was recorded from the time of capture in my camera was retained in full. Everything. All the luminosity was there, the fine detail with the DRO, the shimmering of the Aspen and their colors when I saw them. All there. All retained. Needless to say I was rather elated and excited.

Click for larger size

Since finding this out I have redone my workflow entirely and now use Lightroom as a more of "in the weeds" app that my go to app for editing. My workflow used to look like this;

*Import photos into Lightroom
*Process in Lightroom
*Export out as a 16 bit TIFF
*Final editing in Photoshop
*Done

My workflow now looks like this;

*Import RAW files into Sony IDC
*Fine tune exposure, DRO, camera settings
*Save RAW file & export out as 16 bit TIFF
*Open in Photoshop to edit, save TIFF file
*Open TIFF file in Lightroom and do in the weeds editing and keywording

It sounds like it would take more time doesn't it but in reality it has allowed me to really cut down on the time to edit photos. I no longer have to mess around with trying to get back color from color shifting or retaining DRO which was basically futile. That being said.....

Not without caveats.

There are some caveats when it comes to editing in Sony IDC and one has presented a real problem which I'll explain. There is a work around for this but it is kind of intensive and unless you know some things inside Photoshop (Lightroom is incapable of helping here) you may have some problems. It's times like this sites like YouTube come in very handy with video tutorials.

Sony IDC has issues when it comes to 16 bit TIFF files and I haven't quite figured out why. It may be in the way the files are written themselves and I really need to contact Sony about this and thus far I have never heard this mentioned anywhere. Basically, when you export out a RAW files as a 16 bit TIFF, dithering can occur in skies. It's rather odd considering this shouldn't be happening at all and is basically 8 bit behavior and what you would find with JPEG images and as far as I'm able to tell, it only seems to happen in skies.

The work around.

I don't worry about how the skies look inside Sony IDC. Instead, what I do is now process the skies inside Lightroom. Things like DRO and camera settings don't matter much when dealing with a sky. I then export out that image from Lightroom to a 16 bit TIFF file. Inside Photoshop I use layer masking to bring that sky from Lightroom on to the other photo that was processed inside Sony IDC. Problem solved. This allows me to get the exact image I am looking for without the massive loss in quality due to dithering. Intensive? Perhaps. It doesn't take a lot of time however and I believe it's very much worth it. If you aren't familiar with how to use layer masks, simply Google or YouTube it. It's extremely easy and one of the most powerful editing tools in post work. One you use them, you'll always use them.

The screen shot below is a really drastic illustration of what I am talking about. I was frustrated and was fighting with retaining DRO and adjusting the color shift inside Lightroom. I tried and failed to replicate what I saw in camera. As you can see, the oranges in the Aspen trees is basically toast, gone, as is the dynamic range from DRO which was recorded inside the RAW file from the time of capture. I opened it up in Sony IDC and there it was....all retained. The finished photograph is done using my workflow above (not the layer masking part of course as there is no sky).

Click for larger size

click for larger size

In closing, those of you who shoot Sony may want to take a minute and take a look at your RAW files inside Sony IDC. It's a pretty huge difference and one that I think will probably surprise you.
It's worth the 5 minutes for sure. Be sure to check out my website www.jdebordphoto.com and my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jdebordphotography to keep up with my adventures behind the camera.

Yours,
John

Ramblings from a photographic junkie

noreply@blogger.com (kkartphoto) — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 14:19:00 +0000

I am gearing up for Fall and it has been far too long since I wrote anything on my blog. In all honesty I just have been so busy with everything that I haven't had the time. A lot of stuff has suffered like social networks, photo sites like flickr, 500px, deviantART, etc. BUT (yes that's a big BUT) there's a good reason for that too....I have been spending my time wisely with getting out as much as I possibly can with my camera. The result? Doing what I love to do like no tomorrow. I also had a lot of downtime shortly after January 1st due to a massive surgery that kept me in the hospital nearly a month, from which I am still recovering. Only until very recently have I been medically cleared to go to the mountains.

It's kind of funny however. You tend to really start to notice your immediate surroundings a lot more when you shoot close to home. Luckily I live in an area where I have endless amounts of photographic subject matter like state parks, national refuge's, amazing city parks, all of which have kept me incredibly busy.

Anyways....

I recently came across another photographers photo blog (wish I could remember who and I didn't bookmark it...doh!) where he basically explained "how to suck at photography". It was a very interesting read and I didn't agree with it all but it did make me think. One of the things he mentioned is paying too much attention to social media and basing your own self worth as a photographer on how well an image does, how many "retweets", "shares" and "likes" something gets. It's a very valid and good point and many times I have personally witnessed photographers basically give up because they don't get the attention they want, seek, or in some cases deserve on social media sites like twitter, G+, facebook and the host of others.

Let me throw you a bone. If this was 2005 what would you do? better yet, if this was 1998 what would you do? Before the entire world was online, before facebook, before twitter, before flickr. What would you do? We often see things in a negative light from the get go and that is one of the problems. A change of vision is in order and a change in how we perceive things is in order.

When I was recovering from my surgery I rekindled an old flame and I began to remember why I love the internet when it comes to photography. That fame was the love for seeking knowledge when it comes to photography as an artistic medium. The study of a picture, the ability to get lost in an image and admiring for what it is, a piece of art. Not how many comments, favs, likes, share it has but rather the inquisitive nature of how the photographer took the shot, why he clicked the shutter at that very moment, how he composed and framed it and how it was processed.

In a way, many of us have become cynics when it comes to photography on the internet and other photographers. We really have. You look around and you see a lot of posts posted by photographers which are subtle but very snarky. We've lost our vision and creativity due to over consumption of photography on the internet and we've changed our point of view from a learning process to one which sees every other photographer not as a friend but as a foe and a competitive enemy. It is hard to move forward when you have that monkey on your back. It's even harder when you stop learning and instead begin concentrating on how many page views and favs something has.

Create. Learn. Explore. Envision. Most of all, click the shutter not for someone else or for social media recognition but YOU. The roots are calling, it's time we get back to them and rekindle our love affair of what brought us all here to begin with!
---John

Here's a selection of recent work, as always prints are available, please inquire.

Major schedule changes for the annual Fall photo meetup

noreply@blogger.com (kkartphoto) — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 02:09:00 +0000

After much thinking and much talking with others, I need to make changes to the annual Fall photography meetup. Many of these changes are big switches from the original schedule which should now be completely disregarded. As many of you know, Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park were hit very hard by the recent flooding we have had here in Colorado. As such, access to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park has been severely limited due to the usual highways, HWY 34 and HWY 36 being all but destroyed. The only way to access Estes Park is to come in from the west side and go over Trail Ridge Road which can close at any time due to weather this time of the year or take 6th Avenue west to HWY 119 out of Blackhawk, to HWY 72 to HWY 7 which leads into Estes Park. I have mapped out the specific routing for getting there via Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/zgztC

I am going to cancel the second week all together, sadly. Right now it appears that our Government will be shutting down which would in effect close Rocky Mountain National Park all together during that time. I am also cancelling Saturday the 28th of September as it is a free day in the park and with much of the park & its roads closed due to flooding, it will an absolute zoo and very bumper to bumper. Not an ideal situation. All alerts, conditions and closing, along with openings for Rocky Mountain National park can be found here http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/flood_alert.htm

New Schedule-Where, when, times;

Sunday September 29th 6:30am
We will meet in the parking lot of the Beaver Meadows Visitors Center inside Rocky Mountain National park at 6:30am. This is the west side entrance in Estes Park. See map here http://goo.gl/maps/zgztC It is where mark "B" is located. Please, don't be late as we will need to leave quickly to get in position to photograph the sunrise over Longs Peak. Afterwards we will look for Elk to photograph along with other wildlife within the park. Please be advised that all trails on the Estes Park side of Rocky Mountain National Park are currently closed. I will be in a silver Dodge caravan with a black and white dog. So keep an eye out! I will have my tripod out behind the car so I am easily recognized.

If you plan to stay overnight in Estes Park or have made previous reservations, I would call as soon as you can to check and see if those are indeed still good. Many hotels and motels have closed due to the flooding.
I hope to see some of you out there! Just allow yourself enough time if you are coming from Denver as it is longer to get there. 3am may seem to early to leave but I can promise you, in the end you will glad you did!
---John

Announcing the 2013 Fall in Rocky Mountain National Park meetup!

noreply@blogger.com (kkartphoto) — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 12:55:00 +0000

Well, it is hard to believe that Fall is almost here and with that comes our annual meetup in Colorado's beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park! This is something I put together on a yearly basis and everyone is welcome regardless to what you shoot and there is no cost involved to join us all. It's always proven to be a wonderful time and we have always had a lot of fun. It is also a very relaxing type of atmosphere, lots of fun with the ability to also learn from your fellow photographers too. More or less, it's just a time to unwind and enjoy Fall in a way which you may have not before if you haven't joined us in the past.

Last year we witnessed many amazing things, from a spectacular sunrise along the shores of Lake Estes overlooking the famous Stanley Hotel, to seeing and photographing bull Elk crossing the lake to working on more intimate nature scenes with macro photography in Moraine Valley. The sound of Elk bugling fills the air early in the morning and it makes for a magical experience. Get ready to see, hear and photograph things like you never have before!

The dates;

Week 1---Saturday Sept. 28 & Sunday Sept. 29
Week 2---Saturday Oct. 5 & Sunday Oct 6th

Place & Time;

We will meet at 6:30 am on the shores of Lake Estes in Estes Park, Colorado. GPS coordinates are 40.376418,-105.503399 roughly. A map can be found here through Google Maps http://goo.gl/maps/zQdpW Don't be late and allow yourself enough time to get there, we wouldn't want you to miss anything after all. It is very easy to get to and I will be there early with my tripod set up, just look for a tripod on the shoreline pointing east along with a silver Caravan. From here, we will shoot the sunrise and then move on to Rocky Mountain National Park to photograph the Elk rut in the morning light of Golden Hour. You are of course also free to do your own thing too, naturally!

What To Bring;

*A change of clothes. Dress warm for the mornings but also bring a change of clothes for the warm temps mid day. Temps swing wildly this time of the year and going from 20 degrees to 70 is commonplace. That means gloves people! I can't stress this enough.

* Food & drinks. There aren't many places in the park to get a drink so be sure to stock up on bottled water and the like which also helps with the altitude. Same can be said as far as food goes.

*Lenses. Generally you will want something in the 300mm range at minimum to be able to photograph the Elk. Though we have been known to lend out a few lenses while on location to fellow photographers who don't have that focal length depending on what system you shoot.

*Money for entrance into Rocky Mountain National Park. Be aware that Saturday, Sept. 28th is a FREE day into the park. As such, no admission is charged however that also means that the park becomes very crowded by late morning. Fees are $20 per car and is good for a full week. More about the fees and annual passes can be found on the website of RMNP here http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm

Lodging

I highly suggest inquiring about reservations as soon as possible if you plan to stay over night.

*KOA Estes Park. http://koa.com/campgrounds/estes-park/ Several people have stayed here in the past and have had good experiences. They offer quite a variety as far as lodging goes including cabins with showers. The rates are quite affordable.

*RMNP Campgrounds http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/camping.htm Many are first come, first served this time of the year and don't take reservations.

*Saddle & Surrey Motel. http://www.saddleandsurrey.com/ One of Estes Parks best kept secrets.

*Comfort Inn Estes Park http://www.comfortinn.com/hotel-estes_park-colorado-CO406 has very high reviews with competive rates.

Bring on Fall in the Rocky Mountains!
---John.

Staying Down Low

noreply@blogger.com (kkartphoto) — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 23:46:00 +0000

It's been a crazy summer and it's hard to believe that Fall is just around the corner. My camera, a Sony A550 gave up the ghost while on a photoshoot outside of Breckenridge. The circuitry went adios and it is now sitting at the Sony repair headquarters in TX waiting to be fixed. Shortly before that happened, just weeks, I got incredibly ill with a very serious skin infection which lead me to being hospitalized for almost a week. I was in a bad, bad world I tell ya. Needless to say I have an incredible amount of medical bills which I need to pay and my camera being repaired? Well...I wasn't sure what i was going to do. I decided to try and drum up print sales through my site on deviantART and it's actually been going pretty good. I also have a nice enough friend who let me borrow his brand new, basically still in the box, Sony a65 for a few weeks that I could shoot and try to make some cash with my images. I owe him let me tell you!

Anyways, this year I have stayed down low. Most photographers when they visit Colorado, or are from here, tend to go to the mountains but I did this rather intentionally. I wanted to be able to focus on Colorado locally and concentrate on my state, county and city parks and wilderness areas. I have found many new areas to photograph, met some wonderful fellow photographers who I now call friends and have seen some great wildlife.

Wildlife though was another reason. I wanted to better myself as photographing animals. I spent a lot of time watching, observing, learning and being patient. Not taking a million photos but just a few. I intentionally limited myself to try and get the shot that I wanted right away. Some times I was successful, sometimes not. However, I taught myself and I learned a great deal. It's proved a very valuable lesson.

I guess in 6 weeks time we'll see how much I learned when I head up to Rocky Mountain National Park to photograph the annual Elk rut. I'm excited and I think this year I will see things like I never have before with putting what I learned to maximum use.

Onwards and upwards!
---John

A white-tailed deer fawn as seen in the grassland of Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife refuge in Colorado.

The landscape of Red Rocks Park shows off it's prehistoric beauty as the soft light dances across the land and the colors of sunrise paint the sky a brilliant shade of pink and blue

A Red-tailed hawk keeps a watch out against a blue sky in Colorado. Such stunning birds with an incredible magnificence about them.

Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR-A Little Known Jewel

noreply@blogger.com (kkartphoto) — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:55:00 +0000

This year I haven't been up in the mountains a single time. I know most people will probably think "What! Are you insane! You live in Colorado!" but in reality it has been by choice. In January this year I discovered Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge & their recently opened auto tour. Located in Commerce City, Colorado (a suburb of Denver) it is a huge area which could almost be a national park, a former superfund site which was once a weapons & munitions manufacturing facility, much of the area is still closed and deemed to contaminated for humans. However, it is beaming with wildlife in a way which I have never seen anywhere else. Now a USFWS refuge, wildlife here rules to roost and has taken over since the days of the past when it once produced chemical weapons.

Bison, Eagles, hawks, songbirds of all kinds, deer in both white-tailed and mule variations and more Coyotes than I ever seen in one place. Honestly, it's never a question if you will be able to photograph something but how much. For wildlife photographers this place is absolute heaven but there is something here for landscape shooters as well. It offers a unique landscape which one usually doesn't think of when they think "Colorado", more of a forest meets prairie feel which can offer up some great images backed up by several lakes. If you are willing to take the time and really explore the environment here, you will find that there is an absolute ton of things to photograph and that is why I have been keeping to the low land so far this year.

It's really an interesting place and one hardly anybody knows about. In fact much of the time I am here I pretty much have the entire place to myself. Even on the weekend mornings, there's hardly anybody here and those who are seem to be a hand full of other photographers or fishermen. I guess that is also another reason why I like it, it is utterly quiet here, only the sounds of the Coyote's singing at dawn. It's hard to believe that Denver is only minutes away yet you hear nothing, no traffic, no hustle and bustle....just peace. It's also free to get in but the hours I have to say are a tad on the wonky side, 6am-6pm which I am not fond of as it basically kills being able to photograph both sunrise & sunset here during summer. I really wish that they would re-examine that and keep it open 24-7 just as National Parks are.

For more information on this fantastic location, please visit the website of Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge or checkout their facebook page and while you are there, be sure to look for my work as they feature my photography quite often. So the next time you are in Denver or just passing through, I highly suggest making this place a "must see" destination! You won't regret it!
---John

Let's Cut The Crap Already

noreply@blogger.com (kkartphoto) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 13:31:00 +0000

I am not sure where abouts this whole thing originated from (I have a few ideas) but one of the things which I have noticed lately over the last several months is the absolute arrogance and ego coming from some of the what I call "The 1% Photographers Of Privilege". I'm not going to mention names here but if you are on any social media sites like G+ then you know who I am talking about. It disturbs me that is still after many months discussion on why some think their images are better than yours because they don't add a signature to their photos.

Say again?

Yes you read that correctly. Apparently a few of these people see photos that have a signature as being unprofessional. They argue that it takes away from a photo and all this jazz. I can understand that train of thought WHEN it is something which it is a tangent or obstructing the image itself. I don't see something small in the bottom right hand corner of an image as being bad and heaven knows I basically sign all my work. I am after all proud of my work, a signature is the finishing touch to a piece. What bothers me however is the sort of bashing attitude that many of these folks have. I also find it almost hypocritical that in reality, many of these photographers don't have to rely on a signature to get web traffic to their site. This is also one of the reasons why I sign my work, I include my website address so people can go there and see more of my work; they know where it came from. However when you have a following that is essentially larger than a army in some countries, it is irrelevant. For those of us who though scrap to get by with our photography, it is an essential piece of the promotion game and make no mistake about it, most of us do struggle to get by who do this full time and to hear the bashing coming from people who are more of a marketing person than a photographer is an insult.

Look, many of us also can't afford to stick our high resolution photographs without signatures on the internet free to download. Wallpapers are one thing but to stick a full on high res file online? These "1% Photographers Of Privilege" need to understand that to us, this is a financial issue. If I made millions with my work or a very cozy and comfortable living, I would be able to offer such things and I imagine many of us would be able to do that as well. However as it stands now, this only serves to compete against ourselves directly. It must be nice to be able to offer such things for free and not have to worry about where your next check is coming from to pay for your groceries, power bill, etc.

We get it. You make a ton of money with your photography, you have a massive following, cool deal. I am happy for you. Just please don't trash the rest of us who don't and who bust our butts just as hard as you do and often more so.

Let's cut the crap already.

Photographed at Chatfield State Park, Colorado

Introducing the jdebordphoto.com Lightroom presets-Volume 1

noreply@blogger.com (kkartphoto) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:21:00 +0000

For an awfully long time now I have wanted to do this; release a set of Lightroom presets which I designed on my own. It's one of those things which has been on the back burner for a long time and today I am happy to announce that I am releasing my first collection of 19 different Lightroom effects in this collection.
This is, more or less a test run to see how well it is received and to see how people like them. It is more of a feeling out process for me to see what people think, so I would encourage you all to leave your feedback here on my photoblog entry. I tried to mix it up as much as possible so that there was essentially something for everybody.

These were created inside Lightroom 3 so I imagine that they will work with both version 3 and 4 of the program. From B&W to retro color effects, have at it and enjoy! They can be downloaded here and are in WinRAR format. You may need a copy of WinRAR which is free in order to extract them and that can be had on the WinRAR website If you need help in understanding how to install presets into Lightroom, then I will refer to this simple and very short tutorial on Digital Photography School

The Long Road - An Editorial

noreply@blogger.com (kkartphoto) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:53:00 +0000

So, I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. Probably too much and maybe in some respects not enough as I really should have done this long ago. I have started to question a lot of things lately, most of it relating to what I can only refer to as "social network photographers" or perhaps "social network photography" in general (probably a better description)

Recently I came upon two blog posts which made me stop in my tracks. One which written by Rachael Alexandra titled "10 steps. Feathers, webs & water" The other was from landscape photographer Dan Jurak titled "Shooting the landscape or let's play follow the leader"

Notice anything in those posts? They exemplify what I have been feeling for a long time now as a photographer. Quite awhile actually. See, I have been questioning for awhile now sites like Google Plus and how they cater to those who literally need to feel justified within their artistic endeavours as a photographer by the amount of +1s something gets. It's all become photography masturbation 101 (excuse my French there) and it has become the home of elitism defined. Once upon a time I used to love the place, I praised it endlessly and I adored it. I used to log in and start my day there each and every morning and now, I don't.

Now I am sure that this post will rattle a few bones in some, I don't have many qualms about that but it is what it is. For lack of a better description, what is happening is that you have essentially a handful of people who run the whole show on there. No I won't name any names but suffice to say many of you know who I am talking about & they know who they are too. From petty, absolutely stupid things like "I will not share you in a circle because you have a watermark" to the massive amount of ass kissing and cliquey atmosphere which has developed. people who are in the whole "photographer of privilege circles" and play the numbers game.

Enough with that though because this isn't a photoblog entry strictly about the merits (or lack thereof) of G+ but about the whole picture (no pun intended lol) of things.

There is only one real way to get better at things and it involves almost nothing to do with social networks with comments of "pretty" or "nice shot" exist. You know what that is? To keep doing it more and more. Keep shooting more and more. Art is one of those things that everybody grows in after a period of time and photography is no exception to the rule. Often times we look to others to gain insight, learning & help which I agree is helpful, tremendously but nothing will ever replace time spent in the field doing what you love to do, take pictures.

I see so many these days get frustrated with their work and one thing seems to be a common trait across the board. The lack of feedback which they get on their work. Whether it on G+, deviantART, Flickr...the problem is one which spreads across multiple photo websites.

Why?

People have a natural drawing to things which make them feel good and getting comments on a photo which you clicked the shutter for is just that very thing. While it feels good to be patted on the back with praise and compliments and it feels good to have your ego stroked, I offer up the question of what is it doing for you as a photographer?! I see so many base their self worth as a photographer on the amount of favs, +1s, "likes" something gets and it makes me so sad. This is certainly a product of the Internet age and it is a bad one at that too. If we go back to 1995, who was doing that? Nobody. No one based their own self worth on anything like this. Today though that isn't the case and I see many fall into this trap. Everything is so in the "here and now" as it relates to things. One look at any social networking site and you will see something like "Wow! I got published!", "I have 125,000 followers now!", "Thank you so and so for sharing this of mine"...on and on it goes. The circle or merry-go-round, never stopping always constant.

Breathe.

Step back, re-evaluate, think and yes, breathe. many times we don't. Many times we fail to do the one thing which really can help us. Prioritizing. Where is it you want to go with your photography? What is it you want to achieve? What are your goals? We all share one common trait, no matter what subject you shoot...we all want to get better. It is how you execute that in which you will find happiness and enjoyment when photographing. Write out a list of what you seek, try to follow it and come back in 6 months and see what you have done. Tuck it away, keep it safe and revisit it after a period of time. You will find one of two things--you either were sidetracked and didn't keep to it or you accomplished what you want too. You will fine one thing though for sure in it---honesty.

The Long Road

I found happiness behind the camera finally and some others I have spoken with also have. How? they did it by putting forth a commitment to not get to engulfed in social networks, play the numbers game for popularity, they took a break from such sites and got back to doing what they love, photography. A lot of folks get wrapped up in social networks, seek the praise and seek the quick ego strokes. I understand that fully, I really do because I used to as well. Probably more in some respects than most. heck I used to spend upwards 8 hours a day and more on deviantART alone (what was I thinking?!?!?!?) 5 years ago. I saw a lot, I learned a lot and one day I had what I can only say amounted to the Nestea plunge poured all over me. My health began to suffer from it and I realized that instead of being a photographer I was a "social network photographer". Now what I had planned nor what I ever envisioned. Yet there I was....

It is really easy to get caught up in it all and lose sight of everything. In many ways it becomes an addiction (in fact it is) Many who were once big on deviantART who have left the site will tell you this. It was their drug until they woke up too and realized what was happening. They were losing them as an artist and as a photographer for the quick praise. Granted some don't but many do.

When I took a second step back about 10 months ago I noticed some other things. At the time I was very active on G+ and I started to see the forest through the trees. It was starting to repeat again but not so much with me but others--the chasing of praise, popularity, the cliques which were evolving, the snarkiness, the alienation of many to serve the chosen few, etc. It was then I decided to focus my attention on my personal website and on my facebook photography page

I know a lot of people have issues with facebook but I will give the devil it's due here. It allows me to communicate with people unlike ever before. No other site anyplace else allows for this because it isn't just my fellow photographers but rather the general public at large. People who aren't photographers but have a general love of my work, people who admire it for what it is. This in turn leads to clients (your fellow photographers aren't the ones purchasing your prints, they have their own work) I found it refreshing and I found it completely non-stressful as well. For me, it was the oasis in the desert that I had been searching for. Ultimately this lead to the freeing up of more time for me to do what I love and do best, photography. Not being only out there in the field but processing and editing too.

In fact I have been shooting so much that I need as much time as I can get just to process images. I am literally entrenched in what seems like a never ending workflow. Maybe it's time to hire that robot that is ACE certified lol

I do know one thing though, don't lose sight of what you want out of your photography and if you do, come to me and I will gladly through my old Bogen 3030 head at ya. Thing weighs a ton and will will wake you up pretty quick!

Now, go get it done!
---John

The Watcher

A Ferruginous Hawk watches for prey while perched at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Denver, Colorado. More can be seen on my website at www.jdebordphoto.com

2012 - A Year In Review

noreply@blogger.com (kkartphoto) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:42:00 +0000

Another year down and another year filled with photography lays ahead. It is hard to believe that 2012 is in the books and over. Wow, where has the time gone, seriously? Over on Google+ some of the themes currently running that many are participating in is #mybest2012 #top2012 #bestof2012 #best2012 #topphotos2012 where people essentially post their top 12 photos of the year. I figured I would participate but instead of posting all of my photos on there, I would post them on my photoblog instead. I also am doing a few more than simply 12. This is just some highlights, I have a lot more I could add in here but I will save this for future photoblog entries. It also reminds me that I am very backlogged in processing and have a great deal to do yet.

I learned a lot this year, a whole lot. Not only about photography itself either but certain aspects that go along with it. Much of it sadly is negative but as I found these things out, I made changes to switch things up and turn that negative into a positive. Sometimes it is good to rearrange things to where you have the option to do this. As the saying goes; 'When God closes a door, he opens a window" and many windows were opened for me this year.

So kick back and enjoy. This won't be in any particular order. If you are interested in seeing larger sized images, please click the photo which will take you directly to my website itself. As always, every single one of these photos is available for purchase as fine art prints and products.

"A September Remembrance - Regardless of what a lot of photographers say, there is a great deal of “luck” involved with getting a photo. I am not really sure if there is any greater luck than the weather itself. I only have control over my camera, things like fstop, exposure, shutter speeds, lenses, filters, deciding when to click the shutter. Often times I am presented with skies which are completely cloudless when I wanted clouds for instance and every once in awhile mother nature gives me something to where I am literally screaming at the sky in excitement.Fog in Colorado is a very uncommon thing and for this, I just happened to pick the right place to have as a meeting point for the first day of our annual “Fall In Colorado Photo Meetup” on the shores of Lake Estes in Estes Park. We were presented with a scene that was almost unworldly at times with the rising sun backlighting the fog and creating an almost surreal glow about it. I just wish we had weather like this a great deal more often! The title of the piece…it’s breast cancer awareness month and the colors seemed to fit that quite well.

"Ghost Light" - Last year , myself along with one of my shooting buddies headed out to the eastern plains of Colorado to do some hunting for some good old “rural decay” as I call it. We wouldn't come away empty handed. We found this old abandoned farm and decided to double back to photograph it at sunset. I was thinking that this place may be really lit up against the setting sun and I bet right (for once) The light was completely crazy lighting up the barn that you see here and illuminating the sky behind it, turning it this glowing iridescent indigo blue.

"Klaus" - This is an incredibly personal photo for me. Photographed in May 2012, it would be the last really good photo which I ever took of my dear boy before he passed in late June. As I write this, I get teary eyed as I miss him so much. he was my protector and my best friend and always there for me through thick and thin. he knew my inner most fears and my inner most secrets. He went through so much with me. He now lays at rest where I photographed this very photo at his favorite place-Chatfield State Park in a an area I call "Klaus' spot"Every time I am here, I stop and say hi and spend a few minutes with my best friend.

"The Serenade Of Orange" - Again, another very personal image of mine. We were photographing the Sunflower fields out on the Colorado plains in the middle of no where watching a great sunset when all of the sudden a little dog approached us who seemed all but forgotten about, very hungry and very thirsty. Ironically it was almost a month to the exact day in which Klaus passed away. Needless to say I now have a wonderful short haired Border Collie laying here at my feet as I type this who has come into my life and stolen my heart who we have nicknamed "Sunny" affectionately after the fields which we found him in.

"Puppy Face" - And here he is! My new best friend, "Sunny". I simply love this photograph of him and how it shows his playful, loving and the very affectionate disposition he has. I processed this one in B&W intentionally and I like it how it came out with the softness a great deal.

"Mister Big Mouth" - each and every year during Autumn I look forward to being able to photograph the annual Elk rut in Rocky Mountain National park, Colorado. This guy was something else, displaying his battle scars with a cut lower lip . I had to be patient to get the shot I wanted; something that really brought out the detail in the face and in the eyes. One of my favorite photographs from 2012, no questions asked!

"A Fall Stillness" - One of the things I love to do is "compression landscapes" as I call them. Basically it's using a very long lens (in this case a Tamron 200-400mm lens) to get in close to details of the landscape that the human eye would likely not see. Panning around and studying the detail and composition, it has lead to some great images which I otherwise would have likely missed. Photographed at Chatfield State Park in Colorado, I was all over the reflection and how the foothills in the background has this texture which seemed to flow downward in a pattern. I just ordered a 30x40 metallic print of this shot and I have to say, it is absolutely stunning!

"Drops Of Gold" - i have really come to love and enjoy the macro setting on my Tamron 200-4000mm lens. Not a true macro, as it only does 1:2 magnification but it has allowed me to get some shots which I otherwise would have missed entirely and this is one of them. Photographed this Autumn in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.

"A Wash Of Color" - Photographed on the day in which the Mayan's said the world would end. A Doomsday sunrise if you will. I stood here freezing my keester off at Cherry Creek State Park, Colorado but was rewarded with an incredibly sky which bathed Pikes Peak and the frozen lake in a complete wash of colors. It was as if someone painted the sky and dumped the bucket over the landscape.

"Skies Of Autumn" - This Fall, my meetup group was treated to a spectacular morning along the shores of Lake Estes in Estes Park, Colorado. As the sun started to rise, the clouds broke giving away to fresh snow covered peaks as they reflected the color. You add in the sounds of the Elk bugling and fog lifting and you have something which I think a lot of photographers would call “perfection” as far as conditions go. The famous Stanley Hotel (made famous by Stephen King’s “The Shining”) stands tall in the background.


"Heavens Gates" - I love fall in Colorado, it is my favorite and it is the time of the year yours truly looks forward to being able to do what I do best; photography. This was photographed at one of my favorite locations, Knights Of Pythias cemetery outside of Central City. This place is the real deal, containing the graves and headstones of those who first settled the town during it's gold rush heyday in the 1800s. Walking around in here you get a real sense of not only being alone but calm as well. It is kind of spooky but also very tranquil too. For this shot I really wanted to get the glow that was happening as the sunlight was soaking up and reflecting against the colorful Aspen trees. I really liked how the gate played into the scene with the pathway, as if calling to visitors to come in. Stunning stuff and I can't wait to get back up here this coming Fall!

"Relaxing In the Morning Light Of Autumn" - On a cold and frosty Fall morning I was able to photograph this bull who was starting to just stir to start his day. Awakening on the frosty grass with the dawn sunlight illuminating the area, he made for a very worthy subject. It’s safe to say that this big boy is one of my favorite Elk photographs from this past Autumn.

"Hall Of The Mountain King" - Located outside of Estes Park, St. Malo's Cathedral (some call it St. Katherine's) has always given me wonderful images. Heck I have several in my gallery here already. However this Fall was different in that there was fog! We don't get a lot of fog here in Colorado and I raced over here to get the shot. So thick I could barely see the chapel. I love this place, it looks like something out of Lord Of The Rings or a Gothic novel.

"As If" - Sometimes you just have to laugh at the expressions of wildlife. This was one of those and I was literally cracking up while photographing this Mourning Dove. What a display of attitude as if to say "No, you won't photograph me today! Nope!"

While storm chasing on the eastern plains of Colorado this past spring, we happened upon this scene. I imagine that these Horses are quite used to this sort of weather out here where the afternoons showcase some of the most violent weather on earth. It was pretty amazing really to see them all standing out here in ranch land backed up by a severe thunderstorm that was heading towards them. It certainly made for quite the dramatic scene and one needless to say I had to photograph it.

Never give up on your photography!

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:51:00 +0000

Never give up on your photography!
A rallying cry which I often see from others and say myself to those who think that their work isn't good enough. I can not begin to tell you all how many times I have heard someone say "I am just not good at this, I should sell all my camera equipment", or "I get no comments, no favs, no feedback on my work, it sucks". If anything we are blind to out own work, we never see it as others do and never will. When I was majoring in illustration, my illustration professor taught me a little trick. See, when you are drawing, the problem of not seeing how your work looks in your own eyes is compounded. Our creative brain literally needs refreshing and sitting working on a drawing or painting takes it toll. The same is said for photography, not only when shooting but editing as well. What I was taught from my professor is after about 30 minutes, rotate the canvas or paper a full 180 degrees. get up, walk away, take a 10 minute break and come back and look at it. Mistakes are more pronounced when it is flipped upside down and refreshing the left side of the brain works to notice things in far greater detail, things like mistakes which you may have missed earlier on.

Remember, we should be shooting for ourselves first and foremost. For our own enjoyment. These days many people post their photography online. From personal websites to huge communities like deviantART and flickr. All in hopes of learning more and bettering themselves as a photographer. Sadly, many times these sites also have a profound impact on the people who are just starting out with harsh comments which helpful and people believing that because nobody comments on their work, it is therefore bad. WAKE UP! It greatly disturbs me that people honestly feel this way in that they give value to something so completely superficial. This mentality didn't exist 10-15 years ago. Then, people learned photography not by posting it online but by actual education of reading books, taking classes, joining local art and camera clubs and last, reading their manual. Sure these days some of these same principles apply however in this electronic age, everyone online is an "expert" it seems and i have seen many people who have put their camera down only to never pick it up again because of comments someone has said to them and this makes me incredibly sad...

Look, everyone wants a little pat on the back, a little boost in their ego, I get that, I imagine most get that but there will come a time when you move on if you really decide to chase things with your photography. We all do, we all move forward, we all evolve. In moving on we grow as artists and as photographers, we stop putting so much value into what our fellow photographers think and what some "expert" on the internet thinks of our work and start to concentrate more on what the general public thinks. Your fellow photographers won't be the ones buying your prints to hang above their fireplaces. Sure it does happen but let's be realistic, they have their own body of work. Who will be buying your images is those who truly love and support your work, those who accept it for what it is and those who think what it is you do is nothing short of beautiful. If you are one of the types I mentioned above who values what kind of feedback you receive online on a website community, you WILL get there. If you keep at it. Growth is bound to happen, as sure as the sun will rise. It does take time though and you need to patient.

One of the things I learned in my photography classes while in art college was something my teacher said. "Shoot as much as you can. If you put the camera down for a week, it is like not shooting for 2 months". Now think about that for a minute, nobody ever got ahead because stopped building their house, nobody ever got ahead because they stopped their race car half way through the race. If you want to get better you have to work at it. Chase it. Want it. Strive for it. Immerse yourself in it and it will happen all the more quicker.

These days I concentrate more on reaching the general public with my work, through my facebook photography page where the majority aren't my fellow photographer but clients and potential clients. People who may not be artistic yet like my work for what it is. People who support me as a photographer and you my friend will get there too. It just takes time. No matter what the haters say, keep practicing and keep at it, you are in this for yourself after all.
---John

Geneva Creek cuts through the colorful Aspen forest at the height of Autumn in Colorado.

Schedule for week 2 of the Fall In Colorado photo meetup!

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 03:26:00 +0000

Greetings all!

We had a blast with week 1 of our Fall In Colorado photo meetup and now it is time for week 2!
Oct 5,6 & 7
Basically I have been tossing and turning with mixing it up some and I am going to do just that. I have also been paying very close attention to the weather and it looks like we may be in for some snow this weekend. I am all for being able to photography Elk bugling against snow covered Aspen trees. This can make for some great conditions!

What I am going to change around is this--- Friday, Saturday & Sunday mornings we will meet on the shores of Lake Estes at 6:30am and go from there. For those of you who attended the first week on Friday, it will be at the same spot. This makes logistics much easier than everyone trying to meet in Rocky Mountain National Park or other places. Basically the GPS coordinates are 40.376418,-105.503399 roughly. A map can be found here through Google Maps http://goo.gl/maps/zQdpW

I am determined to get you all some shots of Elk swimming in the lake. From here we will venture into Rocky Mountain National Park each day to photograph Elk and foliage. I plan on wrapping things up by 10am each day of course, things can always run later as we have no real set time table. You all may wish to dress for winter and maybe bring a change of clothes for later in the day. Make sure you check the weather as well.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone and we will have us a blast! Down below are a few shots from the first week.
---John

Tips For Fall Photography

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 14:32:00 +0000

I thought that I would take a second and write this in hopes that maybe it helps some of you out.
Each and every year we see a lot of people write what basically is "make the most for your Fall photos" with hints, tips and tricks and what I have noticed is that much of it is the same. Polarizers, tripods, etc etc. So I thought that I would show you a little glimpse into how I shoot things. Granted, tripods and polarizers are certainly a mandatory affair. No questions asked there.

When it comes to shoot foliage such as Aspen trees and such, I think my method is probably different than a lot of peoples. This is aimed at shooting more intimate scenes, not sweeping landscapes, though it certainly can me used for that however I would say it really is dependent upon the scene itself (then again isn't everything?) Basically I start with an image that I can later correct in post work. I pretty much use Lightroom for everything these days and Photoshop only for resizing and sharpening, along with layer masking when it is called for.

When I am shooting an intimate Fall scene, I generally choose the preset of "Sunset" for my white balance on my Sony A550. I also generally underexpose by 1/3 to 1/2 a stop. Depending upon the lighting, that can drop down to much as a stop. There are a few reasons for this and for me, personally, this is one of the rare times I don't ETTR (Expose To The Right) Highlights can be easily blown within foliage especially when it comes to a scene which involves backlighting and such. The dynamic range within Autumn photography can be gigantic at times and by underexposing, this allows me to retain those highlights. When doing this the darks naturally will be darker so using a low ISO is essential which later doesn't introduce a lot of noise into the image when I am editing it in post work. By using a "sunset" white balance, the images come out very gold. Some may like their images looking like that, some may hate it, however it ensures that the saturation is generally dead on.

In postwork inside Lightroom, I will generally go ahead and just the white balance, finding the whitest point and selecting that. From there I can make adjustments and fine tune the temperature of the scene. Using the Luminance controls, I will then go in and fine tune the highlights to give the image a certain degree of "glow" in fine areas. After that I will adjust the curves and levels accordingly.

Down below is a Lightroom screen cap of the same image side by side. (it isn't finished yet and is a work in progress) It compares what I have in the camera to how I adjusted it mentioning the techniques above. I hope this will help some of you and make you think about your cameras settings this Fall.
---John

Announcing The Fall 2012 Colorado Fall Photography Meetup!

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 14:26:00 +0000

Each and every year we get together photographers from near and far to experience Colorado in all of it's Autumn glory and this year once again we are doing the same! The cost is free and if you want to learn more about photography, we invite you to join us.

For this year we are mixing it up some with doing 1/2 days instead of all day long. From roughly 11am onwards, you will be your own to wander around Rocky Mountain National park and it's surrounding areas. This makes it easier on us and you as well.

The dates for this years meetup are as follows;

1st group Sept 28-30
2nd group Oct 5-7

Be on the look out in the next week or so for the schedule for group 2.
The schedule for group 1 is as follow:

Friday, Septemeber 28th
630am -- Meet on the shores of Lake Estes. http://goo.gl/maps/zQdpW Geo coordinates are 40.376418,-105.503399 roughly. Look for people with tripods set up and for a green Jeep Wrangler (John Sperry's Jeep) We will photograph the sunrise here and hopefully get lucky photographing Elk as they cross the lake. Afterwards, we will swing into Moraine Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park to photograph the Elk rut. We have to be in the area early as possible due to road construction along Bear Lake Rd. The road is technically closed from 9am-4pm however once you are in, you are in and can leave. You can not however re-enter until after 4pm when the road reopens again. We will also photograph the Aspen cages deeper in Moraine Valley.

Saturday September 29th
630am ---Meet on the shores of Brainard Lake. http://goo.gl/maps/1iY4E Geo coordinates 40.078209,-105.572426 We will photograph the sunrise here and explore the area as well. The Moose here have been very active. There is an entrance fee of $9 into the area unless you have a federal recreation pass. The whole area along here is known as the "Peak To Peak" highway and is draped in full Autumn color with gigantic Aspen stands, we will explore & photograph the area. From here, depending on the time, we will head over to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Sunday September 30th
630am --- We will meet in Moraine Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park specifically here http://goo.gl/maps/1Zwxt along Moraine Rd where it meets Bear Lake Rd. Just remember, along Moraine Rd, not along Bear Lake Rd. We will photograph the sunrise and the Elk rut from here and afterwards we will head over to the Horse Park area of RMNP and into the area of the Alluvial Fan and Endo Valley areas to photograph the Aspen cages.

We look forward to seeing and meeting you this Fall!
---John

Review! --- TheVestGuy.com Safari model photo vest.

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:12:00 +0000

Review! --- TheVestGuy.com Safari model photo vest.

Ok I admit it. I HATE photo vests with a passion. I think they are the most absurd looking thing around. I think vests should be reserved for the likes of SWAT teams and fly fisherman, not photographers. Nothing screams geek to me like a photo vest does so when wildlife photographer and custom photography vest maker Rob Daughtery contacted me asking to review one of his vests I was rather skeptical. I have known Rob awhile now and his photography is simply amazing, mind blowing in fact. I sort of figured "ok what the heck, why not" and was expecting another run of the mill generic looking photo vest.

He asked me which model I would like to review and I decided to check out the Safari model photo vest. I received it a few days later and immediately it got my attention. I was expecting some flimsy cloth thing and what I received was something that was anything but. It is like a mix of canvas and nylon that feels as though it could withstand just about everything. Think of something similar to the material which your backpack is made of. This isn't clothing, this is straight up armor. This thing LOOKS and FEELS like it would outlast a dang nuclear war. Was I impressed? Yes. Was I shocked? Very.

It is seriously heavy duty stuff. If you set this thing leaning against something it would probably stand on it's own. It is strong and very rugged. I wouldn't consider this something that say someone shooting sports would wear or portraits, weddings, that sort of thing but rather something you would wear while in the forest when you are down low trying to get the shot. This puppy is made for down and dirty wildlife photographers. This is the sort of vest one wears when they are down on their belly to protect themselves. It is like a SWAT vest for photographers.

One thing which I found very unique about it is how it is completely modular and the customization options which come with it. Yes it has pockets. Yes pockets can be ordered and custom made as wanted by you It has pockets that are huge and ultra strong, enough to hold my 50mm lens and my 200-400. Rob has the ability to imprint your website address and your name on the vest and anything else for that matter. These pockets though get me. It is unlike anything I have ever seen before and the only way I can try to describe it is having the ability to walk around with camera bags tacked to your body. Literally the only thing this thing is missing is a built in tripod strap which I am sure Rob could make for you.

This goes beyond a vest and really is more like a wearable camera bag. Looking at it, comparing anything, sans laptop compartment, it can hold as much and in some respects even more than my go to photo backpack camera bag! Is there anything which I really didn't like?

Well I will be honest, this thing is huge, is that good or bad? It depends on your POV. If you are going to be out in the field for a long time and need to carry stuff but don't want to lug around something like a camera bag, it is perfect. It is stiff, I will say that but I guess that's the sacrifice for protection from the elements. It is bulky, this isn't one of these vests which is light weight and made of trench coat like material. No, this thing is like an iron tent. It is breathable but does get very warm.

You certainly get what you pay for. each one is hand made by Rob and the quality really shows. I like that, I like that time is really taken in something which will last me years and you can just tell it will too. While my Dad was playing the model wearing it while I photographed it, he made the remark "this thing is really well put together". You know that right away from the instant you put it on that you won't need another one a few years down the road.

So my closing thoughts?

Honestly, if you are looking for a vest? Get one. You won't find a better one. Ever. As much as I can't stand photo vests my opinion has now changed at least when it comes to TheVestGuy.com They don't look like any other photo vest and that is for good reason. As I said, this really isn't a vest but an entire camera bag replacement!

Rob also sells beanbags and other style vests too. You can purchase his homemade gear from TheVestGuy.com Go buy one, you will be glad you did!

Who cares what others think about your photography

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Just as the title states folks. Seriously, who cares what others think about your photography.
I woke up this morning and grabbed some coffee, turned on the TV and was surfing around and happened upon this recent image by Peter Lik over on his facebook page. For those of you who may not know Peter, I think it is probably safe to say that he is the most famous landscape photographer of our time. His work hangs in collections all over the world and he has several galleries strewn across the globe. Famous defined. Anyways, what got me wasn't the image, an image which I personally like myself, but the comments on the shot itself.

I know a few of the photographers who are posting those comments. Not in a personal sense but in the internet sense in that they frequent a few of the sites which I am on or once was a member of. The whole "if it isn't out of the camera or appeared anything like that, it is fake" kind of train of thought. Those who are insecure in their work and not able to understand that art is art and feel the need to constantly criticize and argue with other photographers the stupid endless debate of "what is photography". You know what photography is? It is something that makes you happy, it is something which you capture with a camera and something that you create with that camera. The keyword here is "create" and I think a lot forget that. Looking at Peter's image, it does look pretty wild, I don't have any idea how he shot it and it is possible he used a very long lens and I also know that he does use film and double exposures are completely legitimate. So who cares how he took it in all honesty. Why should you care what anyone says about your photography?

You shouldn't and here is why.

Recently I read what I can only describe as the best article on any photoblog that I have ever read, Guy Tal's article "The Value and Futility of Critique" is simply amazing. (Guy is also one of my favorite all time photographers who's work I deeply admire and and am inspired by) If you read it, you will come upon this paragraph;

"Most mature and accomplished artists who embraced their own creativity no longer have much use for critique. From that point on, the critic is but a voice representing the tastes of others, who may or may not understand the work, and whose opinion is not likely to make an impact on the artist's direction. The exception, perhaps, is when the artist considers the critic a better artist than they are."

That is some seriously pretty amazing stuff and boy does he hit home with it. I mean honestly, think about it for a second. Really take that in. he is very much right and in that train of thought you also find happiness.

In this day and age it seems that many are always chasing the acceptance factor of their fellow photographers. Why? Are they the ones actually buying your work? Chances are the answer is no. Case in point, look at the work of Trey Ratcliff who's HDR photography is quite famous yet he is quite a polarizing figure among photographers; people either love or hate his work. You know what though? He is happy with what he creates and he makes a living that puts 99.9% of us to shame with his images (sans Peter Lik maybe) he is living the dream that every single photographer has, traveling the world photographing it. he has stuck to his guns and done what he loves all along and has batted and eye lash in any of it and look what all that focus has gotten him.

Can you hear me now?

Don't give in to the haters and don't be so concerned about what others think, especially those who shoot themselves. It isn't to say that you shouldn't ask for advice, you most cerrtainly should at every second you can, rather think outside the box, think how something looks and if it is something you would hang on your wall. Perhaps more importantly is it an image that someone else would hang on their wall who isn't a photographer. Think about it, you'll get it.
---John

Schedule for week 2 of the Colorado Fall photo meetup!

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:35:00 +0000

Friday 9/30/2011 ----Meet at Moraine Valley Visitors Center in RMNP at 6:30am

This is located along Bear Lake Road. When entering from the west side Estes Park entrance, after you come through the ranger station, you will go left on Bear Lake Road. It is approximately 250 feet after the ranger station entrance, so it comes up very quick. Follow this all the way down in to the valley and the very first left you can make will lead you up in to the parking lot of the Moraine Valley visitors center. I have gone ahead and screen capped a google earth map of it and posted it here http://postimage.org/image/30l8v9o4k/full/

From here we will decide which direction to go. The lower valley that will below us and is viewable from our position is usually home to some of the best Elk rut action of Fall. I highly advise arriving before scheduled time of 630 especially for those who have never experienced the rut before. There is just something totally magical about hearing Elk bugle before sunrise that will send chills up your spine. As it stands now, some of us I am sure will shoot the rut while others may go hiking, it is all up to you.

We will try to rendezvous back up at around 5pm at an area I have to decide yet. I won’t know this until this weekend when I can see what is a good spot that isn’t packed with people. From here, depending on how everything is going with the rut, we may decide to head to Brainard Lake to try and photograph Moose in the evening hours and stay to photograph the sunset. It is very dark at this area as well and provides excellent star trail photography as well.

Saturday 10/1/2011---Meet at Copeland Lake at Wild Basin area of RMNP at 6:30am

This area is totally separated from the main part of RMNP and is absolutely stunning for nature photography. See screen cap of map. This is kind of a ways outside of Estes Park along Hwy 7. It is shortly after you pass St Malo cathedral (the epic church which looks like this http://jdebordphoto.zenfolio.com/img/v19/p1001566707.jpg and will be on your right side) It is approximately 10-15 miles outside of Estes so you all know. When approaching from Estes watch close for signs, it comes up fast, and you will turn right. Keep following it back as the entrance is set back a bit. Upon entering follow the road to the first lake you come upon and that is Copeland Lake. Getting here early is a good thing as it can get busy with the locals (this is a spot that not many tourists know of) It offers excellent hiking for those of you who wish to and great Aspen stands.

From here after shooting, we will head back over to the main part of RMNP. We will decide before hand where to meet but it is looking like the Fall River Visitors Center right now. For those of you who wish to shoot the rut, I suggest leaving no later than 8-830am from Wild Basin.

A side note—PLEASE be aware of Bears in your surroundings here!

Afternoon evenings we will try to get down to Fern Valley and Old Fall River Road if it is open depending on construction to shoot the Aspen ...afterwards possibly Horseshoe Park for the Elk rut if it is happening there in that area of RMNP.

Sunday 10/2/2011 --- Meet at Lake Estes for sunrise at 630am

Please see attached map here http://postimage.org/image/2vemz8n0k/ The lake right now is very full and provides some excellent shots at sunrise. Shortly after sunrise, we will meet back up at Moraine Valley Visitors Center. (again link posted above with map) From here we will shoot the Elk rut in good light and after, providing it is indeed open, will head to Trail Ridge Road to photograph Pika and Marmots. PLEASE dress VERY warm for Trail ridge and bring a LOT of fluids. This is 12,000 feet high and o2 is minimal, however the elements are certainly anything but! It will be downright freezing cold and the wind will be very strong. If Trail Ridge is indeed open, we can venture over to the west side of the park right after to see if we can photograph Moose. For those of you driving on this day, make 100% sure your gas tank is filled.

Evening is still up in the air right now at this point but I am thinking more than likely it will be spent in the Horseshoe Park area of RMNP. Not 100% sure yet though. We will probably have to wait and see how the day plays out before making a final decision on it.

The schedule for week 1 of the annual Colorado Fall photo meetup & workshop!

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:58:00 +0000

Ok folks, here it be in all it’s glory. The schedule for week 1. Please see attached images for maps and directions and times.

Soooo away we go! Make sure you read it ALL please!

First week schedule:

FRIDAY

Friday 9/23/2011---- Meet at 6:30am on shores of Lake Estes

(see attached map for exact meeting point as illustrated and also the map on Google to get directions http://g.co/maps/sq46h ) ....sunrise is at 6:48am so I wouldn't be any later than 6:30 at all. In fact, I would highly suggest arrving before that in order to get set up. Please be advised that the turn off to the right in to the Lake area comes up quite fast and quick after crossing the bridge heading west on 36/66.

Depart Lake Estes no later than 730am head for Moraine Valley in RMNP---- This is the prime area for the Elk rut (along with Horseshoe) We will scope out the artists in residence cabins area first as that is usually one of the best places to see action going on. See attached map with route outlined. This is entering from the west entrance in Estes Park. (FYI possible fast stop at Donut Haus on the way....because they have the best donuts you have ever had in your life I kid not! Real German deal..and refills on coffee) Please be rather quiet when down around the cabins as people will be asleep. From here on out we will adjust plans as needed on the fly.

The rest of the day is up to you. From 11ish to about 3pm tourist traffic picks up and then dies off. I would pay very close attention to the area around Horseshoe Park and Sheep Lakes for Elk rut action in the evening. It gets very packed with many photographers so it may be wise to park your car there and hitch a ride for the day with someone else. This assures a spot for you in the evening. We can decide on the fly where to meet as it is dependent upon where the rutting action is taking place and we won't know until the day we are there.

Also during tourist times is usually a good time to shoot the changing Aspen trees or go up on Trail Ridge Road as most are there to see the Elk battle it out. Areas such as Bear lake Road and Old Fall River Road are incredible with their Aspen stands.

SATURDAY

Saturday 9/24/2011--- Meet at 630am at Lily Lake

(see attached map and also link on Google maps here http://g.co/maps/c6r5w ) This is along HWY 7 heading out of Estes Park on the west side of the highway. It comes up rather fast on the right (when heading from Estes) once you get to the top of the ridge so be aware. The parking lot here is very small also. So again i suggest arriving early. The views of the continental divide here are stunning and you can walk entirely around the lake...alpenglow is always a real treat here at daybreak. Across the other side of HWY7 are incredible Aspen stands....these trees always grab my attention and are something else to shoot.

Depart 730am head for RMNP---meet at Moraine Valley Visitor Center--- (see attached map "Moraine" ) From here we will decide on the fly where to shoot as far as Elk go. Also, this is a free day in RMNP so it will be VERY packed. I am deciding now what to do and need to talk with a few other people but we may head out in the afternoon and hit Lake Brainard for evening for Moose and sunset which I already have planned for Sunday AM anyhow.

SUNDAY 9/25/2011

Sunday 9/25/2011 ---Meet at 630am at Brainard Lake State Recreation Area (or where Bunnies go to die! lol don't ask)

Please note that Brainard requires a separate fee of $9 to get in. It is $9 well spent. We will shoot the sunrise along the shores of Brainard facing the Indian Peaks and hopefully photograph Moose as well. Please see directions I have outlined in Google maps from Estes Park to Brainard Lake http://g.co/maps/ddr9n it is a tad tricky. Allow yourself ample time. We will meet along the shores of Brainard so you know at the pulloff just before the bridge on the left side. It is easy to find.

Depart Brainard for RMNP 8ish depending upon Moose--- Moose dependent we will depart Brainard for RMNP 8ish, naturally if we see Moose that goes out the window. We will meet back at RMNP at Moraine Visitor center 9ish where we will go and photograph the Elk rut.

Possibly meet back up at 230 after lunch where I would like to hold an Aspen workshop with photographing the stands in a more intimate environment in Endo Valley. I am awaiting to hear from RMNP rangers right now if Old Fall River River Road will be opened or closed before deciding where and what times first.

*Details.---PLEASE READ!

*Maps of RMNP---- These can be downloaded in full PDF format from the RMNP website at http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/maps.htm

*Keeping up to date on conditions--- Please note that the Rangers in RMNP can be found by keeping an update on their twitter and facebook feeds . These include http://twitter.com/#!/rmnpofficial and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rocky-Mountain-National-Park/191384267547522

* Carpooling before RMNP enterance---It may be wise to carpool with someone before we enter RMNP, this saves on entry cost not to mention gasoline. If this is inded the case that you wish to do this, please let people on the email list know asap. There is a Safeway where your car will be more than safe just outside the park.

*Dress warm but also dress for summer. --- Temps vary and swing wildly in fall just as the weather can and often does in the mountains. Bring a change of clothes with you. Mornings will be bitterly cold so things like a warm coat and gloves aren't just recommended, they are essential. Pack plenty of bottled water and packing a lunch is a good idea as lines to get back in to the park can be very long. Bring clothes to change in to late morning that are cooler...it can get to the middle 20s in the AM while in teh late morning it can get to the 70s which may not sound warm but when you are at 10,000 feet, it is cooking hot with the sun. Sunscreen is mandatory.

*Be aware. Be safe.--- Keep a safe distance away from the Elk. Don't be a tourist and don't be a victim. Elk this time of the year are absolutely insane animals and they WILL attack you without provocation and charge. Know your surroundings at all times. Please do not go walking out in the meadows at any time, you will see tourists do this and know that they are risking their lives in doing so. Also, if we see Moose at Brainard, do NOT under any circumstance even consider approaching them. They are not nice animals at all. The same can be said if you decide to go over Trail Ridge on to the west side of RMNP and see Moose, never approach them, keep a safe distance.

*A word of caution about lightning--- If you are in the alpine tundra areas of RMNP and a storm comes up, you NEED to get to lower ground as fast as you can if you are walking around (please stay on the trails, don't trapse on the Alpine, it is very fragile and each footstep takes 10,000 years to regenerate) or at least back in your car. Lightning is a killer and often you ARE the tallest object. If you decide to hike, please familiarize yourself with lightning shelter locations.

*If you see a problem, report it asap to a Ranger--- Last year we reported a mother who was risking the life of not only herself but her baby by walking out to the Elk in a meadow. the same bull who charged Leasha and I earlier that morning. If you see something like this, please report it asap, you may wind up saving someone’s life.

Now, let the party begin!!!!

John

Getting the most out of G+ for your photography experience

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:47:00 +0000

Yesterday I posted a thread over on my G+ ( which is here by the way http://gplus.to/jdebordphoto ) about how G+ has literally become my photography home. Colby Brown (who wrote the incredible article "Google+: The Survival Guide for a Photographers Paradise" http://www.colbybrownphotography.com/blog/google-the-survival-guide-for-a-photographers-paradise/ ) chimed in with a comment which made me stop and think. He said in this thread here https://plus.google.com/103586615087663445665/posts/NvKbbMUBLMa was;

"What it comes down to is quality interactions. That is one of the reasons that stagnent magazine ads are dying. Peoples attention span is way to short and the cost is way to high. When you look at FB or Twitter, we all may get a decent amount of people commenting on our photo posts, blog posts or marketing ploys...the amount and type of interaction, atleast in my experience, is far worse outside of G+. I will take 10 real conversations from a post on G+ then 300 people "Liking" a post of FB. This of course also depends on our business models. For me, putting people in workshops is my main source of revenue, with contract work a close second and print sales a distant 3rd. I make a very good living, but mostly because I am so active in engaging with people, both locally, on the job and in social media. That has helped build my brand and create a desire to take a part of some of the educational services I offer.

Those that I see struggling with G+ are the ones that try to treat it like Twitter or FB. I also so alot of us "pros" going about social marketing in the COMPLETELY wrong way (just my opinion). No one wants a sales pitch or to only see posts of a workshop you are teaching, a webinar you are offering or an ebook you are selling (and others). I look at some of the big names in the industry, posting direct sales pitches and wondering why they get 5 +1s and 3 comments. There is an art to marketing and it starts with engaging people at a personal level :) "

So I thought that I would take a few minutes this morning and sort of expand some on that and run with it. Colby is certainly right, that many do struggle with G+ and see it as a sort of facebook, when in fact it is anything BUT facebook. I see quite a few people saying something along the lines of "no one comments on my images, no one sees my work". Do you want to know why that is? The answer is quite simple; IT IS NOT ABOUT YOUR WORK.

See, people treat G+ like it is any other other social site, facebook, twitter, flickr....that whole deal, but where the power of G+ lies is in the conversation itself. Be engaged and enter in to dialogue with your fellow photographers. each and every day I see photographers posting topics for discussion, how many of you are entering in to that "coffee shop atmosphere" and engaging with like minded people? It is that very train of thought which I have likened G+ to, a coffee shop with beautiful and stunning photography hanging on the walls.

So let's get on with it and how you can make G+ absolutely beam for you as a photographer!

*You ARE your content!--- Literally, you are your content. The first thing to be mindful of is if you are there to interact with your fellow photographers (which I suspect you are or you wouldn't be currently reading this) post stuff which is relevant. Leave the facebook junk on facebook and post stuff that will have your fellow photographers intrigued, curious and interested. No one likes a spammer, and posting animated gifs and endless youtube videos of music is a sure fire bet that you just shot yourself in the head and committed G+ suicide. You will drop off peoples circles faster than you can say "terminal velocity". Don't do it, leave that junk to that "other" site. Post content in to your circles which is relative.

*Easy does it!--- As a rule of thumb, don't upload more than maybe one shot a day, that is unless you are just starting out and getting your galleries going on G+ (that is a different story entirely) remember, it isn't so much about the images you post, but rather the relationships that you make and the conversation which you carry. Keep that train of thought and you will find that you suddenly have your G+ experience hitting the level of awesome.

*Ask questions--- Yes, you read right. Ask questions. G+ is a different world than most every other site and people love to help others, especially with questions when it comes to photography. No question is to big or to small, and G+ is made up of many professional and seasoned amateurs who can help on short notice. If you are having a hard time understanding how exposure works, ask away. If you are wondering about a lens, ask away. If you are wondering what you should charge for something, ask away. Everyone is ready to help!

*Be yourself--- Be you. Treat others how you would in real life, as example. I haven't especially come upon any trolls since my first week of joining G+ and came upon some guy who wasn't to fond of one well known photographer and posted saying as much. He disappeared after being berated for being unprofessional. This may be the internet, but G+ is where the adults in the room tend to hang out. It is the place where friendships happen and education is a daily occurrence.

These are just a few of the things that you can do to make G+ work for you as a photographer. The key to it all is the conversation and I think everyone should remember that, along with posting content that is relative. I don't think that G+ would work if you are the shy type and just like to lurk, you have to be proactive on here and that is pretty easy to do. Look around and read updates, join lists such as those on http://www.group.as/ and there are a TON for photographers, from landscape shooters to critique circles.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained....now go get it done! The best awaits for you!

---John

Oils or Acrylic?

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 16:23:00 +0000

It's all a question of brushwork.
I have always been of the opinion that you use whatever tools you have your disposal to get the shot and you get it the dang best you can. I was never loyal to a paint company when I would do Oils on huge 5 foor canvases...Liquitex, Windor & Newton, Grunbacher...I used whatever I had at my disposal. I guess that is one reason why I have never really understand the whole 'brand wars' thing. People are so fierce in what they shoot, always of the belief that whatever system they have in their hands is the absolute best. Always knowing that this little voice is whispering inside their head and in their ears saying "psst relaity check, it isn't the camera you donut!"

If you frequent sites like dpreview in their forums then you have surely seen it. All the 'my camera camp is best' kinds of posts. Maybe I have moved on some, or maybe I just outgrew it all, I am not sure, but one thing sis for sure and that is these days I seem to be more focused (no pun intended) on the making of the image itself. The whole technique of photography, the ability to catch the light whne it is at it's finest and best. Sure, new cameras excite me, I won't ever deny that, but it all seems so secondary these days. I want to know the best locations in Colorado to shoot, go there, experience them with the gear I do own instead of worrying if the latest camera takes great high iso images nicely.

Speaking of dpreview, I was recently reading the Sony dslr forums and saw some complaints about how the upcoming a77's jpeg images at high iso are not to good and I kind of sat there for a moment and just shook my head. Thinking why on earth would someone spend basically $2,000 on a new camera and lens and then turn around and shoot jpeg images with it? Maybe I don't get it...but if it was up to me, I would eliminate jpegs all together on entry level pro camera to begin with so they only shoot RAW. It made me kind of wonder, and I think it is that which maybe seperates the boys from the men, or in this case, the serious photographer from the occasional hobbyist. Jpeg is the devil and shooting with it is like taking your wedding photos to 1hr photo to be processed. To each their own though.

Gear. Who cares what you shoot. WHo cares what brand you shoot. As long as you are happy and getting what you need out of it, is all that matters. It's all secondary when you are standing in the middle of an amazing landscape, doing what you love to do and living out the experience itself. It's all about "brushwork". So, oils or acrylic?
---John

"The Sunworshiper"-From a recent photoshoot of the Colorado sunflower fields on the eastern plains

Don't be a lazy shooter!

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:46:00 +0000

Habits.

They are forever hard to break. They are especially hard to break when it comes to photography.

One of the reasons I decided to go with Minolta/Sony gear (this was when Minolta just started making dslr's) was because of the in body A/S. (VR or IS as it is often referred to) No other company at the time had in body anti-shake (in fact, it was Minolta who invented it) I never really wanted to carry my tripod around with me and the tripod I had back then was some cheap thing built for point and shoots. I also couldn't really hike much as it was when I started toi get really sick and my lungs were very fried (yes I have a lung disease I would later find out) so I would shoot a lot from the car with no support, relying on my cameras ability to get sharp shots at 1/10th a second. Sometimes I did, other times, I didn't. Of course not having the steadiest of hands doesn't help either.

In some ways I think I still have this habit of being a lazy shooter at times, knowing all well I should be using my tripod to get the shot I want, but my mind goes in to hyperdrive and often times I get so excited by the scene I am looking at that I want to do nothing but shoot it, fearing that it won't look the same 1 minute later. Last Fall I set on a personal quest to rid myself of this habit as best as possible, determined to do the very best I can do with using the gear which I have and to make every shot count. It is still rather hard at times as my oxygen level dramatically drops when I stand for more than 1 minute, but I am getting better with it all, and in it, I am finding that I am getting the shots I have always wanted to.

Last Fall I also invested in what I can only describe as the best $29 I have ever spend on photography equipment; a Puffin Pad Basically it is a beanbag alternative and comes in very handy as a full support that latches on to the car window. I use it a lot on my wildlife photography with my 400. I have also found it to be really worth wild for long and slow shutter exposures as well. This past December it came in especially handy when shooting the sunrise in the mountains. We were in the outflow of a powerful snowstorm with winds gusting to 60mpg at times. Not especially the kind of stuff you want to be outside in with bitter cold temps and wind. Tripods are known to be not exactly the warmest things on the planet, so I went ahead and decided to try my Puffin Pad out for the shot, using the car as a sort of shield from the elements. This is the shot I was able to take using it;

"Dawn At St Malo" (click for larger image)

One of the best pieces of advice I can tell anyone when I am asked the question of "how can I be a better photographer? How can I get better looking pictures" is "don't be a lazt shooter, use what you have and use it to it's full extent. It will show in your images directly otherwise. If you need new equipment, things like filters, don't put it off, get some, even the cheap ones will help you versus nothing at all."

It has been interesting this year, with really poutting my foot forward, and it times it hasn't been physically easy for me, but the payoff has been rather priceless. I used to think a few years ago, that the sheer number of shots you got meant something. These days, I am finding that it is the number of GOOD shots that you get which means something. Quality over quantity. If you take your time and actually evaluate the scene, you will find that you can indeed get the shot that you want, just don't leave the tripod in the back seat (sans shooting at mid day...but who does that anyhow?) If you don't have one, buy one.

Here are a few shots taken this past Saturday night along Boreas Pass outside of Breckenridge, where the thought of "don't be a lazy shooter" kept running through my head as I stood here with my tripod about to pass out from lack of o2 lol The pay off though was worth it.

--John

"Boreas Pass" (click for larger image)

"Road To The Sky" (click for larger image)

"Alpine Sunflower Meadows" (click for larger image)

Announcing our annual Colorado fall photography workshop/meetup!

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 04:22:00 +0000

Announcing The Annual Colorado Fall Photo Meetup!

It is that time of the year again, and Fall is just around the corner! Once again we are holding our annual Fall photo meetup! And this is the official announcement of that.

If you have ever wanted to see Colorado at it's most spectacular time, this is it! There is no where else like it, with the hillsides completely alive in sheer blankets of golden color from the Aspens...If you have ever wanted to get a hands on experience with photography, this is also your chance to do so by photographing with some great nature photographers!

Our annual workshop/photomeet/throwing Texans to the crazy Bull Elk during the rut/photography adventure lasts over 2 weekends, and the choice is yours which one you would like to attend, or stay the whole time!

Dates 1st weekend: Friday, September 23-Sunday, September 25. 2nd weekend: Friday, September 30-Sunday, October 2nd. You would want to fly in on a Thursday and depart a Monday. (sans coming a few days early or staying later to photograph other areas...like...Boreas Pass)

Details/Location Rocky Mountain National Park will be our main host as it is every year. between the Elk rut and the incredible landscape, it will fill your day with endless photography opportunities. Be prepared, dress winter for the early mornings (we meet before sunrise) and dress for summer during the day. The weather can change 40-50 degrees in temperature throughout the day. We will also be taking side trips to Brainard Lake State Recreation area to photograph Moose, and I am sure that some of the guys will want to take a group to hike and photograph the higher elevations in RMNP (Bear lake..etc) In the weeks to come, specific times and locations will be posted.

Lodging/Accomidations There is a plethora of motels/hotels/cabins/camp sites between Denver and Estes Park (where RMNP is located) Please, do not take any accommodation on the west side of the park, as weather can change in a heartbeat and close Trailridge Road, thus pretty much meaning you are SOL (you could drive around but that would be incredibly far out of the way) In the weeks to come I will be posting some more info on lodging and accommodations, where, how much, etc. Look for it!

Gear Naturally things like a Tripod are pretty much standard affair, but what about lenses? For wildlife, having anything larger than a 300m is a safe bet. There are many places out there which you can rent lenses from for quite cheap. Some of these are;

Borrowlenses.com http://www.borrowlenses.com/

Lensrentals.com http://www.lensrentals.com/

Rentglass.com http://www.rentglass.com/

Cameralensrentals.com http://www.cameralensrentals.com/

Our email list We have an email list that is through Google Groups that we use for all communication and planning. If you are interested in joining us, please note me your email address and I can add you to the list. This is a great way to meet everyone who will be joining us ahead of time. We also will be communicating formally through that, with coordinating everything.

What you can expect A GREAT time! If you have never been to Colorado before, you are in for a treat, with a LOT of wildlife. Estes Park gets rather crazy with the Elk, and there is nothing like standing in the middle of no where, watching the sunrise over the mountains, and hearing the bugle of Elk. It is, a magical experience. This is what you can expect http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOaJ-wbMoRM Along with a lot of fun with link minded people.

Safety I can not stress this enough. Elk during rutting season are completely insane animals, and every year we see idiots who think they are the family dog with walking up to them, risking their own lives in the process. They will charge and attack you. For this reason we ask that you are 18 year of age minimum, unless accompanies by a legal guardian.

If you are interested or thinking of joining us Then let us know. Leave a comment here on my blog with your email address.

So start making your plans, 2 months and counting is all until it all starts!

---John

The Art Of Community Competition

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:22:00 +0000

Originally written in my journal on deviantART 5/1/2100 and updated 7/24/2011, it is geared for deviantART but can really be used on many websites that are community based photography sites.

Preface to set the stage, the lights are dim--It is honestly a rat race..(deviantART) ....and I certainly don't miss it either. In some ways I lost my focus, concentrating more on DA than photography itself. Becoming a gallery moderator, interacting with so many people, striving to have my work faved bt as many people possible and finally waking up and realizing that all of this is where I didn't want to be, and that it was indeed taking away what it was that I truely saught; to become a better photographer. All for the pursuit of what exactly? A pat on the back and seeing my image on the front page of a website? I would wake up every morning, get my coffee, sit at the pc for literally hours on end and not move. Doing nothing but concentrating on deviantART. (sad isn't it? I mean really, it is. It is even sadder to think that thousands, perhaps even millions do the zombie shuffle each and every single day as I once did too)

Yes it is addictive for many, if not most. The thing is, it isn't really the website itself which is addictive, but rather the interaction that is. The compliments, the dicussion (and that can encompass a LOT, 98% of which is not photography related) the arguments and the real possibility of becoming famous on a very large website. It is that addiction and the way which it is done that is exploited to it's fullest extent. And then you wake up......

The art of community competition--- Have you seen it? I am sure that you have. The whole "DDs I have suggested", "I have 1732662553 pageviews", "OMG I got a thousand favs" and "I now have 20,000 watchers!". What is this all about? Honestly. (for those of you who don't know, "DD" refers to "Daily Deviation", these are picks from gallery moderators on deviantART and are showcased on the front page of deviantART. Always shrouded in controversy it seems. Today's selection is here http://today.deviantart.com/dds/ )

There was once a time that I was of the same train of thought, where I would correlate how many favs, comments, if something made the front page of this website then it must be Godly, just like a lot do around here. I think in a lot ways we get tricked in to thinking that if something has so many favs and such, then it equates to a great image. When in actuality it simply means you have a lot of watchers and having a lot of watchers doesn't mean your work is necessarily good either, it simply means you are active on this website.

This is why so many people think DA is addictive. However once you really start to see things as they are, presented clearly, it really isn't. The only thing anyone is addicted to is the competition itself. the whole competition of getting your ego inflated by making the front page, favs, comments, all that jazz. that little pat on the back, that says "you are doing great", but really are you?

Take a step back for a second and examine the whole entire situation. Ask yourself if you really are doing good, or are you simply appeasing those within this realm itself, many of whom feel privileged to fav for fav, comment for comment and being a member of the "mutual admiration society"? (not all, but let's be honest here and call it for what it is, we all know how it is) The good old competition to one up those who you feel get more attention than you do and we all know, attention equals success, right? Not.

It is like a haze that covers an otherwise perfect clear view of things. We get excited when a group features our shot, we get excited when our work appears on DA's most popular page and we get excited when people add our images to their favs. But why? To appease our ego and our self worth as artists? To seek an answer in the age old question "is my work any good?"

Breaking The Chains--- So how do we break the cycle and see things for what they are? How do we break the train of thought of allowing the superficial ego inflating train of thought of "holy cow my work is on the DA front page, I must be really good"? How do we break the cycle of addiction & competition among fellow artists of getting more favs, comments and pageviews?

The answer to this is quite simple my friends.

If you REALLY want to better yourself as an artist and I mean REALLY learn things like technique, the medium, bettering yourself as a photographer, and not worry about the things which I mentioned above, there are a few places you can go to do this.
Naturescapes
PhotoMigrations
Fred Miranda
There are several others as well, but these 3 are 100% free and I thought of them first. Granted, a lot of you may find find these sites very intimidating but I can ensure you that you will learn, a lot. A whole lot. The people are very nice and the knowledge gained is worth it's weight in gold. I will be straight up though (and I am using this as an example) Most of those zoo shots you see on DA on the most popular page would be absolutely destroyed on sites like these. Cute Wolf = cute Wolf, it doesn't equal to a great photograph at all. (then again on said sites, zoo shots aren't considered nature photography, nor should they ever be to begin with.)

We need to remember what DA is, a social network, and nothing more. A platform for communication. If you notice, it is getting referred to as that a lot more these days, even with it being compared to facebook by some of those in a administrative position. It is what it is.

However, if you honestly want to be good, and know where you stand, take a step forward for yourself and venture out there. Learn everything you can about photography. In the end it isn't about a competition between artists on some website for favs, comments, pageviews, it is about doing what you love, experiencing it first hand, and doing it first and foremost because you love it!

Now go out and shoot something!

---Johnny

Below are a few recent shots from recent outings.

Google+ The cure all for photographers

noreply@blogger.com (The jdebordphoto.com Photoblog) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:39:00 +0000

I have been playing around on G+ the last week to 10 days or so and I have to say Google has finally done it. I have always said and basically thought "why doesn't Google do something that could rival flickr, facebook, deviantart....something...anything!!??!?" Something where artists from all walks of life could get together in an atmosphere that THEY essentially pick and choose. It isn't like Google doesn't have the power to change things up in the game after all.

I am here today to tell you that they have. Drastically.

I think in many ways G+ is what I have personally been longing for and seeking all along, though until recently it just never existed. Facebook is great, but it's image quality issues with photos has always bothered me, and honestly the whole interface is just dated and clunky. Flickr? Flickr rocks but I don't especially want to spend another $30 a year on a site. DA? Well....I think everyone reading this already knows what my issues are with DA, and quite frankly this isn't what this post is all about. G+ on the other hand makes it possible to network in a way that never really before existed...it is like twitter in a way but much more personal and much more intense. The only way I can really think to describe it would be similar to how the message center in DA works with the ability to communicate directly.

The whole thing works on what are called "circles" which are very similar to twitter "lists". With one click you can switch on the fly from your "photographers circle" to "friends circle" and so forth. It is utterly streamlined like no other social site currently is today. There is also no character limit that I have seen with status updates, unlike facebook. The control is pretty amazing, too...you choose who you want to watch and assign them accordingly to whatever circle you wish to.

However what really got me is the photography aspect.

For photographers G+ is like the invention of electricity. The quality of the images is simply just outstanding and the way you communicate and network with other photographers is nothing short of amazing. The way photos are presented is done really well, and unlike on DA when you have to click all these different things when you wish to edit the artists description, on G+ it is one click and done, done in one single editing box under the photo itself. (similar to how flickr works in that sense) Also in the gallery view, you see a balloon on the thumbnail telling you how many comments each photo has...also you have the ability to see EXIF and Histogram information.

Click for larger image

What Google has done with Picasa is nothing short of amazing. Once again Picasa is relevant, and the Picasa web albums...fully integrated with G+ and is now essentially unlimited

"While Picasa Web Albums offer 1GB of free storage for photos and videos, files under certain size limits won’t count towards this free storage limit. If you’re a Google+ user, photos up to 2048×2048 pixels and videos up to 15 minutes won’t eat up your storage space. For non-Google+ users, the photo size limit is smaller: 800×800 pixels" (videos are also under 15 minutes). http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/07/picasa-offers-virtually-unlimited-storage-brings-google-tagging/

How they integrated with G+ is downright silly slick. I will say that, and makes G+ a legitimate full on flickr contender. In fact, Picasa is going to be getting renamed to Google Photos. Chrome integration...it is really neat with how you simply add a bookmark for G+ to your bookmarks bar and it notifies you live of any activity. However it goes even much farther....

Imagine for one sec, one site that has it all...social networking, portfolios, blogging, email...all. Something where you can handle every aspect of your photography. From getting critiques on your images to the ability to be emailed and contacted from someone who is interested in purchasing a print, to a place that is "family safe" to send people to see your work and not having to worry about people leaving rude comments on images. This is what is called the "Homebase" aspect of G+. Every aspect will be getting incorporated in to G+ that Google currently owns. Say you have a photoblog on Blogger for instance, you are about to be able to witness a makeover soon that integrates your blog fully in to G+. Gmail? Full on compatibility with G+. Even Google Talk itself, with being able to hold "huddles" live with other like minded individuals using G+. It is hard to say in words how much of a game changer G+ is, but for us who are artists, it really is, big time.

There was a kind of "push the panic" button recently when photographer Scott Bourne penned an article on his very popular "PhotoFocus" blog titled "Google Plus – Read the Fine Print BEFORE You Sign Up" http://photofocus.com/2011/07/06/google-plus-read-the-fine-print-before-you-sign-up/ which lead to many other well known photographers like Jim Goldstein writing an article on his blog basically countering everything which Scott said (personally I listen to Jim a LOT more than I do Scott, Jim knows his stuff!) with "How I Evaluate Terms of Service for Social Media Web Sites – Google+" http://www.jmg-galleries.com/blog/2011/07/08/how-i-evaluate-terms-of-service-for-social-media-web-sites-google/#ixzz1S032TlIa The PetaPixel Photoblog also took on Scott's claims too, and wrote an article on their blog titled "FUD Over Google+’s Terms of Service" http://www.petapixel.com/2011/07/12/fud-over-googles-terms-of-service/

There are some really excellent links I have found that basically say what I have been saying here which are very much geared for photographers ...

*GOOGLE+ VS. FLICKR VS. FACEBOOK VS. 500PX VS. TWITTER-- by Thomas Hawk http://thomashawk.com/2011/07/google-vs-flickr-vs-facebook-vs-500px-vs-twitter.html

* TOP 10 TIPS ON GOOGLE+ FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS---by Thomas Hawk http://thomashawk.com/2011/07/top-10-tips-on-google-for-photographers.html

* Photographers, Get On Google Plus---by Craig Ferguson http://www.craigfergusonimages.com/2011/07/photographers-get-on-google-plus/

* Photographers on Google+--- by Seven By Five Photoblog http://www.sevenbyfive.net/capture/photographers-on-google/

* How to turn Google+ into an online photography portfolio--- by Nancy Messieh http://thenextweb.com/google/2011/07/03/how-to-turn-google-into-an-online-photography-portfolio/

*Google+ May Not Kill Facebook But Flickr Should Be Worried--- by Photography @ The Photo Arcade Photoblog http://blogs.thephotoarcade.com/?p=816

All in all, G+ is the start of something new and something brilliant. I just wish it had come out 2 years ago or so instead of just now. I recently read though that G+ has been in development over the last 5 years almost. After being on here, I can understand why. Google set out to seriously change things in a very big way, and they have. Right now it is safe to say that there is no other site like it for photographers, absolutely none.

I can be found here on G+ http://gplus.to/jdebord Though Google+ is still in closed beta, I have a few invites left, not many however. If you would like one, please comment in my journal and I will see what I can do, no promises however. Also you will need a Gmail account, it is required.

---Johnny