Field work is the greatest teacher of all. That's where your preparation, knowledge, and ability to think on your feet come together to enable you to capture once in a lifetime images. I had many such moments on the recent visit to China, South Korea, and Japan. In this podcast I share anecdotes from working in Asia.

Equipment that I used on this trip included the Canon Digital Rebel T1i, battery grip with AAs, 70-200mm f/4 L, 24-105mm f/4 L IS, 18-55mm IS, and 50mm f/1.8. No external flash, but monopod with tripod ring for the 70-200mm. I also packed the Olympus E-P1 and the Olympus Stylus Tough 8000.

Many of my students had more equipment, and sometimes more expensive gear than my rig. But I was able to carry everything in needed in a shoulder bag that was always with me, even in the hot, humid Asian afternoons. This allowed me to get shots that others missed.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (32 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Soft Background is the July 2009 Photo Assignment. You can create the effect when you shoot with a telephoto or wide aperture lens, or take care of it in post production with Photoshop. You can read more about how to submit on our Member Participation page. Deadline for entry is July 31, 2009.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Photo by Derrick Story in South Korea with Canon Rebel T1i and 24-105 mm f/4 L Canon zoom. For more images from Asia, visit the TDS Flickr page.

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Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

What goes in the camera bag this time? As I prepare for a return trip to Beijing, plus side visits to Japan and S. Korea, I want to travel light, yet have everything I need. I discuss the possibilities in this week's podcast.

Here's a hint for those of you who read these show notes. I'm leaning toward taking the Canon Digital Rebel T1i, battery grip with AAs, 70-200mm f/4 L, 24-105mm f/4 L IS, 18-55mm IS, and 50mm f/1.8. No external flash, but monopod with tripod ring for the 70-200mm. I'm also going to pack the Olympus E-P1 and the Olympus Stylus Tough 8000.

Interesting choices? I'll explain myself during the show.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (26 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Soft Background is the July 2009 Photo Assignment. You can create the effect when you shoot with a telephoto or wide aperture lens, or take care of it in post production with Photoshop. You can read more about how to submit on our Member Participation page. Deadline for entry is July 31, 2009.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Photo by Derrick Story at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

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SiteGrinder lets you take ownership of your websites. Effortlessly output pages right from Photoshop.

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Add Magic to Your Slideshows -- FotoMagico presentations are so amazing that your audience will be asking how you did it.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

Hate ICC profiles? Confused by print dialog boxes? You can avoid these headaches and print without pain, if you're willing to give up a little flexibility. In this podcast I use the HP C6380 all-in-one printer as an example of pain-free printing. And of course, I add a few tips and tricks along the way.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Splash is the June 2009 Photo Assignment. You can capture anything from a child jumping in a pool to an olive dropping into a martini. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is June 30, 2009 (but you have an extra day or so if you need it). The photo assignment for July is "Soft Background."

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (26 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

You also might be interested in my article, All-in-One Printer Torture Test: HP C6380 vs Kodak ESP 7 Review

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Follow me on Twitter

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SiteGrinder lets you take ownership of your websites. Effortlessly output pages right from Photoshop.

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Add Magic to Your Slideshows -- FotoMagico presentations are so amazing that your audience will be asking how you did it.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

The new Creative Output section of The Digital Story was created to inspire photographers to find new ways to share their images with others. I sometimes refer to this process as, "going beyond the print."

I brought in a true expert in this field, Stephanie Scheetz, to oversee this endeavor. Stephanie has been a craft designer and instructor for major craft companies for more than 15 years. She has taught classes throughout the U.S. and Asia, and has appeared on TV craft shows and home shopping programs in the U.S. and U.K. Her work can be found in craft industry and consumer magazines, in addition to, catalogs, advertisements, and books. In addition to that, Stephanie is an engaging personality.

So she and I sat down in front of the microphone this week to talk about her views on Creative Output and to give you a preview of the types of projects she's working on. You'll come away from the show with great ideas, and hopefully get to know Stephanie a little better.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Splash is the June 2009 Photo Assignment. You can capture anything from a child jumping in a pool to an olive dropping into a martini. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is June 30, 2009.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (26 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Other Creative Output Projects with Stephanie

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Follow me on Twitter

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SiteGrinder lets you take ownership of your websites. Effortlessly output pages right from Photoshop.

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Add Magic to Your Slideshows -- FotoMagico presentations are so amazing that your audience will be asking how you did it.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

State of the art technology melded with Olympus Pen tradition, the E-P1 digital camera is a new breed of DSLR featuring HD video, Raw format, micro 4/3rds, in a stylish stainless steel compact body. In this podcast, I walk you through the feature set of this latest innovation by Olympus.

Pros

• Well-crafted, attractive stainless steel body.
• Raw, JPEG, and 720p recording formats.
• Excellent image quality with 12.3 MPs resolution.
• Good combination of manual controls and automation.
• Many creative features such as multiple exposure.
• Clear menu system and easy to use camera controls.
• SD and SDHC memory card instead of xD Picture Card media.
• HDMI output.

Cons

• Motion JPEG AVI codec instead of MPEG-4.
• No external microphone jack.

The Olympus E-P1 kit with 14-42 mm lens will be available at Amazon.com for $799 US.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Splash is the June 2009 Photo Assignment. You can capture anything from a child jumping in a pool to an olive dropping into a martini. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is June 30, 2009.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (24 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Follow me on Twitter

-

SiteGrinder lets you take ownership of your websites. Effortlessly output pages right from Photoshop.

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Add Magic to Your Slideshows -- FotoMagico presentations are so amazing that your audience will be asking how you did it.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

Does the just-announced iPhone 3G S finally qualify as a reasonable compact camera? In addition to its resolution bump to 3 megapixels, the new device includes autofocus with "tap to focus" control, VGA video recording with editing, auto-macro, and improved battery life. I take a closer look at this device to see if it's the mobile camera we've been waiting for.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Splash is the June 2009 Photo Assignment. You can capture anything from a child jumping in a pool to an olive dropping into a martini. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is June 30, 2009.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (21 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Follow me on Twitter

-

SiteGrinder lets you take ownership of your websites. Effortlessly output pages right from Photoshop.

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Add Magic to Your Slideshows -- FotoMagico presentations are so amazing that your audience will be asking how you did it.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

The Canon Rebel T1i is known for its HD video recording and 15 megapixel CMOS sensor. But this camera contains refinements in nearly every category. I recently published a field report with sample images tited, Street Shooting with Canon 500D/T1i, but I wanted to spend a little more time talking about the specifications and usability of the DSLR. And that's exactly what I do in this week's podcast.

Photo by Derrick Story with Canon Rebel T1i using the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM zoom lens. ISO 100, 1/640 at f/4.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Splash is the June 2009 Photo Assignment. You can capture anything from a child jumping in a pool to an olive dropping into a martini. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is June 30, 2009.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (29 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Follow me on Twitter

-

SiteGrinder lets you take ownership of your websites. Effortlessly output pages right from Photoshop.

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Add Magic to Your Slideshows -- FotoMagico presentations are so amazing that your audience will be asking how you did it.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

Zoom out pictures, instructional video, Flash podcast player, new Creative Output department... welcome to The Digital Story V2 (TDS). In this week's podcast, I introduce you to the new features of our retooled site. We upgraded the hardware, updated the publishing platform, refreshed the look, and added new content. We poised for the next generation of our virtual camera club.

To help you visually compare. Here's how TDS appeared from Oct. 2005 through April 2009 (click on image to zoom to larger size):

After we launched the site refresh in May 2009. Here's how the site looked (click on image to zoom to larger size):

Monthly Photo Assignment

Rim Lighting is the May 2009 Photo Assignment. This portrait technique puts the light source behind the subject (creating the rim light effect) then uses a fill light for the front. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is May 31, 2009.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (24 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Follow me on Twitter

-

SiteGrinder lets you take ownership of your websites. Effortlessly output pages right from Photoshop.

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Add Magic to Your Slideshows -- FotoMagico presentations are so amazing that your audience will be asking how you did it.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

Joseph Victor Stefanchik makes pictures for a living. His photography studio, JVS Pictures, brings craftsmanship to the entire photography process, from capture, to processing, through printing, and even to mounting and framing. You would think that such quality would require equipment that's out of reach for most of us. But that's not the case. For example, Joseph shoots with Canon cameras, processes with Photoshop and Canon software, and prints on an Epson 3800 using Red River paper.

Photo by JVS Pictures

In this podcast interview, I glean tons of useful information from Joseph about making great prints. To give you an idea about his experience, here's a little bio information:

"Highlights in JVS' photojournalism career include winning the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism award for International Photojournalism as well as being named a Pulitzer Prize Finalist. Countless photojournalism contest wins date back to 1992. JVS has been furthering the education of other photographers by teaching in-depth lighting workshops with the help of his highly educated and talented wife, Anne Farrar. The two bring 30+ years of combined experience to each Workshop they teach.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Rim Lighting is the May 2009 Photo Assignment. This portrait technique puts the light source behind the subject (creating the rim light effect) then uses a fill light for the front. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is May 31, 2009.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (24 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Follow me on Twitter

-

SiteGrinder lets you take ownership of your websites. Effortlessly output pages right from Photoshop.

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Add Magic to Your Slideshows -- FotoMagico presentations are so amazing that your audience will be asking how you did it.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips

You can easily amass thousands of digital images, then one day realize that your computer has become more cluttered than the hallway closet. You need to get organized, but you're not sure where to begin.

I designed the photography workshop, "I've Taken Great Pictures, Now What?" to solve that exact problem. In the workshop, I cover the five basic steps for an efficient photography workflow: Acquire, Organize, Edit, Share, and Save. I show how you can take control of your pictures using tools that are on your computer right now. Then I introduce some of the amazing workflow software that's available right now (Aperture, Lightroon, Photoshop CS4), so you can begin to upgrade you post production tools -- all the while keeping in mind your specific needs.

If this scenario sounds like something that can help you, then I suggest you download the class notes (1.3 MB PDF file), then listen to this podcast, I've Taken Great Pictures, Now What?. Soon, you will be on the road to organization, efficiency, and enjoying your pictures more than ever.

If you'd like to attend the 4-hour workshop in person, the next session will be on June 20, 2009 at the Santa Rosa JC in Northern California. For more information, call 707-527-4372. The course fee is $63.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Rim Lighting is the May 2009 Photo Assignment. This portrait technique puts the light source behind the subject (creating the rim light effect) then uses a fill light for the front. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is May 31, 2009.

Listen to the Podcast

Now that I've piqued your curiosity, it's time to listen to today's audio show titled, "I've Taken Great Pictures, Now What?" You can download the podcast here (28 minutes). You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes

The Digital Story podcasts are available for direct download from Apple iPhones. I've created a special mobile download page here. Just load the page in Safari, browse the podcast line-up, and click on the one you want to listen to.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Follow me on Twitter

-

SiteGrinder lets you take ownership of your websites. Effortlessly output pages right from Photoshop.

Red River Paper -- Try the $7.99 Sample Kit.

Add Magic to Your Slideshows -- FotoMagico presentations are so amazing that your audience will be asking how you did it.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, podcast, technique, Technology, The Digital Story, tips