Last time I was in Death Valley I wanted to photograph the Racetrack, but was informed by the park ranger that it was a very bad idea in 125-degree heat. I went there this time and was not disappointed. It is about an hour drive on a very dusty and bumpy dirt road to get up the mountain and photograph the moving rock that marks trails in the playa.

We photographed the Mesquite Sand Dunes on two different days, the first day was nice and warm, and the second was a little different. It was very cold and the wind was kicking up the sand so bad you didn’t want to change lenses on your camera, but then we went to the bigger dunes in the back and it made it all worth the journey.

Here are a few photos from Death Valley:

Here is a video that Rick made while in Death Valley with a quick tip for shooting landscape photography.

For more information visit: The Digital Photo Workshops or to my Workshop Page.

I have also been working on my art prize project for a competition in Grand Rapids Michigan. This contest draws over 1700 artists from around the world and has a first-place prize of $250,000 and I am one of the artists that will be in it this year. What is even cooler than that, is that 3 of my brothers have also entered this contest this year, so we have titled it the battle of the brothers.

I’m looking forward to blogging the next few weeks both from Photoshop world and from our price. This should be an interesting month coming up and if I’m lucky I could be $200,000 richer, ha ha.

Here’s my entrance for our prize. It is a 60 x 40″ photograph that is printed on aluminum it will be displayed at the Green line gallery on Fulton and Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids. One of my brothers entries will also be shown at the scouring and my other 2 brothers projects are within a block so we should have a good time with this.

Because of the bad signage, one of my wrong turns turned into a happy photographic accident. I found this little seaside town called Horseshoe Bay and was able to take this photograph of it. I just did a video on how I created this effect for this photograph, but as I go through my over 4000 images, I think this is becoming one of my favorites.

Whenever I go out on a photographic excursions I do like to plan and do research to decide where I’m going and what I want to photograph, but as you can see taking a wrong turn because of bad signage in Canada can lead to a great image.

So my question is; was it really a wrong turn?

PhotoShelter, today released Marketing Yourself with Photo Books, an in-depth look at how professional and amateur photographers use self-published photo books to promote their business and capture the attention of potential clients. Sponsored by Blurb, the global creative publishing and marketing platform, Marketing Yourself with Photo Books can be downloaded directly here: http://bit.ly/photobooksguide.

Marketing Yourself with Photo Books explores the practical considerations of building a photo book for promotional use, including the economics, portfolio use, dealing with photo editors and designers, and color fidelity. Featuring several case studies of successful photographers who use both traditional offset print processes as well as online print-on-demand bookmaking services, the e-book outlines multiple strategies that photographers can use to self-publish their work, build their brand, and generate more business.

“Today, we’re seeing an increase in smart photographers using photo books to complement their marketing efforts,” said Allen Murabayashi, CEO of PhotoShelter. “This e-book will coach photographers on ways that self-publishing can be used to effectively build a following among prospects and expand interest from existing clients.”

Marketing Yourself with Photo Books is the latest in PhotoShelter’s ongoing series of free business e-books for photographers and marketing professionals. PhotoShelter’s library of 13 free e-books includes guides on email marketing, search engine optimization, starting a photography business, freelance marketing and can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/psresearch.

The Biggest Product Release in PhotoBiz.com History “The Store”

The Store contains all of the key features from industry research and requested from customer feedback. PhotoBiz.com has an incredible team of web developers, designers, support engineers, user interface planners, business interface experts, and quality assurance personnel that have worked tirelessly to deliver an excellent internet product. The PhotoBiz Store is much more than an online shopping cart. It’s a fully branded, unique-to-you Store that is jam packed full of features.

The home pages for The Store are called “Marquee” pages. This is a brand new page type that allows the user to choose from multiple layouts, including a scrolling banner and multiple image display. Most of the content pages allow for embedded HTML widgets and the best part is that the text content of these pages is easily indexed by search engines, because the Store is completely HTML5 compatible. The Store also contains an icon bank with all of the most popular social media sites. In addition, there is a “Share” icon that allows anyone viewing the website to share a specific page link via email and a variety of social networking site.

The Store allows PhotoBiz customers to sell practically anything. With various page layouts; products, packages and services are able to be separate items organized into different categories. Up to 10 images per product and service can be uploaded and one photo per sub-option for each can be added. One of the most advanced areas of the new Store is the flexible menu system. The site builder can choose to link to almost any page on the Store directly from the menu or link to a single product, category, or all products.

Great effort went into developing methods that would make sales easier and faster. One area that has significantly expanded is discount types. The Store will have twelve (12) different coupon types available. The seller can create an unlimited number of coupons in their Store, and customize them to their business’ needs including discounts in dollar amounts, percent off, buy one get one and bundled offers.

PhotoBiz has honored the requests for a “Favorites” section in the Store. As a customer views their images, they can quickly and easily mark their favorite photos by clicking the “Favorite” button. They can then view all of their favorites at once by clicking the Favorites tab. The customer can choose to buy individual prints or add images to selected products, services or packages. The photographer can designate their own “favorites” by using the Featured Photos tab to suggest purchasing choices.

Another new feature for The Store is “My Account.” There is a “Sign In” button at the top of the page when clicked, the customer can log in to their existing account or create a new one. Once the customer has logged in, all of their “Favorite” images are saved, as well as any items added to their cart. This allows them to continue a shopping session at any time, from any computer, simply by logging back in.

To make this feature even more valuable, PhotoBiz has added the ability for the seller to view their customers’ saved carts in the Control Panel. This allows them to keep track of activity in the store in general, as well as for specific customers. The Store can search for saved carts by customer name or date range, and can view all items in the cart, as well as the date created and last updated. This can aid with streamlining the purchasing process.

New Photography Gallery Finds Opportunity in the Midst of Troubled Economy

Last April Tom Suhler had never thought of owning an art gallery. Two months later, in the middle of a difficult economy, he opened “Exposure – A Gallery of Fine Art Photography” on Santa Fe’s historic plaza.

“I was vacationing in Santa Fe and noticed vacant gallery space,” says artist and now galley owner Tom Suhler. “I had been here many times but never noticed any vacant real estate.” The last few years has been hard on galleries forcing many to close. But their bad fortune has created some opportunities.

“Then, while touring the galleries I noticed very few nudes and none similar in style to the work I have done with dancers,” Suhler continues. “I also did not see work similar to that of fellow photographers Steve Hix and Greg Davis. So a crazy idea started brewing in my head.”

The thought of a popup gallery had never really crossed Suhler’s mind until that point. Santa Fe is one of the biggest art markets in the country and here was a unique point in time where he could be part of it.

“So in the span of a couple of days I decided to go for it and open a gallery. From that point on it was all really quite simple,” Suhler says in jest. “All I had to do was negotiate a lease, convince Steve and Greg to show their work in the gallery, get a lot more of my work printed and framed, find a place to live, establish a web presence, get all my permits, and all the other things required when setting up a gallery. So after too few jam packed weeks, I was leaving Austin with everything I needed packed into a trailer.”

How does Suhler respond when asked how has it’s been so far? “Well being both a gallery owner and an artiest make the ups and downs easier to take. On the days I make sales the gallery owner in me is happy. On the other days I am still connecting with people coming into the gallery. Whether we talk about how they are gaining a new perspective on the world of fine art nude photography, learning the importance galleries play in a digital age, or even starting to see photography as art. Also all of these experiences are giving me great material for my blog.”

About Exposure – A Gallery of Fine Art Photography. Exposure is located in the Plaza Galleria on Santa Fe’s historic plaza.
Exposure is open 7 days a week.
66 E San Francisco St Suite 15, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501.
505-216-0730

GoPhoto.com Reaches 1,000,000 Photo Scans

GoPhoto, the fastest-growing provider of slide, negative and photo scanning services, surpassed 1,000,000 images scanned at their California-based image scanning facility. This milestone is a testament to the incredible growth GoPhoto has experienced since their launch in late summer of 2010.

With almost every household in the country in possession of boxes of old paper photos, carousels of dusty slides or envelopes of fading negatives, the daunting task of digitizing images before they are destroyed or lost is one most of us face. Consumers are finding that purchasing a scanner and spending hours scanning images themselves is both cost and time-prohibitive, and rarely produces professional-looking, high-resolution scans useful for later printing.

Photo scanning companies such as GoPhoto offer an easy solution to this time-sensitive, often overwhelming burden of digitizing countless albums of old photos. Customers can box up and mail in their images to be cleaned and hand-scanned to a high-resolution, digital format. Every GoPhoto scanning order includes a free DVD and online photo albums where customers can organize and share their scanned photos in just one click.

Sean Ryan, President and co-founder of GoPhoto stated, “We are excited to reach the 1 million scan mark in such a short time, as it represents both the exploding market and the great service that GoPhoto offers to ensure images are digitized, shared and preserved forever.”

I decided to stick around the Vancouver area for a couple of days and do some photography of my own. I have lived and been to some great places and I now count myself lucky to add Vancouver to that list. It was Awesome! Driving the Sea to Sky highway was just incredible; with its snow caped mountains going down to the bay was unbelievable.

I had heard of a lighthouse in West Vancouver that I wanted to shoot and after getting lost and passing the entrance two or three times I finally found it. After climbing over rocks and jumping over water I was able to capture this image.

I ended up in the mountains at a location called “Lost Lake” up by Whistler where the 2010 winter Olympics where held. I happened to be there with thousands of mountain bike riders and fans, as a big tournament was being held that weekend. I was still able to get this shot from that night.

I had to try an HDR image with a waterfall and see how it came out with rushing water, and I mean rushing. This is Squamish Falls and one of the easiest climes I had all day. Everywhere I turned there was another waterfall in British Colombia and it wanted to be photographed, I had to stop or I would not shoot anything else.

You will be seeing more over the next few weeks as I work on the thousands of photos I took.

Here is the photo:

The iPhone SLR Mount gives you the real thing. This case-adapter combo lets you mount your Canon EOS or Nikon SLR lenses to your iPhone 4 giving your phone powerful depth of field and manual focus. Telephoto, wide angle, macro, or your fixed-fifty lenses all attach to this mount giving you a full range of lenses at your iPhone lovin’ fingertips.

Plus, you’ll be putting the SLR lenses you already have to use with the camera you always have with you — your phone. Two loopholes on each end of the case let you tie on a camera strap, so you can hang it around your neck just like your real DSLR.

Now that your favorite camera has it all, what’re you going to do with your DSLR?

For more information visit: www.photojojo.com

New Service from MorePhotos Helps Photographers Get Found Online
Longtime website/shopping cart provider MorePhotos has recently expanded their service offerings to include search engine optimization (SEO) geared toward their client base of professional photographers. With over 13 years of e-commerce experience specific to the photography industry, this announcement is timely due to droves of “pro-sumers” (consumers that have taken to buying pro-level digital cameras), flooding the market in recent years.

“Photographers know they need to stand out in the crowd these days”, says MorePhotos SEO specialist Drew Warner. “Especially in medium to large size cities where competition is fierce and we can help them do just that”.

The SEO services are unique in that two completely different levels are being offered. One is a campaign management option for Photographers that lack the desire or technical ability to take on these tasks as part of their weekly schedule. The other, more out-of-the-box approach includes structured consulting sessions covering specific parts of search engine optimization and online marketing strategy. The latter option is for professional photographers that would like to learn what’s needed to “do it yourself” and goes against the grain of typical SEO firms desire to keep their secrets to themselves.

For more information Visit: www.morephotos.com

PhotoShelter Unveils the Freelancer’s Online Marketing Blueprint, a New Free E-Book
PhotoShelter released The Freelancer’s Online Marketing Blueprint, a free 53-page e-book for all creative freelancers (not just photographers) looking to use online marketing to generate more clients and increase revenue. The e-book can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/freelanceblueprint

Packed with actionable marketing strategies which can be implemented immediately, The Freelancer’s Online Marketing Blueprint includes step-by-step practical tips on how to generate inbound website traffic through SEO, social media platforms and blogs, building a successful leads list for email marketing, and the benefits of pay-per-click advertising. The guide also includes insights on optimizing websites to increase conversion of visitors to paying clients, and how to efficiently manage time and allocate scarce marketing budgets.

“When you’re a freelancer, it can be a real challenge to balance self-promotion with client demands,” says Allen Murabayashi, CEO of PhotoShelter. “This e-book is meant to coach freelancers on effective marketing strategies that will help optimize their online exposure and reach a larger pool of prospective clients.”

For more information visit: www.photoshelter.com/mkt/research/

ModelDaily.com Offers Free Portfolio Critique
Models, photographers, hairstylists, and makeup artists can now obtain a complimentary portfolio examination through the New York based company modeldaily.com. Industry insiders know that exposing even one bad photo can hurt an otherwise perfect portfolio, resulting in a job loss. Getting a professional evaluation is the key to having an impressive portfolio.

ModelDaily believes that without their offer to share insider know-how, job opportunities and work could be missed by photographers, hairstylists, and make-up artists, resulting in frustration and failure. ModelDaily offers the opportunity to show their members how to market themselves and display their versatility.

Not only does ModelDaily offer a fresh pair of eyes to pinpoint a portfolio weakness, ModelDaily members receive access to modeling jobs, fashion industry news, hair tips, make-up trends and contests. Also, Modeldaily.com provides members with the ability to connect with other fashion industry workers and the capability to ask for free advice.

Fashion industry professionals say; “Sometimes less is better than more.” Meaning one strong photo is better than ten bad photos, ModelDaily.com now offers the unique service of ‘portfolio analyzing’. This complementary once-over allows artists to be at the top of their game, once they understand how to showcase their ability and talent.

For more information visit: www.modeldaily.com

FotoWeek DC Launches 4th Annual International Awards Competition
FotoDC is charging up for its annual festival, FotoWeek DC. The launch of the fourth annual International Awards Competition marks the continued celebration of the power of photography.

“For the past three years we have worked to uncover, discover, and spotlight professional and emerging photographers from our region and from around the globe,” said FotoDC Founder and President, Theo Adamstein. “This year promises to have more entries than ever before due to our year-round programming and the growth of our festival.”

The competition will feature 11 different categories of entry. For single images, contestants can enter under Photojournalism/Social Documentary, Commercial, Fine Art, Contemporary Life, Travel, Portrait, and/or The Natural World. If submitting a series, contestants can enter under Photojournalism/Social Documentary, Fine Art, and/or The Natural World. There will also be a Student Portfolio category (eligible for those 18 or older and enrolled in an accredited academic program), a Multimedia category, and a Mobile Phone category focused on the Spirit of Washington.

The competition is open to all photographers, both amateurs and professionals, and there is an early bird discount for work submitted by July 24, 2011. The final deadline for submissions before entries go to the panel of 17 world-class judges for review is September 12. Winners will be notified by October 5, 2011 via email.

With $20,000 in cash prizes, the top winners in each category will be well rewarded, with the opportunity for their work to be shown and/or projected duringFotoWeekDC, November 5-12, 2011.

For more information visit: http://awards.fotodc.org/

For more information please visit: www.FMoPA.com

Here is my entry for the show.

The second show I will be in is titled “Teachers Pet” and is being held at the Morean Arts Center in downtown St. Petersburg. I teach at the Morean and they decided that they wanted to show some of the instructors work with alongside one of their students work. I chose to show the photographs from the St. Petersburg shuffleboard courts as I am always taking my HDR workshops down there to photograph.

The student I choose was Dick Quigley. I have seen Dick develop as a photographer from the first time he took my architectural photography class a few years ago, thru his new work that he just completed from Ireland. Just before I got the notice for the show Dick had sent me a photograph he had taken in Ireland that I was really impressed with, so it was an easy choice to make when I had to select one of my students for the show.

For more information please visit: www.moreanartscenter.org

Here is my entry for the show

Here is my student, Dick Quigley’s photography.