Photo.net Newsletter: January 20, 2009

Hi %%First Name%%,

Marking a day to remember, the world watches the inauguration. Whatever your political inclinations, there’s no denying that this is a momentous occasion. If you are part of the festivities today in Washington D.C., remember to capture the event and share your photos with the Photo.net community!

While all this is going on, Photo.net continues to fire ahead with the editorial plan, adding lots of content for your enjoyment. This month, we’re featuring an interview with Harold Davis, author of Light & Photography. Participate in Harold’s guided photography exercise [details at the end of the interview]. Top 3 photos will win special recognition on Photo.net. Enjoy the newsletter!

Sincerely,

Hannah Thiem (Photo.net Managing Editor)

Editorial Highlights

This month, brush off ye olde reading glasses and delve in for some good studies on a variety of topics.

Photo.net Interview with Harold Davis

Harold Davis, author of Light & Exposure talks about his creative inspirations, projects close to his heart, specific techniques for his mastery of digital photography, and how he “sees the light.” Harold also talks about his writing process for authoring books on photography. Make sure you read to the very end of the interview—Harold will work with you on a proposed project. The best 3 photo submissions will win special recognition.

Read the Photo.net Interview with Harold Davis

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Color Management Primer Part II: Monitor Profiling

Part II of the Color Management Primer series from Jay Kinghorn, addresses the cornerstone of an effective digital photography workflow—the monitor—with recommendations on how to select an appropriate monitor and how to calibrate and profile the monitor to ensure accurate on-screen color.

Color Management Primer: Part II for everything you wanted to know about color management.

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Self-Promotion and Marketing

Tony Luna continues his 9-part series on “The Lifecycle of a Freelance Photography Job.” The second article is on Self-Promotion & Marketing. Tony guides us through a step-by-step process to improve your marketing by incorporating his techniques on putting Passion First. Do what you love to do with photography, be passionate about it, and market your work as such.

Read Part III of the series: Self-Promotion and Marketing.

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Travel Photo Tips Series: Capturing Culture Digitally

Rick Sammon continues his travel photo tips series with an interesting article full of techniques on photographing people and culture. Before a trip, do your research about the area’s customs and traditions. And one of the most important investments you can make is to get a good guide.

Take a deeper read into Rick’s Travel Photo Tips Series: Capturing Culture Digitally.

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Johnston on Photography

In this month’s column, Mike Johnston discusses the difference between the absolute and relative aspects for photography prints. Presented in the column is the interesting British TV Series “The Gadget Show,” which provides the fuel behind Mike’s musings.

Read Viewing Distance: The Overlooked Aspect of Print Size.

Special Editorial Feature of the Month

Photo.net Advice on Choosing a Digital SLR

Photo.net has a few guides to help beginner photographers or film photographers switching to digital select the best DSLR for their needs. Every manufacturer offers something slightly different. How to choose which camera and which lens(es) for a variety of applications? Authors Bob Atkins and Philip Greenspun take the guesswork out of selecting the best photography system.

• Building a Digital SLR System by Philip Greenspun
• Factors to Consider when Choosing a Digital SLR by Bob Atkins
• 5 Entry-Level Camera Kits under $800 by Bob Atkins

You can also view a comprehensive list of cameras, lenses, and accessories by visiting our Photo.net Equipment section.

Now for the “Gold” Articles

Let’s take a look at some articles that really are worth their weight in gold (if you could weigh virtual knowledge) or platinum if you prefer that precious metal. Here’s to the revival of some interesting older content!

• Sports Photography Overview by Rob Miracle
• Choosing a Large Format Camera by Philip Greenspun
• Composition: getting beyond the snapshot by Gloria Hopkins

Special Deals from Adorama

The Sony NV-U94T nav-u portable satellite navigation system is a handy tool for any photographer on the road. Featuring a 4.8” touch-screen display and pre-loaded with maps covering the entire United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, this nav-u system is ready for use right out of the box. The Sony GPS includes the following features:

• 4.8” widescreen high-brightness touch-screen with anti-glare
• Dual view—3D junction guide
• Pre-Loaded maps and content
• Bluetooth hands-free calling
• RDS-TMC traffic messaging channel
• TTS (text to speech)
• Photo viewer

Buy now from Adorama: Sony NV-U94T Portable Satellite GPS [sale price: $199 + free shipping]

Other deals from Adorama:

• Lowepro Fastpack 200 [sale price: $159.95]
• Ricoh GX200 [sale price: $489.95]

What’s Happening In Our Forums

• Casual Photo Conversations (52 Responses) Digital Processing is Very TEDIOUS! You Agree?
• Pentax (60 Responses) Best macro lens for KD's ? Help please.
• Large Format (75 Responses) In a digital world what are the "defacto" advantages of Large Format?
• Canon EOS (146 Responses) Do you tape your camera's logo and type
• Nikon (113 Responses) Nikon price increases - your reaction

Go To Photo.net Forums. »

Project Of The Month: Urban Images

In the Dec. 30, 2008 Community Newsletter, Josh presented the Project of the Month. Due to some link errors, we’re mentioning the project again in this newsletter to give everyone a chance to participate.

Cities are big these days—packed with people, cars, buildings, and noise. Everything moves so quickly that half of my memories of being “in the city” are a nothing more than blur. That’s why I try to come back from every visit with at least one photo of something I had to slow down to see—something I wouldn’t have noticed if I had just kept on rushing around. If you’ve never looked for beauty beneath the dirt of the city, why not make it your photo project for this month.

If you need some advice, the Photo.net Street & Documentary Forum is a great place to ask questions.

See all of the Monthly Projects (and submission instructions) on the Monthly Project Index page. Also, be sure to take a look at last month’s Animals and their Humans project page and see all the wonderful images that were uploaded. Here are a few that caught my eye:

Editors’ Picks

We have a new Editors’ Picks for your enjoyment: Frozen Nature Photography.

Samples:

Also, take a look at some of the most popular Editors’ Picks from previous months:

• Abstract Photography
• Portrait Photography
• Product Photography