As a response to one of the questions about a technique to reveal (restore?) color in a black and white photograph, I just finished an article called "Color in Black and White". The article goes slightly beyond the limits of revealing color in a bw image. I describe a new direction for you to explore - coloring a bw image using Softlight blending mode.

I got an email from Chris, one of the visitors of my website. Chris asked about pricing, how to calculate the hourly rate for your services. When I responded my letter was big enough to be considered a small article, so I decided to post it here, so others would benefit from it as well. So here it goes.

The pricing question is a tough one. I myself have not figured out completely. But anyway I will try to help you out as much as I can at this point. Pricing is not only your compensation, but it has a few other sides - marketing and growth. Compensation is simple - it is price of the materials, rent, utilities (and such) and time you've spent on providing the service (and/or salaries you pay). So after that you are square - no gain, no debts. As well you can add deprecation of your equipment and preivious education time/costinto this category.
Then the next simple to explain is the growth - you have to move forward and grow, education as well could be here (depends how you look at it). The growth is profit, which you use in order to expand your business, buy new and better equipment, learn new stuff, train new assistant, and such.

Read more!

In the post at RobGalbraith.com forums I read a wonderful information posted by Chuck Westfall:

The EOS-1D and 1Ds are weather-resistant in conditions equivalent to rainfall at a rate of 10 inches per hour, which would be very heavy rain. Several L-series lenses including the EF 16-35mm L lens have the same degree of weather resistance, but be sure to mount a protective clear filter and the supplied lens hood for best results. We also suggest cleaning the equipment as soon as possible after exposure to rain, and of course the lens mount, the CF card slot cover and the interface ports should be closed at all times during exposure to rain or other precipitation.

The whole post is originated by a photographer accidently submerged in a cold water with his photo gear (fortunately survived) and is wondering about the damage his cameras actually took. And one of the answers that somebody has already experienced similar thing and it turned out OK. Even one of guys (hearsay) had his gear washed under tap water. What a news.
Well, from my experience, I used my camera on the sea shore and some salt water splashed sometimes the camera. And some other day I was under a rain (under an umbrella) and the camera stopped working - the main dial (under you index finger) could not be turned. Canon fixed it without any problems. So I would say it's case-to-case basis, or either the salt water damaged the camera. It could be that my camera wasn't that tought after the assembly line. Who knows. But it seems there are good news

Just want to share a few links to photoshop related resources:

• Adobe Evangelists
• Tutorials by Shan Canfield
• Photoshop Cafe
• Photoshop for Photographers
• PhotoFoolery

Out there is a ZATZ magazine (just learned about it), where the Senior Editor James Booth has written a lot of articles regarding photography. Among those articles I was interested in "The art of amateur wedding photography" (part I, part II and part III) and Wedding photography mishaps.
But you will find much more articles written by James. Check it out.

For those of us fellow photographers, who has a very limited budget, but knows how to use their heads and hands, I dedicate this post . Here is the list of links to websites, where you can find how to do the whole bunch of things for photography:

• DIY for photography - links
• How to Make Your Own Waterproof Camera Enclosure
• DIY Manual focus screen for DSLRs
• Extreme Macro Photography on a budget among others at PhotoCritic.org
• DIY Ring Light and DIY LightBox by Joseph Holst
• Photo Studio for Less Than $100
• The DIY guide to cheap studio lighting
• Build A 1600W Studio Broadlight
• Home Made Flash Bracket

We often take pictures of people, buildings and events and may not realize what laws we are breaking when take, process and use those pictures. Or sometimes we don't know what we can do and how to defend ourselves from people who claim that we've done something wrong. Well, check out the following articles:

• Legal issues for photographers at About.Com
• Legal Aspects of Photography at PhotoStop.Com
• Frequently Asked Questions about Copyright
• New Copyright Law Lets Photographers Register Unfinished Work
• Photography Law and Photographer's Rights by Bert P. Krages
• New digital camera? Know how, where you can use it

While we are on the topic "Photography as Career", I decided to explore this a bit more and here are a few links for you to consider:

• Staring a business in Nude Photography
• Medical Photographer - what a job
• Careers in Photography
• Careers in Photojournalism
• Lithographic photographers
• Editorial Photographers
• Motion Picture Photographers
• Scientific Photographers and one more link
• National Georgraphic Photographer
• Job Prospects & Career Options
• "Should you take up Photography as a Career?" by Ivan P.W. McLellan
• Freelance Photography: How to Begin Your Career
• The Photography Portfolio: Building Your Reputation
• Photography Jobs: Do You Have a Future in Photography?
• Start Your Own Photography Business from Home
• How to Become a Successful Wedding Photographer
• Career in fashion photography

Check for more links at Photography and Film Career Guide. And jobs and good articles (related to art jobs) could be found at ArtJobs.org.

For those who look for a job to become a full time photographer the article "Photography Careers, Jobs, and Employment Information" could be of some help. The article may gives you an overview what is required, how usually people get the job and what to expect from as salary.

Well many of you know about the unending battle between RAW and JPEG camps. There is a good article "Cost Analysis: RAW vs. JPEG" at ShootSmarter.com (you have to register there to see the article - free and easy). Jim Tweedie who wrote the article gives us good facts about how much it takes to take, process and keep the RAW files (time is money). Though I may not agree with all of his points, they are very valid ones.

Read more!

Through PoynterOnline.com, where I was reading about "Debunking Myths" of design, I found new links. First is "Thinking with Type" - it's about text, fonts and all related. The second one is "American Institute of Graphic Arts" - with sections "Journal of Information Design" and just "Journal of Design". Though they sound similar, but there you will find different articles and useful links. You may want to check it out.

When I've done search on photography podcasts (previous post), I found a website that dedicated to Studio photography. It's called - StudioLighting.net. There you will find explanations of light patterns, lighting setups and even "do it yourself" section. This website could be a good start for a new portrait photographer.

Recently I bought an iPod and catched the flu - podcasts and video stuff that could be played and watch on the iPod. So, I browsed the web and here are a few links to photography related podcasts:

• PhotoshopTV - iTunes, website
• PhotoshopKillerTips - iTunes, website
• Photo History Lectures - iTunes, website
• LensWork - website
• Nikonians - website
• LightSource Photography Podcast - website
• Martin Bailey Tips & Techniques - iTunes, website

And you may want to check Podcast.net

On the website CambridgeInColor.com you will find a whole bucnh of tutorials on digital photography. A few of which I would like to point out:

• Common Obstacles in Night Photography
• Photoshop Curves
• Local Contrast Enhancement

If you are in infrared photography then the website "Invisible Light" is your source for related information. This website offers not only photographs, but links to books, articles and other resources. Just spend a bit more time following those links.

An interesting article about using photography to distort reality - as it was done in the last century (or even earlier). And I would notice that in those times Photoshop was not an option .
This article has a bit more to me, because it has examples from the past of my motherland - Russia. Those examples describe how Soviet Government used photography for propaganda and adjusted the truth to their wishes.

And while we are on the website PhotoshopUser.Com (see previous post), you may want to check out their full issue in PDF format.

Another interesting encounter - PhotoshopUser.Com. There is a useful tutorial on Photoshop technique for portrait and wedding photographers. This tutorial helps you create a template for photograph - more like a postcard. But it has one interesting detail - sloppy borders. And it achieved quite easily, all other tutorials I've seen very much more complicated. So take a look.

Another fruitfull website beatifully called "Mountain Light" with many inspirational articles. There you can find as well many creative photographs of nature and landscapes.

While searching for George Lepp and his articles on the web (see previous post) I found an interesting article with a technique about using flash in nature and landscape photography. It's called "Flash Magic" - Interview by Rob Sheppard. And while you are there, don't forget to look at other articles on this website. Such as "Learning from a Master" by Moose Peterson.

UPDATE:
Here is another article on flash in nature and landscape photography - Smart Flash Outdoors by Galen Rowell.

Simply visit the gallery and enjoy the photos.

I just watched the latest podcast from PhotoshopTV.com, where they mentioned about a photographer called George Lepp. And they mentioned some unobvious link on the Microsoft website - microsoft.com/prophoto. What could possible Microsoft offer to a photographer, right? Wrong. It appears this portion of the software giant's website offers very interesting articles. One of those is about basic tone and color in Photoshop - Photoshop CS2 Workflow, Chapter 5 (26 pages!). As you see it's Chapter #5 already. I tried to locate previous chapters, but no luck. Check out this website - there are more interesting stuff to read, but no archives.

While I was writing the previous post in the blog, I played with shortcuts and pressed Shift-Ctrl-Alt-K. And what do you think happened? A whole dialog for viewing and modifying the shortcuts.
There you can see the shortcuts for the menu, for tool bar and palette menus. And you can generate an HTML page with all the shortcuts.

Have you ever applied some sophisticated curves directly to a layer and then decided to change a bit? At least I have. And to do so, I had to do the same sophisticated curves once more time. Not very grattifying, is it? Well there is a solution.

Usually to invoke curves dialog I press Ctrl-M and then you change it and press OK. And as soon you clicked OK, you cannot change it? Wrong. Simply undo the last changes and press Ctrl-Alt-M, and the dialog with last curves will appear. Yes, Photoshop remembers the changes and allows you to apply or change them over and over, and not only in the current image - any document you open before you close the Photoshop.

I just finished the article on applying a makeup to a portrait. There are three steps: rejuvinate (remove wrinkles and blemishes), add glow and apply tan. Let me know what you think.

Rarely when you find a good website or blog related to photography. But here is a jewel, which is called Digital Photography Journal. They have almost everything - news, reviews, photography tips, business of photography, photoshop techniques and even directory of websites. Check it out - you won't regret. This a good material for your bookmark.

Some days we wander in the maze of world wibe web and bump into things. Some of those things are worthy for a second look or a bookmark. And here is a list of some, which I found just recently:

• Professional Photography 101
• Computer Darkroom
• Digital Light & Color
• Lexar - Pro Photographer Corner

Many times the photographers could rely only on the flash. The light could be so dim or so weird, and there is no other choice as to introduce your own light - flash, to be able record the moment or correct the light. Everything would be great if using flash is easy, but there are many issues that affect the final image. Wading the waters of the Internet I found a good article with examples on use of flash. It is called Flash Techniques, written by Neil van Niekerk. That's a good read and should clear up a few issues you may have had with your flash.

At DPReview.com I found about the Beta version of Adobe Lightroom. This software is for photographers and aligned specifically for their workflow. In the Beta version not all functions are enabled, but still it is a good tool for the photographer (considering the available functions). Even my lightweight PowerBook G4 (512Mb RAM) has been able to process images in reasonable time. The only thing that bothers me so far is the speed with which the software generates/prepares the thumbnails for the images. I imported abouth a thousand images and I could not review them that easy - to see a bigger image it would require a minute or more. The background processing of thumbnails inhibits the review function. And this process takes hours, more like 6-8 hours. What concerns me more is "Will these thumbnails take space on my harddrive? And how much?". The thumbnails are processed of two sizes - small and full.
The good thing is the software has a lot of functions and it reads various file type (like RAW) without a hiccup or a question. And the changes you apply are stored separatelly, so you can always roll them back. Though I have to see how I can export the images with the changes I need.
See more detailed review by Michael Reichmann at The Luminous Landscape.

UPDATE on 02/02/2006:
After working with the Lightroom for a few more days, I found another thing that bothers me. When I ran a slideshow of the photographs, some of the photographs do not appear in full resolution. It seems that the software resized the tiny thumbnail to fit the screen and all this aweful pixelation hits you in the eye. Totaly there is about 3-5 images like that among 130+. I tried to look for a way to regenerate the thumbnail or fix the problem in any way and failed (or there is no such way - I cannot say).
So considering this issue and the enormous time needed to check/process thumbnails I am switching to more specialized tools, which do specific tasks, such as Adobe Bridge to manage your library of photographs, iView Pro or Portfolio to create slideshow and video, and Adbobe Photoshop to edit and print your photographs. But it could be just me perception, try it yourself and judge based on your opinion.

It started with a message from my friend. He's sent a link to Photoshop Killer Tips, where you can find several short video tutorials on Photoshop tricks. On that website I followed one link to Layers Magazine with a bunch of useful info about Photoshop in Photography and Design. And then I end up in an interesting blog The Unofficial Photoshop Weblog. The name of the blog says much itself. I will continue to explore this new spot of Internet websites and share my discoveries with you later.
Almost forgotten about Photoshop TV with weekly podcasts and video.