Marc Benton dot Com

Looking for Advice – Best “Affordable” Tabletop Studio

One of the secrets of successful bloggers is that they are authorities, or subject matter experts, in the subjects they blog about.  Surprise!  I do not fit in that category.  I’m writing this blog to share the information I learn from experience and research.  I don’t pretend to be an authority but only hope to learn from sharing.  What this blog does afford me is the opportunity to ask questions from the more experienced photographers that stop by.  I’m going to take advantage of that right now.

I’m researching desktop studios for macro photography and have come across a number of options.  I’m looking at purchasing one of the following options for my wife and I for Christmas and would love some advice. Continue reading »

Tags: desktop studio, Digital Photography, lighting, macro photography, tabletop photography studio

World Wrestling Entertainment – The Photos

My son and I attended the taping of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) ECW and RAW shows last week at the Verizon Center in Washington DC.  Professional wrestling is a sport that I’ve enjoyed following since childhood, growing up watching Mid-South Wrestling in Memphis, TN.  My childhood hero, Jerry Lawler, is now a commentator for the WWE and still graces the ring with his presence when the youngsters get out of control.  As an adult I consider wrestling one of my guilty pleasures. Continue reading »

Tags: alicia fox, Digital Photography, dj gabriel, ECW, finlay, Jerry Lawler, john cena, john morrison, kane, matt hardy, noise, noise ninja, professional wrestling, RAW, shawn michaels, washington dc, World Wrestling Entertainment, wrestling, WWE

Spotlight on Ace Reston

Its been awhile since I’ve done a spotlight post but I’m going to try and get back on track with them.  This spotlight goes to Ace Reston, a good friend of mine from the Philippines where they take their photography and their boxing very seriously (Congratulations to Philippine native Manny Pacquiao in his defeat of Oscar De La Hoya, confirming his reputation as the best pound for pound boxer in the ring today).

Photographer: Ace Reston

On the web: Multiply, Flickr

Camera(s): Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi

Location: Philippines

I met Ace earlier this year through my job at WorthPoint.  He works for our Drupal consulting firm NewHelix out of Iligan City, Philippines.  He describes himself as an apprentice for Peter Parker.  It took me awhile to get that one; he’s a web slinger (developer) by day and a photographer by night.  Kind of opposite of Spiderman but you get the point.  He’s highly skilled in both areas but lets concentrate on the photography side for now. Continue reading »

Tags: Digital Photography, iligan city, mindanao, NewHelix, Philippines, Spotlight

Links – Holiday Gift Guides for the Digital Photographer

The holiday season usually finds most of us scratching our heads wondering what to get that special someone.  If that special someone is a photographer, maybe this post can help you out.  Here is a collection of gift guides I’ve found in my RSS feeds and from the Alltop Photography page. Continue reading »

Tags: Digital Photography, gift ideas, links, shopping guide

Schmap

I received an email via Flickr a few weeks back informing me that my photo of the Supreme Court was being considered for inclusion in this year’s Schmap distribution.  Yesterday I received confirmation that this shot was included.

Schmap is a publisher of digital travel guides for 200 destinations throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. More than 90 million Schmap Guides have been downloaded since it’s first release in March 2006.  They provide their guides for PC, Mac and versions optimized for the iPhone and Nokia mobile devices.  They also provide customized widgets (I added one last night to this site).

Tags: digital travel guides, Schmap, Supreme Court