Marc Benton dot Com

What I’m Reading This Week 04/09/10

Welcome to Episode 5 of What I’m Reading This Week.  The content below are links to the various sites on the web that I found interesting and wanted to share with you from this week.  They deal mostly with photography, Wordpress, or maybe even something totally off key.  I hope you find them interesting as well. Leave me some comments and let me know if this series is useful to you.

Photoblog of the Week

daily dose of imagery

daily dose of imagery is a simple but interesting view of Sam Javanrouh’s day to day visual experience. Sam was born in Tehran, Iran but is now living in Toronto.

Links

Announcing CreativeLive.com Free – Live Education for Photographers & Other Creatives
Three Tips for Those Bored With Their Photography
photofocus

Introducing CreativeLive.com – Worldwide Free Creative Education
Chase Jarvis

Camera Calibration – Camera Raw and Lightroom’s Secret Weapon for Better Looking Images
PhotoWalkPro

3 Tips for Smart Collections
Lightroom Killer Tips

Turning Your Photography Hobby into a Business
Penn Camera Blog

Defining Your Visual Style
Digital Photography School

Treat Nature How You Want Nature to Treat You
Outdoor Photo Gear (article written by Scott Wyden)

Annoying People with your Photography Habit
Beyond Megapixels

The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Photo Tagging Etiquette
AllFacebook

Get Ready for Wordpress 3.0
BloggingPro

Free Stuff and Contests

Giveaway: Smugmug Pro Account at All Day I Dream About Photography
Win a Free Lens Rental from Borrowlenses.com at JMG-Galleries
10 free photo grids for Photoshop at PhotoRadar

The Twitter Friday Follow Five

Penn Camera Stores – @PennCamera
Digital Photography School – @digitalps
Jordyn Witko – @onlyJordyn
Kerrin Kastorf – @kerrinsuzanne
Heather Rider – @hrider

For more recommendations check out my Twitter list of DC Area Photographers (updated weekly).

Upcoming DC Area Photography Events

Washington Photography Meetup Group:  The Washington Photography April Meetup Apr 14
Shutterbug Excursions:  NYC Pick-and-Choose Two-Day Excursion Apr 17-18
Andy Smith/VisualRealia: New Oxford Photowalk June 5th (2 hours north of DC but I hear Andy puts on some great walks so its probably worth the drive)

Have a great week!

Tags: #ff, contests, follow friday, free stuff, links, photography events

Only Jordyn Should Be In Glamour Magazine

Its time for the DC/MD/VA photography community to get behind one of our own.  Local Great Falls model Jordyn Witko has reached the semi-finals in a contest hosted by Naomi Campbell to be featured in Glamour Magazine.

Naomi Campbell has launched a Creative Invite on Talenthouse to search the globe for the next international fashion model. She has the opportunity to be in an exclusive photo shoot for Glamour Magazine with Naomi – one of the leading supermodels in the world.

Not only would this be a great opportunity for Jordyn but for the DC fashion and photography communities as well.  I’d love to see our local fashion models and designers receive more national press.  A local with a feature shoot with Naomi Campbell would be awesome!

Jordyn is a natural in front of the camera and I think she has a great future in front of her.  I had the pleasure of shooting Jordyn last year at the Flaunt Fashion Show where she represented Taimur Baig on the runway.

Here’s a few of my shots from the runway:

Don’t judge her by my photos since my skills are not good enough to show her in the best light.  For better shots by better photographers check out her Model Mayhem profile, her Facebook page, and follow her on Twitter.

To vote for Jordyn Text TVOTE APM79C to 21001.

As of this writing the contest has 47 hours until they pick the top 20 vote-getters.  Jordyn is in the top 100 so lets get on the phone and get her in Glamour!

Good luck Jordyn!

What I’m Reading This Week 04/02/10

Welcome to episode 4 of What I’m Reading This Week.  The content below are links to the various sites on the web that I found interesting and wanted to share with you from this week.  They deal mostly with photography, Wordpress, or maybe even something totally off key.  I hope you find them interesting as well. Leave me some comments and let me know if this series is useful to you.

This is the weekend for the Cherry Blossoms in DC. Be sure and check the upcoming events section below for photo opportunities or just go out on your own.  The DC version of International Pillow Fight is scheduled Saturday at 2:00 on the National Mall too so bring your pillow or camera.

Photoblog of the Week

Victoria Pickering

Victoria has been on a roll lately.  Not only has she been key in getting PhotoBloggingDC back up and running smoothly but her photos are getting noticed.  One of her shots was chosen by the editors of PROJECT10-50 for their March Hall-of-Fame.  She also won the March Photo Contest at Jason D Moore’s blog.  Congratulations and well deserved Victoria!

Links

Top 8 ways to make people think you’re a great photographer
PhotoRamble

Photoshop CS5 Preview: Content-Aware Fill Is Magically Automatic
Fast Company

Photoshop Content Aware Parody
PetalPixel

Blogger Improves Photo Uploading (Catches up to WordPress)
the Blog Herald

Who’s On Your Team?  Photographers Need a Network.
photofocus

Who’s On Your Team?  Part Deux
Marketing Essentials International

21 Street Photography Tips from the Professionals
PhotoRadar

Useful Sunrise and Sunset Websites for Photographers
The Lightroom Lab

5 reasons to minimize your gear
PhotoNaturalist

Use Google to Track the Popularity of your Images
LIGHTING ESSENTIALS for Photographers

Free Stuff and Contests

A List of Cool Free Stuff at Towner Jones Photography
Canvas People Offering Free 8×10 Canvas Prints at Epic Edits
Free Poster Competition at Beyond Megapixels
Giveaway:  Get Your Free Copy of a Standard WordPress Theme at wpbeginner
Win and iPad or Win A Trip To Summer School at photofocus
25 free triptych photo frames for Photoshop (works in Elements too) at PhotoRadar

Check back here next week to learn how to win a copy of the WordPress Bible.

The Friday Follow Five on Twitter

Shawn Duffy – @shawnduffy
Katie Harbath – @katieharbath
Erin McCann – @mccanner
Tyrone Ford – @ty_dc
Scott Wyden Kivowitz – @scottwyden

All Day I Dream About Photography listed their 33 Twitter Accounts to Boost Your Photography Skills this week too.

For more recommendations check out my Twitter list of DC Area Photographers (updated weekly).

Upcoming DC Area Photography Events

Photowalk DC: Early Morning Cherry Blossom Photowalk
Shutterbug Excursions: Cherry Blossom Happy Hours
Washington Photography Meetup Group: Photowalk: Cherry Blossoms at Night

I hope your weather this weekend will be a good as we’re expecting here.  Get out and enjoy it.  Have a great week!

Photo Events at Digital Capital Week

We received some exciting news this week.  Peter Corbett and the guys over at iStrategyLabs and ShinyHeart Ventures along with various offices of the Washington DC government are coordinating the upcoming Digital Capital Week.  DCWEEK is a 10 day festival (June 11-20) in Washington DC focused on technology, innovation and all things digital in our nation’s capital.

It only made sense to include some photography focused events.  Plans are still in the works but we are hosting at least two events.  First, Katie Harbath will be organizing a Facebook Avatar Party at the kickoff party.  Second, I’m hosting at least one DC photowalk during the week though I may try to fit in another if there is interest.

More info to come as it is available but mark your calendars now to keep those days open.

Frecs for 3/26/2010

I’m finally feeling like I’m making headway with my job search efforts.  I received interest from a few jobs I’ve applied for and expect at least two phone interviews early next week.

I spent Thursday afternoon in DC.  It was a beautiful day and spring is in the air.  I’ll be posting shots from that trip on my photoblog throughout the week.

Photoblog of the Week

ParisDailyPhoto

ParisDailyPhoto is the daily photoblog of Eric Tenin. Eric provides a view of Paris from every possible angle.  Its a great way to visit the City of Lights without the expensive plane ticket.

Links

Your Camera Called – It Wants Its Photographer Upgraded
Jason D Moore Photography

Steve Jobs Replies:  No, iPad Won’t Support Picasa
Mashable

Quantum Technology Promises Wedding Photos from Camera Phones
Wired Gadet Lab

Recipe for Fun
The Finer Points of Focus
Beyond Megapixels

Four Ideas to Help You Play Offense This Spring
Marketing Essentials International

Capturing and Showing Motion: Panning
Shawn Duffy Photography

How to Remove Sensor Dust With Lightroom
Digital Photography School

Seven Ways to Reduce Sensor Dust
photofocus

Free Stuff and Contests

Lightroom 3 Beta Available for Download at Adobe Labs
Free Print a Day at 91 Days
Free Photoshop Actions from V Gallery at Weekly Photo Tips

The Friday Follow Five on Twitter

Gerry Van Der Walt – @gerryvanderwalt
Ben H. Rome – @bhrome
New Media Photography – @newmediaphoto
Kim Baker – @kimberlyfaye
Trevor Current – @TrevorCurrent

For more recommendations check out my Twitter list of DC Area Photographers (updated weekly).

Upcoming DC Area Photography Events

Photowalk DC: Early Morning Cherry Blossom Photowalk
Neil Jacob:  Front Royal Blossoms
Shutterbug Excursions: Cherry Blossom Happy Hours
Washington Photography Meetup Group: Photowalk: Cherry Blossoms at Night

Have a great week!