Marc Benton dot Com

Frecs for 3/19/2010

If you read last week’s Frec or follow me on Twitter you’ll know I turned my ankle pretty bad.  I’ve been stuck most of this week on the couch using elevation and ice to speed up the healing process.  Its been working as I can get around ok now, I just need to be careful.  This injury has put a crimp in my activities including my job search and photography.

Speaking of job search, I’m still actively in the hunt.  Its getting down to critical time to find something and I’m very appreciative of any referrals.  You can find more about my background on my social media resume.  Family and bills come first above all else so I may be parting with some camera gear soon.  First to go will probably be my 70-200 2.8L Canon lens.  Let me know if you are interested in it.

My blogging has suffered some this week as well.  I’m working on a post about Facebook and photography which I’ll probably wrap up this weekend.  I’m trying to get to three posts a week on this blog but being immobile has not helped that.  I’ve taken my daily photoblog down from 7 to 5 days a week as well since I do not want to pull too much from my archives and keep the content fresh.

Enough of the negatives. We did relaunch Photoblogging DC this week and our contributor’s photos are as great as ever.  Stop by and take a look at the site and let us know what you think.

The weather this weekend is supposed to be AWESOME.  My son has a hockey tournament that will take some of our time but I’m hoping we can get out in the sun some too.

Being on the couch did give me a lot of time to catch up on my RSS feeds.  I’ve found a number of great articles I hope you enjoy along with adding a couple of new features to this post.

Photoblog of the Week

Katie Harbath is a local photographer in the DC area.  She has a unique eye for capturing nature, architecture and other subjects of interest in and around the city.  Katie is also a co-editor of PhotoBlogging DC.  Check our her photoblog and say hi.

Links

Cloud Photography
How to Choose Your Next Camera – What and Where to Buy
Beach Photography
Digital Photography School

Photography, Its All Things to All People
Landscape, Nature and Travel Photography by Jim Goldstein

Lightroom’s Adjustment Brush Essentials
photofocus

First Looks at the New Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L IS II USM Lens
The-Digital-Picture.com

Clients Will Choose Trust Over Talent Every Time
Black Star Rising

A Brief HDR Tutorial
Beyond Megapixels

Why HTML5 is worth your time (This one is not directly photography related but its good to keep up with new technology, especially as it affects our online presence.)
O’Reilly Radar

Free Stuff and Contests

50 free photo frames and borders for Photoshop (and Elements) from PhotoRadar
Free iStockphoto Images for Google’s Blogger Template Designer from current photographer
Free Photoshop Plug-ins from onOne Software from current photographer
145 Free Photoshop Easter Brushes from All Day I Dream About Photography
Lightroom Presets – Hard Edgy Look from Lightroom Killer Tips
Win a Brand New Canon 1DMKIV from photofocus

The Friday Follow Five on Twitter

Michael Seneschal – @mike_seneschal
Joe McNally – @JoeMcNallyPhoto
PhotoBlogging DC – @photobloggingdc
Victoria Pickering – @vpickering
Jason D Moore – @JasonDMoore

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

Now get outside and enjoy Spring.  Have a great week!

Tags: Digital Photography, follow friday, Frecs, links, sharing

Frecs for 3/12/2010

Frecs = Friday Recommendations

Its been an interesting and full week here.  I’m still in the full-time job hunt and making some progress.  Sherri and I attended an informal photowalk with friends in DC over the weekend which included the Eastern Market followed by the Ninjas vs Pirates games.  I also ran into some skateboarders at Freedom Plaza that were nice enough to let me take some shots of them in action.  We’re still making headway in getting PhotoBlogging DC relaunched, expect to see an announcement next week.

I stopped by the Kettler Capital IcePlex yesterday to watch my hockey team, The Washington Capitals, practice and sneak in some photography.  I came away with more than I bargained for though, around 200 shots and a bum ankle.  My new #1 tip to photographers:  Don’t concentrate on your subject (i.e. Mike Green) so much that you forget to look out for that curb lying in wait to turn your ankle.  I don’t think I broke anything but I will probably lame for a week or so.  Ice and Advil will be my companions for awhile.  The shot below with Mike Green posing with a visiting atom team from Canada was the one I was trying to get. I was in excruciating pain when I finally did snap it.

Links

• 8 Ways to Participate in the DC Area Photography Community.
• Jason D. Moore has a new 4 part series on SEO for Bloggers.
• Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips started a conversation around The 5 Places I use Lightroom Presets the Most (And the Least)
• Digital Photography School (DPS) is always good for a few links every week but if I had to cut it down to the one that interested me the most it would be How to Take the Perfect Headshot: 6 Tips.
• Scott Bourne has an interesting post on Photofocus about 10 Places to Find Photographic Inspiration.
• Jeff Revell of PhotoWalkPro wrapped up his European trip with his article The Thing About Travel Photography.
• David A. Ziser, author of Captured by the Light (and presenter of one awesome webinar), shares his 15 Steps for Shooting Weddings in Catholic Churches.

The Friday Follow Five

1. Scott Bourne – @scottbourne
2. Rob Jones – @townerjones
3. Nichole Young – @nicolesy
4. Jason Anderson – @CBJason
5. Jeff Namadan – @jnamadan

For more recommendations check out my Twitter list of DC Area Photographers.

Have a great week!

Tags: Frecs, friday follow, kettler iceplex, links, mike green, recommendations, sharing, twitter, washington capitals

Around the Web 1-30-09

I found a few hours last night to catch up on two weeks worth of RSS feed joy.  Here’s what I found interesting and hope you will too.

Photo courstesy of raymondbPhotos via The Upgraders pool on Flickr.

from JMG Galleries

Flickr Collection on Getty: Why I’m Not Taking Part

Last week Flickr announced the launch of their second phase of the partnership with Getty Images.  This program provides Flickr uses the opportunity to sell certain photos through Getty’s services.  Jim provides an insightful view of the program with what he sees as the downfalls and risks.

Continue reading »

Tags: Appalachian Trail, Bill Bryson, Digital Photography, Getty Images, links, news, other, training

Around the Web 1-16-09

With an upcoming redesign of WorthPoint, I’ve been knee-deep in the development of a new Wordpress theme, definitely a new venture for me.  I haven’t had the opportunity to get my hands dirty and develop anything for quite awhile professionally.  While I’m putting the theme together, most of the heavy lifting is being provided by our crack staff in Columbus, OH (thanks Jason).  This effort is keeping me busy but its nice to be part of a development team again and not just managing the schedules.

I’ve ignored my RSS feeds for most of the week but slowly catching up this evening.  Here’s the ones that caught my eye and another great photo from The Upgraders group at Flickr.

By the way, you can find these bookmarks and more on the new Digital Photography Community over at Mixx.  Join me there won’t you?

from Digital Photography School

10 Ways to Top Your Best 2008 Photographs

What everybody Ought to Know About Posing for Portraits

DPS released a new redesign of their site and structure this week. Stop over and check it out.

from Jason D. Moore Photography

Workflow Friday:  Michael Garlington

from Photoinduced.com

Real World Review – Canon G10 – A Weighty Decision in the Point and Shoot World

I normally will not list hardware reviews but being a Canon S5 owner I am interested in it’s successor, the G10.

from Martin Pot – Photography Blog

10 Reasons For Getting Your Kids Into Photography

My daughter took up photography without any encouragement from us but our son is less inclined.  This post shows good examples of why photography for kids can be fun and beneficial.  there is a great shot of Martin’s 10 year old son with a lens that probably larger than his head but he’s holding it like a pro.  This is a follow-up to his previous Getting Your Kids Started In Photography post (first the how, then the why).

from XposurePro

How to Photograph Lightning

Tips for taking and extremely good examples of lightning photos.  I’ll have to revisit this post in the summer months.

from Change.gov, The Office of the President-elect

The official presidential portrait of Barack Obama has been released.  It was taken by the newly announced White House photographer, Pete Souza.  What makes this newsworthy for this blog is that it was the first presidential portrait taken with a digital camera, a Canon 5D MKII.  Take that Nikon!

Tags: canon, Digital Photography, links, mixx, news, other, training, White House

Around the Web 1-9-09

Here’s what I’m reading this week:

The Photographer’s Rights

Your rights and remedies when stopped or confronted for photography.  Written by Bert P. Krages II, an attorney from Oregon.  This is an interesting read as Bert does a good job presenting the can’s and cannot’s of public photography. (PDF file)

from Digital Photography School

How to achieve a shallow depth of field with a point and shoot?

Playing with Fire – How to Photograph Fire

How to Photograph a Convention

From my favorite source of digital photography learning on the web comes three good subjects this week.  The first is a forum topic and the next two are blog posts.

from XposurePro

How to photograph star trails – Top Star Trail Photographs on Flickr

Even if you’re not interested in taking shots like this you need to go check out the photos here.

from DIYPhotography.net

Stabilizing Your Camera In A Driving Car

Go read this – like you’ve never taken a photo while driving your car

from Photojojo

Sensor Dust is Evil.  Here’s How to Banish It.

The last of my how-to links this week.  Good overview of the how’s and why’s of sensor cleaning.

from New Media Photographer

Would Ansel Adams be a great digital photographer?

This post includes a 17 minute video of an interview with Ansel Adam’s son, Michael.  The discussion concerns Adam’s mastery of his equipment and post-processing in his darkroom to create images not quite in line with reality.  He would probably be a master of Photoshop today.

Tags: Ansel Adam, Digital Photography, links, news, other, training