Change to PMPA Bylaws
2010-08-01, by Danny Abrego as General News
Our current Bylaws, drafted by our founding fathers, carried us through the past twenty years very well. They have helped us grow and become who we are today. However, with the change in technology, the growth of our Association, and the direction we plan to travel into the future, our current Bylaws have become outdated.
Using our current Bylaws as a foundation, and with the help of Art Thompson, a longtime member, and an expert in our Bylaws and philosophy of our Association, we were able to draft a new set of proposed Bylaws.
Please see the links for a copy of our (1) current Bylaws, (2) proposed revised Bylaws, and (3) proposed modification to our Articles of Incorporation. Please take the time to read them.
Pursuant to our Bylaws, we will conduct a vote by the membership at the Membership Meeting on September 9, 2010. At that time, we will decide whether to adopt the proposed Bylaws and amendments to the Articles of Incorporation.
If you have any further questions about these proposed revised Bylaws or Articles of Incorporation, please feel free to contact me at ron@leblancphotography.com or (503) 723-9360.
Thank you for your participation in this very important matter.
Ron Le Blanc
Chairman
Bylaws, Ethics & Rules
The Bylaws, Rules & Ethics Committee has spent the past several months reviewing and revising our current Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation. We discovered the necessity of this review and revision because of the changes that have occurred during these past years.
Photoshop CS5 Restoration and Retouching
2010-07-09, by Dwaine Rhea as General News
PMPA member, Mark Fitzgerald's new book is now available. Congrats to Mark!
Photoshop CS5 Restoration and Retouching For Digital Photographers Only (For Only)
A full-color comprehensive reference to retouching and restoring photographs using Adobe Photoshop. Provides training, tips, and techniques for amateur to professional photographers who want to restore and retouch photos like an expert. The author covers the fundamental of working with digital images, relevant Photoshop tools, rescuing damaged photos, and retouching techniques. A companion Web site will include the book's tutorials with JPEGs and PSD's of images from the book.
July Photos
2010-07-09, by Danny Abrego as General News
The PMPA networked with the ASMP, plus we had a short program from Cesar on Photoshop CS5.
Classes of interest
2010-06-30, by Dwaine Rhea as General News
Oregon Photo Safaris announces summer classes starting July 6.
Advanced Photography - learn to make anything you want with any camera.
Advanced Lighting & Composition - learn what you're supposed to want.
Photoshop - the icing on the cake. Hone your skills and develop your expertise in the art of photography.
Bonnie Hamilton
2010-06-23, by Danny Abrego as General News
Congratulations to Bonnie Hamilton of River City Photography for having been awarded three merit prints in PPAs International Print competition.
Bonnie is a Master Photographer, she resides with her family in Portland and is a member of the Professional Photographers of America and its local affiliates in Oregon and Washington, the Photographic Society of America, and the Watercolor Society of Oregon. Bonnie is also the Administrator of the Pacific School of Photographic Arts where she teaches and leads photo tours.
June Meeting Photos
2010-06-17, by Danny Abrego as General News
Thank you Cesar for teaching us how to create compelling marketing templates for our clients. See all the event photos.
Social Media, Did you know?
2010-05-30, by Dwaine Rhea as Article
The impact of Social Media, click ot watch the video
Jas Dhaliwal, author of Social Media Revolution took the time to pull out the actual stats from the video.
- Over 50% of the world's population is under 30-years-old
- 96% of them have joined a social network
- Facebook topsGoogle for weekly traffic in the U.S.
- Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web
- 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media
- Years to Reach 50 millions Users: Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 Years), iPod (3 Years)?
- Facebook added over 200 million users in less than a year
- iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months.
- We don't have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we DO it.?
- If Facebook were a country it would be the world's 3rd largest ahead of the United States and only behind China and India
- Yet, QQ and Renren dominate China
- 2009 US Department of Education study revealed that on average, online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction
- 80% of companies use social media for recruitment; % of these usingLinkedIn 95%
- The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females
- Ashton Kutcher and Ellen Degeneres (combined) have more Twitter followers than the populations of Ireland, Norway, or Panama. Note I have adjusted the language here after someone pointed out the way it is phrased in the video was difficult to determine if it was combined.
- 50% of the mobile Internet traffic in the UK is for Facebook?people update anywhere, anytime?imagine what that means for bad customer experiences?
- Generation Y and Z consider e-mail pass? ? some universities have stopped distributing e-mail accounts
- Instead they are distributing: eReaders + iPads + Tablets
- What happens in Vegas stays onYouTube,Flickr, Twitter, Facebook?
- The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube
- While you watch this 100+ hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube
- Wikipedia has over 15 million articles?studies show it?s more accurate than Encyclopedia Britannica?78% of these articles are non-English
- There are over 200,000,000 Blogs
- Because of the speed in which social media enables communication, word of mouth now becomes world of mouth
- If you were paid a $1 for every time an article was posted on Wikipedia you would earn $156.23 per hour
- 25% of search results for the World?s Top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content
- 34% of bloggers post opinions about products & brands
- Do you like what they are saying about your brand? You better.
- People care more about how their social graph ranks products and services than how Google ranks them
- 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations
- Only 14% trust advertisements
- Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI
- 90% of people that can TiVo ads do
- Kindle eBooks Outsold Paper Books on Christmas
- 24 of the 25 largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation
- 60 millions status updates happen on Facebook daily
- We no longer search for the news, the news finds us.
- We will non longer search for products and services, they will find us via social media
- Social Media isn?t a fad, it?s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate
- Successful companies in social media act more like Dale Carnegie and less like Mad Men Listening first, selling second
- The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in 5 years
- Bonus: comScore indicates that Russia has the most engage social media audience with visitors spending 6.6 hours and viewing 1,307 pages per visitor per month ? Vkontakte.ru is the #1 social network
May Membership Meeting Photos
2010-05-16, by Daniel Payne as General News
April Cullett was our guest speaker in May and taught us about using Templates in Photoshop to make beautiful collages for seniors, weddings and families.
Click the photo to see more photos.
Ron LeBlanc and Kate Singh both had prints that scored in the Merit category for print competition.
Left Brain - Right Brain Tour
2010-05-12, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
May 12 in Portland
This revolutionary and ground-breaking new seminar, taught by two of the
world?s most sought-after and beloved instructors, Ken Sklute and
Mitche Graf, will show you how to ?fuse? your art and business minds
together to make a one dynamite package! Today?s changing economy
requires a new perspective of the world, and this program will give you
the skills necessary to hone your photographic art, and built your
business expertise at the same time. It will rapidly enahnce your
evolution as a professional photographer and will teach you the finer
points to creating a new business model for the 21st century.
Read more and register online.
Photos from April 2010
2010-04-09, by Danny Abrego as General News
Thank you Bonnie for presenting to us on the topic of print competition and showing us your total love for photography and mentoring.
Insights into law - The five most common legal mistakes involving commercial Web sites
2010-04-08, by Michael Anderson as General News
There's a good chance there's a difference between what you state in
your privacy policy and what your actual practices are. Full article here.
Equipment Sale
2010-04-07, by Daniel Payne as General News
Original owner, 620 seldom used, 30 specialty filters, Tamra cconvertible sling/carry/backpack with leather and extra quick release system straps. 3 Canon EF lenses with factory "store on lens" reversible hoods, 28mm, 70-210mm and 35-105mm, both zoom lens are "push-pull"type and far superior to the twist type. Canon electric remote release. Extra front and rear lens covers, travel tripod, Canon 420 EZ Speedlite that has adialogue with the 35-105mm lens and mechanically changes the reflector size for the correct amount of flash, macro adapter. Must see to appreciate. Quick releases on camera allow attach to front straps of backpack so it's close at hand when walking or biking and can be rotated to eye level for that immediate shot, or transferred to a padded leather shoulder strap. Filters are Canon, Cokin, CamPro, Vivitar, Toshiba and the majority are from Hoya. All items in excellent shape. All manuals and lots of misc. additional accessories. Over$4,000 invested. The entire system packs into and on the Tamrac 757 and can be worn comfortably, additional leather sling points on the outside of the bag as well.
First $1500 CASH Only takes!!! Will not part out or separate.
Additional info, Lee @ 360-835-3186, or 503-481-9195
March Seminar Photos
2010-04-05, by Kristi Johansen as General News
Craig Mitchelldyer led a lighting seminar on March 31st at Mt Hood.
Photographers needed to document Rebuilding Together projects
2010-03-27, by Dwaine Rhea as General News
Mitch Falkenstein, a board member of Rebuilding Together, needs professional photographers to chronicle their before and after projects at job sites. Rebuilding Together is a non-profit/volunteer organization that repairs homes for Portland's low income, disabled and elderly communities. This year's event will take place on Saturday, April 24th, with over 60 homes targeted for much needed maintenance and repairs
For an overview of the amazing improvements that corporations, small businesses and individual volunteers have performed over the years, visit their website at http://www.rebuildingtogetherportland.org You can contact Mitch at 503-459-7596 if you would like to volunteer.
March 2010 Photos
2010-03-11, by Danny Abrego as General News
We had a wonderful meeting tonight with Loma Smith sharing her passion for family portrait photography, plus we had print competition tonight (thank you judges).
Profiling Digital Cameras
2010-03-10, by Daniel Payne as General News
Practical Hands-On with ColorChecker PassPort, Wednesday March 10th at Gary Hush PhotoStudio. Only $5!
Mark Fitzgerald, of The Digital Darkroom and author of several books will be presenting. Mark has a brand new Canon 5D and will only have had a ColorChecker Passport for 2 weeks, so his presentation will illustrate how easy (or hard) this product is to use. However, Mark is a great presenter and (we think) can help convey the ColorChecker Passport work flow process quite well. Mark will also cover why JPEG and RAW files don't look the same, what is DNG and why it is important,and using the profile presets that come with LightRoom and Photoshop.
Gary Hush Photo Studio is at 2211 NW Front Ave. # 301, Portland, OR 97209
Oregon Photo Safari
2010-03-09, by Danny Abrego as General News
Dwon Guvenir's Oregon Photo Safaris is hosting a photoshoot at Cape Kiwanda this weekend
PPA Continuing Education Weekend Workshop at Cape Kiwanda, March 13-14. $350
Earn PPA merits towards your Master Photographer degree on one of our most popular workshops.
Topics include Advanced Photography, Advanced Lighting and Composition.
Register online
Oregon Photo Safaris is a licensed Oregon Outfitter/Guide.
Peru Photography Trip May 29th - June 8th
2010-03-01, by Dwaine Rhea as General News
by Paul Sivley
Winter may be wearing on you, and you may be thinking: "I need a
vacation!" I wanted to share with you an opportunity that will allow
you to create permanent new memories, broaden your perspectives on life, see
one of the top 10 sites in the world, and to bring stronger skills to those to
whom photography abilities are an interest. I'm leading a trip to Peru
May 29-June 8. I've partnered with one of the most talented and personable
travel agents in our country to create a vibrant and unique itinerary and
experience.
Event Photography Work Flow
2010-02-21, by Daniel Payne as Article
I'd like to share how I've automated my event photography work flow so that clients can be photographed, proof and order in just a few minutes. I'm using some standard technology and some custom technology that I wrote myself:
- Shoot tethered with a Canon 5D connected to an iMac
- iMac runs EOS Viewer and EOS Capture, software from Canon
- Custom Applescript re-sizes the original image into a proof and thumbnail then copies them to a folder on the web server
- Three computers allow clients to proof and order using a web browser in minutes
- Proofing and ordering is customer software that I wrote
- Web server on the PC is called XAMPP
All the details including images are posted on my blog page.
Thanks to our Suppliers who made our Suppliers Night a success
2010-02-11, by Dwaine Rhea as General News
Special thanks to our suppliers who presented their business at tonight's Suppliers Night event! Watch your email for a complete list of Suppliers and links to their business.
Ron LeBlanc, for Green Screen Wizard
Cool Improvements to the Website
2010-01-27, by Dwaine Rhea as General News
I had a kid in my class in elementary school named Zach Zorn, the LAST one called for anything if the teachers went alphabetically!
Soooo what happens if a client visits our PMPA web site and searches for "Portrait Photographer" Well, Zach would be thrilled! Website Search results now come up randomly; therefore, all the members who indicate that they specialize in Portrait Photography (or any other specialty) now appear randomly from one search to another.
BTW... Aaron Anderson, too bad you've had it way too easy since kindergarten!
Focus on Youth is Making News
2010-01-20, by Dwaine Rhea as General News
We have several members participating in Gresham's Color Explosion. Check it out! Danny Abrego, PMPA President, commended Focus On Youth as the Association's primary outreach for 2010. Yesterday, the Gresham Outlook published an atricle about Focus On Youth and one of their young artist. It's exciting to see PMPA members and friends doin' exciting things. Read the Article here.
Did you know, members can add a LOGO or Photo to their profile
2010-01-16, by Dwaine Rhea as General News
A recent change to our website profiles allows you to add a small image to your profile. We thought, since we're in a visual business, we might want a graphic as part of our profiles. The board suggest using your LOGO or your personal image however any image may be used. The image will appear at 110pxl
eye-one display LT
2009-11-26, by Daniel Payne as Article
I chatted with Lisa Kuhlman on Facebook about color calibration for my iMac and Windows 7 laptop. She was using the eye-one display LT device so I asked to borrow it. On Thanksgiving Day we met and then I went home to test it out.
First I calibrated my iMac and the "after" results looked more realistic than the default calibration from Apple. Now the color saturation is more natural and not so over-done.
Next I calibrated my Windows 7 laptop. Of course it took multiple reboots and a software update to get it working, about 4X the effort as the iMac. In the end I have better color on my Windows 7 laptop, especially improved was the contrast levels and blacks.
Compared to the previously reviewed Huey calibration device, this is a no-brainer. Buy the eye-one display LT for laptops, Mac and CRT monitors. Pricing is about $120 and well worth it to see accurate colors for your photography work.
PMPA Officers for 2010
2009-11-18, by Danny Abrego as General News
We voted at our November meeting and here are the Officers and Directors for 2010:
Office, Name, Term Ends
President, Danny Abrego, 2010
Vice President, * Daniel Payne, 2011
Secretary, Guy Lewis, 2010
Treasurer, Julia Fitzgerald, 2011
After Hours, * Tamara Kaufman, 2010
Awards, * Cindy Pederson, 2010
Bylaws & Legal Ethics, * Ron Le Blanc, 2010
Membership, Michael Anderson, 2010
Public Relations, * Dwaine Rhea, 2010
Seminar, Eric Fox, 2010
Social, * Tania Allen, 2010
Workshop, Kristi Johansen, 2010
* New officers
Derrik Ollar presented a program on framing and it was very educational.
See all the event photos here.
Framed Photos Needed
2009-11-16, by Daniel Payne as Article
Focus on Youth, a non-profit agency dedicated to keeping at-risk youth on the path to high school graduation, seeks donations of finished photographs for their first fund raising auction. Focus on Youth operates a studio and darkroom, and professional photographers serve as instructors and mentors to the teens.
You can make a difference in the lives of at-risk youth by donating a framed photograph for the auction. Your gift will make it possible for Focus on Youth to continue offering cameras, software, curricula and instruction to low-income disadvantaged youth at no cost.
The auction is scheduled for May 1, 2010, at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Donations are needed by the end of 2009, however, so that an auction catalog can be produced ahead of the event.
Contact Donna Lee Holmes at (503) 341-6878 to make your donation or to volunteer for the auction. Print donations are tax-deductible and your donation earns you auction admission as a guest of Focus on Youth. Interested PMPA members also may visit Focus On Youth for a brief tour of their studio and a meeting about the auction on Saturday, November 21 at 10:00 a.m. The studio is located at1028 SE Water in the Water Avenue Commerce Center.
HDR Photography for Everyone
2009-11-15, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Sunday, November 15
Taught by Mark Fitzgerald, Adobe Certified Photoshop Expert
9 AM - 4 PM
Lightworks Photography, Eugene Oregon
Limited to 10 photographers
$149 before 11/8/09
$174 after 11/8/09
High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography is changing the way photographers capture the world around them. HDR allows a photographer to shoot several exposures of a scene, recording every tone from the darkest shadows to the brightest highlights. Then using Photoshop or special HDR software these images are combined into a single 32-bit file that contains the entire range of the original scene. This expanded tonal range is way beyond the capabilities of a single exposure from the average dSLR, which opens the door to all kinds of creative possibilities.
This is a hands on workshop, so bring your laptop, your camera,and a tripod. By the end of the day you?ll know everything you need to know to begin shooting HDR photos and processing them with Photoshop and Photomatix Prosoftware.
To download a PDF with more information, follow this link.
Mark Fitzgerald is the owner of The Digital Darkroom in Portland,OR. He is the author of books on Photoshop, Lightroom, and digital workflow.His latest book, Photoshop Elements After the Shoot will be available at the first of the year. To learn more about Mark, check out The Digital Darkroomwebsite.
Mitche Graf Intensive Workshop
2009-11-11, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Hello Northwest Photographers!
We hope that you are having a tremendous fall season so far and are getting ready for your best year ever in 2010! I know this is last minute, but we have had a cancellation for Mitche Graf's Intensive 4-day Workshop on the Oregon coast November 15-November 18 (yes, this coming week!) and wanted to let you know about it. The workshop will run from 6pm Sunday evening until 11am Wednesday morning.
No posing, lighting, Photoshop, or anything else having to do with the technical side of photography. This workshop will dive deep into sales,marketing, branding, pricing, promotions, and everything else having to do with getting control over your life again! As you well know, Mitche is known all around the world as the leader in business education for professional photographers, and he only does a very limited number of these hands-on events each year.
For more information or to register, please CLICK HERE and then click on the "4-Day Workshop" tab. There is only 1 room available, which can either go to a single person (male or female) or a married couple. This will be first come-first served so don't delay. This could be the most important decision of your life!
Have a great rest of your holiday season, and Happy Holidays!
The PM101 Team
Copyright Protection
2009-11-04, by Daniel Payne as General News
As photographers we want our clients to understand and respect our copyrights. Visit the Copyright Alliance web site and sign their letter of support, which will be presented to President Obama.
Pantone Huey
2009-11-03, by Daniel Payne as Article
Talking with my neighbor about proper white balance last week I learned of a color calibration system from Pantone called Huey. I decided to try this system out on my HP laptop running Windows Vista and another desktop running Windows XP.
During the Vista installation there was a warning from Microsoft that this installer had, "Known problems". A quick visit to the Pantone website produced another version of the installer that Vista loved.
Following the quick install guide I had my HP laptop calibrated in under 5 minutes, pretty quick. Then I opened up some images and was shocked to find that the new, corrected profile on my LCD laptop was plagued with a green colorcast. Fiddling with all of the settings for Huey would not removed this color cast. Removing the software brought me back to the original colors that are faithful to both the Fuji and Kodak print labs that I use.
Over on the Windows XP system I had a good experience, both with a flawless install and improved color accuracy. The CRT monitor was a Viewsonic PF790 and it looks much butter now that it's calibrated with Huey.
My summary, get the $89 Huey if you have a CRT however buy something else for your LCD laptop.
Kaleidoscope
2009-10-27, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Photographs by PMPA members, Mike Anderson and Mark Fitzgerald, are featured in "Kaleidoscope",a colorful art show sponsored by the Gresham Art Committee.
The theme for this show inspired a number of interesting submissions:"As a kaleidoscope tube rotates, the tumbling of the colored objects creates a varying colors and patterns. This colorful, ever-changing display, when colors come alive, is the inspiration for our show's focus on the vibrant use of color and patterns."
The show, which is on display at the Gresham City Hall Visual Arts Gallery, includes works from a wide range of media. Mike and Mark are two of the three photographers in the show. Seven of their photographs were chosen to hang. Two of Mark's photos were used for the posters and postcards used to promote the show.
Kaleidoscope runs from October 20 - December 3. The artist's reception is November 17, from 5:30 -7:00 where Mark is the featured artist and will be signing his books. If you're in the area, stop by for some light refreshments, live jazz music by Kyle Lewis, and lots of colorful art.
Gresham City Hall Visual Arts Gallery
Gresham City Hall
Public Safety & Schools Bldg.
1333 NW Eastman Parkway
Gresham, OR 97030
Focus on Youth - Update
2009-10-13, by Daniel Payne as Article
Donna Holmes, Director at Focus on Youth
We are having a great year with the kids. I am teaching everyday and the students work with the mentors one day a week. We are teaching the students digital and they love it. Our greatest need now is digital cameras, we only have about 4 loaned cameras and we have 16 students.
The at-risk youth we are working with are from the Portland International Community School and are immigrant and refugee students from Africa, Asia, Romania and Central America. I am working with the teachers on integrated studies and we are using photography in all aspects of learning. We are also planning an on-line exhibit with youth in Scotland in March.
We would love your help getting the word out about our first annual auction to be held at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. The event will be held on May 1, 2010 in the evening. We would like photographers to donate a framed, fine art print for the auction. Their donation is tax deductible and they will receive a free ticket to attend the event.
October 2009 Recap
2009-10-10, by Danny Abrego as General News
Bruce Berg presented a program on high school seniors, followed by a print competition. See all the photos here.
Susan Frost Photography
2009-09-23, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
There's a wonderful article on Susan Frost at the Portland Metropolitan Photographic News site.
September Meeting Recap
2009-09-12, by Daniel Payne as General News
Thank you Kate Singh of Aevum Images for teaching us Graphic Design for Photographers at our September 2009 meeting. We saw many examples of: postcards, fliers, web pages, business cards and senior collages. That degree in graphic design came in handy for you.
View event images here.
Equipment Sale
2009-09-08, by Danny Abrego as General News
Gloria Auker is having a garage sale of year's worth of photographic
equipment that was collected by Jerry. The sale will be held Sunday September 13th
and Monday September 14th from noon to 7P each day. The address of this location is:
1506SE Ramona Street
Portland OR 97202
Terms of sale are cash only and all equipment "as is".
Selected items include:
- Various canvas and muslin backgrounds
- Norman and Photogenic lighting
- Various cameras, including Nikon F2 and FM; Hasselblad 500C and 500 EL/M; Mamiya RB67 ProS and lenses; Mamiya 645 film cameras and lenses; Rolleiflex Twin Lens cameras; Camera ZII split; 70mm film camera Graflex 4x5 camera.
- Electra 5 foot camera stand
- Majestic camera stands
- Bogen and Gitzo tripods
- Light Meters
- Light stands
- Adjustable Posing Stools
- Sawyer and Kodak Carousel slide projectors with lenses
- Entre dissolve units
- Kodak 8500 Digital Photo Printers (dye-sub) with cases
- Frames (16x20 and larger)
- Studio props and equipment
- And much more
Gresham Art Show
2009-09-08, by Michael Anderson as Press Release
This is a call for all fine art photographers, see more details here.
Dick Durrance
2009-09-07, by Daniel Payne as General News
Sep 30, 7-9PM. Seeing What Is / Imagining What Can Be
In difficult times, creative vision is the key to economic survival.
Dick Durrance, with stories and award winning images from photographing National Geographic assignments, combat in Vietnam, and global
advertising campaigns, shows you how to focus your creative vision on
the challenges you face. He ignites your passion for fresh ideas,
reminding you that creative vision does not just come from seeing what
is but from imagining what can be. He inspires you to harness your
gifts, develop your skills, and build the teamwork you need to create
fresh opportunities. He will help to not only survive but flourish,
fulfilling your dreams for yourself, your family, and your community.
Register today.Sponsored by ASMP.
$150 Savings - onOne Software
2009-09-04, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Photographers will receive a $150 discount on the Plug-in Suite at check-out time using the promo code of PMPA.
$50 Lab Credit
2009-09-03, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Pounds Labs is pleased to announce our acquisition of K&K Color Lab. We
would like to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to all of
K&K's customers. Please know that we are fully prepared to assist
K&K's customers in their transition of their accounts to Pounds.
Pounds Labs would like to extend a $50 lab credit when K&K
customers or members of open a new account with Pounds Labs.
You must place your first order by Oct 31, 2009. Use this promo code on your order: PLD50.
Your order must be entered through Pounds Labs software , PROS.
Kruse Professional Building Art Show and Open House
2009-09-03, by Michael Anderson as Press Release
September 15. 4-7 pm
15171 SW Bangy Road, Lake Oswego
The Kruse Professional Building will be sponsoring an Art Show and Open House on Tuesday, September 15 from 4:00 ? 7:00 pm.The show will feature the original works of 15 local photographers and artists, all of whom will be on hand to discuss their work.Artists include juried members of the Watercolor Society of Oregon and the Oregon Society of Artists.
Questions: Patty Barker 503-670-9462 or 503-267-6585, e-mail patty_barker@comcast.net
Mitchelldyer Photography Workshop
2009-09-01, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Taking Your Photography Business To The Next Level
October
1, 2009 at The
Oregonian - Presentation Room, 1st Floor - 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, OR.
Morning
Session - All About Business 8:30AM - 1:00PM
Afternoon
Session - Making Yourself Better 2:00PM - 7:00PM
Cost: FREE!
Registration is required here. More info here.
Presenters: David Bergman, Grover
Sanschagrin,
Thomas Boyd,
Craig
Mitchelldyer,
Robbie
McClaran, Mike Davis,
Tony Overman
Seminar Photos
2009-08-31, by Daniel Payne as General News
Thank you Ron Le Blanc for teaching us all about Event Photography last week on August 28, 2009. See the equipment required to use Green Screen technology in your studio or next event.
See all the photos from this seminar.
Juried Art Exhibit
2009-08-27, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
July 14 - August 27, 2009
Susan E. Frost, Portland-based travel photographer, will have one image in the mixed-media group show, 2009 Juried Art Exhibit, at the Gresham City Hall Visual Arts Gallery. This particular image, Neon Tulip Girl, was shot in early morning light and then manipulated in Photoshop CS3 to give it the Neon look. Available at the show in a limited-edition fine art
print. Susan is the author and photographer of the book,
"Portland Oregon: A Photographic Portrait" and her images are published regularly in The New York Times,
Sunset magazine and World Traveler magazine.
Barbara Parker Wins Awards
2009-08-18, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Kudos to Barbara Parker who entered prints at the Gresham Center For The Arts. She won three awards:
At the Winter Trees - 3rd place Peoples Choice, and 3rd place Mayors Award.
Weathering the Storm - First Place
Canon 5D Mark II Field Guide
2009-07-22, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Portland,
Oregon, wedding and commercial photographer Brian McLernon's first book for
Wiley Publishing, the "Canon 5D Mark II Digital Field Guide" is set for release
August 10th, 2009.
The
Canon 5D Mark II digital camera is a revolutionary development in dSLR
technology. With its full-frame 21.1 megapixel sensor and 30 frames per second
high-definition video recording capability, it offers creative possibilities
unknown to digital image makers until now. This practical, portable guide
examines each of its features, teaches you to choose appropriate settings and
picture styles, explores lenses and Speedlites, and offers the key to perfect
photos and footage in common and uncommon situations.
This book is intended for amateur and professional photographers who are ready to embrace a new way of thinking about photography and video and who possess the desire to take their imagery, whether still or moving, beyond what they've ever accomplished before.
About
Brian McLernon
Brian is a Portland, Oregon photographer and educator and has been involved in
commercial photography for over two decades. His images have been featured in
promotional publications and magazine articles for companies such as CBS
Records, Exxon, Johnson & Johnson and Nike. A popular guest speaker for
artistic associations, communications groups and business organizations, Brian
conducts photography workshops and classes for Portland Community College's
continuing education program.
Photos from July 2009
2009-07-15, by Danny Abrego as General News
View photos from our July 9, 2009 meeting. Thank you Danny for taking these photos.
Crater Lake Weekend Workshop
2009-07-11, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Oregon Photo Safaris
Crater Lake Weekend Workshop: PPA Continuing Education Series
July 11&12
$350 Register Now Limited
Enrollment
This coming weekend is our Crater Lake Weekend Workshop. Spaces are still
available at the campground we've reserved.Yes campground. This will be an amazing weekend camping in the Crater Lake National Park photographing one of the most recognizable lakes in the world.
Sunday we'll take a boat tour around the lake and spend 3 hours on Wizard
Island. Space is definitely limited for the boat tour so contact us ASAP
if you want to spend time on the island!
This is a Professional Photographers of America Continuing Education workshop
open to photographers of all levels. http://www.oregonphotosafaris.com/Registration.html
Rental Library
2009-07-09, by Derrik Ollar as General News
Learn from the experts and increase your photography business. Check out our rental library. Available only to PMPA members.
Print Competition Rules
2009-07-06, by Daniel Payne as General News
July 9th we'll be having our next print competition so read about the rules.
Join our Facebook Group
2009-06-30, by Daniel Payne as General News
We've just created a new group on Facebook, so come and join us in discussions, share photos, ask questions, learn and be sociable. The group is open to anyone, and you can create a free acount in seconds.
Balloon Festival
2009-06-18, by Daniel Payne as General News
Come and photograph the balloons in Tigard at Cook Park, June 19-21 at the 25th annual Balloon Festival.
Video Production Company For Sale
2009-06-16, by Daniel Payne as General News
Digital
Wave is a 15-year-old successful video production business in Portland, Oregon.
This business is good-to-go with a strong client list, a 15 year old phone
number, and a page one rating on Google when searching for "Portland Video
Production".
The owners are moving on to other adventures and would love to pass it on. Contact Wayne Paige at 503.227.9283
June 11, 2009 Photos
2009-06-11, by Daniel Payne as General News
See all the photos from our swap meet.
Focus on Youth
2009-06-07, by Daniel Payne as General News
Check out the newly designed web site for Focus on Youth. This organization is dedicated to "empowering youth through photography". Opportunities abound for you to mentor students in the art and love of photography.
New Photoshop Blog
2009-05-31, by Daniel Payne as General News
Mark Fitzgerald of the Digital Darkroom has an excellent new blog all about Photoshop. Make sure to subscribe to his RSS feed.
Studio Sale
2009-05-15, by Daniel Payne as General News
Marinel Miklja is offering his Lake Oswego studio business for sale including: equipment, client list, training and support. 530 First Street, 503.387.5471
May 14 Meeting Recap
2009-05-15, by Daniel Payne as General News
Dwon presented a program on how to be Green in your photography business, followed by a print competition.
See more photos.
Canon 5D Mark II Video Lecture with Photographer John Waller
2009-05-13, by Daniel Payne as General News
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
6:00pm-8:30pm
Pro Photo Supply
FREE! But you must be registered Join
us for an information packed presentation from Photographer, John
Waller and Sennheiser representative, Kyle Kovalik. John will share his
real life experiences and insight into the NEW Canon 5D Mark II video
capabilities. He will show some of his footage he captured while on a
caving expedition and talk in detail about his experience with the
video capabilities on the 5D Mark II verses other traditional
camcorders. Also at the lecture, our Sennheiser audio representative
will present Sennheiser accessories that integrate with the 5D Mark II
and will give a hands on demonstration. There will be an extensive
question and answer period.Register Now!
Digital WakeUp Call Tour
2009-05-06, by Danny Abrego as Press Release
Learn from David Ziser in his 4 hour seminar on May 6: off-camera flash, best camera settings, DSLR video, digital work flow, new marketing ideas. More details here.
Focus On Youth
2009-05-06, by Daniel Payne as General News
Tom Hubbard wrote a wonderful article about FOY and all the good work that Donna Holmes and her photographer volunteers are doing to inspire Portland youth with positive role models. Read the article here.
Lightroom Clinic
2009-04-27, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
A day of intensive care that will revitalize your post production work flow. Is your work flow on the critical list? Is it beginning to look like Frankenstein's monster with all sorts of pieces cobbled together? If so, this is your opportunity to give it a complete examination that addresses all of the key areas of your work flow health.
This is a hands-on workshop that's limited to only 8 photographers. You'll get the attention you need as you learn to use Lightroom 2 to manage your specific work flow. Some of the things you'll learn are:
Raw file ABC's and the importance of properly exposing for raw instead of JPEG.
Importing and organizing files so they're where you want them using the easy to use Import dialog.
All about metadata and its importance in the Lightroom work flow.
Using labels, stars, and flags to quickly identify winners and losers.
Building an organized keywording system that allows you to quickly find any photo you need when you need it.
Using the Develop module to quickly make your files look their best.
Synchronizing develop settings with groups of similar files to save time.
Using the new Graduated Filter and Adjustment Brush tools to easily add special touches to your photos.
How to export files for a variety of output purposes.
Using Lightroom to make professional presentations to your clients.
Tips for using Lightroom and Photoshop together. This workshop is being taught by Mark Fitzgerald, Adobe Certified Expert and author of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Photoshop Workflow Bible. You can learn more about Mark and his other books at www.ddroom.com.
When: Monday, April 27 from 9AM to 4PM
Where: Loma Smith Photography, 2154 SW Borland Rd, West Linn
Cost: $149 - Limited to 8 photographers only
What to bring: Laptop with Lightroom 2. Lunch.
Sign up: Contact Mark to sign up at (503) 977-2400 or mark@ddroom.com. Spaces will go quickly, so be sure to reserve you seat today.
April Meeting
2009-04-09, by Danny Abrego as General News
Thank you to all of the vendors who presented tonight:
Advance Camera
Art Shipper Productions
Daniel Payne
Fundy SOS
Kambara
Oregon Photo Safaris
Pro Photo Supply
Rice Studio Supply
Western Photo Mount
See more photos in the gallery.
The Passing of Bill Crispien
2009-04-06, by Danny Abrego as General News
For those of us who've been photographing for a number of years and had camera repair problems before our friends at Advance Camera and Pro Photo Supply became our established and preferred repair guys, Bill Crispien was here in Portland to help us out. Bill's shop was Custom Camera Craft on what now is MLK Blvd. in Portland. His collection of cameras and repair parts for all types of camera equipment was legendary. Not only was Bill a camera repairman with a great reputation, but he was a photographer as well. His shop closed in 2003 and he died in Crooked River Ranch on March 20, 2009 at the age of 91
Art Show thru April 4
2009-03-14, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
PMPA and PPO member Paul Sivley and Adrian Klein opened an art show March 13 at the Tualatin Heritage Center at 8700 SW Sweek Drive, Tualatin, OR 97062. The show runs through April 4 and hours are M-F 10am-2pm, Thursday evenings, and Saturdays. Call 503 885 1926 for details on hours.
The imagery includes landscapes from Oregon to Kauai and travel imagery from Burma, India, Namibia, Eastern Africa and more. Travel without the hassle of driving, airline security or baggage fees!
March 2009 Meeting
2009-03-12, by Danny Abrego as General News
Mitche Graf presented a wealth of information on how to promote your photography business using time-tested techniques from around the world.
Our top three winners in print competition tonight were (l to r): Kate Singh, Barb Parker, Tania Allen.
Spring Discounts on PPA Continuing Education Weekend Workshops
2009-02-16, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
For a limited time only we're dropping the prices of our Weekend Workshops to $250. This amazingly low price is for a limited time only. Consider that normal PPA merit workshops run around $1,000. This great price should not be missed. This offer is good for our Astoria workshop in March and our Portland workshop in April. Register online www.OregonPhotoSafaris.com
Oregon Photo Safaris
We are an Oregon licensed, bonded and insured Outfitter /Guide. Photography Instructors accepting fees for providing outdoor classes, workshops or safaris, must be registered outfitter/guides with the Oregon State Marine Board. This has been Oregon law since 1984. Ask to see the instructor's registration card. You can verify guide registrations by calling (503) 378-8587. Don?t fall victim to illegal outdoor photo classes, workshops or safaris. Report any illegal guiding activity to the State Police TIP Hotline (800) 452-7888.
February Meeting
2009-02-15, by Danny Abrego as Article
February's PMPA general meeting was held at Denyce Weiler's Something Blue Photography in SE Portland. Her presentation on use of projection for sales was informative and entertaining. Something Blue is the first of several studio locations that we plan to visit for our Thursday night meetings during the year. Hopefully, a changing location at different studios will give our members fresh ideas of how to use the shooting areas we have available to us.
And in case you hadn't noticed, Dencye is due in July with her second child.
Founding Member Given Lifetime Award
2009-02-15, by Danny Abrego as Article
Gloria Auker, one of PMPA's founding members, was given a lifetime membership by vote of the board members at the February board meeting at Something Blue Photography in Portland. It was decided that the many years that Gloria served as officer and volunteer deserved special recognition. Gloria plans to attend various PMPA functions and her presence is always welcome. 
Lightroom 2 Workshop
2009-02-14, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Please join ASMP Oregon and Mark Fitzgerald for the Lightroom 2 Workshop on Saturday, February 28th from 9AM to 5PM at Nemo Design Studio, 1875 SE Belmont Street. Registration is $85, see more details.
Photo Exhibit
2009-02-13, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Focus On Youth has an exhibit entitled, "Through Their Eyes", showing now at New Seasons in Beaverton the entire month of February.
PPA Continuing Education Weekend Workshop
2009-02-04, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Oregon Photo Safaris presents a weekend workshop in Portland on February 7-8 that earns PPA merits. Register today.
Meet your 2009 PMPA Officers and Board Members
2009-01-30, by Danny Abrego as Article
Swearing in of the 2009 Board Members and officers of PMPA was performed at the January General Membership meeting held at the River Oaks Church in SE Portland. This team consists of the following members:
President, Danny Abrego
Vice President, Derrik Oller
Secretary. Guy Lewis
Immediate Past President, Fudge Davisson
After Hours, Kate Singh
Awards,Tania Allen
Bylaws and Legal Ethics, Art Thompson
Membership, Michael Anderson
Public Relations, Daniel Payne
Seminar, Eric Fox
Social, Cindy Pedersen
Workshop, Kristi Johansen
Danny Abrego was elected to serve another term as PMPA president. This year?s team consists of three new officers. Kristi Johansen and Eric Fox have volunteered to chair our two educational committees. Additionally, Michael Anderson is our Membership director and his experience in marketing will assist in the growth of our organization. Among the items the board will address this year includes the resurrection of print competition, continuation of varied educational programs, increasing membership and, as always, provide an environment for photographers at all levels to improve their photography and workflow to increase profits. Please make a point of joining us this year when you can!
Lightroom 2 Workflow Evening
2009-01-22, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Please join ASMP Oregon and Mark Fitzgerald for an evening with Lightroom 2. Thursday, January 22nd at 7PM at the Polara Studio, 614 SE Hawthorne in Portland. Pricing is $10 as a PMPA member. RSVP to asmp.events@gmail.com to secure your spot.
Lightroom is changing the way photographers work. Its intuitive interface creates a streamlined workflow that allows photographers to catalog, process, and output individual and groups of raw files much more efficiently than when using the Bridge/Adobe Camera Raw/Photoshop system. Join us for an informative evening as Mark Fitzgerald, author of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Photoshop Workflow Bible leads us through the complete Lightroom workflow.
In this session you will get a close look at the Lightroom workflow from import to output. You'll see how files are organized and sorted, and some of the best methods for using keywords and metadata to find the file you need when you need it. Then you will learn to use Lightroom and the powerful Develop module to edit single files or groups of files quickly and efficiently. Finally, you will see how Lightroom and the three output modules are used to easily create slideshows, prints, and web galleries, and how to export files for other uses using the Export command.
Mark Fitzgerald is the owner of The Digital Darkroom in Portland, OR. Mark is an Adobe Certified Photoshop Expert and author of Photoshop CS3 Restoration and Retouching Bible, and Photoshop CS4 After the Shoot.
The Secret to Business Success
2009-01-19, by Derrik Ollar as Article
The training I have gained in my years of association with PMPA has been pivotal in my continued success and longevity in this industry. I have personally seen dozens of local photographers come and go in my 15 plus years in this line of work. If there is one thing that I have learned over and over again (and it's sad to say), it is that great photography skills have very little correlation with owning a successful photography business. Professional quality photography is just a commodity without strong marketing and sales skills to turn it into something that is very desirable in the eyes of the consumer.
January's PMPA After Hours program was all about the marketing. In one evening, we had two marvelous marketing experts impart pearls of wisdom to the group, and I for one have since taken some time to work through all my notes and use these gems to strengthen my business' marketing program.
Our first speaker was advertising, marketing and creative services expert Christopher S. Howley. At first glance, he seemed like a quiet unassuming guy, but once he started speaking, I was totally captivated by his command of the subject mater. He presented an eloquent case as to why the standard three Ps of marketing (Product, Place & Price) should actually be expanded to the seven Ps. They are Product, Price, Place, Public, Position, Promotion and Palm. With these seven Ps, a marketing plan could be laid out that was more focused, workable, and fortunately for the writer of the plan, also shorter in length.
Our second speaker was marketing coach Veronika Noize. Veronika taught us the nuts and bolts of creating a killer elevator speech. Rather than the traditional 30 second elevator speech that is commonly touted in the business world, she gave us an outline for creating an elevator speech that would answer the questions of what, whom and the specific benefits derived from your offerings in an appropriate, credible, intriguing and specific manner, and all of this would be achieved in seven to nine words. In a world full of prospects with short attention spans, this is a nugget of marketing gold!
A few years ago, I was involved in a commercial shoot for a new line of cosmetics. Another client came into my studio while I shooting and noticed what I was photographing. She made a comment along the lines of how could a new comer in the crowded cosmetic market possibly become successful? Well, my answer to her then is just as applicable now to the photography industry. I said, "It really doesn't matter how many cosmetic companies there are or even how long they've been in business because the winners will always be the best marketers."
For those of you readers who were able to make it to our January meeting, you got some fantastic ideas that if worked on, could give you a great edge in the market place. I feel that I've already gotten my $35 membership value for the year, and we've just gotten started! If you didn't make it to our January meeting or have not yet renewed for the New Year, please make a commitment to join with us in February and beyond. We have a great year planned out for our members, and you'll be glad you made this small investment in PMPA as it will yield huge returns to you both as a craftsman/artist and as business person.
Happy shooting, marketing and selling!
New LinkedIn Group
2009-01-14, by Daniel Payne as General News
Have you heard about LinkedIn?
Over 30 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities.
Stay informed about your contacts and industry.
Find the people & knowledge you need to achieve your goals.
Control your professional identity online.You are invited to join the PMPA group created at LinkedIn today. Membership in this LinkedIn group is moderated.
Oregon Photo Safaris
2008-12-22, by Dwon Guvenir as Press Release
Gift Certificates for 12 PPA Continuing Education Merit workshops now available for purchase online in time for the Holidays. Also in time for the Holidays, we're now resellers for the following product lines: Nikon, Canon, Wacom, Epson, Lexar and more, making it easier than ever to provide our students with the best photography equipment for our classes, workshops, and safaris. All products have full USA warranties. www.OregonPhotoSafaris.com
Canon 5D Mark II
2008-12-17, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
SOLD: For sale, 21 mega-pixels, full frame DSLR, new in box, hard to find, make me an offer.
Daniel, 503.806.1662.
Co-op Studio by OMSI
2008-12-16, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
2000' sq ft Co-op studio 1/2 mi south of OMSI ... $150.00/month ... 3 separate shooting areas within, including large natural light room, furnished boudoir room and more.
Visit here for all the details, Nina's Photography.
Black and White Exhibit
2008-12-15, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
Susan Frost invites you to view her Black & White Art show at the Gresham City Hall Visual Arts Gallery on December 16th from 5:30PM to 7PM.
Shared Studio Space
2008-12-03, by Kate Singh as Press Release
New co-op/studio share for photographers and artists, available immediately in Vancouver. Have you ever dreamed of working in a beautiful studio?
See more photos and info.
Remembering Jerry and Larry
2008-11-14, by Danny Abrego as General News
As we prepare to begin the twenty-first year of our organization, we note the loss of Jerry Auker, one of our founding members and past president, who died October 31. Although the direction of PMPA has been shaped over the years by a number of the original members, Jerry had been paramount in keeping PMPA alive and true to the objective of serving local professional photographers. Along with his wife Gloria, the Aukers worked tirelessly to make our programs and projects a success. Additionally, Jerry's many years as a professional photographer made some of the best photographers and teachers available to us: photographers such as Monte Zucker, David Ziser, Frank Cricchio, to name just a few.
With the talent and resources of our remaining members, PMPA will continue to provide the photo community with programs and events that support our members and those interested in joining us. Thanks to Jerry and the other founding members who started PMPA 20 years ago, we have the direction and precedent to continue being an asset to this community.
2008 also marked the death of former PMPA member Larry Alberton. Larry was a local photographer and member of PMPA in the 90's and later provided custom framing services with his wife, Judith. They owned FrameCraft Northwest for many years until Larry's declining health forced him to cut back on his involvement in the business.
Our prayers continue to be with both Gloria and Judith.
--Danny Abrego, President
Oregon Photo Safaris
2008-11-13, by Dwon Guvenir as Press Release
Oregon Photo Safaris is proud to announce we're now a PPA Continuing Education Systems Provider offering PPA Continuing Education System Merits towards your Master Photographer Degree, Professional Photographer Certification, etc. We offer 13 different workshops and safaris in 2009 that will earn you PPA merit points. See dates & times and register online. www.OregonPhotoSafaris.com
Are You Ready For Tax Time?
2008-11-08, by Art Thompson as Article
As we approach the end of the year it is time to be thinking about if we have our income and expense records organized to be ready for the January 15 Estimated Tax filing.
Using accounting software greatly reduces the pain. Some points to consider:
- Do you have easy-to-use software like Quicken or Quick Books?
- Do you have a chart of accounts set up with the help of an accountant?
- Do you have a separate checking account for your business, even if you are doing photography part time?
- Have you kept entry of your income and expenses up to date in the software?
- Are you keeping your records organized receipts for business expenses, written records of business mileage, copies of household expenses if you qualify for a home office deduction.
Preparation of annual tax returns
For those who file a Schedule C with their personal return, being able to print out a report of income and
expenses by tax form line number greatly simplifies the job, and can save you substantially when you take it
to your tax preparer.
Analyzing Income and Expenses
Do you know what percent of your income comes from each type of photography?
What percent of your expenses are advertising and promotion, utilities, supplies, office expense, etc.?
By knowing the answers you can make any changes needed to make your business more profitable.
Art bought Uptown Studio in 1978 after working for Chromalloy Photographic Industries doing highvolume family portraits for church directories and bank promotions, and training many photographers. Upon buying the studio he consulted a professional to help him set up an initial chart of accounts to aid in tracking income and expenses. He later sold the studio since nearly all of his business was on location. He is now semi-retired.
PMPA Member Profile - Julie Fitzgerald, CPA
2008-11-08, by Art Thompson as Article
We are fortunate to have Julia as a member of PMPA. She received her BA in accounting from University of Texas, San Antonio in 1992, and started her own business in 2002.
Her CPA firm specializes in working with small businesses, providing tax planning and tax return preparation, bookkeeping service, consultation on business start-up procedures and accounting system set-up, QuickBooks training as a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and much more.
Julia can also advise you on issues regarding legal services, insurance coverage and retirement planning, should you incorporate your business, and are you overlooking legitimate tax deductions.
Her clients range from part time sole proprietorships to preparing corporate tax returns.
Julia is an active member of our association who can help with decisions and services that can help your profitability, and simplify your business organization. She offers an initial hour of consultation free-ofcharge, so why not contact her today and be prepared for tax time which is coming soon!
Her business is located at 4620 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, Suite B-4, Portland, OR 97221. She can be contacted at info@juliafitzgeraldcpa.com 503-244-6905. See www.juliafitzgeraldcpa.com.
Jerry Auker
2008-10-31, by Daniel Payne as General News
Our dear friend and PMPA founder Jerry Auker died on 10/31/08. We will all miss him and send our condolences to Gloria Auker. Funeral services are on Monday, 11/17 at 11AM, New Hope Community Church, 11731 SE Stevens Rd.
A reception will follow the service. You are invited to contribute refreshments for the reception. In lieu of flowers or other remembrances, Gloria requests that donations be made in Jerry's name to:
The Muscular Dystrophy Association
In Memory of Jerry Auker
4800 SW Macadam Ave, Suite 205
Portland, OR 97239
Photo Exhibit - Focus on Youth
2008-10-01, by Daniel Payne as Press Release
PMPA member Donna Holmes invites you to a student exhibit of photographs at Umpqua Bank in the Pearl, 1139 NW Lovejoy on Wednesday, October 29th from 5 to 7PM. Donna is Director of Focus on Youth.
PPA Merit Points
2008-09-01, by Dwon Guvenir as General News
Congratulations! to the PMPA members who scored merits in the PPA International Print Competition.
Cindy Kassab (5 merits) 1 Merit Print 2 Loan Collection
Bonnie Hamilton (4 merits) 2 Merit Prints 1 Loan Collection
Dwon Guvenir (3 merits) 1 Merit Print 1 Loan Collection
Bryan Welsh (3 merits) 3 Merit Prints
Oregon Photo Safaris
2008-09-01, by Dwon Guvenir as Press Release
We have a new mission and updated website, with online registration for all classes, workshops and safaris.
www.OregonPhotoSafaris.com
503-999-4321
Photographer Phil Borges Lecture
2008-09-01, by Dwon Guvenir as Press Release
When: Thursday, September 25, 2008
Time: 7:00pm
Where: World Forestry Center - Miller Hall
>Cost: $25 non-members, $15 ASMP, PPO, AIGA, APA, PMPA, CMUG, PIF members, $10 Students, FREE for ASMP Students
Cash or Check payments only at the door.
Professional Camera DSLR Line Up
2008-09-01, by Dwon Guvenir as Article
I have held off doing a review because this information can be found online easily at www.dpreview.com
However, there is a lot of confusion regarding what is important information and what isn't. Example: pixel count is NOT important while Cross-Type focusing sensors ARE important.
Before we get going it needs to be pointed out that the term "Professional" is purely a marketing device.
Any camera you use to make money is a professional camera. For our purposes here we're going to list the DSLR bodies of the two big players in the Professional market: Canon and Nikon. (Fuji is another player but they use a Nikon D200 body so the stats are the same except for the sensor which it could be argued is the best of the three brands).
Most reviews either don't understand or don't care to understand the features that are actually important in camera technology. Instead they tend to focus on mega-pixels and incorrectly refer to resolution in terms of total number of mega-pixels. In fact, after I pointed out to DP Review that they kept erroneously labeling pixel count as resolution they have now, after years of misinformation, come up with a new term for correctly determining resolution pixel density. They haven't changed their old reviews use of resolution so keep in mind that there are two different types of resolution: Sensor resolution or Pixel Density and Print resolution Pixel Count.
Pixel Density = inherent sharpness.
Pixel Count (Resolution) = uninterpolated printable size
The most important thing to remember when looking at camera bodies is that pixel count doesn't matter!
Those of you who have taken one of my classes have seen my 30"x40" print I took in JPG using a Nikon D70 six mega-pixel camera. Knowing how to use the pixels is much more important than having a lot of pixels.
So if pixels aren't important, what is important? GLASS is the most important part of a camera system.
Get the best lenses you can afford. If your budget is $2,000 then spend $400 on the body and $1,600 on the lens and you'll make sharper images that can be blown up much much larger than a $1,600 camera with a $400 lens!
Other important features are (in order of importance): Focusing Sensors, Flash Technology, Software, and Pixel Size. What about metering and color and LCDs and all that other junk the kid at the mega-chainelectronics store is telling you? Well, today it's all good. All cameras have pretty much dialed in the color and metering. The rest of what you hear about is cosmetic. They don't really ever mention the important stuff.
Focusing Sensors
There are three types of focusing sensors in DSLRs: Horizontal, Vertical, and Cross Type.
Horizontal sensors can only pick up on vertical lines.
Vertical sensors can only pick up on horizontal lines.
Cross Type sensors can pick up on all lines.
When you?re shooting a wedding in a dark environment or a sporting event, you want as many cross type sensors as possible.
Flash Technology
Build in flashes are great in a pinch, but Nikon offers built in flashes that can also act as Master Flash Units to literally thousands of Slave Flash Units and all TTL. Of course both Canon and Nikon independent flash speed lights have the ability to shoot as Master units, but only Nikon has that ability in their build in flash units.
Software
50% of digital photography is done on a computer. Therefore software plays a very important role in File Management and Workflow.
Pixel Size
Pixels are like Tea-Cups. Imagine a million tea cups on a big table. Now pour water into one of the tea cups until it overflows. What happens? It will overflow into the surrounding tea cups. This is what happens to the pixels in your DSLR. If you overfill a pixel with light it will fill over into the adjoining pixels and cause a color shift. So the bigger the pixels the better.
Bigger pixels also means better low light capabilities and lower noise at higher ISO. It also means higher ISO capabilities.
The following ratings are based on info gathered from www.dpreview.com
I've laid out the most important aspects of each camera model.
Resolution/Pixel Density
Canon
| 1Ds Mark III | 10 MP | 1.9 MP/cm2 |
| 1D Mark III | 21 MP | 2.4 MP/cm2 |
| 5D | 12 MP | 1.5 MP/cm2 |
| 50D | 15 MP | 4.5 MP/cm2 |
| 40D | 10 MP | 3.1 MP/cm2 |
Rebel SXi 12 MP 3.7 MP/cm2 Pixel Density (bigger = sharper)
Nikon
D3 12 MP 1.4 MP/cm2 Pixel Density (bigger = sharper)
D700 12 MP 1.4 MP/cm2 Pixel Density (bigger = sharper)
D300 12 MP 3.3 MP/cm2 Pixel Density (bigger = sharper)
D90 12 MP 3.3 MP/cm2 Pixel Density (bigger = sharper)
D200 10 MP 2.7 MP/cm2 Pixel Density (bigger = sharper)
D60 10 MP 2.7 MP/cm2 Pixel Density (bigger = sharper)
D40x 10 MP 2.7 MP/cm2 Pixel Density (bigger = sharper)
The Printable Resolution goes to the Canon 1D Mark III with 21 MP so this would be the best pick if you need to print billboard size pictures.
The Pixel Density goes to the new Canon 50D with 4.5 MP/cm2. This means that you can up-interpolate these image a little more than with other cameras. Up until the 50D, the winner has stayed in the Nikon family of 12 MP sensors with the D2x and D300.
Focusing Sensors
Canon
Cross Type (All Lenses) Cross (f 4 or faster Lenses) Cross (f 2.8 or faster Lenses)
1Ds Mark III 0 1 19
1D Mark III 0 1 19
5D 1 1 1
50D 9 9 9
40D 9 9 9
1000D Rebel XS 1 1 1
Rebel SXi 1 1 1
Nikon
D3 15 15 15
D700 15 15 15
D300 15 15 15
D90 1 1 1
D200 (Fuji) 1 1 1
D60 1 1 1
D40x 1 1 1
Nikon has more cross type sensors available with any Nikon lens. Nikon wins the auto focus by not having to worry whether the lens you use will enable or disable some or all of our cross type focusing sensors. Only when you move up into the top of the line Canon do you get 4 extra cross type sensors, but you lose all the cross type sensors with lenses slower than f 4 and only get one cross type with an f 4 to f 2.8 lens.
Flash Technology
Canon
Build in Flash Master Flash (TTL)
1Ds Mark III no no
1D Mark III no no
5D no no
50D yes no
40D yes no
1000D Rebel XS yes no
Rebel SXi yes no
Nikon
D3 no no
D700 yes yes
D300 yes yes
D90 yes yes
D200 (Fuji) yes yes
D60 yes yes
D40x yes no
Nikon's flash technology has been one of Nikons winning aspects for years and they still deliver. Having the ability to control literally thousands of flash units as Slaves using the built in flash and TTL metering is pretty amazing.
Software
Nikon View NX, Transfer NX, and Capture NX are amazing. No other software can do what Nikon Transfer NX can do: automatically create a new folder labeled the date of transfer, automatically rename all images to be the date-time they were taken, automatically rotate, automatically imprint IPTC metadata, and set the camera's date and time with just one push of a button. This software is why Adobe told me Lightroom was not necessary file management software if photographers are using Nikon View NX and Nikon Transfer NX.
Unfortunately Canon hasn't invested a lot of energy into developing post production software.
Pixel Size
Pixel size Bigger is Better. One of the indicators of nice large pixels is max ISO.
Canon
Max ISO Max Acceptable ISO (subjective)
1Ds Mark III 3200 800
1D Mark III 3200 800
5D 3200 400
50D 12,800 800
40D 3200 400
1000D Rebel XS 1600 400
Rebel SXi 1600 400
Nikon
D3 25,600 6400
D700 25,600 6400
D300 6400 800
D90 6400 800
D200 3200 400
D60 3200 400
D40x 3200 400
Nikon?s D3 and D700 cameras allow photographers to shoot at 6400 ISO with little to no noise making low light photography easy. The revolutionary 25,600 ISO means night time shooting without a tripod is now a reality.
Cool New Features
Camera makers are constantly trying to one up each other with cool new features. Normally they're unnecessary fluff like anti-dust sensors. However, every now and then there are some really useful features like Live modes which allow the shooter to view TTL on the rear LCD. Here's a list of some of the new features that are remarkable.
Nikon D90 - The first DSLR with 720 p HDTV quality video recording capabilities! Consider that?s HD quality and it's really amazing. Your only limited by the size of the flash card.
Nikon GP1 - Nikon?s own GPS device specifically designed to plug into the D3, D300, D700, D2x, D2hs, D2xs, D200 and new D90 cameras. Now Nikon shooters don't have to purchase $600 GPS units from a third party to get GPS data in their images Metadata.
Lastly Film Frame (Full) vs. Digital Frame (Crop).
My goal is to save you time and money! Don't let anyone tell you Full Frame sensors are better than the 1.5x or 1.6x sensors. They each have their pros and cons.
PROS:
Full Frame
1. No crop factor means wide angle lenses are wide.
2. Usually means bigger pixels and lower noise.
Digital Frame
1. Higher Pixel Density means inherently sharper and more able to be enlarged images.
2. Crop factor means telephoto lenses are now really telephoto, i.e. 100mm = 150mm with 1.5 crop factor.
3. Just the sweet spot of full frame lens image.
CONS:
Full Frame
1. Full image circle means Chromatic Aberration, Vignetting, and soft edges.
2. Less Pixel Density means inherently less sharp and less able to be enlarged.
Digital Frame
1. Crop factor means wide angle Full Frame lenses are not wide anymore.
2. Smaller Pixels means inherently more noise.
Conclusion
In conclusion there are more important things to consider than pixel count. Understanding what is important to you and which cameras deliver those things is what is you as a professional and consumer need to keep in mind when selecting a new camera body. Don't let the fluff get in the way. Self Cleaning sensors, vibration reduction lenses, live-view LCDs, magnesium alloy bodies, etc. do not make you a better photographer! Understanding how your gear works helps you become a better photographer.
Remember the most important part of any camera is the lens. Don't get caught up in hype surrounding new gear. Bottom line is do you need to upgrade your lenses. That should be your first consideration.
I've consulted with many professionals over the years and almost all of their imaging issues can be solved with a new lens! Today's f 2.8 lenses are much much much better than those of 10 years ago.
So do your research, consider a new f 2.8 lens first, and shop local. Do not hesitate to switch camera brands if the features you seek lie with another brand! Today it is much easier than ever before to sell all your gear at Pro Photo on consignment and get the latest and greatest in lenses and bodies. It's all about creating beautiful images and spending the least amount of time in post production (time is money), not brand loyalty. Get what you need to quickly get the job done right.
Don't forget it's all about getting out and taking great photographs. Now go shoot shoot shoot!