On Saturday July 18th, 2009 there were 913 separate photowalks taking place globally.
What the heck is a photowalk
Well, you take a group of like minded folks, photographers in this case, assemble them, and together, you walk along a prescribed path taking photographs, socializing, discussing gear, sharing images, and generally hanging out with a group of people who have the same interest you do.
Oh, it can be spiced up with a promise of prizes for the best shot.
In the Scott Kelby Photowalk we participated in on Saturday, the top is…
…….wait for it……..
$11,000 worth of photo goods including camera, gear, software, etc.!!
Now, this is only the 2nd photowalk we had ever done and the 1st one we led. When we say “led” it’s a term used very loosely. These photographers were on a visual mission.
As the group leader, we were able to float around the pockets of shooters and got to meet some very cool and passionate people.
They loved their photography. As we all do.
Although this was meant as a shooting expedition, we couldn’t help but remind everyone that very close by, at the Museum of Contemporary Art, was an exhibit of Robert Franks vintage prints from “The Americans”.
It did feel a little like asking someone to eat their vegetables, but those are some tasty veges.

We set a path along the streets of Chinatown in Los Angeles, and realizing that 50 photogs descending into any environment can upset the natural order, so we recommended the group find their paths within a manageable radius.
And they did.

People were all over the place, finding that perfect image.

And the group was diverse in age and interests. This 8 yr. old has been shooting since he was 3 !!! Can’t wait to see his work.

After the 2 hour walk, the sun was doing it’s work and brought the temp up to over 100F, so some of us retreated to a local Dim Sum restaurant, the Empress Pavillion.

Even the first timers seemed to dig the food, and everyone continued to share pic of the day, on their camera’s LCDs.

It was a ton of fun, and we hope to be back next year with it. Who knows, maybe we’ll do one before that.

Oh, and the video above was shot with a Flip Video camera. Always keep one in the camera bag,

We recently put our hands on the latest entry into the Canon Point and Shoot line-up, the PowerShot D10 12.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera
.
Touting underwater capabilities, plus cold weather resistance, and a bit of a shockproof housing, they had our attention.
Since summertime is here, the first line of fun is the pool. But you never really want to get your digital camera too close to the water, for fear of the obvious: water+computer component = bad time.
This little beauty handled it all.
Waiting for a nice hot day when everyone would be in the pool was essential.

no flash above

with flash above

The D20 has very easy to use , protruding buttons to help operate under water. And the strap, which cane be affixed on any of the 4 corners as you like, has an easy to adjust clamp to fit it to your wrist so there will be no chance of falling off of your hand into the deep blue sea.

With Auto, Program , or Movie mode (yep, your own “Under the Sea” vids) you can easily set the camera to your situation. They have wisely added a “Beach” mode to the Program.

And not only for your underwater needs, Continue Reading »

We lost one of the masters on Weds. Night., July 15th, 2009
At 98 years old “One Shot “ Shulman, never stopped.
Never stopped shooting, (he photographed the new Annneberg Space for Photography this spring) and never stopped touching the lives of so many people.
His subjects were the Modernism architecture of people like Neutra ,Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Eames, and John Lautner.
The most famous of his pieces is, no doubt, Case Study No.22, exemplifying an era and with the selective placement of models, a lifestyle. Here is a remembrance from the folks that lived there.

courtesy Getty Center Trust

He was known as “one-shot” Shulman for reasons that would be obvious (yep, never more than one shot, usually), and he never used a light meter. He just knew.

His archive of over 260,000 images were purchased by the Getty in 1995, at which point he started to photograph anew, building up a new collection. I wonder how many pieces that one holds.
You can learn all about him in this documentary on his life and work called Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman, narrated by Dustin Hoffman.
Or pick up the 3 vol. set of his work, Julius Shulman, Modernism Rediscovered.

Many of the classic buildings he photographed are gone now, or crudely reconstructed. But his leagcy goes deeper than the construction materials.
On the news of his passing, many friends of his reached out with warm remembrances of time spent with him.
We hope to bring you some of those personal notes, in the near future.

Good morning. Welcome to your free software Weds.

For 24 Hours Only, Light Crafts Offers Consumers the Gift of Aurora for Free

Palo Alto, Calif. – July 15, 2009 – Light Crafts today announced several updates to Aurora, its powerfully simple photo editing, organizing, sharing and storing software, including the addition of two photo editing tools and the availability of Aurora for Mac users. As a summer gift to consumers, Light Crafts is offering Aurora for Mac or PC for free for 24 hours only. Consumers can download and own Aurora permanently, for free, by visiting www.lightcrafts.com/aurora, selecting “Buy Now,” and entering FREE24 at check-out. The 24-hour promotion begins on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 9:15 a.m. Eastern and ends on Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 9:15 a.m. Eastern.

Following the free promotion, Aurora for Mac and PC will be available for $19.95 and can be purchased for download at the same link above. For existing customers, the latest version is a free update.

The latest release of Aurora includes several significant updates including Continue Reading »

When you’re carrying around a heavy duty camera and a solid piece of glass on your shoulders all day, you could uses break.
Sure it’s cool to declare your camera manufacturer allegiance on the strap, although haven’t you already done that with the camera?
It’s time for relief.
From 1st hand experience, this Industry Disgrace Camera Strap, from the folks at Crumpler is the most comfortable, well designed strap we’ve found.

If you’re covering that outdoor rock festival which only happens if it’s blistering hot AND humid (think that is a requirement), or you are waiting for the perfect moment, with your 80-200mm hanging by your side, ready to record that decisive moment, that camera/lens weight doesn’t have to be a distraction nor a days’ end agony.
The breathable padding on this strap, along with a rubberized grip, tastefully written in the company name, to keep your gear from sliding off your shoulder, combine to make comfort fit that erases the familiar groove carved into your body by some other straps.
We’ve been using this for about 6 months and will never go back. There was other brands we tried: some had rubber band type grips, which ripped after heavy use. Some had neoprene without much support that made the camera act like it was on a jolly jumper.
Go ahead. you can look that one up.
The straight up straps included with your camera are fine, but after a real workout, you can use some more padding. Or maybe we’re just soft.

This is just the best we’ve found so far.
And we have one for one of you. Free. Gratis. No charge. Keep you wallet in your pants, kind of a deal.

Just follow the instructions included in this weeks NEWSLETTER, coming out to you on Weds. @ 9:00AM PST. It’s easy to win. Some special word stuff, and a shipping address, and then the right number reply is all it takes.
No graft, no entry fees, no first male born required.

Take a look at some of the other items, new from Crumpler:

And now back to our regularly scheduled Sunday activities.