Hi ,

 

 

March also means that the brand new Nikon D800 is almost here. Unless it'€s delayed, the D800 is slated to hit shelves on March 22. Ten years ago, Nikon introduced the D100, which had a 6 MegaPixel sensor. The D800 has a 36.3 MegaPixel sensor. I can'€t even begin to describe the difference in image quality that those extra 30 MP€s will offer.

 

Even if you'€re not planning on rushing out and buying the D800, it's exciting to see where camera technology is headed. Check out this Behind the Scenes interview with the Nikon technicians who designed the D800 and read about how they approached the development of this incredible new camera. It's quite an interesting article and it's only made me even more excited about it's release.

 

 

What we hear from Nikon is that the D800 is NOT a replacement for the D700. Obviously, the D700 has been out for a few years, but it's still a fantastic camera. Even if I do end up buying a D800, I will for sure keep shooting with my D700 and use it for specific applications, especially when it comes to shooting sports and action. At 5 fps, it'€s faster than the D800. And with it'€s exceptional high ISO capabilities, image quality on the D700 is still awesome by today's standards.

 

In all the cameras that I've owned, the D700 has been my favorite and I expect to keep using it until it's replaced. The good news is that D700 prices have dropped, so if you're thinking that you'd like to upgrade, but that $3,000 D800 is just a bit out of reach, then you might consider picking up a D700, which can now be had for around $2,199 at B&H Photo and Amazon.

 

 

After two months of use, I finally got my Fuji X10 camera review done. It’s posted on the blog now, but just in case you don’t have the time to read it, here’s the scoop: This little camera rocks. Does it do everything as well as some other cameras? No. None do. Does it have limitations? Yes. They all do. Essentially, the way to think about the X10, is that it’s not a point and shoot, it’s just a camera. A full featured, high quality camera that looks and feels great in your hands, that takes great photos, and that offers both full manual control in just about every aspect of the picture taking process.

 

Read my full review of the Fuji X10 here.

 

 

Of course, the camera part of photography is only one half of the equation. Or less, depending on how much time you spend processing and dealing with your images on the computer. This is where it pays to be efficient. 

 

Just banging away for hours on end doesn't necessarily make you better, though. I'€m a Lightroom guy, and when I first started, I took the time to get up to speed with Scott Kelby'€s Lightroom 3 book. Same thing with Photoshop. When I moved up to CS3 and then to CS5, I used books by Martin Evening to help me learn all the new features. Check out my post, Which Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book is Right For You? 

 

Books don'€t do it for everyone, though; some people work better by learning from videos. If you'€re new to Photoshop or Lightroom, check out some of the video training courses by Phil Steele, especially his Ligtroom Made Easy course. They're a good value, costing about as much as a comprehensive book, and they walk you through the important tasks and steps you need to know in order to move your images through the software part of digital photography quickly and efficiently, and how to get professional looking results.

 

SteeleTraining also has a number of free photography tutorials on the site that you can check out to see what his teaching style is like. 

 

I also like Dan Moughamian, AKA Colortrails for learning Adobe tricks and tips. The author of Adobe Digital Imaging HOW-TOs: 100 Essential Techniques for Photoshop CS5, Lightroom 3 and Camera RAW 6, Dan'€s got a good selection of free Adobe tutorials on his blog, colortrails.com. You may recognize the name from his guest posts on my blog.

 

 

These days, SEO is all the rage. In case you don'€t know what SEO means, it stands for Search Engine Optimization. In today'€s world, it'€s how your photography gets found. The folks at Photoshelter have put together a 39 page guide called SEO For Photographers that outlines specific strategies for improving your website's search engine ranking and how to attract more views and clients. 

 

Best part about the workbook is that it's free. You can download it here.

 

 

I sat down on the blog today to write a post about what it means to be a professional photographers. Then I stumbled upon this great post by Chase Jarvis, called How To Become a Pro Photographer in 5 Easy Steps. It's pretty much what I was going to say, so I'€ll just leave you with his post. I may rework mine and run it in a week or two. For now, though, enjoy Chase'€s insight.

 

 

I shot this photo of my friend Jill yesterday. Quick wide angle portrait with a 24mm lens, and lit with a Nikon SB-800 flash inside a Photoflex Octodome NXT portable softbox. If you'€ve read my blog before, then you probably know that how much I love the Octodome NXT. It'€s durable, highly portable and gives great light quality. So good that you don't even know it'€s there. 

 

Without the flash in this shot, Jill's face would have been much darker with that typical overcast, inside the trees shadow. That's why we Go Fast With Light.

 

I hope that you'€re out shooting a lot these days and are excited about Spring! Enjoy the recent posts and take care,

 

Dan

 

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