Jeff Curto, Ibarionex Perello, Rolf Steinort and Chris Marquardt talk about 2007 in photography.

» Download the Episode here (MP3, 29MB)

This week we have Chris Marquardt (Tips from the Top Floor), Martin Bailey (Martin Bailey Photography Podcast), Rolf Steinort (Meet the Gimp) & Ibarionex Perello (The Candid Frame). We discuss “switching roles”, autumn colors, leaving the camera at home & shooting with others.

• Focus Ring Episode 10 (mp3)

Show Notes:

Chris Marquartdt Links

Workshop Image
Colorado workshop: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/tfttfws.3
California workshop: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/tfttfws4
Minnesota workshop: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/tfttfws5

For more information about the Tips from the Top Floor workshops here:
http://www.topfloorproductions.de/workshop

Martin Bailey Links
Martin’s images of Autumn colors
http://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/thumbnails.php?album=search&search=Shigakougen Oct2007

Rolf Steinort Links:
Fotomarathon images 2005
http://www.fotogehn.de/virthos/virthos.php?-pg=896&-met=view&-ses=393181&-cod=b992379cfd&-ck=1192637181

Translation of the assignments (some are puns or have double meanings).
They are given out in packs of 6 at noon, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm. The film with
24 images in the right order has to be returned before midnight.

01 here am I
02 leave in a hurry
03 eye of a needle
04 for free / in vain
05 up to other shores
06 abrakadabra
07 death and devil
08 to shade (light) / to shadow (follow)
09 out of nowhere
10 right or left
11 in the dark(ness)
12 a found thing
13 paradisic
14 “air number”, a bit like “thin air”
15 coming and leaving
16 under current
17 yesterday
18 dizzy, vertigo
19 “under one blanket”, as in lovers or conspirators
20 dream partner
21 round the corner, murder
22 shooting star
23 fortunuous (?)
24 “the last shirt”, “last possession” or shroud

Lenswork is at http://lenswork.com

Ibarionex Perello Links

Better Photo Canon 40D Course
http://www.betterphoto.com/courseOverview.asp?cspID=186

This week we have John Arnold, Ibarionex Perello, Jeff Curto and new Photocast Network member Rolf Steinort. We discuss grey market purchases, what to do when someone wants to use one of your photos, rediscovered photos and learning to slow down and see.

• Focus Ring - episode 9 - The Focus Ring saved my life (mp3)

Today with Jeff Curto of Camera Position, John Arnold of Photowalkthrough and Chris Marquardt of Digital Photography Tips from the Top Floor

» Download today’s episode here (MP3, 30MB)

Jeff Curto: Using media tools together with still photographs. Soundslides is a great tool to put together multi-media slide shows. Watch Jeff’s slideshow here. Jeff’s pick: Griffin Technologies iTalk Pro.

Find Jeff’s Exhibition at the Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography

Hear Jeff speak at the Photoplus Expo in NYC in October

John Arnold: Shooting images of children. John’s pick: Canon EOS 1DS MkIII

John will hold a workshop in the UK in May 2008, Chris will be his co-host. Find more information here.

Chris Marquardt: Attention grabbers. Great photography and composition lessons at Petteri Sulonen’s web site. Chris’ pick: The ND Grad filter (by Cokin or by Lee)

Chris is about to take off to the United States to hold a series of photography workshops. Ft. Collins, CO Sep/22-25 - San Diego, CA Oct/4-7 - Minneapolis, MN Oct/8-11 - Port St. Lucie, FL Oct/18-21 - Find out more!

I’ve just arrived home after attending the Canon Autumn Collection product launch. In total 30 new products were released but the unquestioned stars of the show for us photographers were the Canon 1Ds MkIII and the Canon 40D. Neither will disappoint and you can see specs below. The 1Ds MkIII in particular, though, pushes the upper limits for Pro Digital SLRs much further into territory previously firmly held by the Hasselblads and Phase Ones.

In addition to the two new cameras, though, there were a couple of interesting other new gems. There’s a new EF 14mm f/2.8L MkII and 2 new EF-S lenses (18-55mm and 55-250mm) with a new IS system claiming 4 stops of image stabilization. I put that boast to the test with the 55-250mm on a 40D and was able to hand hold 1/8 sec at 60mm zoom with good sharpness - that’s 3 stops. At 1/4 sec it took a burst of 3 to get one decently sharp - reasonably good performance and a definite improvement on my previous experiences with IS lenses.

Canon were also showing a range of new compact cameras including 2 IXUS IS upgrade models and 2 new A series cameras that mostly seemed to be upgrades to existing models for extra pixels and higher ISOs. The only notable new feature seemed to be “Anti-blur”, a feature that combines Image Stabilization with automatic ISO switching to keep camera shake to a minimum.

Also new in the compact range are the G9, an upgrade to the G7, and the SX100 IS, the first in a new SX range. How this fits along side the S and A ranges is unclear but it seems the SX100 is aimed at families wanting a long (10x) optical zoom, ease of use with Anti-blur and manual features when necessary. Both the G9 and SX100 also feature a new face tracking technology that not only detects faces in the shot but can also select one or more to be tracked as they or the camera moves, keeping them in focus.

There were a smattering of other products including HD video cameras, projectors and some new consumer grade printers. Check the usual sources for information on those if you’re interested. But I’ll leave you now with what you really want to know - the full details of the 40D and the 1Ds MkIII.

Today on the show
John Arnold discusses the creative usage of the Lensbaby. Martin Bailey talks about the power of lens “bokeh”. Chris Marquardt addresses how to counter camera-shake. Ibarionex Perello talk about the challenge of photographing strangers.

• Focus Ring Episode 6 (mp3)

Show Links:
Lensbaby
www.lensbabies.com

Bokeh shaped in the form of the TFTTF logo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nubui/520412143/

Camden Town Street Photography (sound-seeing on TFTTF)
http://www.tipsfromthetopfloor.com/2007/03/29/tfttf189-camden-
town-street-photography-voice-mail-line-us-206-202-3757/

Source for Discofilm recommended by John, they deliver internationally and are very quick:
http://www.phonophono.de/YD51002_56_e.php3
walkstool.com

Flickr Group with pictures of the participants from the TFTTF “Learning to See” workshop
http://www.flickr.com/groups/394543@N23/pool/

Masters of Photography DVDs
http://estore.websitepros.com/1652646/Categories.bok

Today on the show:

Ibarionex Perello - The Candid Frame

The importance of making a print.

John Arnold - Photowalkthrough.com

Pars pro toto
Heritage photos
JPG magazine article on the Heritage photos
Moo Minicards

Chris Marquardt - Tips from the Top Floor

Don’t be afraid of noise
(download the grain file here - PNG 11MB, 4679×3119px)

» Download the MP3 here

This week we discuss how assignments can help you grow, learning from photography books and what to put in your camera bag when you don’t know what to expect. With Chris Marquardt, Ibarionex Perello and John Arnold.

• Focus Ring Episode 4

Assignment pictures from Chris’ latest workshop
http://www.flickr.com/groups/hs-bilderflut/pool/tags/hsworkshop01

Challenges at Tips from the Top Floor
http://www.tipsfromthetopfloor.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=29

Jonathan Coulton
http://www.jonathancoulton.com/

Cleaning your sensor with Discofilm
- video - http://www.tipsfromthetopfloor.com/2007/03/13/tfttf185-video-discofilm/
- audio - http://www.tipsfromthetopfloor.com/2007/03/15/tfttf186-discofilm-ii/

William Eggleston - In The Real World
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443698/

Andy Gotts - Degrees
http://www.andygotts.com/

Find this and other great photography podcasts at The Photocast Network - www.photocastnetwork.com.

This week we talk about getting great wildlife photos at the zoo, when and how to use your histogram. the importance of giving critique and how to encourage yourself to take risks to improve your photography. Featuring Chris Marquardt (Tips From The Top Floor), Ibarionex Perello (The Candid Frame), Martin Bailey (Martin Bailey Photography Podcast) and hosted by John Arnold (Photowalkthrough). Also this week we announce our new show name!

During the segment on critique we mention www.flickr.com (a lot!), www.dpchallenge.com and www.trekearth.com.

Following some great feedback last week we returned for a second go at putting the world of photography to rights. This week’s panel is once again, John Arnold (Photowalkthrough), Jeff Curto (Camera Position), Ibarionex Perello (The Candid Frame) and Chris Marquardt (Tips From The Top Floor). Topics this week are the importance of printing, lens selection, metering & exposure and self assignments.

» Go to the original post at the Candid Frame website

Also, the Photocast Network Round Table shows now have their own podcast feed. Point your podcatcher or iTunes at http://feeds.feedburner.com/pcnroundtable to subscribe.

Four members of the Photocast Network (www.photocastnetwork.com) gather to shed a light on photography from all sorts of different angles. When can I call myself a photographer? How to transition from film to digital? How do Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Lightroom compare? How to get the best pictures in low-light situations?Featuring John Arnold (Photowalkthrough), Jeff Curto (Camera Position), Ibarionex Perello (The Candid Frame) and Chris Marquardt.

» Go to the original post at the Tips from the Top Floor web site

The Martin Bailey Photography Podcast has teamed up with top camera bag manufacturer Lowepro to give you the chance to win an amazing Stealth Reporter D650 AW camera bag! To find out how, take a look at the announcement at MBP, as soon as is humanly possible!!!

See details of the Stealth Reporter D650 AW camera bag at Lowepro’s Web site

The newest version of Adobe Photoshop has just been released in beta test form to download an try out. It’s in english only and is available to licensed users of Photoshop CS2, Adobe Creative Suite 2, Adobe Production Studio, Adobe Video Bundle or Adobe Web Bundle. You will need to provide your Photoshop CS2, Creative Suite, Production Studio or Bundle serial number in order to get a Photoshop CS3 beta serial number, enabling you to activate the Photoshop beta and use it beyond the two-day grace period. No news yet on what new features it contains or how good it is. The link for where you can get hold of the beta is below.

• Adobe Photoshop CS3 Beta

Today we’ve added 2 excellent new shows to the Photocast Network. These shows mark the first non-english language shows to join up. Happy Shooting is a german language show by Boris Nienke and Chris Marquardt, host of Tips From The Top Floor and one of the founder members of the Photocast Network. Taller en Linea Sobre Fotografia Digital is a spanish language podcast from the extremely talented photographer Guillermo Flores in Mexico.

Adobe has just announced the release of Lightroom Beta 4. The new version is the first to include full feature convergence between the Mac and PC versions and addresses a number of usability and performance issues as well as adding more features and changes based on tester feedback.

If you’d like to give Lightroom a try you can download it from the Adobe Labs website at http://labs.adobe.com.

Today PhotoWalkthrough launches our first ever competition. ColourVision, makers of the excellent Spyder2 monitor calibration tools have offered a Spyder 2 PRO as a prize and all you have to do to win is shoot your best photo inspired by the topic, COLOUR. Head on over to the PhotoWalkthrough Colour Challenge page for details on how to enter and answers to all your questions.

In addition to the regular shows of tips from the top floor there’s a new article available:

(click the image to read the article)