Post-shoot culling/rating workflow

A few months ago, well known photographer Chase Jarvis posted the steps he uses to weed thousands of photos from an extended professional shoot down to just a handful of truly wonderful shots -- in just a matter of hours.  In a recent session, he culled 21,000 photos down to just 50-60 keepers in only five hours.  Granted, that was an exceptional case given the low hit ratio of the subject matter, but it's still an impressive degree of efficiency.  The key, according to Chase, is making multiple high-speed passes through your images and incrementing the star rating of appropriate images with each successive pass.

Black & white photography pointers

Early photographers -- during the first 100 years of the technology -- shot in black and white because it was the only thing available to them. This is the primary reason that most of Ansel Adams' great photos are in B&W. It wasn't until the late 1930's that color film became readily available. Still, many photographers prefer B&W photography because it produces a simpler image that allows the viewer to concentrate on what the photographer was trying to communicate through the photo.

DIY light tent + product shot BTS

I have an ongoing series of posts here at Prairie Rim Images in which I highlight many of the older, manual focus lenses which I love to use.  Because these are relatively small subjects, many of the photos that I take of these lenses can be made in a simple, table top studio made of parts scrounged from around my house and lit with only a single light source.

Old glass: Yashica ML 75-150mm f/4

Many of you know that I like old things, and that includes camera lenses.  I love using inexpensive, old, manual-focus glass on my new DSLR bodies.  This is the second in an ongoing series of posts in which I highlight one of these old beauties.  This time, the spotlight is on my Yashica ML 75-150mm f/4 zoom lens.  It's an uncommon and inexpensive lens, even my my standards, but it still gets lots of use.

United Way Campaign Kick-Off

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to photograph the local United Way / Community Health Charities' Campaign Kick-Off breakfast / tailgate party, which featured inspirational speaker and former Husker football player Aaron Davis as the keynote speaker.  Football season has started, and along with it the main fund raising campaign for the United Way.

Patriot Day

Next Sunday marks the tenth anniversary of the airborne attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, and the downed United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  11 Sept 2001 was a day that few American adults will ever forget.  I'd wager that everybody you meet on the street could tell you exactly where they were when they first heard of the 9-11 attacks.

Canon Loyalty Program

I learned recently of a program that Canon has to encourage owners of older Canon equipment (not just cameras) to stick with the brand on their next purchase.  It's called the Canon Loyalty Program, and it's not widely promoted.