PictoColor doesn’t get it

I bought a copy of PictoColor’s ICorrect Portrait for $99 less than six months ago following David Ziser’s excellent Digital Wake-Up Call workshop. I didn’t really need it but after David’s ravings I thought I’d give it a try. I works pretty well. I’ve used it maybe half a dozen times and find it does [...]

Our excellent Algonquin adventure

Marion  (BTW that’s her in the masthead photo 2nd from the left) and I took off Thursday morning for a weekend workshop shooting the autumn colours in Algonquin Park. We got into our room at the Algonquin Inn which is located on Hwy. 60 just outside the park just after lunch. After a short break, [...]

How great are the Wacom digital tablets?

I like recommending photography equipment that works. So when it comes to working with a digital tablet, I have no hesitation in recommending the digital tablets from Wacom.
Here’s why: I just got back from an extended weekend of shooting fall colours in Algonquin Park (This was organized by the nice folks at Outdoor Photography Canada [...]

Hotel shots

David Ziser who runs the Digital Wake-up Call workshops has an excellent video tutorial on how to shoot portraits using just one umbrella in a Hilton Hotel of all places. David shows you that you don’t need a studio to get great images. Honestly he makes it seem so easy.

Capture NX2 and Silver Efex Pro Workshops

Why am I promoting a possible competitor’s workshops? I mean I can teach NX2 and Silver Efex Pro myself (and in fact I have plans to do so. Email me for details). So why would I go out of my way to let you know about Jason Odell’s upcoming webinars? It’s because that’s the nature [...]

How to brighten up your day

My partner Michael Willems was shooting two lovely young ladies at the Toronto Island Beach and he’s put up a really excellent before and after shot that illustrates the proper use of flash. Now many new photographers will say they don’t like using flash (too artificial) but when pressed will admit it’s because they don’t [...]

Adobe comes through

In today’s email I got an email message from Roxanne from Adobe who tells me everything will be taken care of and Mac platform CD is on it’s way.
YEAH Abode.
Even though it took a couple of days (which I’m sure you’ll get better at) it looks you’ve done the right thing and come through for [...]

Is your Nikon flash missing the exposure?

Just when you think you’ll never have to calculate another flash setting again thanks to Nikon’s amazing CLS (Creative Lighting System) along comes a guy who can explain why occasionally CLS gets the exposure wrong. I demo Nikon’s wireless flash system using two SB-900s and the on-camera speedlight as a controller.
When shooting against a black [...]

Adobe customer service can’t be this bad – Can it?

Is it me? Am I doing something wrong? Have I called a number that doesn’t exist. Is this the twilight zone?
For two days now I’ve been trying to reach Adobe Customer Service at 1-800-833-6687 and for two days now (Okay to be fair it’s been on and off. I’ve turned the phone off when the [...]

My pictures aren’t sharp – Blame technology

Michael Willems shared with me a story about a new photographer who complained that her pictures weren’t sharp. Michael had a look at her brand new mid-range DSLR and fired off a couple of frames which were… wait for it… sharp as heck. So what went wrong?
Back in the old days when I was a [...]