4 November 2008
TWIP Podcast #54 - PhotoPlus Recap
Posted by
Scott under:
Audio Podcast; Photo Assignment
This Week in Photography - Episode 54 PhotoPlus
Download this week’s show at Pixelcorps.
Hosts:
Scott Bourne coming in from Gig Harbor
A recap of PhotoPlus 2008 with Steve Simon and Ron Brinkmann.
Locations: Gig Harbor, New York, Hermosa Beach
Intro Music by Scott Cannizzaro
Producer: Aaron Mahler - Twitter: halfpress
Show Notes Author: Tom Newman- Twitter: fogview
Bandwidth for This Week in Photography is provided by Cachefly.
TWIP is sponsored by Drobo
HOUSEKEEPING
Alex is in LA on his way to Japan.
Link contest winner for the last quarter will be picked and announced on the TWIP blog within the next few days.
New 3 month contest begins now. Prize is a one year training subscription to lynda.com (extended version). a $375 value. All you have to do is be 18 years of age or older and link back to TWIPPHOTO.com from your blog or web site.
NEWS & DISCUSSION
PhotoPlus Tradeshow
Steve Simon was there and recaps the show. 27,000 people showed up for the show in New York. More information after the News.
Canon sees first drop in profits in nine years, Nikon cuts profit forecast
Stronger yen and lower camera sales have Canon making their first profit drop prediction in nine years. Nikion and Sony have come on strong the past few years and taken some of Canon’s market share. Nikon has cut its prediction as well due to the Yen and reduced stepper sales, but has actually increased SLR sales predictions. Canon Inc Q3 net income down 21.1% on year - MarketWatch.
The state of the economy may mean a drop in photo sales for the entire industry
Editor & Publisher selects 2008 Photos of the Year
Selections in the categories: news, feature, sports, photo essay, and grand prizeGrand Prize: Shiho Fukada For The New York Times for photos from Sichuan Province earthquake in May 2008.
Err 99, other bugs fixed with Canon EOS 50D firmware v1.0.3
1.0.3 update for 50D fixes several bugs, the biggest of which being an Err 99 that makes the camera non-responsive. Not many have this camera yet.
Nikon releases firmware update for D300
A significant number of improvements, not just bug fixes (a rare thing, honestly). Click on the above for links to the enhancements.
Stock art consolidation: Getty to buy Jupiterimages
Getty Images has agreed to acquire Jupiterimages, a subsidiary of Jupitermedia, for $96 million in cash. Chief executive of Getty’s top rival, Corbis, said Saturday at the PhotoPlus Expo that it will cut the royalty rate it pays photographers for rights-managed images.
New York based photographer, Patrik Andersson. Has a book with lots of great celebrity photos.
If you have a Site of the Week, you can send it to TwipPhoto.com
FLICKR CHALLENGE & POLL
Winners of current assignment: Yellow, will be announced next week.
Next assignment topic: Straight Lines
This contest will run all month long. Going back to the FLICKR site for voting (instead of Photrade)
Last Poll Results: How many photos do you take on the average week?
None: 3.4%, 1-50: 46.5%, 51-100: 25.0%, 101-200: 11.2%, 201 or more: 13.9%
Scott says he averages about 300 shots a week and tries to take at least one photo a day.
New Poll: As a photographer, do you also like to be photographed?
Submitted by listener, Simon Stromberg.
DISCUSSION –Steve’s PhotoPlus Recap
Steve said there were no surprises in terms of what was unveiled.
Scott mentioned that Nik’s software announced a complete collection. $299 bundle of the entire collection. Scott felt the software was too expensive before.
Andy Biggs, Wildlife photographer, has started Gura Gear, for new photo bags and announced it at PhotoPlus. Backpack or carry style bags. Bags sell for $399.
Scott heard the longest lines were at the Canon booth for a look at the 5D Mark 2.
Scott received feedback from some who attended the show that the major vendor booths were very busy and well attended which indicates things are fine now with the photo industry. He cautioned that Wall Street is a leading indicator of what may come and that may mean that next year’s PhotoPlus show will look entirely different.
Discussion about photographers promoting products and seminars at trade shows. There was a worry about hidden agendas and being paid for their appearance.
Maybe a live TWIP recorded at the PMA show, first week in March, 2009.
Drobo uses a technology called ìthin provisioningî ñ this is a fancy name for technology that costs over$100,000. in enterprise-class storage systems. ìThin provisioningî means that you can start small and add in drives while your computer sees it as a single pool of storage. If you donít like having to remember on which disk you stored something, just format Drobo to its maximum capacity of 16TB when you set it up.
If you want to buy a Drobo, you can get $25 off the USB or Firewire models by visiting . http://www.drobo.com/twip.
LISTENER QUESTIONS
Q: Listener Carl Shortt (www.carlshortt.com) writes: Scott, Alex, Steve and Ron, Thanks so much for the TWIP podcast. I look forward to listening each week and find your show both entertaining and most informative. Question: As a volunteer photographer, I often shoot outside, mid-day group team building exercises for groups ranging from 20 to 45 participants. The action is fast paced and there is no control over time of day or lighting conditions. Mid-day full sun is the normal environment I have to shoot in resulting in way too much contrast. Lots of time is required in Photoshop to make the photos acceptable. I have tried fill flash with limited success. I use a Canon 40D, 17-85 Canon lens and the Canon 580EX II Flash unit. Are there camera setting changes or other actions I can take to capture better images in the camera under these conditions? Keep up the great work. Thank you Carl Shortt Oklahoma City, OK cshortt1@cox.net
A: Generally you are shooting with small aperture (i.e. F16) and the flash doesn’t cycle very fast. Steve recommends an external battery pack to allow to allow the flash to recycle faster and provide better fill-flash performance. Ron suggested exposing slightly brighter to bring out the details in post processing. Scott had three suggestions: 1. Looking for subtractive lighting (to block some of the sun). 2) Shooting from a ladder or high point and have the subjects look up. 3) Convert to black and white where the contrast isn’t as noticable.
Q: Listener Michael James (www.michaeljames.ca) writes: Hey there, Great show and all of that. I’m really addicted to it… I’ve reached a bit of an impasse with photography lately and need some advice. Over the past few years, I’ve moved from strictly a landscape hobbyist to semi-professional photographer. I shoot events and other corporate- type stuff. I love doing it and it keeps me in good equipment that I would otherwise not have. My issue is with shooting for fun - in my case, landscapes. I’ve come to a point where the job has over-ridden the hobby and I have trouble when I just go out to shoot for fun. I put way too much pressure on myself and often get frustrated and return with nothing… What do you guys do to get the fun back into photography when it turns in “job?” I realize for most of you it is a career, but what do you do if/ when it becomes a grind and you’re struggling to bring the fun back? Of course, the bills need to be paid, but you got into photography for the fun, right?
A: Steve had a couple of suggestions. One way is to create a project with a goal and shoot that. Another is to shoot when you have the time and not rush yourself. Take the pressure off. Taking workshops helps too. Scott said he finds it helps to switch up the projects (new subjects). Also getting new gear helps (he switched from Canon to Nikon). New places and new people to shoot. Good to take a break once in a while. Ron added he made a decision to keep in the hobbyist field and have fun.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Scott’s tip: Contests — Read The Rules. A lot of times your entry into a contest is a donation of your photo and you give up all rights to that photo. This dose not apply to TWIP contests.
WRAP UP
Scott can be found at http://www.scottbourne.com/ and via Twitter: ScottBourne
Ron can be found at http://digitalcomposting.wordpress.com and via Twitter: RonBrinkmann
Steve can be found at http://digitaljournist.org (convention coverage) and http://stevesimonphoto.com and via Twitter: SteveSimon
Send your thoughts, suggestions and questions to: twip at pixelcorps.com
Story ideas and other items of webly interest can be submitted via the TWiP Ideas Del.icio.us bookmarks
Share photos with your fellow TWiP listeners through the TWiP Flickr Feed
Submit your photos for “ruthless compassion” through our TWiP critiques forum. 
Show notes provide by Tom Newman of the Fogview Podcast and via Twitter: Fogview
11 Comments so far...
Chris Says:
4 November 2008 at 1:25 pm.
Hi Scott - I noticed when the news of the Canon 50D came up, and especially the dpreview review was mentioned, you seemed eager to move on quickly (or reluctant to discuss the matter). Can I ask why ? There certainly seems to be a lot of controversy/angst over the dpreview review and how it ‘appears’ to differ markedly from other reviews of the 50D and I was hoping you guys would discuss it on TWIP (just for the record, I have a 50D and I’m very happy with it) and provide a counterpoint to the current ‘hysteria’
[Reply]
Scott Says:
4 November 2008 at 1:46 pm.
@Chris we try to limit our discussion to things we have first hand knowledge of. There’s plenty of opportunity for the Internet echo chamber to reinforce opinions or not. I was neither “eager” nor “reluctant.” Just don’t have any extra information to add so I see no reason to say anything.
There’s almost ALWAYS hysteria surrounding each new camera. You can bank on it. If you’re happy with the camera that’s all that matters.
[Reply]
Chris Says:
4 November 2008 at 2:01 pm.
Hi Scott - thanks for your reply and I didn’t mean to imply there was a TWIP ‘plot’ going on You make a valid point though, I should be out shooting with my 50D rather than getting involved in the ‘internet echo chamber’. Thanks again
[Reply]
Patrick Roddie Says:
4 November 2008 at 9:50 pm.
You’ve a typo in your post - you typed “Lyndia.com” instead of “lynda.com”
No biggie,
P.
[Reply]
John Says:
5 November 2008 at 3:40 pm.
You’ve got a great podcast going - I commute at least 4 hrs every day and your show really helps pass the time. I look for it every week. I have two questions:
1) What’s the link for the Yosemite field-trip contest? It’s pretty close to my home and I’d love to win….
2) Has anybody made a tripod or device you can rig up in your car to take photos while driving? That’s about all the time I have for picture taking….
Thanks everybody!
John
[Reply]
Scott Says:
5 November 2008 at 4:51 pm.
@john http://twipphoto.com/archives/1558
yes Kirkphoto.com
[Reply]
Kara Udziela Says:
6 November 2008 at 11:57 pm.
“Ron asked if iStock was owned by Jupiter on the show. The answer to that is an emphatic, “NO!” Whatever you were reading that indicating we are somehow related to Jupiter was absolutely wrong, and it would be great if you corrected it, or allowed us to be on the show and describe our trajectory and our relationship with Getty Images, which has been very supportive of iStock’s growth.
iStock was bought by Getty Images in 2006 for $50 million, earned more than $70 million in 2007. Getty Images has thrown full support behind iStock and helped us to expand rapidly internationally.
iStock made more than $70M in revenue in 2007 and paid artists more than $20M in royalties…
I hope this clarification helps.
Kara
[Reply]
JeffDM Says:
7 November 2008 at 5:06 am.
How did the “seattle wedding photographer” link spam get in?
[Reply]
Dave Says:
7 November 2008 at 6:24 am.
Great show, as usual!
I was excited to hear about the Nik software bundle for aperture, especially at the low(er) price. It might be on the Christmas wish list, despite the economic conditions!
Also, with regard to the economic conditions and manufacturers profits falling, in my opinion we are not going to see much slowdown in the development of new photographic technologies. Companies such as Canon, Nikon etc are still highly profitable.
[Reply]
Scott Says:
7 November 2008 at 6:51 am.
@JeffDm sorry every once in a while I have an assistant moderate comments and she missed that one. I have contacted him and asked him to stop and have also assigned his IP and Email address to permanent SPAM so it should be caught in the filter from now on. I have removed that comment.
[Reply]
Scott Says:
7 November 2008 at 6:54 am.
@Kara if you would like to be on the show, just send me an e-mail with your contact info and we’ll arrange it. And relax a little bit.
[Reply]
