• 10 Tips to making your first photo book – Beyond Megapixels
• 10 Tipps zur Hochzeitsfotografie (in German) – Kwerfeldein.de
• SoFoBoMo published – A Roadtrop Through SE Australia – Neil Creek
• Help!  I’ve Been Infringed! – Photo Attorney
• Styling: Pure Hell or a place to “shine” – Yuri Arcurs
• Creative Partnerships vs. Self-Motivation – Rasmus Rasmussen
• 5 Tips to Get Followed on Twitter – JMG-Galleries
• Letting Things Marinate – PhotoWalkPro
• Making Fine Art Prints: Signing – Epic Edits (check also the other posts of Brian’s series on Fine Art prints)
• How to Price Assignments: Price High and Give Your Clients an Experience – DSLRBlog

(via Thomas Hawk’s Digital Connection)

And here is a roundup of some interesting articles from the past days.

Cooking with light… Errr… Lighting with Cookware (Davidejackson) – This one made me laugh. Want to be innovative with your lighting without breaking the bank? What about some cookware as light modifiers?

Camera Corner – Part 1 – My Gear Bag (Zoriah) – Want to see how a photojournalist going to the most troubled areas rolls? I probably take more gear with me to photograph around the corner.

Great Digital Argument #1 – PC vs. Mac. Let The Wars Begin (Digital ProTalk) – David tries to show that the too boring old arguments between Mac and PC users leads nowhere. Main point: use whatever you need to get the job done.

Developing Multiple Streams of Photographic Income (DSLRBlog) – Going pro might mean having more than one income stream from your photography and the trick is diversify.

Photo Project: Symmetry (Beyond Phototips) – If projects is your thing, here is another one with some great potential to tickle your creativity.

My Favorite Film after a Year of Shooting (Epic Edits) – When you dedicate yourself so much to film photography as my good pal Brian has, a list of the true goodies comes out. If you’re into film photography (and you should be once in a while) you have to read this.

Why You’re NOT Making Photo Sales (Photopreneur) – A few simple advices that have the potential to increase your chances of licensing a few of those old images you have laying around on your hard drives.

And that’s it for this week. I haven’t had that much time to read all my favorite blogs, but the gems always pop-up.

Wow… It has been long since I last published a Pick of the Week full of juicy links.

I won’t go too much backwards and link to every post I found interesting. That would be too much. But here are a few that are worth of your time.

Marketing Through Infringed Photos with Watermarks (JMG Galleries) – Jim has written a very interesting article on how watermarks (as ugly as they are) can still serve a purpose: marketing.

Capturing Urban Decay (Photocritic) – Not everything is ugly in urban decay. With the right point of view and a certain degree of creativity, powerful images can be made. Here are a few tips that might help you with this.

Keyword strategies (Graf Nature Photography) – You hate keywording your images as much as I do? Besides the time investment (note that I’m not saying it is a bad investment) it’s always a fight to find the correct keywords. But it may mean the difference between selling your image or letting it rot in the middle of millions others.

Vignetting – When and Why to Vignette (Beyond Megapixels) – Vignetting is a powerful “effect” that can be used to direct the viewer’s eyes directly to your subject in a photo. But when should it be used and when too much vignetting is just too much?

Build a Film Developing Kit for Under $50 (Epic Edits) – Want to try out a bit of film and actually get your hands wet developing it? It might not be as expensive as you think. Here is a developing kit on the cheap.

The Video Tour Of My Gear Bag (Digital Pro Talk) – I’ll have to admit that I usually fight with the distribution of my gear inside the camera bags when going on location. David has a very nice video describing his bag “arrangement” and how it works for him. But ok, I usually do not carry around as much gear as David does. On a related subject, David is touring the US with his Digital WakeUp Call Workshops. You won’t find so much value for such a little price elsewhere.

Enjoy your browsings…

• Random ramblings on pricing photography (Pro Photo Life) – Knowing how to correctly price your photographic work is a must for everyone in the business, but is also one of the most challenging topics for anyone starting a photography business.
• How to Sell your Landscape Photos (Photopreneur) – Still on the business side of photography, here are a few tips on how to sell your landscape photos.
• 10 Questions for: PhotoShelter (Photo Business Forum) – Everyone has heard about the demise of Photoshelter Collection and more recently of Digital Railroad. This created an opportunity for Photoshelter and here are 10 questions to Photoshelter on how they took it.
• An Interview with Landscape Photographer Xavi Fuentes (Magic Places Fine Art) – And back to landscape photography, and to an interview with Fine Art photographer Xavi Fuentes about his landscape work.
• Book Review: Odysseys and Photographs (Epic Edits Weblog) - And National Geographic is not only a magazine. In this article, Brian reviews a fantastic book published by NG. Another one added to my to-buy list…
• Printing Basics (Beyond Megapixels) – Title says it all. For anyone wanting to start printing their images, the concepts on this article are a must know.

And back to prints, if you remember, Jim Goldstein had a project a few weeks back in which he encouraged photographers to acquire work from other photographers in the form of print. I’ve participated by getting a book from a photographer I greatly admire.

As Jim mentioned, "As you all know the experience of handling and looking at a photographic print is not even in the same league of viewing photos through a monitor. The more we as photographers can share that experience with others the richer in experience our community will become."

I’ll probably address this question on a different post, but for now, here are the results of Jim’s project. I encourage everyone to visit the participant’s reviews and see why seeing other photographer’s work in print is a great tool to shape your own work.

Dave Wilson – WebArtz Photography Purchased the work of Jim Beckett and Pete Holland at a local art fair held at his church. Dave puts it succinctly, "The personal aspect of the transactions was definitely more appealing to me than, for example, buying prints directly from a web site. In addition to the physical prints themselves, I also have the stories behind them and more of an insight into the artist’s intent when making the pictures."

Antonio Marques – Words: Irrational Antonio who is struggling at the moment financially as he wraps up his graduate program (edd. – it’s done now) purchased a Sebastião Salgado book "Africa". As Antonio puts it, "His photography style that translates into high-contrast black and white photos, highly enriched by grain texture, or his mastery in dodging and burning that so much enhance his work, is something that you can’t admire on a computer screen, and it’s one of the reasons I wanted to bring his work to Jim’s project."

Brian Villarin – All Narfed Up Who made a print exchange with Brian Auer and used the swap as excuse enough to meet on a photowalk.

Brian Auer – Epic Edits Weblog Purchased work from Chase Jarvis, Bryan Villarin and Cody Redmon. It’s great to see that the experience struck a nerve with Brian enough to declare, "… I’d like to start a collection of prints from photographers I associate with."

Jay Goodrich – JayGoodrich.com Purchased a photo from his friend and photographic inspiration Art Wolfe.

Jim M. Goldstein – JMG-Galleries Buying work from 2-3 photographers was the goal of this project, but 5 photographers including Lane Hartwell, Dan Mitchell, Guy Tal, Mario Zanaria and Chase Jarvis caught his eye. "Enjoyment of their photography is only half the story. The process of finding and sharing their work has proven to be as satisfying if not more."

A few days later this week, but here it is, a recommendation of some good reads around the web.

34 free Black & White film presets for Lightroom (Presets Heaven) – For all Lightroom users that miss the film era. 34 presets with some of the mostly used black and white film stocks.

Understanding Image Resolution (Shutterbug Source) - A nice explanation of what image resolution is and what it means for prints.

Tips for shooting star trails pictures (ADIDAP) – Star trails can create highly surreal images but they are not as easy to get as one might think. This article goes into what equipment you need, camera settings and taking the shot. The second part, processing, is still to come.

CS4: What’s in it for Photographers? (John Nack on Adobe) – Adobe has released the latest version of what is probably the best imaging software out there (too bad it’s not cheaper). As a photographer, what can you take out of this upgrade?

Have You Ever Needed to Use Your Photo Backup? (Epic Edits) – Still on his great Backup series, Brian asked this question and I’m very curious to see the answers. So, head over there and have your say.

And the disaster of the week, Digital Railroad has gone down. Here are a few articles where you can read more about it and some opinions of DRR forcefully ex-users:

The Second Mouse Gets The Cheese – Who Will Acquire Digital Railroad Assets?

Digital RailWreck

An Over Due Review: Digital Railroad vs. Photoshelter Collection

I feel like this has been a slow week in the photography world. What do you think?

Keep a Photography Journal (Beyond Megapixels) – A very useful notion that photographers should have is that photography is not only shooting. Planning a shot and taking notes is very much part of the process. I try to always have on me a note-taking system that I can use to write ideas or point locations for some shooting. Jeff feels the same way.

Humidity, Fungus and Cameras – Problems & Solutions (Beyond Phototips) – Fungus can be really nasty, specially if they get inside your lenses. What to do to prevent this problem? Read this one.

Discover How to Become a Photojournalist (Digital Photography School) – Photojournalism is not for everyone and takes a lot of time and work until your name is recognized. This article shares a few tips on how to put your name out there. It’s somehow simplistic and doesn’t even go anywhere near what you need to do to become a photojournalist, but it’s a beginning.

6 heisse Tipps zum Kommentieren von Fotos (Kwerfeldein – in german) - It can be a blast when getting huge amounts of comments in social networks such as flickr, but usually the majority of the comments are limited to single sentence phrases that will not help you much grow as a photographer. Martin shares a few tips on how to make your comments count.

An Interview with Fine Art Photographer Elizabeth Cecil (Magic Places Fine Art) – The title says it all. If you’re into Fine Art and follow the work of Elizabeth Cecil, this one is a must read.

Copyright Education: Legal Seminar with PACA Counsel Nancy Wolff (Picture Archive Council of America) - Still on copyrights (a never-ending subject), here is a video seminar with Nancy Wolf. It’s lengthy but good to watch.

Photographers and the Economic Crisis (Photopreneur) - The economic crisis is shaping the photography business.

How To Photograph The Female Face (Shutterbugsource) – A good portrait requires preparation and knowledge on what to expect from a face. This article shares a few tips on portrait photography, specially of female faces.

10 Steps to Perfect Waterfall Shots (Yanik Photo School) – And the last one of this week goes to Waterfall photography. Waterfalls are stunning, but good photos of waterfalls (the stunning ones) require you to know how to take them. 10 tips inside.

An Introduction to Stock Photography (Beyond Megapixels) – A very nice article introducing all about stock photography, from the different licenses to the submission process. It’s targeting more the microstock photographers, but I guess the same principles apply to stock photography in general.

Stock Photography, the Consumer, and the Future (Dan Heller’s Photography Business Blog) – And if you’re planning to try stock photography, this one is a must read. Dan goes in length into the status of stock photography and how the market is evolving.

38% of photographers are paranoiac! (ADIDAP) – This post shows the results of a poll asking "Are you paranoid about your work?". I was really surprised with the results as I was expecting, at least, the "Cautious" votes to be much higher.

Photo Backup: When Disaster Strikes (Epic Edits Weblog) – Brian writes another post on his backup series. In this article Brian goes into several disaster scenarios and how to protect yourself against data loss. Do I need to remind you how important it is to have a backup system for your photos?

Super Secure, Super Easy, Super Cheap On-Line Storage (Digital ProTalk) – Still on backups, David describes more in detail the Amazon S3 online storage system. Prices included.

Can I Sell That Photo?? (Hyperfocal) – Going to some events is always a good opportunity for some photos. But what about if you want to sell those images. Are you sure you can do it? Fact is, you probably can’t…

Orphan Works Panel Discussion (JMG-Galleries) – This is something that you’ve probably heard about and it sure concerns every photographer, the Orphan Works Act. Jim, in his EXIF and Beyond podcast, invites Chase Jarvis, Dan Heller and John Harrington to discuss the Orphan Works legislation. It’s lengthy but very informative.

Photoshop Video Tutorial – High Pass Sharpening (Yanik’s Photo School) – Yanik gives us another nice Photoshop tutorial. This time, a different way to sharpen your images beyond the more common USM.

Enjoy the reading…

And interesting they are:

Arranging Elements in Your Photos – Lisa at Beyond Megapixels has a very nice article that covers the basics of composition.

How to Buy a Tripod – this one touches home. I’m looking forward to upgrade my old one. But a new camera might also be on the way and I can’t have it all.

Q&A – What happens inside your camera when you change the ISO? – Useful if you want to know more in detail how your camera works.

How to critique your own photographs – Learning how to critique your own photos is essential to improve. If a photographer is waiting for the feedback of other people only, his own critical sense will never develop.

How to Shoot Professional Images in Low Light – the title says it all. Another great article, as usual, from Barbara at Shutterbug Source Photography Tips.

You and the Failure of PhotoShelter – Photoshelter Collection is going down and Dean tries to spot a few of the mistakes done by the Photoshelter owners in leading a successful stock photography business. We’ve also discussed this at PhotoNetCast.

3M Carjacks the Post-It Note Jaguar – All About Content – When your ideas get stolen by a company that spends millions in advertising campaigns but refuses to pay $2k for a photo.

A Photo Editor – Stock Photo Agencies – and speaking of stock photography, here is a BIG list of agencies.

Portfolio Inspiration : 21 grandiose Fotografen – Martin from Kwerfeldein selects 21 great photoblogs. The article is in german but the language of photography is only one: light.

Projects, projects, projects…

80 Film Cameras for under $50 – The results of Brian’s latest project are out. And great…

Buying Prints from Your Favorite Photographers – Jim comes up with a new concept in photography projects… Take a look.

Pollution/Environment awareness Project – Take your camera out for ADIDAP. It’s time to photography some garbage… really.

On a final note, the Annual 2008 Podcast Awards are open for nominations. If you’re a regular listener of PhotoNetCast, do us a favor and nominate our show. More details at PhotoNetCast. Thanks.

So, here is a quick list of the ones that caught my attention…

10 Tips for Serious Microstock Wannabes – Rasmus, a microstock photography expert shares 10 tips for those of you who want to try microstock photography.

Which lens is best for photowalking? – Photowalks have been in high trend in the photography world. Here is some advice for a good photowalking setup.

5 Photo Essay Tips – If you ever wanted to know what a photo essay is, this post at the digital photography school is for you.

Obvious Street Photography Tips – Street photography is something that I’ve started exploring recently. These tips might help you improve the art of street photography.

Topaz Labs – New HDR type processing – Photomatix is the most favored piece of software for HDR photography. But alternatives exist. Here is a nice review of the Photoshop plug in from Topaz Labs.

37 Paid Gigs That are Only a Phone Call Away – Trying to start making some money from your photography? Hyperphocal shares 37 gigs that, while not making you millionaire, might be good starting points.

Who Wins? Nikon D90 or Canon 50D – So much hype has been going around the launch of Nikon’s D90 and Canon’s 50D… but which one would you pick if you were shopping for your new dSLR? That is what Brian wants to know…

Color Management: Calibrating versus Profiling – Want to know the difference and why both matter?

Time-lapse movies of Milky Way – Time lapse photography has also been in high trend lately. Here are two curious and spectacular examples…

The Art of Nature – Photo competition – Until Sept. 16, the Center for Fine Art Photography is calling for submissions for their "The Art of Nature" competition.

How to Use Your In-Camera Spot Meter – Is your camera meter still a multi-point mystery for you? Then this post at Beyond Megapixels is for you…

Chase Jarvis RAW: Advance Testing the Nikon D90 – And still on the D90, Chase has made a nice video exploring the new Nikon’s baby.

kwerfeldein Fotografie Forum wird gelauncht – And if you’re looking for a new photo community, Martin has opened his new photography forum. It’s targeted at german photographers so, maybe a good opportunity to improve my language skills.

Turning Rejection into Success – Photopreneur has a nice post on how to improve your stock photography from lessons learned by your rejections.

The PLUS Coalition: Standardized Licensing Codes – Colleague PhotoNetCaster Jim Goldstein has had a nice article published at Digital Photo Pro on PLUS. Worth a read.

Enjoy!

It’s always hard to come up with a small selection, but it has to be done. So, here are some of those articles that picked my attention in the past days:

• Who is Stealing your photos online? – JMG-Galleries – Jim introduces a new platform (or shall we call it search engine), TinEye, that uses image recognition algorithms and allows you to search for copies of your images online (even modified ones). I’ve been using TinEye for some time and can say that, although their search range is still small, it works. Jim also has some invites to give, in case you’re interested.
• HELP… I’m brand new at this. What do I do to grow my business? – Digital ProTalk – Want to start expanding your photo business? Then David’s blog is the place to go. And from this article you can see what to expect over there.
• DSLR Dust Problems: Prevention and Solutions – Joy of Digital Photography – Dust in the sensor is something that did not exist in the film days. But it’s the digital era and dust can really ruin your work if you’re not careful about it. Jeff tackles the problem and gives some tips on how to avoid it.
• So many cameras – So little time – Epic Edits – I’m sure you know what a SLR is. But what about a TLR, or Rangefinder, or… Brian gives a small introduction to each of the most know camera types.
• 8 Tips for better photo composition – A Matter of Memories – Good photography is much more than just the right equipment. It’s what you do with it. And good composition is a skill that can be improved. There are no rules, just tips, and Jill gives 8 of them right here.
• Lenses – Photography Basics – Camera bodies come and go, but lenses are forever (was this a good adaptation of the cliché?). Knowing what lenses you need and what to expect from them is vital in photography. Garry has a nice intro to lenses for the beginner. And remember "You get what you pay for".
• The War on Photography – Schneier on Security – Photographer’s rights violations is happening everyday. You can shoot this, you can’t shoot that… When is it going to stop? With increasing fears of terrorism (and often using it as an excuse) probably not so soon. As Bruce mentions, blame the movies. We also discussed this issue on PhotoNetCast #2. Maybe I should get one of those "I’m a Photographer, not a terrorist" t-shirts.

Nonetheless, these are all great reads and teach something of value.

So, here we go:

• Thomas Hawk, the author of that fantastic video I shared sometime back, published a couple of posts with his views on copyright law and fair use. Although I completely agree with the first one, in reducing the time frame in which a work is copyrighted, the second one is a little more controversial and I’d have to think about it more deeply and in view of my own situation. But go there and read what Thomas has to say.

• David at the Digital Pro Talk shares 12 ways to really improve your photography in 2008. Great tips to really rediscover yourself and your photography.

• After that mild confusion that spread at the first sound of new laws coming that would affect photographers while traveling, Ben from the Complete Digital Photography wrote some more about it with a clarification. It seems that there are no reasons to panic after all.

• And it seems that the subject of Creative Commons will never be dead. This time it was Dan Heller’s Photography Business Blog‘s turn to share his view on the subject. And it goes more deeply than it seems at first sight. Later on, Dan published a Proposal for the Creative Commons that would serve photography better.

• And if you are a photographer you know what a portfolio is. But do you know the best way to create yours? Brian, again with the high quality posts he has us used to, shares some tips on the Art of Making a Portfolio. It is a subject that I’ll probably return sometime in the future as I think there is some more to be said about it.

• On a more technical side, bokeh has been and continues to be a way to increase the beauty of a photo and direct attention to your subject. To create bokeh there is the lens way and the photoshop way, and Jeff at Beyond Megapixels teaches both. If you want more on how to use shallow Depth of Field to create bokeh and make those photos “shine”, Lau at PhotoAxe has a nice tutorial.

• Now, on to portrait photography. Besides the 31 Tips Brian “concluded” from his December challenge (nice ones by the way), there was one other, this time at the digital Photography School, that caught my eye: Catchlights (no pun intended). Those little things that add great value to portraits or, according to some professionals, ruin them.

And with a list this big, besides all the other posts from blogs you might be subscribed to, you have more than enough to keep you busy.

On my previous post, I’ve explained why I was absent for so long…  

Now it’s time to get my stuff together and bring the blog back to life again.

And nothing better for that than start with what has called my attention in photography lately.

Without further delays:

•  Haje at Photocritic.org has a very good article on how minimalist photography can be as or more powerful as photography that contains a lot of information. When less is more shows very good examples of using less information to highlight certain areas of your photos.

• Shutterbox Philippines reports a serious new firmware for Canon Digic II based point and shoot cameras.

How does it sound to have your camera shoot in raw mode, have a live histogram, a DOF-calculator, file browser, among others? Good, right? Go there and read all this firmware can do for your point and shooter.

• Casually, Trevor at Photowalking.org found out that he has a forum after all. Ok, maybe not one of the best things to have neglected for long, but if it grows it can provide a good place for photowalking discussions. Since I know that many out there are avid fans of photowalking, why not going there and talking a look around?

• Many photographers have considered, at one time or other in their careers, turning pro or at least turning photography into a business opportunity. Having a well set portfolio to showcase your work and approach potential clients is a must. If you are interested in this kind of approach, Photopreneur published 3 steps for a better photography portfolio that are sure to give you a better foundation instead of the “how the hell do I do this” way.

And that’s enough “linkage” for this week. Enjoy…

• Remember the post “Story behind the image” from some time back to spread the word on Jim’s project? A week ago he published the links to the 21 photos and stories submitted. It gives for some interesting reading with very beautiful photos. It’s curious to see what makes a photographer want to freeze a moment.

 

• Thinking about upgrading your camera? Sushee at Photography Tip published an article going through some questions you should ask yourself before making that decision.

 

• As you might have seen in the post “Are Digital Cameras destroying photography?” I’m an vigorous adept of learning how a camera works and planning a photo before taking the shot. Wingerz has a nice review of the major things you should know about your camera settings and how they influence the outcome of the photo. Although is a somewhat simplistic approach, if you know this things you are on the right track to learn much more.