After my last few posts you should all know by now that David duChemin is my photography guru.  He created a site -CraftAndVision.com  where he sells affordable ebooks that he creates and to which other master photographers contribute.  He is releasing a new ebook tomorrow  created by Eli Reinholdtsen and here is a quick overview:

Chasing Reflections is the third in the series The Print & The Process. Eli Reinholdtsen is a creative photographer who, through her unique and skillful approach to reflections, captures moments and juxtapositions that are truly an art form at its finest. Reinholdtsen digs deep and shares tangible ways to scout, setup, and shoot complex and magical photographs that push the envelope of visual poetry.  Her playful descriptions aren’t shy of digging deep into the techniques required to capture movement, timing, and contrast.

Chasing Reflections is an inspiring collection of 37 photographs that stand on their own as pieces of pure art (The Print) followed by a discussion of the creation of those visual moments (The Process).

Chasing Reflections is a available now for $5.  And, like you didn’t know… OF COURSE there’s a special offer:

For the first four days only, if you use the promotional code  REFLECT4 when you checkout, you can have Chasing Reflections for only $4 OR use the code REFLECT20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more books from the -CraftAndVision.com collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST August 1, 2010.

Now for the review.  First, I am an affiliate, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be honest.  The image on the “cover” is to die for amazing and the rest of the images aren’t too shabby, either.  The overview is correct in stating that her descriptions are playful – delightfully and refreshingly so.  She isn’t so full of herself as so many are.  I love reflection photos, but I don’t really take any.  I was so inspired that when I was about half way through reading the ebook I picked up my camera and headed outside.  The images I took were not good at all, too flat and no definition.  I went back in and finished reading the ebook.  Duh!  It was a cloudy and overcast day and in her instructions she says the best light for reflections is when the light is the harshest and the sun directly overhead.  She is so right!  Lots of good information and it was really interesting to read her thought process as she goes about setting up the shot.

So instead of the images I shot for this post, to the archives I went…back to about a year and a half ago.  See…I told you I don’t really take any reflection photos.  I am looking forward to putting her process into practice, though.

I spent the weekend listening to an online workshop by David duChemin on Vision Driven Photography.  One word…AWESOME…INSPIRATIONAL…MOTIVATIONAL…WISE…INSTRUCTIONAL…Okay, more than one word, but one word at a time.  It was such a worthwhile experience that I bought the video downloads of all three days so I can watch and rewatch and absorb some more.  If you want a class on f/stops and shutter speeds and all of the technical stuff that goes into creating a photo, then this isn’t the workshop for you.  If you want a class on how to express your vision, this is the one.  Why am I saying “is” instead of “was”?  Because you can buy the videos – click on Vision Driven Photography - it’ll take you there.  I am an affiliate on his CraftAndVision.com site for the purchase of his ebooks – I am NOT an affiliate for creativeLIVE and the purchase of the videos, I just think it would be worth the investment.

I learned so much this weekend.  One thing I learned, and I already knew this so it really was just reinforced, is that we need to ask ourselves when we create a photograph, “what am I trying to say?”  So what am I trying to say with this photo?  How could I have said it better?  Is there something in the frame that should have been left out, that isn’t a part of the story?  Is there something I left out that would have made the story clearer had I included it?  How can I see this differently? 

One thing David talked about was “sketchbook photos” – the photos you take on the way to getting the shot you want.  This is probably a sketchbook photo for me.  There are some things in the background that are a little too distracting for me.  I needed to adjust my POV, my point of view, to get the whole bumper in the frame.  What I was trying to express was the face within this pickup, with the headlights as the eyes, the grill as the nose, and the bumper as a smiling mouth, but I kind of cut off the mouth a bit and that is just unacceptable.  Maybe shot from the other side so the license plate isn’t so prominent.  One of these days I’ll go out and try it again and see how I can see this differently.

Do you know what your “vision” is when it comes to your photography?  Want some help in figuring it out?  I’ve talked about David duChemin before and his book “Within the Frame” wherein he talks about vision and photography.  Well beginning today (Friday) and continuing Saturday and Sunday he is conducting a free workshop discussing how to figure out what your vision is.  Go…Go right now.  Go right now and sign up for this free online workshop and watch the “rewatch” of today’s session and be ready for Saturday and Sunday. Go to creativeLIVE and get signed up!  It’s free!  Why are you still here? 

Oh, wait!  Before you do, grab this coupon code:  VISIONDRIVEN – good for this weekend only, for a 20% discount on your choice of five or more ebooks at CraftAndVision.com.  David recommends “Ten” and “Ten More”, both of which I have and highly recommend, to use as exercises for finding your vision.

You know what I’ll be doing this weekend…How about you?

I downloaded an advance copy of a fantastic ebook the other day – The Magic of Black & White – Part II, Craft, by Andrew S. Gibson, which launches officially tomorrow.  In it, he gives step by step direction for converting color images to black and white and then adding split toning to further enhance the image.  His directions are for both Photoshop CS and Photoshop Elements.  I tried it in Lightroom and it works as well, but some of the techniques are specific to Photoshop (or probably something else similar).  For the two images here, I converted to black and white in Lightroom, tried the split toning, but wasn’t thrilled with the results, so exported to Photoshop and tried it again – much happier.

The auther of the ebook has some beautiful images, which he uses to illustrate the different examples he provides.  There are 27 pages of discussion, instruction and example and it is well worth the price of $5 for this download.  The ebook launches tomorrow, and if you come back tomorrow, I might be able to give you a discount code to make the purchase even sweeter. (Yes, I’m an affiliate.)  I have to say that I even learned a few new tricks, which I will definitely be putting to use. This ebook, as well as some other really fantastic ebooks are available at David duChemin’s Craft and Vision.

[Update!]   For the first six days only, if you use the promotional code MAGIC4 when you checkout, you can have The Magic of Black & White – Part Two for only $4 OR use the code MAGIC20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more books from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST JUNE 1, 2010. 

I had a portrait session last night with a fun family, whose kids are always on the go.  I set the camera to high speed continuous shooting and quickly filled up my memory cards!  The first photo just makes me giggle – the faces this little guy comes up with are to die for.  And his sister loves to pose for the camera…she makes a great model. =)

… is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn’t belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

Just having a little fun with my iPhone and the Hipstamatic app - the number one paid app in the iTunes photography category and it only costs $1.99.  I just got the app yesterday, but I’ve had a lot of fun with it and it’s good to shake things up a little bit to get the creative juices flowing.  You can achieve different looks with your choice of “film”, “lens” and “flash”, the combination of which will get you the different color tones, as well as different borders.  I also got a couple of other fun little photography apps, but I’ll save those for another day.

More garden center shots will follow – not done with them yet!