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One Image - 17 Amazing Interpretations
2008-02-06 12:39:00
A while back I discussed my process for retouching the photograph at the left and turning it into the (IMHO) gorgeous scene below.Since then, 16 other photographers and/or Photoshop gurus have taken a shot at editing the photo. Now it's time to vote for your favorite! (Go number 1!)Grand Cayman Fuel DepotFollow this link to head over to check out the other images and vote for your favorite. One Image - 17 Amazing Interpretations Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2GB free or $4.95/month for unlimited, encrypted storage.

Dave's Beer
2008-02-05 01:54:00
Dave's Beer , originally uploaded by rrdphoto. A (relatively) quick shoot of my friend's bro's home-brewed beer. You can check out the details of the lighting set up on the photo's Flickr page (and, for what it's worth, this is my first blog post made using the Flickr "Blog This" capability... kind of curious to see how it works!).I'm more or less happy with the results. Shooting food & especially beverages requires a lot of set up and careful lighting design. For example, there is a piece of white card cut to the shape of the glass behind the glass that bounces light through the beer from an overhead strobe. The reflection is real - it comes from a black floor tile that it is sitting on... I need a larger version of that material though; 12" square is a little too small for anything but the smallest products. Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2GB free or $4.95/month for unlimited, encrypted storage.

Time Stops at Grand Central Station
2008-02-02 17:04:00
One of the coolest "live art" performances I've seen in a while. Check it out:Update: Check out the Improve Everywhere site for more of these vids! -RRD Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2GB free or $4.95/month for unlimited, encrypted storage.
More About: Time , Station , Stops , Central , Central Station

The Green Monster: Sigma's new 200-500mm f/2.8
2008-01-31 12:33:00
Since they've already got a lens nicknamed "Bigma" we'll need to come up with a fitting nickname for Sigma's recently-announced 200-500mm f/2.8 zoom.I'd suggest they call it The Green Mons ter .Though it looks like some kind of weapon out of Quake II, this looks to be a pretty slick lens. Being a high-end Sigma, it's possible that the optical quality will be there and this will be the first 500mm f/2.8 zoom. Comes complete with a 2x teleconverter that they call an "attachment" (why?) and a battery built in to power the autofocus!Not exactly portable, but it looks totally sweet! Green Monster it is unless someone can suggest a better nickname!You can read more about the lens and its proposed specs over at DPReview. Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2GB free or $4.95/month for unlimited, encrypted storage.

Canon Repair Estimates: What to expect
2008-01-31 00:43:00
photo by blmurchIs your Canon DSLR in need of repair? Wondering how much this is going to cost you?Having just been through the process with my Canon 20D, I thought I'd share some insight that might help others with the repair estimate. While your experience may vary greatly depending on the type of problem you're having, the basics will remain the same - as will the "Minimum Labor Charge" that we'll get into later.My Canon 20D Problem:The particular situation I was faced with was a camera that would take a couple of photographs and then lock up with the dreaded "Err 99" on the display. If you switched it off & back on, you could take a couple of photos and then you'd get the Error 99 once again! I tried all combinations of batteries, lenses, cards, cleaning, etc. - no dice (and everything works just fine on my other body). Uh oh!I'm guessing that the problem had something to do with the shutter mechanism. The ##D line of cameras don't have highly durable shutters (lik...
More About: Expect , Repair , Estimates , Anon

Plymouth ICE Spectacular
2008-01-29 01:50:00
Though I was quite ill (and still am, though it's getting better), I make it out to visit my friend Spencer in Michigan this weekend. We stopped by Plymouth to check out the annual Ice Carving Festival - it was packed with spectators!Had I not felt sick I may have petitioned to return in the evening so that we could take advantage of the colored lights that would be lit. With gray overcast skies, it was very difficult to get any separation or detail in the sculptures - you're essentially photographing something that is a translucent milky gray color against a backdrop of white snow and nearly white sky... Yea - color would help big time!Attempting to overcome the gray factor, I chose to shoot primarily with my 100mm lens and fill the frame with detail - either just the ice or of a specific activity. Then, in Lightroom I used a healthy amount of Clarity and Vibrance to make the detail ice come through. Here are a few of my favorites; you can view the full gallery here: Plymouth...
More About: Spectacular

John Harrington's "What We Use" - awesome video series
2008-01-25 20:24:00
I've been watching the new series of videos that DC Photographer and author John Harrington has just put online. The series is titled What We Use and is a set of 32 videos taking you on a tour of all of the various lights, stands, cameras, computers, bags, ...even fog machines that he uses on his shoots.I've only just started watching but wanted to blog about it immediately - this is a great series that John has put a ton of work into! Each video is a separate post; you should start with the Introduction Video and go from there. The dialog in each clip is transcribed below it - a smart move from a SEO point of view and also great because he links to all of the products he's discussing (plus, they're affiliate links so John is likely to make a mint off this series! This guy knows business.)My first impression: dang, those Rololights are freakin' cool! Click the screen capture below to go check out this great video series. Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and rec...
More About: Series , Awesome

Results from last night's Print of the Year exhibition
2008-01-25 19:51:00
As previously mentioned, the annual Print of the Year exhibition was held at the Camera Club of Cincinnati yesterday evening. Our guest judge Diana Klau who has had years of experience working for Corbis, one of the largest stock-photo agencies in the country, chose the winners and offered insightful comments afterwards.Here are the results, with the winning images to the right of each category (which you can click for a larger view).ColorFirst Prize - Anti-Malaria Frank KammererSecond Prize - Twin Bubbles Alan Lloyd Third Prize - Zebras Frank KammererMonochromeFirst Prize - Folded Bob IhrigSecond Prize - Alamo Phantoms Tom RielageThird Prize - Christine (on motorcycle) MickeyRymaszewskiCongrats to the winners and all of the participants! There were over 40 great photographs being shown last night - an event not to miss. If you'd like to see some photos from the night, you can see a gallery here. Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and...
More About: Results , Exhibition

Print of the Year Event THURSDAY Night, 8PM
2008-01-23 12:25:00
Join us for an evening of great local photography from 2007! Tomorrow night at 8PM will be the annual Print of the Year contest at the Camera Club of Cincinnati studios located at 7045 Vine Street.On display will be the 1st and 2nd place photographs from our monthly Print Night contests, plus the finalists from the Themed Print Night contests held on months with a "5th Thursday " (like this month).There will be a few dozen of the best photographs from 2007 on display. This event is FREE and open to the public.Please spread the word, and I hope to see you Thursday night![By the way, if the other Cincinnati Bloggers wouldn't mind posting this it'd be greatly appreciated! -RRD] Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2GB free or $4.95/month for unlimited, encrypted storage.
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RRD Photo Blog is now One Year-Old!
2008-01-22 12:40:00
In what hasn't seemed like a whole year, this humble little blog is now quite a ways from its first post back on 22 January, 2007!Most Popular Articles of the First Year Here is a list of the four most popular articles of the first year of this blog.How to: Add a Sync Port to a Canon 580EX FlashThanks in part to the Strobist Revolution, my post on modding a Canon 580 EX flash was a huge hit! A big thanks goes to Lon from FlashZebra who provided the insight and part required for the project; it's been a big year for him as well - he has grown a pretty active business with FlashZebra that is full of happy customers. Canon has since released a 580EX II that provides a sync port, but given how expensive it is there are a lot of folks interested in modding their rev-1 580's.Split Toning in Lightroom and Camera RAWWith the explosively popular Lightroom being on nearly everyone's mind, it's no surprise that this is one of the most popular articles. I really enjoy the split toning ca...
More About: Photo , Blog

Album Art Meme - Fun for Monday
2008-01-21 14:21:00
I saw this post over on the Fishbowl (a non-photo-related blog that I follow) the other day and have been wanting to try it out. Through a series of mashups you can generate a great band name - complete with your first album title and cover art! A little fun for a day that many folks in the US have off of work.Here's mine, steps to create your own follow... I think the results are pretty hilarious - this one looks to be some kind of metal band!Source Image by danbuck57313How to create your album cover: Your band name is the title of your first hit on Wikipedia's random pageMine is from the Fedération International des Associations de Producteurs de FilmsYour album name is taken from the end of the last quote on this random quotes pageMine is from Ralph Waldo EmersonYour album cover must be made from the fourth picture on Flickr's Creative Commons Attribution LicenseMine is from danbuck57313I've modified step three from the original instructions to use only Creative Commons Li...
More About: Meme , Album , Monday

Lightroom 2.0 Feature Reqs: Yell it from the rooftops!
2008-01-19 18:29:00
Photoshop master Scott Kelby (author of several great Photography Books) has built up a great list of what he'd like to see in the next version of Photoshop Lightroom ; version 2.0. Follow the link below to check out Scott's list (and while you're there, subscribe to his blog - it's a good read). Here are a few of the features that I'd like to see the most:Open As Smart Object - In Bridge, you can make RAW adjustments via Camera RAW and then open that image as a Smart Object in Photoshop CS3. This is great, because it means that you're able to easily make adjustments to the original RAW processing as you're working on your master layered document. Plus, you're able to stack multiple versions of that RAW processing in your Photoshop document. In today's world, you must export a TIFF and then you're locked into the settings you chose. Of course, you can always switch to Bridge and open from there, but I'd prefer to stay inside Lightroom for workflow.Shooting Tethered -...
More About: Feature , Yell

Mozy update to introduce new features...
2008-01-18 04:29:00
I received an email notification today from the nice folks over at Mozy, the automated online backup folks that I pimp a lot on this blog. They are coming out with an update to their software this weekend that introduces a few new features:Our new client version 1.8.6.21 is packed with additional features to help you manage your data backups and restores:A new in-client restore button requires less user intervention and gives you real-time access to your data backups.A support button provides direct access to MozyHome's frequently asked questions.Your connections will be more robust, and the reliability and stability of your backups will increase.Here's what will happen: The first time you run a backup on your computer following Saturday's system upgrade, your client will automatically upgrade to the latest MozyHome client version. You will need to reboot your computer for MozyHome backups to resume.I mention these guys for good reason - they secure a ton of my personal data! I...
More About: Features , Update

Photoshop "Revisit and Retouch" Challenge #1
2008-01-15 04:20:00
Grand Cayman Fuel DepotClick for large viewNeat looking image, eh? Well, what if I told you it started as the frame to the right?The above is my contribution to the CameraPorn Blog's "Revisit and Retouch" project (don't worry - it's just a clever name... work safe!). Ryan Goodman took this photograph a few years ago in Grand Cayman and produced a nice image (after some editing) which you can see on his site.Interested to see what other folks would do to this in the digital darkroom, he's inviting those interested to download the RAW files and give it their best shot.In this post...In this post I'll give a detailed look at my steps for completing this retouch and at the end I'll link to some books and podcasts that will help teach you these techniques in more detail.Note: Clicking on the images will take you to a gallery where you can see larger versions of the screen shots shown here. The screen shots have detailed info in their captions.My Steps for Retouching this PhotoLig...
More About: Photoshop , Challenge

LightScribe Labeling for Custom CD Marketing
2008-01-14 05:07:00
I recently picked up a LightScribe-enabled DVD Recorder for my photo workstation. while looking into CD-Labeling systems. The goal was to produce discs that had a more professional look than what you'd get with a Sharpie...I found a few CD Labeling kits that worked in more or less the same way: Print a label on your printer, peel it off of the backing to expose the adhesive, put it on the donut-shaped applicator, and drop your CD on top. This works but to me it seems a little pedestrian; not to mention the fact that those labels can be a bit expensive & aren't often on sale.Enter LightScribeLightScribe has been around for a while & I'm glad to see that it's catching on. Basically, LS is a way of "burning" a label onto special CD/DVD media that has a blank label side. Their slogan explains the process pretty well: Burn-Flip-BurnThere isn't really a premium to the drives themselves (it is becoming a pretty popular feature on most drives these days). Plus, since the L...
More About: Marketing , Custom , Lightscribe

Omar and Goinaz
2008-01-11 01:11:00
Some quick ones from a shoot with Omar and Goinaz at the CCofC...And, from the world of Uncluttered Desks...Here's a link to a pretty slick project by Van Mardian! Check out how he cleaned off his desk top by attaching all the wires and components to a pegboard that he mounted underneath his desk. Pretty cool idea! Check it out over at Decluttered. Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2GB free or $4.95/month for unlimited, encrypted storage.

Bug report posted for NVIDIA Forceware 169 & Lightroom
2008-01-08 01:37:00
As a quick follow up to yesterday's post regarding my updates to the PC, I wanted to give folks a link to the bug report that I've opened on the NVIDIA Forums. Hopefully someone over there will take notice and provide a fix for this in a later release.Long story short, if you're currently experiencing "screen freeze" issues with an eVGA/NVIDIA video card and Photoshop Lightroom , check out which driver you're using. If it is from the 169.xx series then downgrading to the 163.75 release should fix your problem.Here's a nice Christmas light... Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2GB free or $4.95/month for unlimited, encrypted storage.
More About: Report

Photoshop Dual Monitor Lovin'
2008-01-07 06:09:00
It's been a while now since I built out my Photoshop Workstation and rigged up a Ghetto Stand for my LCD. This weekend I put some polish on the rig by switching to a wireless keyboard and mouse, getting some random freeze issue fixed, and tweaking out my Photoshop layout to take advantage of my two screens.First, the Photoshop Dual Monitor Sweetness:Yep - it's really *that* awesome. All of the Photoshop Pallets and etc live over on the secondary display while you've got the entire 24 inches of LCD love to edit your photos on. This is a really killer setup! (I can't believe I just now got around to sorting this out!)I've also got some software installed that will adjust the screen with a hot-key after you've rotated the monitor. I can pivot the monitor 90 degrees in case I want to edit a portrait - the jury is still out on whether I'll do this or not. Photoshop tends to move the menus around randomly when the pivot takes place & I'm not sure how well this bizarre or...

Atlanta, GA skyline sunset photographs
2008-01-03 05:51:00
Let's take a quick look at two very different photographs of essentially the same scene...Couple watching the Atlanta , GA skyline from Stone MountainCanon 30D, 1/100sec @ f/11, ISO 400. EF 24-105 f/4L ISThis photograph was shot earlier this year during a visit to Stone Mountain, just outside Atlanta, GA. The sun was very bright & created the lens flare, which I think adds a lot to the image when combined with the "vintage" feel created in post. The human element here with the couple really makes it.That is in contrast to the below - a similar scene with a very different feel taken just a few minutes earlier. The wider crop, darker exposure, dramatic processing, and lack of people make for a totally different photograph. I like both of them in their own way... Clicking either image will take you to a larger view...Sunset Over a Distant Atlanta, GA Skyline Canon 30D, 1/250sec @ f/11, ISO 400. EF 24-105 f/4L ISI suppose that the moral of the story is that there are many possibl...
More About: Photographs

Indianapolis wedding: Veronica and Steve
2008-01-02 02:12:00
I went out to Indianapolis last Friday with my friend Son to photograph Veronica and Steve 's wedding. I was second shooter, sporting my Canon gear which felt a little wimpy next to Son's new Nikon D3... He took some photos at ISO 6400 that were just sick!!The wedding was a fun event & we got a ton of great images... Between the two of us shooting from 1PM at the salon through 11PM at the reception Veronica and Steve have about 800 quality photos after Son's quick edit. They'll have their work cut out for them!You can check out several other pictures from the night on Son's web site.While you're there, be sure to check out his Blog and Portfolio where he has a lot of great photographs.Here's one of my favorites - the Groom and his Groomsmen outside the church making use of the "tungsten in daylight" trick... I'll blog about that one soon.Many thanks to Son for having me along! Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2G...
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Monitoring your Photo Backups!
2007-12-31 23:00:00
How do you know that your backups contain what you think they contain? How can you discover if you've accidentally deleted a file that you didn't mean to delete?Some very good questions that arrived in my Inbox from Greg Wellman. He writes:Do you use any type of folder/directory monitor to watch your Mozy-mirrored files for changes? My one big worry with Mozy is that if one of my kids accidentally deletes something (and I don't catch it within 30 days), that file is gone forever. Or, if I should get some sort of virus, file corruption could get mirrored to Mozy. So, I've been looking for some little background utility to watch the same folders I have mirrored to Mozy and tell me via email when something changes in those folders. I think this is a great question & Greg brings up an important point - your backups are no good if you are also backing up your mistakes or missing them until after it's too late. I replied with a couple of my own thoughts:I don't have any kid...
More About: Photo , Monitoring , Backups

Merry Christmas!
2007-12-25 14:37:00
I recently visited the Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo with some folks from the Ohio Valley Camera Club. Pictured here is the main Christmas Tree in the display, which stretches throughout the zoo and is a very popular event every year.Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas . Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2GB free or $4.95/month for unlimited, encrypted storage.

Rounding Third and Heading for Home...
2007-12-24 02:45:00
I got a call early last week from someone who was looking for a photograph of Great American Ball Park to give as a gift to her sister for Christmas. Turns out she's a big fan of the Cincinnati Reds and especially of the late, great Joe Nuxhall. The main request was to have Nuxhall's famous phrase "Rounding Third and Heading for Home " featured in the picture.I didn't have anything in my library that fit the bill, but I was able to get out and shoot early one morning...Fortunately I caught a break in our typically dreary Cincinnati winter weather and had a decent looking sky. I did have to employ some HDR techniques in order to get a decent exposure, but that's just the reality of the situation. It was either that or have a blown out, pure white sky!While I was there I shot a few other subjects nearby, but didn't spend too much time. One that I particularly like is this black and white of the stadium lights:Hitting the road early tomorrow morning to visit my folks in Clevel...

How to enable Smart Filters for the Lens Blur Filter
2007-12-22 03:02:00
Because some filters don't behave in quite the way you might expect them to when used as a Smart Filter , Adobe has disabled some of them after you've converted your layer into a Smart Object. While this does make sense at some level of UI Theory, it can be a little bit frustrating, especially when it comes to filters like Lens Blur that really depend on some trial-and-error.I want to tweak my blur!Ahem... Anyway, I ran across a great tip the other day from Martin Evening that shows you how to easily Enable Smart Filters for All Filters simply by running a quick script inside Photoshop. He goes into great detail (complete with screen shots!) on the process and the associated caveats, so I won't bother to rehash it all here. If you're interested in enabling this capability in Photoshop, head on over to Photoshop News. Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2GB free or $4.95/month for unlimited, encrypted storage.

The Making of our 2007 Christmas Card...
2007-12-21 00:49:00
Happy Holidays! In case you didn't get one in the mail (and most readers did not!), please refer to the above image as my official sentiment of holiday well-wishes toward you. :)The BackstorySince a lot of our friends were busy making babies this year we knew the mailboxes would be filled with Christmas greetings featuring their new bundles of joy... lacking one of those, we decided to opt for something a little more humorous - something that'll make people look twice & go "hm...".The concept was to take a picture of us on our way to "Cut our own" tree - in modern, urban fashion: at the home center surrounded by artificial trees, carrying a saw but dressed for the mall as opposed to the forest. Add a little supporting text that can help people figure out the joke, but not make it too obvious.Oh - and we also wanted to make sure it said "Happy Holidays".Planning the final imageI didn't physically make a sketch on paper, but going into this I had a good mental image of what I...
More About: Card , Christmas card

Holidays keeping me busy!
2007-12-18 12:16:00
Here are a few more Cincinnati family photos that I've taken recently for use on holiday cards. There's been something going on gig-wise pretty much every day, which has made it tough to keep the old blog jam-packed with new posts! (Not that I'm complaining - it's good to have too much work...)Craig, Steph, & SennaCraig & StephSam & CassidySam & CassidyHope everyone is out enjoying the holiday season! Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2GB free or $4.95/month for unlimited, encrypted storage.
More About: Holidays , Busy

Review of Camera Module for Windows by Douglas Software
2007-12-16 18:12:00
I've recently had the opportunity to review Camera Module by Douglas Software - a program that will help you to calculate the available depth of field and Angle of View for any given focal length, distance, and aperture.You can use the software to answer questions such as:With the Canon 20D (1.6 crop sensor), we have a subject that is 4 meters wide, and are restricted to being no more than 3 meters away, what lens would be required to cover the subject?What is the hyperfocal distance with a 50mm lens at apertures of f8 and f5.6 on the Canon 20D?InstallationThe installation of the software is very straightforward. You simply download the installer & run it - the program will then appear in your Start Menu. The software is available for immediate download & is usable in a "demo" state with the aperture locked to f/8.CostThe Camera Module software is available from Douglas Software for $39. Not something that's going to break but be sure to read on before you break out y...
More About: Windows , Review

Cincinnati Family Portrait Session
2007-12-10 03:01:00
Here are some of the selects from a recent family portrait shoot. We had a great time taking the photographs; my wife and I recently made their acquaintance through a mutual friend & it was great to meet the whole crew.The star of the show was their newest addition to the family. Unfortunately we were not quite aligned with her schedule & she was pretty upset about having her picture taken! While we ended up getting some nice baby portraits, it was certainly a challenge... I briefly considered setting up a Jill Greenberg-style situation, but then thought better of it.As you can see, we managed a few peaceful moments with her, but believe me when I say they were *short*!Next up is their son. He loved hamming it up for the camera! In this photo we had a little fun with a makeshift fort made out of a tent he had draped over a card table.Adding a strobe to the inside of the tent illuminates the translucent fabric from within... giving you a cool transillumination effect and ...
More About: Family , Portrait , Cincinnati

2007 USATF National Club Cross Country Championships Pictures
2007-12-08 22:33:00
I just got back from the Men's Open 10k race at the 2007 USATF National Club Cross Country Championships held at VOA Park in Cincinnati, OH (Westchester). As you'll see - it was a muddy mess out there!Congrats to Ryan Warrenburg, 23, of Blowing Rock, NC who won the race with a time of 31:46.9!There are two passes of the runners photographed here and also a final series of shots taken as the runners cross the finish line. They are currently in the process of being uploaded, but should be done some time tonight - there are over 1200 pictures from the race!Click here to view the 2007 USATF National Club Cross Country Championships Pictures . Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2GB free or $4.95/month for unlimited, encrypted storage.

Winter has arrived in Cincinnati...
2007-12-06 01:36:00
Tree in Snow, Cincinnati ObservatoryCanon 50mm f/1.4 | 1/80sec @ f/5.6, ISO 100 | Canon 30DSo the winter has finally arrived here in Cincinnati... The image above is from last year's Winter Storm; this first wave of weather wasn't quite so dramatic, but the local news teams were out in force sensationalizing it!There really just isn't a whole lot of snow in this area, so even an inch breeds panic amongst Cincinnatians. Since I'm originally from the Cleveland area it's a little hard to get used to that kind of mentality - even more strange is that a lot of folks around here have never heard of Lake Effect Snow! I suppose if you didn't grow up with it then it's just harder to deal with. :)It'll be tough to shoot outside for the next few months... hopefully there will be at least a few good storms that'll allow for some neat snowscapes. Do you back up your docs & photos? I use and recommend Mozy for automatic online backups.2GB free or $4.95/month for unlimited, encrypt...