During my visit, I accepted and invitation from B&H Photo to visit their facility and get a “behind the scenes” look at their operations. Of course, as a photographer and certified “gadget geek” just visiting a store that sells just about every digital camera, lens, tripod, and accessory you could possibly want is pretty cool. On top of that they have incredible audio and video products. And the place is huge (and clean, and organized).

But what really impressed me from a technology standpoint wasn’t anything they were selling at B&H, but rather how they go about moving product from the warehouse to the customer. You see, while B&H is huge, they sell so many products you couldn’t possibly fit inventory for all those products in the same space. So there are display items for customers to review, and when they want to make a purchase the product gets delivered via a network of automated rollers. It is incredible to watch, as bins roll around overhead, take rides in little elevators, and make their way (quite quickly) to the customer. When you’re ready to pay, those products get delivered to the checkout area so they’ll be waiting for you when you go to pay. Amazing.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that this visit was going to inspire my latest DVD. I was so impressed with the efficient use of automation at B&H’s store, that I started thinking a lot about how automation can be helpful in a variety of situations. That thinking led me to decide to create a video tutorial DVD that covers the various automation tools in Photoshop. The result is “Photoshop Hands-On: Automation”, which is in production this week and will begin shipping this weekend.

So, thanks B&H Photo for a great tour of an impressive facility, and thanks for the inspiration too!

Getting a replacement key to my hotel room was easy. The incredible staff at the Hyatt Place Hotel in West Palm Beach had already proven to be very friendly and helpful, and I had enough interactions with them over the prior few days that they knew who I was. I was off to a good start.

Fortunately my bank had a branch just a block away from the hotel, so I headed over to see about getting a temporary debit card (having already called to report the cards lost). The staff at the bank was very helpful, but their computer systems and odd cross-state rules made things difficult. I spent over an hour and a half at the bank, answering a series of questions to prove I was who I said I was, watching them struggle with their internal systems, only to ultimately find out they couldn’t issue a replacement card on the spot. Fortunately, after considerable effort, I was able to get enough cash to cover my needs for my remaining time in West Palm Beach.

There was now just one more hurdle to overcome: getting onto my flight without any form of legitimate identification.

I arrived at the airport four hours before my flight, anticipating the worst and wanting to ensure I had plenty of time to deal with whatever challenges awaited me. I went to the airline check-in counter to check my bag, and let the airline representative know I lost my wallet and didn’t have any identification. She asked if I had a voter’s registration card (does anyone actually carry that around with them?), a library card (I get all my books through Amazon, opting for the Kindle version I can read on my iPhone whenever possible), or anything. Nope. Nothing. Except for a photo of my passport on my laptop. She asked to see that, and checked my bag for me.

She told me it would be up to TSA whether they’d let me through security. I had already done my homework, and so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. But naturally I was still a bit nervous at this point.

Next stop, security screening. Fortunately, I happened to time things perfectly, and there was no line at all. I went to the first TSA officer who was there to check ID, provided my boarding pass, and told her I didn’t have identification because I had lost my wallet. She called a supervisor, who sent me to another officer for a special check to confirm I was who I said I was. He again asked if I had anything else, such as a social security card, library card, voter’s registration card, or anything. Not a darn thing.

So, I had to fill out a form with my vital information, and the officer, who was exceedingly polite and understanding, made a phone call for my screening. It took a total of about five minutes, with him asking me for a previous address, any professional licenses or certification, and a variety of other questions about my background that would help establish that I either really was me, or had done a phenomenal job memorizing all the details of my life. Before too long he told me I was all set, and could go through security. Well, “extra” security, of course.

I had, naturally, experienced “secondary” security on plenty of occasions in the past, so I knew what to expect here. My bag and various other possessions were swabbed to check for explosive residue, everything got a good once-over, and I got patted down (though the officer patting me down didn’t venture too far into the territory used by the “underwear bomber” in the attempted Christmas Day attack, which while perhaps a little uncomfortable would have at least made me feel they were actually being thorough).

All told, the extra questioning and screening took no more than ten minutes compared to what I would normally experience. It was frankly no big deal, and I was impressed overall with the way things were handled by TSA (especially Daniel, thank you very much).

So, what could have easily turned into a big nightmare was actually no big deal. Much better than my recent experience at Newark Liberty International Airport due to the security scare there. Of course, I’m writing this from Palm Beach International Airport, having gotten through security, but I’m not on the flight to Atlanta yet, and then I still have a connecting flight to Seattle. So there’s still potential for things to go horribly wrong, but so far it has been smooth sailing. Surprisingly smooth sailing based on my prior experience with TSA.

As we (for the most part) embrace digital photography and cast aside film, there has also been a very significant impact on the cottage industry that had grown for many years to support photographers. While we used to drop off rolls of film at a photo lab and perhaps chat about our recent excursion over a cup of coffee to the person behind the counter, now we sit (often alone) at our computers, processing our images and producing our own prints.

The result has been a huge decline in the amount of film processed each year, and as a result a precipitous decline in the potential revenue for film processing by the many small labs found in cities and towns large and small. Some labs saw the writing on the wall and quickly started offering digital services. Some of those, and many others, couldn’t generate enough revenue and started going out of business.

Obviously such a change is a bad thing for the folks whose livelihood depended on those labs. On a broader scale I think of it more as simply a change rather than something inherently “bad”.  But it is a change that stared me in the face this holiday season as I visited various malls and shopping centers to do some shopping. In many cases I simply recognized a business as occupying the same space where a photo lab had previously operated. In other cases the sign had been removed but left clear evidence of a photo lab that had been shuttered, such as the photo shown here.

I don’t miss film. Not one bit. So in a way I don’t miss the photo labs that went along with film. But I do feel bad for those who had their livelihood harmed by the changes that have taken place in the industry. Hopefully they all found jobs somewhere else in the industry or doing something else they love. Even good changes can leave challenges in their wake. But I do think that overall the advent of digital photography has been a good thing for photographers. Not entirely, but mostly. I just wonder what sort of upheaval the next big change in photography might bring. Predictions?

With all the stress of air travel today, and with as many miles I spend in the air to go on photo shoots, speak at events, run workshops, and more, I’ve had my share of challenges. But I could always (well, mostly) count on the sense of relief I would feel when I finally settled into my seat and could just relax until reaching my destination.

I had just such a sigh of relief last Sunday after I boarded Continental flight 1881 at Newark Liberty International Airport, headed home to Seattle. It was bitterly cold on the east coast (at least to this California native, with apologies to those in the midwest), and strong winds had moved in, promising a bumpy flight. Those winds also led to flight delays, with the delay for my own flight being estimated at about 45 minutes. But at least I was in my seat, with my seatbelt fastened and carry-on bags stowed, ready to head home. In fact, I was so relieved and relaxed (and tired) that I soon fell asleep. Then I was awakened by the pilot’s announcement, only to face the “adventure” I described in my previous blog post.

Today it was time for “Newark, Take Two”. Despite the security lockdown I had endured a few days earlier, the fact that the airline couldn’t get me onto another flight until over three days later, and the particularly troublesome fact that my luggage had gone on to Seattle without me, the time leading up to the flight was stress-free. The morning went smoothly, the drive to the airport went smoothly, security went smoothly, everything was going smoothly. OK, I’ll admit, breakfast at the airport didn’t go all that smoothly, but I’ve learned to expect poor service at Newark airport…

But when I sat in my seat I felt a little uneasy. Instead of the “in-seat sigh of relief” I felt a bit of anxiety. What fiasco might cause a delay this time around?

I tensed up when the pilot made a PA announcement just after everyone was on board and the door was closed. But he was just letting us know that a few more bags needed to be loaded, and then we’d be on our way. Sure, I thought, I’ll believe it when I see it. But we did push back from the gate, relatively on time.

Then another PA announcement from the pilot. We were number fourteen in line to takeoff, so it would be about 45 minutes before we could takeoff. I just wanted to get into the air so I would know I really was on my way home this time.

Fortunately, this time we really did take off, and we landed safely in Seattle. So the second take was a success. I even got reunited with my luggage after over three days of separation.

All is (more or less) right with the world again. But I’m not really looking forward to my next flight out of town in less than two weeks, though I’m very much looking forward to speaking at FOTOfusion. I’ll hope to see some of you there, and that none of us has any adventures getting there!

As I write this I’m sitting in the back seat of the car that picked me up at the airport. As I slid into the back seat, I realized the “in-seat sigh of relief” still existed, it had just changed from the seat on the plane to the seat in a car at my destination…

It had been a long day already and I had gone for a run earlier in the day, so I was pretty exhausted and looking forward to sleeping for most of the flight home to Seattle. I had settled into my seat on Continental Airlines Flight 1881 at Newark Liberty International Airport, and soon was asleep. All was right with the world…

I awoke to a PA announcement from the pilot. We were still on the ground. He was saying something about getting off the plane, going through security, it would take two hours. I was still waking up so it didn’t make a lot of sense. But people started getting up and gathering their carry-on baggage.

I asked passengers around me what was going on, and they clarified that there had been a “situation” and we would need to get off the plane, exit the secure area of the terminal, and then be re-screened by security. Oh boy. I already knew what an “efficient” process that could be, and under these circumstances surely it was going to be much worse. Our captain was clearly a certified optimist if he thought we would be back in our seats in two hours.

When I say “we” would have to be screened I don’t just mean me and the people around me on the plane. I don’t just mean everyone on the plane. I mean everyone on every airplane and in every corner of the secured area at Terminal C at Newark. Everyone. That’s a lot of planes and a lot of people. You might call it a mob scene.

After getting off the plane and heading toward the exit, there was a crowd like I had never seen at any airport. And this time the crowd was trying to exit the terminal, not enter it. This was insanity.

We started to hear rumors that someone had walked into the secure area through the exit of the security screening area, and that the TSA personnel lost track of him and didn’t know where he was. Other than the PA announcement from the pilot, there were no further announcements. Ever.

After exiting the secure area, it suddenly looked like a Red Cross shelter during a natural disaster. People were everywhere, nobody knew where to go, and nobody knew exactly what was going on.

Finally working through the mob, I sat on the edge of the baggage claim carousel and tried to settle in for a very long wait. People were already lined up to go back through security, but there was no movement. Security personnel had even blocked access to most of the escalators, so you couldn’t move easily between the several floors of the terminal.

Still not a single announcement about the situation from anyone. I got all my information about what was going on by getting online and checking the major news websites. The lockdown at Terminal C was the top story on all the major networks.

I kept checking the status of my flight on my iPhone. I had an incredibly difficult time placing phone calls (simply too many people trying to make calls at the same time, I’m sure), but was able to get a data connection. The estimated departure time for my flight kept getting moved out, half an hour at a time. It was as if the airline was perpetually suggesting we would be leaving in an hour, except their clock apparently wasn’t moving. That magic hour never passed.

Of course, I’m an information junkie, so I kept checking the status. And then I saw a word I really didn’t want to see: canceled.

There had still be absolutely no announcements, so I figured most people on the flight didn’t know it had been canceled yet, and I rushed to find an airline agent who could get me on another flight so I could get home to teach the first night of the class I was to teach at the University of Washington Extension. A woman at the International counter told me I had to go to the Domestic counter, but that my flight was indeed canceled and it would be at least a couple days before I could get a flight home.

I went to stand in line at the Domestic counter, and everyone in line was equally frustrated and appalled at the situation. When I got my turn with an agent, he said I could be put on standby for a later flight that night, but that I would never get on it. He said the next flight he could get me on was Thursday morning. This was on Sunday night. I couldn’t get another flight home for over three days. I asked if there were any other airports I could go to so I could get an earlier flight home. Nothing.

I asked about my bags. He told me to go downstairs to the Baggage Service counter and they could pull my bags for me. He made it sound so simple…

At the Baggage Service counter I was told my bags would go on the next available flight to Seattle. I told the woman I wasn’t able to get on a flight until Thursday. She said, “No problem, they’ll be waiting for you there when you arrive.” I explained that I really needed my stuff, but she said there were tens of thousands of bags affected by this situation, and they weren’t retrieving bags for anyone. I told her I thought it wasn’t legal for my bags to be on a flight without me, and she told me it wasn’t legal for a passenger to do that, but it was legal for the airline to do that.

I did get a toiletry kit from the airline, but no change of clothes. And they wouldn’t provide any ground transportation, hotel, spending money, money for clothes, or any other benefits. She explained that since this situation was not the fault of the airline, they were under no obligation to do anything about it. So I was on my own…

I had arrived at the airport shortly after 4pm for a 6pm flight (which had been delayed due to strong winds). I boarded the flight at close to 7pm, had to get off the plane at around 8pm, found out my flight had been canceled at about 10pm, and didn’t actually leave the airport until 1am.

I can’t say this whole situation has done anything to improve my already less-than-favorable opinion of TSA, airport security, airline personnel, or airline customer service. I can say it reinforces my opinions about why the airlines consistently have such a difficult time earning a profit, despite all those fees they pile onto the cost of your ticket.

To add insult to injury, when I checked in for my flight at the airport, the nice little computer told me the flight was overbooked and if I agreed to take a later flight they would give me a $300 voucher. If only I had known…

Today I had to struggle with just such a challenge. This weekend I depart for Santa Fe to teach another great workshop (and as I write this it isn’t too late to join me there!), so I have plenty of work to catch up on before I leave. At the same time, I have season tickets to the Seattle Mariners, and today there was a not-so-often day game scheduled. So I had to decide between just getting work done and enjoying a day at the ballpark.

I opted for both.

I realize I looked like a bit of a fool as the security personnel at the entrance checked my back, noticed my laptop, and said it looked like I planned to do some “computing” during the game. And I look like an even bigger fool sitting in my seat with my laptop out, working on an article. I’m secretly hoping everyone thinks I’m a sports writer covering the story, but I know they realize if that were the case I’d be up in the press box.

Still, it is worth the potential humiliation. I’m able to get a change of scenery from my normal home office, and I’m able to enjoy a tasty (though probably very unhealthy) hot dog with all the fixin’s while getting some work done.

Who knows, perhaps I can even catch up on email while watching the Seattle Mariners claim victory in today’s game. With the Mariners leading 2-0 as I write this, I’m counting on them to win. But I don’t think I’ll be caught up on email anytime soon.

Oh, and the only thing this really has to do with photography is that the image documenting my little geek-at-the-ballpark experience was captured with my phone and then sent to myself via email so I could post this blog via my laptop. Amazing what we can do nowadays!

I’m wrapped up with the third full day of photography as part of a workshop in the Palouse region of eastern Washington, and we’ve been tracking the weather obsessively using various applications on our iPhones.

This morning we were supposed to wake up to partly cloudy skies, but instead I arose to brilliant sun with not a cloud in the sky. That turned out perfectly, because it offered great conditions to photograph a crop duster spraying the wheat fields near Pullman, Washington.

The rest of the day was predicted to be sunny as well, which we were excited about because that was ideal for the view from the top of Steptoe Butte. But when we drove away from the restaurant after a nice dinner in Colfax, Washington, we were disappointed to see clouds forming to the west.

As I mentioned, we were obsessively checking the weather with various applications on our iPhones, and the hour-by-hour forecast was getting updated every hour, with the forecast changing wildly each hour. We have seen this a few times during the workshop here, so I’m not sure if the Palouse is a region where it is particularly difficult to forecast the weather, or if this is just one of those weeks where the weather is especially unpredictable.

As it turned out, the real weather in the morning was much better than we anticipated based on our photographic plans, but the afternoon was much worse than forecast. Naturally we made the best of the conditions that were given to us, and turned out some photos we were all very happy with in the process.

Sunshine can be so exhilarating after a few days of overcast, rain, watching the sky, and obsessing over weather forecasts to see when you’ll get some better weather for photography. Last night the forecast called for a lot of cloud cover this morning, but when I woke up and looked out my hotel room window, I was thrilled to see bright sun with some scattered clouds. It was proof that patience really does pay off.

Of course, the excitement over the sunshine and great clouds also meant I got a little over-enthusiastic with the shutter. I captured 1,004 images today, which is double the total I took during the three previous days here in the Palouse combined. Today’s photography was great fun, but it does mean I have my work cut out for me in terms of filtering the images down to my favorites.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the sudden great weather here was that it gave me an opportunity to experiment a lot more with different perspectives and a variety of lenses for each scene we photographed. There was very little waiting for clouds to pass and lots of great light, so between helping students on the workshop I would move around and try a number of variations for each subject. It turned out to be a great exercise in composition. The only problem is, now I have a very high percentage of images I really like, so I’m having a difficult time deciding which are my true favorites. I guess that’s a good problem to have!

So, with overcast skies we loaded up to head out to the “Art Barn” in Uniontown, Washington. Part of the draw is a wheel fence that was built around the property over the course of 30 years. With flat lighting we decided this was a good option to warm up our photography for the week. The hope was that by afternoon things would clear up. They didn’t.

We worked the area for several hours, capturing many images in the cold and damp weather. Certainly not the conditions I would have asked for, but when you do photography outdoors you often have to work with what you’re given. Since we’re here for a full week we can return to specific locations when the conditions are ideal, but while we’re waiting for the weather to improve we’ll still find opportunities to make images.

Of course, we also spent the afternoon doing image critiques and talking about image storage and backup, since the conditions had only deteriorated and photography didn’t seem like a good priority at the time. But in many cases I find you can be surprised at the great images you can get when you thought perhaps it wasn’t even worth taking your camera out of the bag.

I’m in the Palouse region of eastern Washington state along with professional photographer Wolfgang Kaehler, just getting started teaching a photography workshop. We arrived yesterday, and on the way here scouted out some of the locations we planned to take the students to during the workshop.

In this case Wolfgang was already quite familiar with the area, and knew some areas that were expected to be good. But nature has a way of being unpredictable, and crop rotation by the local farmers only contributes to the unpredictability.

Of particular interest was locating some canola fields for their vibrant yellow flowers. But of course most of the fields were wheat. But it was a great adventure driving along the many country roads (many of them only gravel or dirt) and looking for great fields, great barns, and great vantage points. We were lucky enough to have some great clouds to make things more interesting. We stopped many times to capture some images while scouting.

It’s very easy to get so caught up exploring and looking for great scenes that you neglect to keep track of where you are, what you’re seeing, and which places you want to visit again (and what time of day you think will be optimal for those locations). Fortunately, Wolfgang was well-prepared. We kept track of where we were and where we were headed on a map. Ideal locations were marked, including whether they were best in the morning or late afternoon. So now we have a great list of locations to share with the students, and should get some excellent photography this week. It’s all about proper planning…

I was sitting on my couch reading, trying to ignore the uncomfortable heat. It was about 9pm, the sun had just set, and the sky was turning an incredible pink, but somehow I wasn’t inspired to go outside. I think the head had stifled me and convinced me that staying in one place was the best way to cool down.

Suddenly, the trees started screaming out, announcing the arrival of a front through the intense motion of their branches. I went outside, and was overwhelmed by the sound of the wind, the pelting of debris from the trees, and the dramatic drop in temperature. I settled into the hammock to enjoy the quick onset of a break from the heat, when I realized what a fool I was to not have my camera with me. I rushed inside, grabbed my camera, and started wandering around the backyard looking for interesting subjects.

The light was fading quickly, so there really wasn’t much to photograph. But it didn’t matter. I was enjoying the experience both in terms of the sudden excitement in terms of weather and the sense of chasing a subject photographically. The trees and just about everything else around was suddenly blurry on account of the motion caused by the wind. The temperature plummeted quickly by nearly 20 degrees Fahrenheit in the span of less than five minutes. The heat wave was over, not overnight, not over hours, but over minutes.

While this most certainly didn’t need to be a photographic experience, it became one. And while the photos I obtained certainly weren’t great or even all that useful, the act of taking pictures while nature was having a mood swing made the experience all that much more enjoyable.

I’ve had an experience like this on many occasions. In several cases the connection involved the readers of my (free) Digital Darkroom Questions (DDQ) email newsletter.

At this point I probably shouldn’t be surprised at the great response I receive from DDQ readers, but I am. Surprised and impressed.

I recently mentioned in a DDQ email that I would be cycling 100 miles as part of the Tour de Cure 2009 fundraiser event for the American Diabetes Association. My goal was to raise $1,000 as part of my efforts. Less than one week later, I’ve already reached 96% of my goal, thanks in large part to DDQ readers, who are all fellow photographers.

So, thank you to all have contributed to this cause and supported me in my (long!) bike ride coming up very soon (on May 16th in the Seattle area). And thank you to photographers everywhere who have helped build a great family of photography around the world.

Of course, there’s no shortage of websites that allow you to store your photos at no charge. They have become popular for sharing photos with friends, family, clients, and others. And they’re generally free. The service makes up for this by encouraging you to purchase prints or other products featuring your photos, and in some cases through online advertising.

So, I had to wonder if this was the beginning of the end of free online photo storage. I seriously doubt it. It is a common opinion in the industry that Kodak’s best days seem to be behind them. I suspect the Kodak Gallery has been losing money, and this is a last-ditch effort to make it profitable. I suspect its days may be numbered.

In fairness to Kodak, the requirements to maintain storage for your photos is pretty low. If you have less than 2 gigabytes of photos stored with the service, you only have to spend $4.99 on prints each year. If you have more than 2 gigabytes of photos, you need to spend $19.99 per year. But when there are so many alternatives out there, I have to wonder if this might spur an exodus to other sites that offer similar storage and photo printing options without the requirement to spend a particular amount of money each year.

I can’t even fathom going on any trip — even a business trip — without a camera. In some extreme cases I’ll just take my point-and-shoot digital camera along with me, but whenever possible (which is most trips) I’ll bring my digital SLR along as well.

A tripod, however, can be a whole different matter. On some trips, especially when they are short and on smaller planes, it can be a challenge to travel with a tripod. It often puts me over the limit for carry-on items and I worry about getting caught by an especially strict flight attendant. On full flights (which are more common these days with airlines cutting capacity) I also worry about damage to my carbon fiber tripod caused by bags that are crammed tightly into the overhead bins.

Such was the case on my current trip to Arcata, California, to teach a weekend Photoshop workshop at Humboldt State University. On balance it didn’t seem to make sense for me to bring it along, especially since the itinerary for the trip wasn’t going to allow much time for photography.

In the little free time I did have, my friend (and professor at Humboldt) Mark Larson took me to check out the redwoods as well as the small fishing town of Trinidad. On the pier at Trinidad I noticed the late light had caused the water to go inky black, and the rocks were creating some great textures in the crashing waves. A long exposure seemed in order, but without a tripod it seemed futile.

Naturally there was a railing on the pier, and with a plate always attached to my camera I had a pretty good structure for stabilizing the camera. Still, with exposures ranging from 1/15th of a second up to 2 seconds, my odds weren’t very good.

Fortunately things worked out, and I managed to get a few shots I was happy with despite not using a tripod. It is always a compromise to be out capturing photographs without having a tripod available, but this time it worked out fine. Sometimes it is riskier than others, but I think I’m going to make an effort in the future to bring a tripod along on these trips more frequently. In many cases it is simply far too difficult to get great images without a tripod, and even if I end up using it, I do like having the peace of mind of knowing it is there if I do need it.

It is interesting to me how often I find myself taking a photograph of something interesting without having any idea what it really is. This makes it all the more exciting when I discover at a later date exactly what I had been photographing in the first place.

I had this experience a few years ago when I was in Italy for a couple weeks. While walking near the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, I stumbled upon an iron railing that had a large collection of padlocks attached to it. They were interlocked to form a cluster of quite a lot of padlocks. I wondered if perhaps they were left by people who didn’t want to carry a lock around all the time but needed it to lock up a bike or scooter, but that didn’t make any sense since there were no chains with these locks.

I later learned that these locks had been placed on the railing as a custom of love. The locks are intended to be a symbol of the commitment of two lovers, and it seems to have become quite a bit of a worldwide phenomenon. I had no idea this was the case when I took the photograph of the locks, but it certainly made the photo more meaningful once I knew the origins of the interesting “sculpture”.

More recently I have been using a photo of prayer sticks I captured in a cemetery in Tokyo, Japan, as part of my various workshops. Each time I’ve asked the students if anyone could read Japanese or knew someone who could, but to no avail.

Finally, I found someone (thanks, Gary!) who was able to get them translated. It turns out these sticks contained a Buddhist slogan and a wish for blessings upon the deceased. The experience I had during the time this photograph was taken was quite incredible, and now having a better understanding of the customs surrounding these objects makes what had already become one of my favorite photos all the more meaningful.

We often hear the advice (and good advice it is) to truly understand your subject when photographing. Sometimes, however, you discover subjects you didn’t anticipate. When you finally are able to learn more about the subject that inspired you to capture a photograph, the images become all the more meaningful.

So often I’ve thought about how much easier it would be to show someone what I’m talking about in an answer rather than have them read about it in the email. As attendees of my workshops can surely appreciate, seeing something done while it is being explained takes the learning experience to a whole new level.

Suddenly it made perfect sense to provide answers via video, especially since I’ve been utilizing video for teaching in a variety of ways for a number of years. And YouTube makes this all so simple.

Today’s edition of the DDQ email newsletter was the first to include an accompanying video. The question related to the best method for converting a color image into black & white, and I provided an answer both in text and in the form of a screen capture video posted to my channel on YouTube.

My hope is that this will make the DDQ email newsletter even more valuable to readers. Early responses indicate that readers already enthusiastically feel that goal has been achieved.

You can view the video inline below, or by visiting my channel on YouTube. And be sure to subscribe to my channel so you’ll receive automatic updates as new instructional videos are added.

This week I’m teaching a five-day workshop at the Art Wolfe Digital Photography Center, and it happened to coincide with Inauguration Day. In fact, class was scheduled to start right about the time Barack Obama was to be sworn in. And would you believe every single student was there on time?

Of course, Photoshop suddenly didn’t seem so important. So we used the projector as a super-big-screen TV and all watched the Inauguration live. We waited until the new president was done speaking to start class. It was worth waiting for in order to witness history.

Such was the case as I finally reviewed the November/December 2008 issue of Layers magazine. It features an article I wrote called “Taking Aim”, which talks about framing the shot properly in camera instead of relying on Photoshop to fix things after the fact (though I also talk briefly about cropping in Photoshop for situations where that becomes necessary).

Seeing the article in print (and enjoying the great job Layers magazine did with the layout) brought back part of the inspiration for writing the article in the first place. I’ve noticed a growing trend lately, where photographers are starting to focus more on the fundamentals of photography than the details of digital.

Now, as someone who makes a living primarily helping photographers make the most of what happens after the image is captured, it might seem odd that I’d be concerned about what happens during the capture. But the truth is my passion revolves around producing the very best images possible, and that requires starting with the best capture and then performing the best techniques in post-processing.

So I’m gratified to see more and more photographers focusing on creating better images in the first place, and I hope my article in Layers magazine helps some photographers improve upon that goal.

I love applying targeted adjustments to my images via layer masks and adjustment layers, and quite often those targeted adjustments start with a selection. That’s why I often spend about a full day out of a typical five-day workshop teaching a variety of ways to create selections.

Of course, quite often photographers find selections to be challenging. It isn’t a lack of tools at their disposal, or even a lack of skill on their part. Rather, it is the presence of something in the object they’re trying to select: fuzzy stuff. Specifically, hair, feathers, or fur. These things can create quite a challenge.

I’ve often taught the use of the Extract filter to create a selection in these difficult situations. So I was more than a little dismayed the first time I went to create a selection using Extract in Photoshop CS4. Extract had been extracted!

Fortunately, extract still exists. It simply isn’t installed with Photoshop CS4 by default. It seems Adobe feels you can get better results more quickly by using other tools, such as the Quick Selection tool.

If you frequently need to create selections that would otherwise call for the Extract filter, you’re probably better off using a more advanced tool such as Mask Pro from onOne Software, which does a much better job than Extract.

But if you don’t need a tool like this too often, or you’d rather not spend extra money for a more powerful tool, you can still put Extract to use in Photoshop CS4. If you purchased the DVD, you’ll find the Extract filter in the Goodies folder on that disc. If you purchased the download version, you can get Extract from the Adobe website. Copy the filter file to Photoshop’s Plug-ins/Filters folder and restart Photoshop. You’ll then find Extract on the Filter menu, safe and sound.

OK, I grew up in California, so I totally don’t get the whole "snow day" thing, but it always sounded so cool when I was a kid.

I recently attended the PhotoVision Awards and Gala Dinner that serves as a key funderaiser for Photographic Center Northwest (PCNW). One of the most popular images in the auction was titled "Snow Day", by photographer Julie Blackmon. You can see this it, along with many other great images, in the Domestic Vacations gallery on her website.

A big part of the discussion among those spending time in front of this image in the PCNW Gallery involved speculation about whether it was a "straight" photograph, or if it was a composite of multiple images. What I found so cool about the photo is that it is completely possible that it could be a single image. There was nothing about it that couldn’t have really been as it appeared for a single instant. And yet I figured it had to be a composite. I actually felt guilty for making this assumption, so I was relieved when I contacted the photographer and confirmed it was indeed a composite.

I asked Julie about her perspective on creating such an image photographically, in the context of some people feeling that creating such a composite was "cheating" (a notion I don’t agree with, by the way). Here’s how Julie described her work:

"When I describe my work I sometimes talk about my husband who writes fiction, and how he works.  He’s always borrowing from real life, and then changing certain details or the context of them for the sake of the story.  But in a way, his work tells the truth about life in way that writing it exactly as it happened wouldn’t be able to.  So, I guess that’s they way I’m trying to work visually."

I think this is such an apt description for her work and her approach to photography. I’d be the first to admit that there are situations (such as photojournalism) where creating an invented scene isn’t appropriate. But in most cases I really feel that photography is art, and thus deserves to have he same freedoms of creativity found in any other art form. In other words, creating such a composition is an incredible expression, and one that should be applauded.

I was doing a little holiday shopping in Seattle over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and will admit to being a little shocked at what I saw…

Lots of cameras. OK, that’s not exactly a surprise. And in fact at first I wasn’t shocked at all. I hardly noticed. Then I saw this cute, tiny little camera that seemed like it was intended to be a spy camera.

“I wonder how many mega…”

I was cut off in mid thought. That’s when I saw it. Not a boastful splash about how many megapixels were packed into this tiny little camera. Not wishful-thinking claims of incredible zoom at tack-sharp quality. No, it was something different.

A roll of 110 film. Yes, film.

And it wasn’t just this one little camera. There were bunches of them, of all shapes and sizes. Some were instant (remember Polaroid?). Some were 35mm. Some were 110. It seemed that the whole spectrum of film options from a simpler time were represented.

I wondered, “Is film making a comeback?”

But that thought quickly faded as I realized what was really going on: Film was becoming a gimmick.

Now I do realize there are many photographers producing many great images with film, even today. And I know many of those photographers will continue using film for quite some time. But seeing all these “toy” cameras using film in an upscale store in downtown Seattle made me realize just how far down the path of digital photography we had come.

By and large, it seems, film has become a novelty.

Today I spent some time playing with photography. You see, I obtained a Canon MP-E 65mm 1X-5X macro lens for a week from

You know how in many cases when you’re earning a living doing something you love, no matter how much fun it might be, it still feels like “work”? Well, in this case the photography wasn’t even pretending to be work. Often when I’m at a great location with my camera, I’m thinking about how I can use the resulting images in one of my books, or how it might be worthy of the cover of Digital Darkroom Quarterly.

This time was different. I only got the lens so I could have fun with it. And what fun it was! Granted, it was a wet, dreary, drizzly day around my home in the Seattle area (no surprise there!), but it was still so much fun to wander around the yard photographing plants, trees, rocks, and just about anything else I could find that seemed worthy of a closer look.

When I came back inside I explored the kitchen to see what I might find. I never new peppercorns could be so fascinating!

Then I got the bright idea of heading out to the garage to see if I could find something interesting on my bike to photograph, since I love cycling so much. Bad idea. It was then that I remembered my last ride had been over a week ago. In the rain. And that I got a flat tire. And that I was so rushed afterward that I didn’t get a chance to properly clean my bike. And that riding for a couple hours in the wet weather really takes a toll. And that if you then let your bike sit in the garage for a week because you’re too busy to attend to it, things get ugly.

The macro lens helped me realize just how bad things had gotten (gee, thanks). My neglected chain was gritty and had some rust starting to show up. But it was fun photography! And I enjoyed working with the images in Photoshop (despite the guilt!).

So, while I’ll spend some time over the holiday weekend making amends with my bike, I’ll also remember what fun I had playing around with a lens that I don’t plan to buy but still wanted the opportunity to play with for a little while, just for fun.

As the winner of this contest, Joe wins a free one-week lens rental from BorrowLenses.com. Enjoy that lens rental, Joe!

I also decided to award a couple “honorable mentions” for this contest.

The first honorable mention is in the “portraiture” category. Getting a strong wide angle photograph can always be a challenge, but doing so with a portrait can often be a particular challenge. Jim Grossman did an excellent job with this image. As an honorable mention Jim will receive a free signed copy of my latest book, Photoshop CS4 Workflow. Congratulations, Jim!

As I was reviewing the images submitted for this photo contest, I also decided there needed to be an “A for Effort” category for the person who put the most effort into producing a great image.

In my mind, that category was won by John Ashley (johnashleyfineart.com) for his image of the moon going from moonrise to moonset over Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park, Montana. John will also receive a free signed copy of Photoshop CS4 Workflow.

This book covers the full workflow from downloading and sorting your images, performing basic and advanced adjustments, creating selections, creating and modifying layer masks, producing output, and much more. It is a great addition to any photographer’s book collection, and I hope you’ll add it to yours.

More details can be found on Amazon.com, and of course Photoshop CS4 Workflow can be found wherever great books are sold.