Zite - a fast way to consume all sorts of news!

I'm loving my iPad! As well as subscribing to a bunch of photography magazines through the Zinio App, I now subscribe to a bunch of photography resources via the Zite App.

Zite aggregates news from my RSS feed and presents it in my own tailored magazine style format on the iPad. I use Google Reader to manage my RSS feeds, and have subscribed to a number of feeds from photography blogs and websites which have interested me over the last few years.

Once you give Zite access to your Google Reader account, it "discovers" your interests based on the feeds you subscribe to, then goes out to the big wide Interwebs to find similar sites from all over the world. It seems to update news items every time you open the App, so there is never any shortage of things to read!!

As well as being FREE, I love Zite because it drags images from the stories, and really presents it like a magazine, rather than a large stream of text. Zite exposes me to sources which I might not have otherwise found, and I love the fact that it sources them from everywhere.

Here's a screen shot of what Zite returned in my photography stream this evening. I also have sections for marketing, social media, traveling, technology and gadgets - its like my own tailored news streams.

I'm also loving the iPad and the fact that my home remains connected while I change broadband providers. Gotta love that!

So - if you want a great app to manage all your sources of information about photography (and anything else of interest to you), check out Zite.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tarot and photography? What's the connection...?

When you think about photography, tarot cards are probably not the first thing that comes to mind...

I've been fascinated by tarot, astrology, and all things mystic for years. The first time I saw photography incorporated into a tarot deck, was when I met James Wanless about 20 years ago. He ran a "strategic intuition" workshop, and used the Voyager Tarot Deck as part of his methodology.

I bought my own Voyager Tarot deck that day, and still have my much-loved and consulted cards now. What I love about the deck is the rich, emotive imagery in every one of the 72 cards. Each card is a montage of images (mainly photos), that represent the characteristics of that card - some elements are natural, some man-made, and every card is inspiring in its own way. The image below is the first card in the Voyager deck - The Fool.

Earlier this week, in a completely unrelated context, I came across an artist and photographer by the name of Lee Varis, who is developing The New Millenium Tarot deck - a concept similar to the Voyager deck, but very different in look and feel.

Lee's website says he is "a photo-illustrator working in Hollywood. He has been involved in commercial photography for the last 25 years. He started working with computer imaging about 16 years ago and currently works with digital as well as conventional photography in conjunction with computer graphics to create images for use in print advertising."

Here's the Fool card from the New Millenium Deck. I love the style of this deck too, particularly that it incorporates digital photo images.

Tarot, and "oracles" in whatever form they come, have been around for thousands of years, I really love how uber-creative people like James Wanless and Lee Varis are incorporating digital photography into tarot to give it a modern-day spin.

Going bush - to Goondiwindi!

Copyright Victoria Hotel: www.victoriahotelgoondiwindi.com.au

 I've never been to a photography convention, and I've never been to Goondiwindi - a small town about 4.5 hours west of Brisbane.

When I received an email the other day announcing that the 2011 Photography Society of Queensland's annual convention was going to be held in Goondiwindi over the June long week, I had a squizz at the program and decided I'd make the trek out west to check it out.

PSQ 2011 has a range of speakers about all things photography. Some speakers - such as Bluedog Photography's Danielle Lancaster, and World Photo Adventures' Darren Leal, I've heard speak previously and look forward to hearing again. The keynote speaker is photojournalist Nigel Brennan. He and Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout, were held hostage for 462 days in Somalia - can't wait to hear his presentation!

Over the three days of the convention, there's also workshops in the afternoons and a star trails shoot on the Saturday evening - it will be great to get out under the stars for some long exposure shots.

I'm sure the drive out west will be an adventure in itself! I love checking out new places, and figure it's about time I start exploring my back yard here in Queensland. Bring on the long weekend!

Why 365?

On 6 March 2010, I started a 365 Challenge - that is, undertaking a personal challenge to take a photo every day. I chose the theme, I set my own rules - and my initial rules were that my 365 Challenge would be of pictures taken in my 1-bedroom apartment.

I'd seen other photographers do it, and wondered at the time if I was willing to make that sort of committment. I really didn't think I'd have the time. Hell - I was as busy as anyone else out there!

But, 278 days into into it, taking a photo everyday has become the exception rather than the rule. It now feels wrong if I don't pick up my camera every day. Ok - there have been a few days where I have not taken a photo - whether it was busy-ness, lack of motivation or whatever, there were a few days when the project waned. But, for the most part, this has been one of my most enduring projects - certainly in terms of doing something daily, and doing it publically.

For me, doing the 365 Challenge has represented a number of things - a photographic journey, but more importantly, a daily pictorial journal of stuff going on in my life. Sometimes we take the minutiae for granted!

I have always been a prolific writer and journaller, but since starting my 365 Challenge, I have never written as little as I have in the last 278 days - perhaps it's no coincidence that this blog started in May - a couple of months into the photography project. I love writing about what I'm passionate about, and my 365 Challenge has certainly been evidence of my ever-growing passion about photography.

There are heaps of resources about how to do a 365 Challenge - this post from DPS has some great ideas to keep you motivated. It suggests you use a theme each week. That certainly might be one way to go about it - mine has been far more random than that. You can also join groups on Facebook to keep you motivated - I did that for a bit, but ultimately found more motivation in doing my own thing. Sometimes it's a tedious thought - "Shite - I have to take a photo today". Other days, I'm full of ideas and can't find enough time to shoot what I want to shoot.

My main goal in the 365 Challenge has been to make everyday things look interesting - or to at least shoot everyday things in a different way. I've learnt a whole lot about what my cameras and lenses can do - and I continue to learn as I go.

My 365 Challenge has seen my photography journey progress through lens upgrades, camera body upgrades, workshops and gadget purchases - none of which I'd ever have anticipated when I took this initial photo of a Moroccan rug on Day 1, in March last year.

Now, I turn to Flickr and other photo-sharing sites, to seek out new ideas, and ask "how did they do THAT?"- and that becomes part of my challenge - seeking out new techniques, new effects, new potential styles.

I'm still not sure I've found my own style, or am any closer to knowing where I want to take my photography - if anywhere but beyond the hobby it currently is.

But what I do know without question, is that doing a 365 Challenge is awesome fun - at times funny, sad, frustrating and exciting - but it's something I want to see through to completion, and then ponder my next batch of photography-related goals.

Oh - and what happened to restricting my 365 Challenge to my apartment? I caved on about Day 100 - I was travelling a lot for work at that time, but also feeling a tad restricted by the subjects a 1-bedroom apartment presented - so I expanded my project to the big wide world. Hey - it's my project - they're my rules, and I can break them.

If you're pondering doing a 365 Challenge, or even a weekly or photography challenge, just get in there and do it. If you miss a few photos, don't stress - just get back into it and keep going. Remember at all times you're doing it for fun!

So...qhat are your photography goals for this year??

Holiday reading - no chic lit in sight!

In the old days, before photography became the obsession that it has become for me, Christmas holidays would have meant stocking up on Chic Lit and reading books from cover to cover. I used to spend hours curled up on the lounge with books by Marian Keyes or Cathy Kelly, getting lost in the amusing love lives of 30-somethings. Not so these days!

This morning, three books of rather a different nature arrived from Amazon.com - all photography related.

The first, Captured By the Light, by David A. Ziser, was recommended to me by photog buddy, Steve Peters. It's a wedding photography how-to book, and flicking through it this morning, it looks like a great, step by step kinda book that covers exposure, on and off camera flash, backlighting, composition, and what Ziser describes as "wedding workflows".

It has lots of pictures - which I reckon is imperative for a book about photography, but I particularly like the diagrams of the set up of each shot.

It also lists the gear this photographer users, and which lenses he uses in which situations - I find that sort of stuff helpful - besides, he's a Canon shooter, so I can relate to the gear he talks about.

While I was checking out the reviews of the first book on Amazon, I came across The Photographer's Eye, by Michael Freeman.

It's a book about composition and design, and also came with some great reviews.

It covers subjects such as framing, design basics such as contrast, balance, tension and rhythm, graphic and photographic elements, light and colour, intent and process.

Again, it has lots of good quality colour pictures, with notes about what makes each image weak or strong from a composition and design perspective.

The final book, Photojournalism: The Professionals' Approach, is one that interests me because of my interest in journalism.

Hindsight is a brilliant thing, and had I known I was going to develop such an interest in photography, I'd have probably taken some photography and photojournalism units when I did my MA in Journalism. Oh well...life's like that sometimes.

According to the many reviews on Amazon, this book is apparently used as a textbook in journalism courses. It covers a bunch of topics including spot news, general news, features, portraits, sports, photo editing, camera gear, multimedia, video, illustration, ethics, law, history and more - it's one chunky book, which I think is going to keep me going for some time!

So - that's my holiday reading list. Have you read any cool photography books or blogs lately? If so, feel free to leave comments below about what you read and how it helped your photography!

Kelby Online Training rocks!

Image Copyright of Kelby Training

I have been a fan of Scott Kelby since I read his first series of digital photography books. These books are never far from my reach, and are now dog-earred, much-loved references. As Scott says, reading these books is like having your own personal tutor, telling you how he shoots a multitude of scenes, and how he handles different lighting situations. They're SO full of practical advice at whatever level of photography you're at. I keep going back to these books time and time again! Perhaps it's because I'm a slow learner...

When my interest in PhotoShop CS5 started to get a bit more obsessive earlier this year, I bought Kelby's The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers. What another awesome book! I sit with it at the computer and try techniques as I read. It's taking me a while to work my way through the book, but I practice as I go. It's also very practical and uses screen shots and before/after shots to show the effects in action.

Further fuelling my Kelby obsession, is my recent subscription to Kelby Training. For a couple of hundred bucks, you can subscribe for a year with unlimited access, to this MASSIVE library of online tutorials about pretty much any aspect of photograhy which interests you.

I have spent the last couple of nights watching tutorials about my Canon EOS 5D Mark II. It's seriously easier to follow than the instruction manual! Ok, so it might seem a bit lame to watch video tutorials about which buttons do what, but the tutorials are helping me to learn more about my camera every day. For example, I have been meaning to test out the HD video function on the 5D, and when I watched a tutorial that walked me through the (very few and simple) steps, I tried it straight away. So cool!

Through Kelby Training, you also get access to tutorials about flash by photography legend, Joe McNally and many other photography experts. Incidentally, I'm halfway through Joe's book, The Hot Shoe Diaries, which discusses his amazing work with flash photography. So far, I've watched tutorials about landscape photography, macro photgraphy, studio lighting and all manner of useful stuff. There's also tutorials on how to use photo editing software, including Photoshop and Lightroom, complete with downloadable files for you to practice on. Oh, so much to learn, so little time!

I love that I can keep going back to these tutorials (I told you I was a slow learner!), and that there are tutorials for pretty much anything I want to know about photography. I love that I can watch the tutorials in my own time, and at a time that the subject is relevant to me.

If there's a photographer in your life, buy 'em a subscription to this for Xmas. They'll love ya for it.