Rick Smolan tells the story of a girl

Rick Smolan tells the story of a girl is a fascinating video of a true tale of how a documentary photographer saved the life of an Amerasian girl, based on his photography.

The Big Picture - Boston.com

The Big Picture is a new news venture by the Boston Globe. Basically they show large (for the web) photos of current events. I have to say that viewing the images this size is nothing short of stunning. Current images show wispy clouds over Mars, California fires and an Iowa tornado touching down.

SWPP Lightroom Article

All of you SWPP members should check out the new issue of Professional Imagemaker magazine. It just came in the door and I notice they printed my Lightroom Develop article! It covers the beta and includes sections on skin retouching, negative clarity and and spot removal, as well as fixing underexposure etc. It begins on page 78.

I wrote this not long after the beta came out, but I wasn't sure when it would be published. Again if you do read it, feel free to leave comments here! You can see a web version here:
http://swpp.co.uk/pi-june-2008/index.htm, but it's quite small.

SWPP: Ryan Schembri Seminar

Despite only an hour and a half of sleep I was still up at 5:50am to catch my 6:15am lift to the Ryan Schembri seminar at the Red Cow Hotel. My traveling companion Mike Patterson, was willing to do the driving and that was the real reason I could go.

The seminar was fast paced with lots of great images and advice from Ryan. Despite being only 25, he's been shooting for over half his life. With Martin Schembri as a father, that's not surprising really. Ryan, does however, stand on his own two feet when it comes to shooting weddings. His passion for photography is evident in his personality, as well as in his images.
The content of the seminar was all encompassing for one day. He covered everything from style to lighting, and photoshop to marketing. All in all a great day with lots of little nuggets, not to mention the audience humor all day. Special pity to Keith and Jenny, who got to play the loving couple..

2 quick Photoshop tips

It's been a bit since I've posted, so here's 2 quick Photoshop tips:
The first shows how to make a non destructive B&W layer and the second shows how to create a non destructive vignette (ala Ryan Schembri),Click the image to see this Quicktime Movie. You can also right click and download linked file.

The Times - Photographer killed in Kenya

The Times - Photographer killed in Kenya: ""

NAIROBI - A New Zealand-born photographer was found dead with head injuries today in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, police said.
"Initial observations showed that the body had visible injuries on the head. An inquest file has so far been opened," police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told AFP.
A police statement said the body was found "in a drainage trench" near the main highway that runs through the capital but did not elaborate.
The statement said a document found on his body indicates the deceased was a photographer by the name of Trent Keegan and added he was believed to be an Irish national, although his identity could be ascertained.
However, a picture of the photographer featured on his personal website was positively identified by a police official. The website describes Keegan as originally from New Zealand.
The website features several photo projects from Kenya and the victim’s biography says he had recently been working for several Irish newspapers and magazines.

Yeah! What the duck titles!

I put in for the witty titles on What the Duck from time to time.. And it paid off.
My title was used for yesterdays strip!

WTD 484: "The right tool for the job": "© 2008 Aaron Johnson"

(Via What the Duck.)