Some Must Watch Videos

The more I learn about him, the more I respect him as a photographer, a teacher, a human being and, of course, appreciate his work.

Check out these YouTube videos below. The first one is about Joe McNally talking about his career, philosophy on photography, past work, and about his new book - The Moment It Clicks (which I have and it’s awesome). He has a great blog too... check it out HERE. Sign up for it. It’s free.

Mr. H

© Joe McNally

Links II

Great Photographers

If I had to choose that is... there are so many that have unique perspectives and passions. That’s why I respect them so much.

Some examples are... in no particular order...

    James Nachtwey

    Richard Avedon

    Chip Simons

    Larry Towell Canadian!

    Lauren Greenfield

    Joe McNally

    Chase Jarvis

    Annie Leibovitz

    Joey Lawrence

    Noel Hendrickson Vancouver

    Vicki Gannon Vancouver

    Chris Jordan NEW  

Photo Sharing Sites and Assignments

These are great places to get ideas and inspiration and knowledge too...

1. •Flickr
   

2. •Picasa
   

3. •PBase
   

4. •Dailyshoot.com NEW
   

LEARN STUFF HERE!

Photo Tips & Photography Courses

Digital Photography School NEW

AMAZING: Lynda.com & Kelby Training NEW

Also ... National Geographic, Kodak, Lexar, Livingroom Tips, School of Photography, Morgue File, Tribalcog, Astro Photography, Photo.net, UVic Photography Notes, Gary Fong - Business plan for wedding shooters. NEW

Photo Agencies - check out these shots...

1. •VII Photo Agency
   

2. •Magnum Photos
   

3. •MediaStorm NEW
   

Stock Photo Agencies - great examples of terrific photography.

1. •Associated Press
   

2. •Getty Images
   

3. •Veer
   

4. •Corbis NEW
   

© Andy Goldsworthy

Links I

"I have been a witness, & these pictures

are my testimony.

The events I have recorded should not be forgotten & must not be repeated."

                                    – James Nachtwey 

Victoria BC: Photography Club, School and Gallery!

    Victoria Camera Club

    Western Academy of Photography

    Luz Gallery NEW

FREE Blogs

    Joe McNally

    Chase Jarvis

    Moose Peterson

    Scott Kelby

    Bob Krist

    Strobist.blogspot (it’s great)

    Tips from the Top Floor

Great Photography Links

    Various Links

    Nikonians

    Nikonnet

    Apple Pro Website

    You can click through the sign up

    page, to find free & great articles! 

   Photography (this is awesome - check        

    out the bottom for others)

    Art Photo Gallery.org

Design Principles of Photography!

    Don’t forget that photography is based

    on art!!

    Digital-Web.com This site is terrific!

    Startphoto.com

Camera and Lens Review Sites

    DP Review

    Photography Review

Photography Stores

Depending on where you buy, you can save A LOT of money if you shop around. For the two Canadian links below - you’ll save from having to pay the PST and these stores usually have great prices too. And sometimes free shipping (don’t be afraid to ask for it)!

B & H almost always has the lowest prices - way cheeper - even after duties. However, be warned that some of the warrantees will not apply as the products will be from the states.

Used Gear is great too - but just try to buy it at a local store in case you have a problem with it as will usually come with some sort of warrantee. 

Above all - remember - it’s not the gear that makes the photographer! But what you have, you must know how to use it well...

    Camera Canada

    Vistek

    B & H Photo and Video

Need Inspiration?

When I procrastinate (which seems to happen A LOT), my internet surfing almost always is photography based...

1. Ok... to the heart of it... so if you are looking for inspiration, just read Joe McNally’s Blog.

Joe says you need to know about Lynn Johnson. More inspiration there too.

2. Outside of those two suggestions (until the next time Joe blogs again that is...) check out Reuters AND Corbis Images.

It has all the current images on a variety of subjects. I don’t know about you, but this site also makes me want to pickup my camera. Check out the links below too. There are some really neat ones to learn from or just explore! Procrastinate away. You didn’t hear that from me though.

photography TIPS

OK, as promised... here are some tips... (updated Oct 10/09)

1. 1.Sign up to receive updates on Joe McNally’s blog. It’s totally motivational and he has great ideas on lighting. Chase Jarvis’ blog is great too. They’re both FREE!
   

2. 2.Shoot. Shoot some more. Post your favs. I will too. You can’t get good images without taking shots in the first place. Explore. Shoot. Get frustrated. Figure it out. Try different things. Have fun. Discover. It’s all about learning.
   

3. 3.Fill your frame with your subject, make it obvious what you are shooting. Also, it is also good to make it challenging for the viewer to figure out what it is. This is called having staying power in the image. It makes your viewer look longer at your image.
   

4. 4.Don’t put your object bang in the middle... unless it really does look best. Centre is boring. Usually.
   

5. 5.Get down to their level, change perspective, stand (carefully) on a chair - move. Take a shot from a perspective that hasn’t been tried before - it makes things interesting.
   

6. 6.Don’t say the “s” word (aka “smile”) AND candid shots are really great. People don’t have to always smile in shots. Natural shots can be awesome. Get your subject to be comfortable with you. Use jokes. Funny ones. Not like mine. But more importantly Talk. Communicate, Chat. Build a connection... explain the shot you are looking for.
   

7. 7.Use the rule of thirds across the image - like the lines used in tick tack toe. And then break rules. Put key points where the lines cross. Photography is based off paintings.
   

8. 8.Don’t cut off hands or feet - it’s awkward. They could be holding a gun or a lollypop, or worse, both. Why so serious?
   

9. 9.Play with lighting. Try different things... like window lighting... use of lamps... using flash off the camera will most likely result in harsh, straight on flash which almost always sucks. Play. Use slowsync or the night flash easy function (it’s the same thing).
   

10. 10.If taking nature shots, place something in the picture that gives perspective (a tree, car, telephone pole, person). It helps to have something of reference that the viewer can use to figure out the magnitude of the scene. 
    

11. 11.Play with aperture to isolate the key subject. Small no’s - small depth of field... and vice versa. Sit on your couch. Shoot items close to you with space behind them. Shoot at different apertures. Learn your camera. 
    

12. 12.Learn your camera. I forgot the importance of this one. I should have said this first. You must learn what the buttons do.
    

13. 13.Have fun. Shoot what you are interested in. Find interesting TEXTURE. Use COLOUR. Find PATTERNS. Look at the LIGHTING. Use LINES and THREE interesting POINTS to create a TRIANGLE in the image. Look for BALANCE. Try SYMMETRY. Evoke EMOTION.
    

14. 14.Have fresh batteries... hopefully rechargeable ones! Limit your environmental footprint. 
    

15. 15.Check out the links below to come up with ideas? Still life, portraits, colour themes... pets, food, snow, anything... potatoes and gravy (my favourite), the salt and pepper shaker, an ornament...
    

16. 16.Hold your camera steady - elbows in, gently squeeze. Blurred shots still? Increase the ISO setting so you can have faster shutter speeds. Keep the ISO as low as possible however (as it produces more grain) so to have the cleanest images. Use a tripod.
    

17. 17.Look around you... make something mundane interesting.
    

18. 18.Use the macro mode... small point and shoots are great for that. Explore the detail in the small.
    

19. 19.Take your camera everywhere. Make a goal of shooting 36 things a day... one roll of film... That’s pretty ambitious. Don’t worry about them being good or bad... just play.
    

20. 20.Critique your images. But take it easy. I read one time that over 900 rolls were shot for just one National Geographic assignment. Insane! Published pictures are professionally printed and adjusted (or manipulated) to get the most out of an image. Focus on learning, not comparing.
    

21. 21.Visit the links below and learn. Get ideas. Some of the greatest shots were preconceived beforehand. Learning never stops. I can’t understate this one... the far majority of many great shots were thought of before the shutter was pressed.
    

22. 22.Shoot friends, family, document your life and of the important things. Basically, have an open attitude to learn, to grow, to accept constructive criticism, to want to improve, to learn from others, to embrace mistakes and to challenge yourself to see the world differently. We are all still learning. I know I sure am.
    

23. 23.TECHNICAL. Ya gott’a know it. The last thing you want to be doing in the “field” is struggling to get the picture you want b/c you can’t figure out yer camera.
    

24. 24.Got one of yer own? Send me it!

Links III

Photography Books, Magazines and Journals

1. •National Geographic
   

2. •Photo Life (Canadian & it’s terrific!)
   

3. •Digital Photo Pro (it’s awesome)
   

4. •Phaidon Press
   

5. •Aperture
   

6. •CameraBooks.com
   

7. •Amazon
   

1. •Joe McNally’s Hot Shoe Diaries Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography Book Volumes 1-3
   

Photography Films

    • Edward Burtynsk - Manufactured Landscapes

    • James Nachtwey - War Photographer

1. •Zana Briski, Ross Kauffmann - Born into Brothels
   

2. •Chris Jordan - Midway New!
   

History of Photography

    The History of Photography (it’s great)

Camera Manufactures

Remember... it’s not what you shoot but how you shoot that counts. Any gear is useless if you don’t know how to effectively use it.

    Nikon                    Canon

     Nikon Canada       Canon Canada

     Nikon USA            Canon USA

    Others:

     Hasselblad           Tamron

     Leica                   Olympus

     Pentax                 Sony Canada

   

Other Photography Equipment

    Bags:  LowePro, Crumpler, Pelican

    Light Meters:  Sekonic

    Tripods:  Manfrotto, Gitzo, Induro

    Reflectors/Light Boxes Lastolite

    Remote Flash Stuff: Pocket Wizard

iPhone & iPod Photography Apps NEW

    Best Camera

    Pano

    Camera Bag

    TiltShift Generator

    Mill-colour

    Photoshop Mobile

    NikonLearn Explore Photo

    Camera Plus

Computer Software & Hardware

    Lightroom, Photoshop & Elements

    Aperture - It really is amazing.

    Imagenomic

    Nik Software

    Bibble Labs

    Capture NX

    Photo Mechanic

    Silverfast

    NEW!! Gimp ...It’s free!

    DXO

   

    Printers Epson, Canon

    Monitor Calibrators: Spyder, x-rite

noted photographer

A Sports Illustrated Photographer: Bob Martin

            & also the amazing Joey Lawrence

1. ✓ New, if you have an iPod or iPhone: Nikon Learn Explore Photo App!