Christmas in Yellowstone

No, I didn't get to spend Christmas in Yellowstone National Park... but this is the name of the PBS Nature Special that I recently saw. This show features some of the different aspects of Yellowstone in the throes of winter and highlights a photographer, Tom Murphy, that spends 100 days a year in Yellowstone! The show documented Tom Murphy spending time in the backcountry (in mid December) carrying 70 pounds (a lot of it photo gear) and spending the nights sleeping in the snow under a plastic tarp! Check out the Nature show if you can catch a repeat (originally aired in 2005) and Tom's web site: tmurphywild.com

Camera test ride - Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50

My boss (Philip Storvik) graciously loaned me his new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 this past week-end. This is a 10 megapixel fixed lens camera with a 10x optical lens (35 - 420mm equivalent) and image stabilization. This is a pretty nice camera that would be nice for backpacking or non-photography travel. I don't care for the electronic viewfinder, but the live lcd screen seemed to be bright enough outdoors. I especially like the fact that this camera saves photos in raw format (along with a jpg), but wish you could turn off the in-camera jpg generation. Note: ACDSee Pro could not open this raw format, but Photoshop CS2 did not have any problems. My first impression of the images are that they seem to be a bit "noisy" at ISO 200. The close focus distance (even in AF-macro mode) seemed a bit "long". Here's the specs: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/panasonic_dmcfz50.asp

Great Photographer - David Plowden

Heard an interview this morning on public radio's Studio 360 with photographer David Plowden. I was intrigued how Plowden described riding trains (in the 50's & 60's) to the end of the line in places like Montana and the Dakotas and exploring the areas. He has spent years traveling the US documenting small towns and the people. His portraits of grain elevators in through out the midwest is some of his best recognized work. His latest book, "Vanishing Point" looks very interesting. davidplowden.com

Great Photographer - Howard Schatz

Another great photographer that I got to hear (and see his images) at Imaging USA is Howard Schatz. Howard is famous for his underwater photos of dancers and other athletes in motion. His vision and creativity is amazing. His dedication to his art is truly an inspiration... he took 3 years to refine his under water technique. Schatz has published several photography books. One thing I found amazing was, even with numerous books and high profile clients, Schatz still refers to projects he has to do to make a living. Howard Schatz web site.

Great Photographer - Ron Magill

Ron Magill was one of the featured speakers at Imaging USA in Tampa. I was privileged to hear
him twice - once at the Nikon booth and the other at his 90-minute evening presentation. He is so energetic and animated about what he does... his photos are amazing. I appreciate the fact that he honestly claims he is not a "trained" photographer. Check out his wildlife photos at his web site: ronmagillwildlife.com

Imaging USA, Tampa - Jan 5 - 8

Attended Professional Photographers of America's Imaging USA conference in Tampa, Florida. This is the third year I've attended this conference and am amazed how much it inspires me to want to do so many things with my photography. As in the past, I'm attending with my brother, Tom and we enjoy visiting with each other.

3 January 2008

Welcome!!! To my newly created blog...