Here are a few shots of my new boutique packaging for photographic prints.

I will also be adding a few more new products to my collection that will soon be available to all of my bride and grooms as well as portrait and event clients. Currently I offer prints, canvas gallery wraps, digital collections, coffee table books and beautiful albums from Italy.

If you are a recently engaged couple and you’re looking for a photographer to photograph your wedding in Edmonton, Alberta, or beyond, feel free to contact me today. I still have a few prime Saturday dates available in 2010 and have started to take bookings for weddings in 2011.

A big thanks to Elizabeth Van der Birj from ENV Photography for the opportunity to be included in the fabulous resource. If you are a bride or groom who is getting married in Edmonton, this is a great site featuring some awesome wedding photographers and other wedding related resources including Edmonton wedding venues and a list of some great locations in and around Edmonton for photos.

This month’s list includes a couple of events taking place outside of Alberta but I felt they were worthwhile events to attend if you can make it plus some of the locations get you out of a cold Canadian winter and into a sunny locale. I know that I’m very excited for the opening of our new Art Gallery at the end of the month and being able to see the Yousuf Karsh exhibition.

• Yousuf Karsh exhibition at the Art Gallery of Alberta – Jan 31st – May 30th, 2010
• POLAROIDS: Attila Richard Lukacs and Michael Morris – January 14th – March 13th – ACAD in Calgary
• Calgary Banff Photography Festival - Feb 1st – Feb 28th, 2010
• Understanding Lighting with Richard Berry – Feb 20th – 21st in Canmore
• Lightrein: Free Studio Lighting Workshop – February 21st, 2010
• Exposure Photography Symposium – Feb 26th – March 1st in Edmonton
• PMA 2010 – February 21st – 23rd in Anaheim, CA
• WPPI – March 4th –11th in Las Vegas, CA
• Shandro Photo Workshop with the Weibners in Edmonton March 12th – 14th
• Photoshop World East – March 24th – 26th in Orlando, FL
• Expressions of Hunger – Photography & Essay Competition in support of Edmonton’s Food Bank – Entry deadline is March 31st, 2010
• No BS Photo Success Roadshow – in Edmonton April 8th
• Nature Photography Workshop with Richard Berry – April 16th – 18th in Canmore
• Fast Track Photographer seminar with Dane Sanders – May 5th – 6th in Calgary
• Jerry Ghionis workshop in Vancouver – June 21st – 25th
• Ongoing events, seminars and workshops at the Camera Store in Calgary
• Ongoing events and seminars at Vistek in Edmonton
• Ongoing events and seminars at McBain Camera in Edmonton
• Maui Photo Festival – August 25th – 29th
• Sandy Puc 2010 Family Tour – August 30th, 2010

Last year I signed on to do the show notes along with Tom Newman who hosts his own podcast called the FogView Podcast. Each week, Tom and I take turns transcribing the contents of the show and posting the notes on www.twiplog.com. Each show is approximately 1 hr 1.5 hrs in length and features a regular cast of characters. I also do the show notes for Scott Bourne’s PhotoFocus podcast which comes out on the 5th, 15th and 25th of each month. The Photofocus podcast is dedicated to answering listener questions about photography. I have learned so much from listening to theses podcasts and picked up some great tips which I’ve incorporated into my own work. I highly encourage other photographers to subscribe to these podcasts and check out their companion websites for tons of great information.

• Listen to the podcast: This Week in Photography 116 – Filter Fight
• Subscribe to the TWiP podcast

On this week’s show, a listener question got us into a discussion regarding U/V filters and whether there is any point in having them on your lens.  I do have protective filters for most of my lenses however I don’t use them all the time. There are some who argue that it doesn’t make any sense to put a $100 filter in front of a $2000 piece of glass as it will degrade the image quality particularly in certain lighting conditions where you may get flair if light is entering from the side of your lens.  If I am indoors or shooting under relatively controlled conditions where I’m not concerned about something damaging the front of my lens element, I have typically removed the filter to avoid any chance of degrading the quality of my images. I tend to use my lens hood at all times which I find provides me with adequate protection. If I’m headed outdoors or into a situation where there might be a chance of something striking the front element of my lens, then I typically will put the filters back on. One thing I forgot to mention on the podcast is that the one filter that I use frequently when shooting landscapes is a circular polarizing filter. These filters can help cut down reflections on things like water, ice, etc. They also help to increase the contrast in a scene however you will lose a stop to two stops with most polarizing filters. The circular polarizing filter is also the one filter in your bag that you can’t replicate using something like Photoshop as it actually changes the quality of light before it hits your lens. For a more technical description, Wikipedia has an article on filters which explains how a polarizing filter works in more detail. If you are going to invest in any filters, this should be the one you have in your bag for sure. In terms of brand, I like to use the B+W filters which you can buy from most photography stores or order online from B+H Photo.

What’s your take on filters? Do you use them? Have you noticed a difference in image quality when you use them? Feel free to leave comments on the topic below.

I’ve been following Melissa’s blog for awhile now. I can’t recall exactly how I first came upon her blog but once I did, there was something so compelling about her images and her complete openness to share her life and business that I was immediately drawn in. When I found out she was running a workshop (the MJ 2 Day) I knew it was something I had to register for right away and I’m so glad that I did.

I wrote a post last month about improving as a photographer and the importance of constantly looking for educational opportunities to improve not only on the technical side but also on the business side. I would highly recommend if you are just starting out as a photographer or even if you’ve been at it for a few years and are looking to take things to the next level, that you check out Melissa’s site and register for her workshop the next time she runs one. She is one of those rare people who are so genuinely nice, giving, supportive, and willing to share her knowledge and experience with others.

A met a ton of other great photographers too and learned a lot from them as well. Thanks again to all my new photography friends: Amanda, Anna, Courtney, Dallas, Denise, Holly, Janna, Jessica, Kelly, Lucy, Mary, and Robin. Best of luck to all of you in your future endeavors.

Here are just a couple of fun shots from the past couple of days:

The promotion is entitled “Expressions of Hunger” – An Interactive Photo and Literary Contest. The public will be invited to submit their photographs, short stories, poems, or prose expressing the following elements of hunger: Mental, Emotional, Physical, Environmental, and Spiritual. The photographs and literary pieces will be displayed online for the public to choose their favourites and then there will be exhibition of the winning pieces on display in conjunction with World Hunger Day in June.

To promote the campaign, Tamara and Fay from the Foodbank wanted to put together a poster depicting the various elements and approached me to produce a photograph that captured as many of these elements as possible. After some brainstorming I kept coming back to a vision I had of an empty fridge in the middle of a farmer’s field. Tapping into the local community, we managed to locate a retro fridge courtesy of the Edmonton’s Eco Station. Once we had that in place, we needed a location for the photo shoot and Jesse from the Edmonton Corn Maze stepped up to the plate to offer up his property for us to do the shoot on. The final piece of the puzzle was to find some volunteers to be our models. Once again, Tamara and Fay located a fabulous group of volunteers who braved a chilly Sunday afternoon to stand around in a field.

A big thanks to my wife Sarah and to Owen Law from Naked Eye Photography for your help during the photo shoot. Here is the final image we wound up selecting for the campaign poster:

Once the image had been selected, the next step was to hand it over to the talented ladies at Woodward Design – Amanda and Kristin, to produce the final poster for the campaign.  You can see the results of their work in this PDF.

The official poster will be revealed to the public at the Edmonton Foodbank’s Harvest Lunch which will be held on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009. Full details on how to enter the contest will be found on the Foodbank’s website at www.edmontonsfoodbank.com.

On Tuesday, Global TV’s Lynda Steele (www.twitter.com/lyndasteele) sat down with Tamara and Fay from the Foodbank to talk about the campaign and provide a sneek peek at the final poster. Here is the segment that aired on Tuesday.

Thanks again to everyone who helped with this project and a special thanks to Tamara and Fay from the Foodbank for inviting me to contribute to such a worthwhile cause. For more information head on over to www.edmontonsfoodbank.com and be sure to follow the Foodbank on Twitter at www.twitter.com/yegfoodbank.

October

Oct 17th – Edmonton Photographic Tradeshow sponsored by McBain Camera.  10:00 – 4:00 at the Greenwood Inn. More details here. Featuring exhibitors showing off the latest in Digital technology and seminars covering a variety of photographic topics.

Oct 24th – 25th – Digital Photo Expo in Calgary sponsored by The Camera Store. 10:00 – 5:00. More details here. This two day expo features exhibitions, displays, demonstrations and workshops. Notable speakers include renowned photographer Art Wolfe.

Oct 24th – Digital Camera Basics II Class put on by Vistek.

Be sure the check out Metro Continuing Education for a list of their fall photography courses. http://www.metrocontinuingeducation.ca/oncourse.php?sub=10904

November

Nov 7th – Working with Adobe Lightroom training by Vistek.

Nov 8th – Creative Lens Choice with Darwin Wiggett presented by the Camera Store in Calgary.

Nov 14th – Video and Your DSLR course by Vistek

Nov 24th – Get Wild About Photography with John Marriott presented by the Camera Store in Calgary.

If you know of any additional events or courses that I may have missed, be sure to drop me an email at bruce@momentsindigital.com.

Well, it just so happens that this exact thing just happened to me. Yesterday a photographer on Flickr who goes by the name of Skedonk, posted a comment on my blog that he recognized my ‘Cigar Man’ photograph. For those who aren’t familiar with this photograph, I shot it in 2006 while I was traveling in Barcelona. Skedonk indicated that the reason he recognized him was because he had taken a similar photograph of the same guy. Here is his photograph.

He thought that we must have been in the same place around the same time but when I looked closely at the metadata on his photograph, I discovered that his image was taken in May of 2009 whereas mine was shot in 2006. Almost three years apart but compare his image to mine and look how similar our shots are. Even the cigar is about the same length. Only his shirt appears different.

Now the search is on to see if we can identify this man and finally put a name to this ‘famous’ face. In the meantime I’m running out to pick up a lottery ticket.

June

June 27th – McBain Camera presents Lumahawk/Opus Lighting Seminar on Saturday, June 27th, 2009, 1:00pm – 3:00pm, 10805-107th Ave. Bring your camera down and try out Lumahawk/Opus lighting systems, we will have a lighting kit set up and a model in attendance. Lumahawk/Opus representative Tim Merrick will be on hand to answer your questions.

June 29th – Down & Dirty Tricks with Adobe Photoshop CS4 – Scott Kelby and Corey Barker are on the road teaching the latest cutting edge effects in Photoshop CS4. This one is happening in Calgary on Monday June 29th at the Telus Convention Centre. $99 ($79 for NAPP members).

July

July 3rd – Photography Tweetup #3 at the Edmonton Street Performer’s Festival. The theme this month will be motion. Be sure to visit the Wiki to register and view our Flickr group for photos from our last Tweetup.

July 18th – Scott Kelby’s 2nd Annual Worldwide Photowalk. Steve Allison will be leading one Edmonton walk from 5:30 – 7:30. Visit http://worldwidephotowalk.com/edmonton–ab-ab-ca/ for more information on the Edmonton Photowalk. Do to the popularity of the event, 2 more walks have been added. Jason Bouwmeester will be leading a 2nd walk from 11:00 – 1:00 starting at the Shaw Conference Centre. Visit http://worldwidephotowalk.com/edmonton-walk-2-ab-ca/ for more information on this walk. Ian MacKenzie will be leading the 3rd walk from 9:00 am – 11:00 starting at the Muttart Conservatory. More information on this walk can be found at http://worldwidephotowalk.com/edmonton-ab-ca/. Similar walks will be held in Calgary, Banff, Taber, Fairview, Red Lake, and Medicine Hat. Visit http://worldwidephotowalk.com/listing-of-all-photo-walks/?country=non-usa for a listing of the Photowalks in Canadian cities.

July 26th – The World Inside Your Door – a seminar presented by Technicare featuring Andrew and Arlene Simpson. This seminar will feature the following topics: First Impressions, Less is more, Working in a residential studio, Using available light —creating the perfect light, Posing demonstrations, Understanding the dynamics of your sale – viewing, Expanding your target market, Are you all you can be or is there more, Your unique selling point, and Learn the rules and then know how to break them. The cost of the course is $175 for the day or $299 if you register for the 2nd presentation on the 27th. The seminar will be held at the Greenwood Inn. Download the registration form here. Learn more about the presenters at www.photoart.ca

July 27th – How I Took the Grey Out of Seniors Hair in Canada. Spend a day with John Ratchford and discover a new income stream that you probably thought was not available in Canada. The cost of the course is $175 for the day or $299 if you register for the 1st presentation on the 26th. The seminar will be held at the Greenwood Inn. Download the registration form here. Learn more about the presenter at www.ratchfordphotographic.com

August

August 16th – Darton Drake Canadian Tour. Photographer Darton Drake presents a one-day seminar on the artistic approach to imaging portraits. The seminar will cover such things as composition, lighting, emotion, passion, etc. The goal will be to minimize the technical and maximize the spiritual aspects of portrait photography.  Location: Shaw Theater – NAIT Main Campus (11762-106 Street). Cost $249 + GST for non-PPOC members. $149 if you are a member of the PPOC. Contact Bev at 780-483-4275 or es@ppoc-alberta.ca to register.

August 18th – 19th – Summer Safari – Is summer camp for photographers. Nestled in one of the most beautiful places in Alberta, Waterton Lakes National Park. At the Canyon Camp, aside from world class photography education, from some of today’s most sought after speakers and educators. You will be catered to with meals and housing enabling you concentrate on your craft. BONUS – you will have access to hiking, horse back riding, boating and camping. For more information or to register please visit www.idea-market.org or call 403-313-9353

September

September 13th – Dramatic Lighting for Portraiture by Dave Montizambert presented by Lightrein. Drop by 9513 – 56 Ave in Edmonton or call 780-430-0008 to pay for your spot. $195

October

October 24th & 25th – Digital Photo Expo in Calgary at the Roundup Centre, Hall E. Presented  by the Camera Store, this is Western Canada’s largest photo trade show and exhibition featuring free workshops, Keynote speakers and exhibits.

October 27th – Deadline to enter the Canadian Progress Club’s WOW Worldwide Photo Contest. Enter before October 1st to receive 2 free tickets to the Digital Photo Expo on October 24th & 25th.

November

November 13th – 15th – 3-day Wedding and Engagement photography workshop with Andras Schram in Calgary, AB. Visit http://andrasschram.com/blog/new-workshops/ for more details and contact information. Workshop includes 2 days of shooting and one day on work flow, gear, post processing, lighting, etc. Cost $1250 + GST for all three days.

If I missed any events be sure to leave a comment below and I’ll update the list as I find out about more events.