Be sure  to visit the This Week in Photo website to listen to the show and read some of the other great photography articles and resources. You can also listen to us on iTunes.

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

1. Two of David DuChemin’s books: Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision, and Vision Mongers: Making a Life and Living with Photography. Both are fantastic photography books written by a fellow Canadian and super nice guy.
2. Microfibre Cleaning Cloth*: Great to have a few of these in any camera bag. Even if a photographer has a couple they’ll always appreciate having a few more.
3. Rechargeable NiMH batteries*. I don’t think it’s possible to have enough of these things in your camera bag.
4. Gorillapod*. These are one of the most useful little gadgets any photographer should have in their bag. Basically they are a portable tripod with three articulated legs that you can use to wrap around any object and hold your camera or flash. They are relatively small and lightweight and are great when you need to support your camera or flash in some unusual position or location. Recently, they just released a version for the iPhone called the Gorillamobile which is a great little accessory with a number of uses. In conjunction with the Gorillamobile, there is now a new iPhone application called Gorillacam and the best part is that it’s FREE! It features a camera timer, unlimited rapid fire, 3-shot burst and a grid overlay. Used together with the Gorillamobile, you can now take better self portraits or videos using your iPhone.
5. Black Rapid R-Strap*. Hands down one of the best camera straps on the market. Rather than hanging around your neck like a traditional camera strap, the R-Strap allows you to hang the camera at your side and then quickly slide it up to your eye to take a shot. Great for travel photography and wedding/event photographers.
6. HonL Photo Accessories. David Honl makes some great lighting accessories and any photographer who uses flash would be happy to receive some of his products in their stocking. David was kind enough to send me a copy of his Light DVD* and it is packed full of information on how to light like a pro with minimal gear.
7. Subscription to KelbyTraining.com*. Scott Kelby’s training website offers hundreds of hours of instruction on just about every Adobe program including Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, and others. There are also lots of other instructional videos on photography, covering topics ranging from legal and business issues to lighting and wedding photography.
8. Cinema Kit Hoodloupe 3.0. If you have a photographer on your list who has started to experiment with video on their DSLR, this is a great accessory from the folks at Hoodman. This attachment fits over top of the camera’s LCD screen and allows for better viewing outdoors.
9. Memory Cards*. Just like batteries, you can never have enough memory cards. If you are feeling really generous, spend a little extra to get the faster UDMA cards and stick to well known brands like Lexar or SanDisk.
10. Gift Card. Still not sure what to get them? A gift card to their favorite camera store is always a safe bet.

What items are on your photography wish list this year? Leave your ideas in the comments below.

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:

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.

As a photographer it’s always gratifying when other people take notice of your work and take the time to comment on your images. There are some really talented photographers included on this list so I would encourage you to spend a few minutes to visit their sites and check out their work. I know that I find a lot of inspiration and ideas from other photographers and by sharing my work with others my hope is that I provide some ideas or inspiration to people with an interest in photography.

Who inspires you? Feel free to leave your comments on photographers whose work you follow or find inspirational. If you’re a photographer who I should be following, feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll be sure to stop by your site or blog to check you out.

Photosho - Canadian Photography Magazine Issue 5

Last year I began writing for a relatively new Canadian photography magazine called Photosho. The magazine is published twice per year in October and April and offers Canadians the opportunity to showcase their photography.

My column, entitled “Click On – Web Resources for Photographers”, covers a wide variety of online resources of interest to photographers including podcasts, blogs, wikis, websites and even social networks with a focus on photography.

Issue #5 came out a few weeks ago and this issue is devoted to Black and White Photography. One of the masters of B&W photography is Ansel Adams and you can learn more about his and his life’s work by visiting his website at www.anseladams.com.

In the more modern era of photography, the work of war photographer James Nachtwey has brought attention to the plight and suffering of people around the world whose lives have been torn apart by war, poverty, and disease for close to 30 years. In 2007, Natchtwey was awarded the TED Prize and used the $100,000 to fund a campaign to raise awareness of Extreme Drug Resistance Tuberculosis (XTRB). The collection of his black and white photographs from around the world can be found at http://www.xdrtb.org/photographs.php and are an excellent example of the importance in recording history and raising social awareness through photography.

This issue also features some stunning photography of rural and urban achitecture done in B&W. If you are looking to support a fantastic Canadian publication, I would encourage you to check it out at www.photosho.ca and if you like what you see, please subscribe to the magazine. The magazine is also available at your local Chapters. Be sure to leave a comment if you run across the magazine anywhere else or if you have had a chance to read it. I’d love to hear your feedback. Also if you know of any additional photography magazines that you think I should be reading, please leave your comments on the blog.

When the editor of the magazine put a call out for submissions or ideas for columns, I decided to pitch my idea for a column dedicated to promoting some of the great on-line resources available for photographers. This includes things like blogs, podcasts, photo sharing sites, educational sites, forums, review sites, etc. The editor loved the idea and asked me to submit a column for the next issue.

I’m pleased to announce that Issue #4 of Photosho magazine is now available for just $12.99 an issue and features my new column – “Click On – Web Resources for Photoraphers”. Click this link for a preview of Issue #4 http://www.photosho.ca/ps4.pdf. If you have already had a chance to read my column, I would love to receive any feedback or comments as well as suggestions of great on-line resources for photographers.

If you love great photography and would like to support a great Canadian publication, there is also a campaign running right now looking for people to donate to the publication to keep it going. Publishing a magazine is an expensive endeavour that requires a lot of funding so if you’re interested, you can head on over to www.photosho.ca and click on the Donate tab to make a contribution. Donations of $50 or more receive a free subscription to Photosho as well as recognition in the next issue.