Too Cool For School - Manfrotto Neotec

Awesomely fast and easy to use, the 458B has the innovative Neotec rapid opening and closing mechanism - just pull each leg downwards to open and automatically lock it in any position, with no screws, knobs, or levers to tighten or loosen. Then to fold it back up again, press the mechanism release button and push the leg closed. To learn more click here.

Too Cool For School - Olympus 770 SW!

Shockproof. Waterproof. Freezeproof. Crushproof. Introducing the world's most durable digital camera — the Olympus Stylus 770 SW. You can drop it (from 5ft), dunk it (to 33ft), freeze it (-10°C/14°F) or even try to crush it (up to 220lbf). But the 770 SW isn't all brawn and no brains. It features a bright 2.5" Hypercrystal LCD so you can easily compose, view and capture your images underwater or in direct sunlight. Digital Image Stabilization (DIS) creates sharp, blur-free pictures, even if your subject is moving. The 770 SW has 27 Shooting Modes, includes movies with sound and a street price just over $300! Get Out!

To get more info click here.

notyouraveragejoe.com Is Not Your Average Web Site!

Check out Joe Grisham's web site... very cool!

Check Out Parish Kohanim!

copyright Parish Kohanim
Double Exposure is a great web site that I check out often. This month's issue has a feature story "Parish Kohanim: The Pursuit of Beauty" (very nice work) click here to check it out and check out Double Exposure, lots of great info and beautiful images.

Edge Of The Earth Corner Of The Sky - Book Review

Published in August 2003, with Forewords by Robert Redford and John H. Adams, Edge of the Earth/Corner of the Sky is the first landscape based photography book that Art Wolfe has produced since Light on The Land. It's subject... our earth.

Of the fifty-six books that Wolfe has produced in his thirty year career, Edge may be the most ambitious. The book is physically imposing at 11" X 14", with 130 images on 240 pages, (many double trucks), in landscape format.

The five sections, Desert, Ocean, Mountain, Forest and Polar open with a 2,000 word essay by Art Davidson. Normally the essays might keep me from getting too interested, (I'm an image guy and make no apology for my bias), however, in this case they really make the book. The slant is certainly towards environmental conservation but that's OK, they say so up front. And while I'm an image guy, I'm also a conservationist. The essays are beautifully written and not at all "preachy".

Edge of the Earth/Corner of the Sky gets 4 out of a possible 5 Stars. The book retails for $75.00 but the good news is... it's probably at your local library, that's where I found this copy!

Check Out Create Network!

Building "community" seems to be the next "half caf double latte" of the web world. This one, aimed squarely at creative professionals, comes to us via those wonderful folks who gave us Create Magazine . Click here to check it out, interesting and very well done.

Visualville Kicks It Up A Notch! (Shameless Plug)

Visualville is proud to announce the Xtreme Quad-Core Digital Darkroom! Our latest build features the Intel Pentium Quad-Core Extreme QX6700 1.66-8MB Processor currently the worlds fastest processor!

Intel Quad-Core processors are ideal for multitasking environments because there are four complete execution cores instead of one, each with an independent interface to the frontside bus. Quad-Core processors deliver the resources of four full processing cores giving you greatly increased capability to accomplish tasks with performance-intensive programs like Photoshop.

To check out all the spec's click here.

One More From The Workshop

This one of Kassi by David H. Smith

Another Pic From The Workshop

Another Great Lighting Workshop!

As I've said before, my hometown of Phoenix Arizona is home to some incredibly talented photographers and Don Giannatti proves my point. This past weekend I attended another great lighting workshop led by Don.

Over the years I've attended many workshops by some of the best our industry has to offer. Don is on that short list we refer to as "the best of the best". Seriously, if you can fly, drive or crawl to Phoenix come and experience his workshop in person, if that isn't possible, check out his latest DVD.

LaCie Kicks It Up A Notch!

Looking for a new monitor? Check out LaCie's latest... the LaCie 526 Monitor employs a wide 25.5-inch H-IPS panel with 1920x1200 resolution for displaying two A4 pages at full size. It's wide gamut supports 95% AdobeRGB and 98.5% ISO-coated color space. Integrated circuitry features a 12-bit Look Up Table (LUT) and 16-bit processing for smooth display of color gradients.

The included LaCie blue eye pro software allows for hardware calibration in a single click, without further user involvement. Post-calibration, an extensive set of tools is available for advanced users who want more precise control. This includes manual fine-tuning of the white point, Test & Report to verify profile accuracy, and profile switching without the need to recalibrate. Users may also conduct a quick Ambient Light Analysis, which analyzes the light in the room to better understand whether an environment is ideal for color work.

The LaCie 526 Monitor will be available end of April via LaCie's specialized dealer network for $1,999 MSRP. Also available in a bundle with the LaCie blue eye pro colorimeter for $2,299 MSRP.

To learn more click here.

Check Out Jesse Young!

Ran across this site while searching for another, some very nice images many with a kind of stark, solitary almost lonely feel.

Click here to see more.

David Douglas Duncan - My Heroes (cont.)

David Douglas Duncan has covered a diverse range of subjects - from the United States Marines in three wars to the paintings of Picasso and the treasures of the Kremlin. As a photographer for Life, Duncan won the Overseas Press Club Award for picture reporting from abroad. He also won the United States Camera Gold Medal Award for This is War!.

Arguably the greatest of all war photographers. He gave the royalties from This Is War! to the Marine Corps Fund for widows and children of the dead, and he turned over the proceeds from I Protest to the families of marines killed at Khe Sanh.To visit the David Douglas Duncan Online Archive click here.

Harry Benson - My Heroes (cont.)

In 1964 Harry Benson came to New York to photograph the Beatles and never went home. A veteran of Fleet Street, the Scottish born photographer's first U.S. assignment led to the classic image above. During the next fifty plus years Benson's images would chronicle the known and the unknown including politicians, celebrities, movie stars, athletes and artists from every discipline.

His best known images include essays for Vanity Fair and more than 100 covers for People magazine. To see some of Benson's best check out his book "Harry Benson: Fifty Years In Pictures" . To learn more about this gifted photographer check out "On The Road With Harry Benson" by David Friend at The Digital Journalist.

Check Out "Deceptive Media"!

No it's not the home page of the New York Times, it's a cool photo blog owned by a very creative photographer named Andy Bell from the UK. Beautiful images, click here to check them out.

Monte Zucker - A Legend Passes

Monte Zucker lost his battle with Pancreatic cancer this past week. Monte's influence on the photographic industry as a Portrait and Wedding Photographer, Educator, Mentor and Author spanned five decades. Honored with countless awards, he was named Portrait Photographer of the Year in 2002 by the United Nations.

There will be a memorial service for Monte in Washington DC on Sunday, April 22nd from 1-4 PM. Details are still tentative; those wishing to attend should follow the thread on the Monte Zucker forum for further information.

RIP Monte, you will be missed.

Just When You Thought The Digital Camera Market Couldn't Get More Crowded!

General Electric, one of the world's largest corporations, is planting it's famous logo on eight digital cameras and one digital printer. The cameras range in price from $199 to $399 and will be available mid year 2007.

In a competitive market where several late comers with huge corporate profiles have failed to even put a ripple in the sales waters GE's move certainly makes me scratch my head. To find out more click here.

A Great Photoshop Weekend In LA!

The Visualville crew, (Scott & Nancy), spent this past weekend teaching Photoshop in the beautiful "Old Town" area of Covina, California. A very special "Thank You" to Kathy Trerotola of Portraits by Kathy for hosting the class and Dennis Nisbet of Meridian Professional Imaging for sponsorship.

Nancy and I would also like to say "Thanks" to all of the students, several of whom traveled long distances to be part of the class.

Check Them Out In Person!

Through Each Others Eyes presents it's first Prague Exchange Exhibition with 40 images of Prague from Phoenix photographers Dean Stevenson and Michael Norton and 40 images of Arizona from Prague photographers Ivana Matejkova and Jeroslav Bohm.

The opening night, "wine and cheese reception", begins at 6p.m. Saturday March 3rd.
The images can be viewed from March 3rd, through March 10th 2007 at JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, 5350 East Marriott Drive, Phoenix 480-293-5000.

Check Out The New Photo Tool!

Don Giannatti and Daniel Magllanes have improved an already amazing product... The Photo Tool!
I love this product! There is no software to install. It's a web based app that gives you the ability to connect and manage your account from any online computer. This product will impress your clients whether they are art directors, magazine editors or a bride and groom looking for a good wedding photographer. The product is beautiful, easy to use and incredibly afforable... what's not to like?