Hungry For Photo Info? Rick's 24/7 Photo Buffet iPhone App Opening Soon.

Hey Gang,

I've been cookin' up my iPhone app - Rick's 24/7 Photo Buffet - with Dr. Dave Wilson for the past two months. We're just about ready to open! But, we'd like your feedback first.

Following is a draft of our announcement, which includes the price point we are considering.

Please let us know what you think here on my blog. It's easier to track comments here than on twitter and facebook.

Thanks a ton!

Explore the app,

Rick

Rick’s 24/7 Photo Buffet

Rick Sammon’s Photo Buffet iPhone application is the best of Rick. It’s like:

• attending one of his seminars;

• participating in one of his workshops;

• getting the best tips from his 34 books;

• listening to the top tips on his podcasts;

• watching clips from his Web TV shows and DVDs.

In essence, the app is like having Rick in your hip pocket to help you become a gourmet photographer – 24/7.

Although developed for SLR photographers, the app has all the ingredients for compact camera shooters who have an appetite for making good pictures. What’s more, many of the recipes can be applied to iPhone photographers who want to turn their snapshots into great shots.

The fun-to-use app is divided into four major sections:

Seeing – How to see a picture in your mind’s eye.

Making – How to make a great picture rather than simply take a picture.

Editing – How to enhance your pictures in the digital darkroom.

Tips – Rick’s photo A-Z tips, Special Situations, File Management, Gear, and Homework.

There is also a Help section in which you can make comments on the app and post suggestions for future apps.

Topics include: kids, nighttime, sunrises and sunsets, fireworks, panoramas, lenses, aperture, shutter speed, white balance, exposure, fill flash, filters, animals, people, scenery, lighting, ISO, photo editing software, rainy days, waterfalls, wildlife, workflow, accessories, computers, Rick’s gear, Dave’s gear and much more.

Subjects are explained using Rick’s words, photographs, live-action movies, and screen movies.

You can digest all of this info this for $4.99 – and snack on the tips when you are hungry for photo info.

Explore the App!

Fill-Flash Fun at Fossil Rim

Tomorrow is Day 1 of my Fossil Rim Wildlife Center workshop here in Glen Rose, Texas - about two hours south of Dallas.

You gotta check out this cool place. It's like being on an African safari. Zebra and giraffe are running around. Rhino and cheetah, and more! Plus, safari tents and a safari lodge make you feel as though you are actually in Africa.

We'll be covering wildlife photography and fill-flash - two of my favorite topics. This photo of two cheetah is a daylight fill-flash shot.

Let me know if you are interested in a joining a workshop here next year. Great fun!

Explore the light,

Rick

P.S. Looking out the window: fantastic sunrise!

Craete Your Own Reality with an IR Conversion

John Lennon, who was killed 29 years ago today, said: "Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."

I liked John Lennon's music - very much so. I also liked all the home movies I saw of him playing with his young son . . . but all that is a topic for another time.

For now, if you are in a creative slump, here's an idea: have one of your old digital cameras converted to an IR-only camera. Or, buy an older model digital camera (compact or SLR) cheap on ebay and have it converted to an IR-only camera.

Hands down, an IR converted camera is the best and easiest way to get into infrared photography - where you can alter reality with your camera and your imagination.

Here you see a boring color shot and a much more interesting IR shot of the same scene. I took the IR shot with my converted Canon SD800.

Lifepixel offers several different conversion methods - enhanced, super, black and white, standard and so on. You can see examples of these conversions on their web site.

Good news! You can get a discount on your conversion by using this code upon checkout: RickSammon.

Explore the light,
Rick

Manual Exposure Mode Is a Must for Panos

If you are new to creating panos (Photoshop's Photomerge makes it soooooo easy), here are a few quick tips:

- Use a tripod with a pan head.
- Set your camera vertically (just trust me).
- Overlap your images by at least 1/3.
- Set your exposure to manual (as I did for the top photo).
- After focusing, set your focus to manual.

If you don't set your exposure to the manual exposure mode, the image will not be evenly exposed - as illustrated in the bottom photo.

Want to have some real fun? Shoot an HDR pano!

Explore the light,
Rick

The Quality of Light

These three pictures, all taken in the same location near Mt. Rainier in the state of Washington, illustrate why the quality of light in a photograph is so very important.

In the top image, the quality of light is simply fantastic, created by the morning fog and the rising sun. Talk about the luck of being in the right place at the right time!

The middle picture, taken at after sunrise, has a nice quality… but not as nice as the top image – because the fog is missing.

The bottom picture is boring due to the poor quality of light. It was taken just before sunrise on a clear day.

Want a nice quality of light in your pictures? Shoot in the early morning and late afternoon, and pray for fog, mist or clouds.

Here's another tip: If you don't have time to shoot a series of pictures for a pano, use your widest lens and plan to crop off the the top and bottom of the image.

Explore the Light,
Rick
P.S. Look very, very closely and you'll see my pal Juan Pons from The Digital Photo Experience running around in the distance in the middle photograph.

This blog post sponsored by Nations Photo Lab - where reproducing quality on-line prints is top priority.