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« October 2012 | Main | December 2012 »

November 30, 2012

Traveling Tips

Thumbnail image for travel-4sm.jpgEver wondered where to start, what to pack, what to do, where to go, when you want to travel? How to get yourself organised, staying on the track, and overall, making it an enjoyable experience? Read about travel tips from one non-travel photographer, who's made their experience an enjoyable but self-taught, one!

Posted by Ronny89 at 4:21 PM

November 26, 2012

Cold weather delivers photo adventure opportunities

Nikonians-Academy-Update.jpgWinter is a wonderful time to photograph in the great outdoors, especially if you are in the stunning landscapes of the American West. Your Nikonians Academy instructors Jim Stamates and Michael Mariant will be your guides as you photograph Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons and Yosemite in the beautiful winter snow.

Yosemite_175.jpgJim Stamates' workshop in Yellowstone and the Tetons (January 26 - February 3, 2013) is oriented to wildlife photography.

Each day will offer incredible opportunities for winter photography of wildlife and landscapes. Species may include, Moose, Wolves, Bison, Elk, Coyote, Red Fox, Pronghorn, Deer, Big Horn Sheep, and River Otters.

Michael Mariant's workshop in Yosemite (February 14 - 17, 2013) is aimed at capturing Yosemite's grand landscapes.

While exploring those landscapes Michael focuses not only on the 'where' to take the pictures, but also on the 'how' to take pictures, incorporating photographic education throughout the workshop at each location.

Launch aboard the MV Explorerer
MV_Explorer_250.jpgLooking forward to a warmer setting? Join us on our third annual Ultimate Travel Workshop in conjunction with the Semester at Sea cruise ship. This year's adventure is set up as a two-part workshop series that allows photographers to choose one or both segments. At $495 USD (in addition to the cruise costs) the price is an amazing deal, but when you consider that same fee gets you into both workshops, the deal becomes even sweeter.

Segment One titled "In Search of the Mystical Image, lessons in documentary & cultural photography," begins April 26, 2013 and Segment Two titled "Discovering the Decisive Moment, in street photography and photojournalism," begins May 12, 2013. Head to this page for more information on this exciting journey.

Learn Glamour and Fashion Photography from a recognized Master
Circhetta_Milan_250.jpgFor our European Nikonians photographers, we invite you to join Giuseppe Circhetta in Milan, Italy for his signature Glamour and Fashion Photography workshop in January. Giuseppe is internationally known as one of the great photographers in his field. The first four people to sign up will also get VIP admission with Giuseppe to Fashion Week in Milan to photograph elite models on the runway. Don't miss out on this great opportunity.


Closing out the year
The last Nikonians Academy workshops of the year are scheduled for December 6 - 9 in San Diego and Las Vegas. Mike Hagen and Winston Hall are running classes on the Nikon D800/D4, Adobe Lightroom, Nikon iTTL Wireless Flash, and HDR Photography. Don't wait too much longer to sign up as a number of these workshops are already sold out.

Posted by flashdeadline at 11:37 PM

Contest to Nikonians

Banner_RFi_Nikonians_sm.jpgProfoto is holding a unique offer for Nikonians. Are you photo savvy? Click here to submit an answer to the question to enter, and win the newest product from Profoto, an RFi Softbox and a Nikon Speedring.

Posted by Ronny89 at 10:37 AM

Shooting at Twilight

Thumbnail image for flashOutside-3sm.jpgTaking it outside, as it turns out, using a flash outside to fill shadows, cross-light, and create stunning sunset portraits isn't much different from balancing flash with ambient indoors. The secret: expose for the background, light the subject. Read more.

Posted by Ronny89 at 9:55 AM

November 23, 2012

Balancing Ambient Light with Flash

flashflower.pngTired of nuked subjects and clipping in the shadow areas of your flash photographs? Balancing ambient light with flash will fix that, and here's a primer to set you on the right path. Read more!
(Upgraded Members)

Posted by Ronny89 at 9:00 AM

November 20, 2012

The Nikonian eZine 53 is published

eZine-53_Page_01-Thu.jpgThe latest special edition of THE NIKONIAN eZine #53 is now available for free download.

This issue is based on a Holiday theme and features gift giving (and receiving) guides ranging from the newest Nikon gear to sentimental favorites from the past.

eZine-53_Page_01_300.jpg

The special edition also other aspects of dealing with new gear, such as the need to build a digital pc darkroom from scratch and color management fundamentals when calibrating your monitor.

You will also want to check out Josh Larkin's travel tips if you plan on taking your camera on a Holiday visit.


The eZine 53 index includes:

•Editorial: Holiday Greetings from our Founders
•Membership
•Building your PC – by J. Ramón Palacios (jrp)
•Photography purchasing decision guide - by Darrell Young (DigitalDarrell)
•Nikonians Photo Pro Shop Specials
•Gift idea: Think out of the box – by Tom Boné (flashdeadline)
•Travel tips from a non-travelling photographer by Josh Larkin (tonupbandit)
•Color Management Basics
•New From Nikon
•Calendar of Events eZine-53_Page_14_300.jpg

Posted by flashdeadline at 7:58 PM

Nikonians Photo Professors Podcast #11

Photo-Professors-Logo-2_155.jpgThis month the Nikonians Photo Professors bring you their holiday gift guide with 12 unique ideas for photographic holiday stocking stuffers and gifts. Length of the podcast is 42:52

Download Nikonians Photo Professors #11 (NPC-PP-2012-10.mp3;42:52;MP3 format)

Posted by richardlpaul at 5:27 AM

November 19, 2012

Give Yourself an Early Present

Nikonians-Academy-update-Bow_125.jpgLas Vegas and San Diego area members can treat themselves to an early present for the Holidays by attending our Nikonians Academy workshops in early December.
Both Winston Hall and Mike Hagen are running classes on HDR photography, Master Nikon D800/D4, Lightroom 4, and the Nikon iTTL Wireless Flash System.

We'd love to see you at our workshops and know that you'll learn more than you ever thought possible. Hurry, because the workshops are selling out quickly.

hagen__HDR_284px.jpgLas Vegas Schedule
Dec 6/7 - Master HDR Photography Two-Day Workshop
Dec 8 - Master the Nikon D800 and D4 In Depth (sold out)
Dec 9 - Master Adobe Lightroom 3 & 4 Essentials

San Diego Schedule
Dec 6 - Master the Nikon D800 and D4 In Depth (sold out)
Dec 7 - Master the Nikon D800 & D4 Advanced (sold out)
Dec 8 - Master Adobe Lightroom 3 & 4 Essentials
Dec 9 - Master Nikon iTTL Wireless Flash, CLS

2013 Masters Series Workshops
We've just started adding our Masters Series workshops to the calendar for 2013 with dates already scheduled for January, February, March, and April. Look for workshops in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, and Vancouver BC. We'll be adding many more cities and dates around the USA. In fact, we'll have another announcement for New Jersey/New York this week.

Acadia NP
Last month's Acadia National Park photo workshop with Les Picker was such a success that we've decided to bring it back again for 2013. The new Acadia National Park workshop is scheduled for October, 2013 and is timed to coincide with the peak of fall color. This year's workshop sold out early, so don't wait too long to sign up.

Check out some of the feedback we received from this year's participants:

forest-stream-lewisrothman.jpg "I recently returned from a Nikonians workshop led by Les Picker at Acadia National Park. In a word it was outstanding. Les is an excellent teacher, photographer and leader.

He was extremely knowledgeable about the Park and scouted out several beautiful photo venues in advance. He offered solid and comprehensive shooting tips geared to our individual needs and provided insightful feed back after each shoot.

Perhaps most important he provided additional opportunity to review and improve our images after we returned home from the workshop. He was genuinely interested in our progress and it didn't end with the workshop.I recommend the workshop without reservation and look forward to attending another one with him."
--- Lewis Rothman (lewisrothman), M.D., New York City

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bass-harbor-light-soderlund_250.jpg "Eight other folks and I spent the better part of four photography-packed days exploring Mt. Desert Island under Les Picker's guidance. His depth of knowledge of the landscape, history and biology of the island informed our photography and took us to places that most other workshops just don't see.

Les provided itineraries that were well-balanced between iconic locations (Cadillac Mountain, Bass Harbor Lighthouse) and out-of-the-way gems. When the weather turned against us Saturday morning, he led a stimulating, free-wheeling discussion in which all of the participants shared freely some of their favorite tools and photographic tricks. That afternoon we capitalized on the rain with a hike to Hemlock Falls (in full flow!) on Parkman Mountain. Each evening we capped the day's work with a review of the day's events and Les' insightful critiques of a few of our images.

Les proved to be a great workshop instructor. He was attentive to the varied skill levels and needs that all of us brought to the event and was readily available in the field to provide technical assistance and one-on-one teaching. As someone who probably has better technique than vision, I really appreciated his gentle challenges to try new things.

To sum up, this was a great experience! Mt. Desert Island and Acadia National Park in the fall are unbelievably beautiful, and Les Picker allowed us to take maximum advantage of our time there. I know that he is planning to offer this workshop again next year, and I can recommend it without reservation."

--- Dave Soderlund (DaveSoderlund), Ithaca, New York

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"This workshop was a special experience at multiple levels: image creation, learning, and in the case of this particular workshop enjoying the camaraderie of a diverse group of people that quickly bonded sharing their passion for photography and enjoying each others company. Les Picker was the key to creating this experience Les' in depth knowledge of Acadia enabled him to guide the group to a diverse set of sites on a off the beaten path, sunrise to sunset. His gracious style in sharing his artistic and technical expertise set the tone for the group dynamics. Post shoot discussions were nicely balanced between a focus on developing an eye for the creative image and technical / practical tips and techniques. Les' knowledge of the history and flora of Acadia enriched the experience."

--- Thomas E. Wilson (tew4774), North Sandwich, NH

Posted by flashdeadline at 11:14 PM

Specular Highlight Control

Use that knowledge you've gained in the Light Series and apply it to this week's: Specular Light Control. Find out what you can enhance with different materials, subjects, and make sure they shine!specular-2_sm.jpg

Posted by Ronny89 at 2:09 PM

November 16, 2012

Profoto RFi Review

Thumbnail image for RFi_Square_sm.jpgCheck out the latest from Profoto - Softbox RFi! Stunning results, easy to use, read more!

Posted by Ronny89 at 8:15 AM

November 12, 2012

Urban Photography workshop series returns in 2013

Nikonians-Academy-Update.jpgNikonians Academy Director Mike Hagen has announced new locations in the continuing series of Urban Photography workshops with Rick Hulbert.
Thanks to a surge of interest from our members asking us to bring back these workshops, Rick will be bringing his critically acclaimed courses to four major North American cities in 2013.

Urban_175.jpgStarting in January, Rick will be in San Francisco, followed by New York, Chicago and Toronto.

We had great feedback from our last series of Urban Photography workshops, including this great comment from a participant, “Rick, you have had the most significant impact on my photography since I took it up and the smartest decision I've made in that regard was to take your workshop. Little did I know that you would change my photography life.”

This week marks the kick-off of our Master the FX Camera webinar and we've had a great response. This 4-part online class was specifically designed for Nikonians based in Australia and New Zealand and incorporates the best of our Masters Series workshops. Due to the success of this class, we will begin rolling out more webinars for Nikonians based in other parts of the world.

Passionate-Photog.jpgThis is the last call for New York Nikonians to attend Steve Simon's workshops this week in Manhattan. Steve is running Master the Nikon D600 & D7000 In Depth, Master the Nikon D800 & D4 In Depth, Master the Nikon D800 & D4 Advanced, and his signature The Passionate Nikon Photographer Two-Day Mastery Workshop. The venue in mid-town Manhattan is free of storm damage. You can sign up here.

Grand-Teton_150.jpgThe Nikonians Academy is well known for our adventure and field photography workshops. If you want to photograph in the great outdoors, we have excellent photo trips to destinations such as Yosemite in Winter, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons in Winter, Death Valley, Big Sur, Giant Redwoods, Puerto Rico, Iceland and Tanzania. Join us for an adventure with your camera. It will be one of the best trips you've ever taken.

Posted by flashdeadline at 8:20 PM

Get to Know Your Gear!

Do you know your gear as well as you think you do? Do you ever have that feeling of having too much or too little? What are the essentials, what are the basics? Find out, here!

Posted by Ronny89 at 9:13 AM

November 9, 2012

Lightroom Black and White

Want to make those Black and White images really stand out from the rest? Try out these techniques and make your photos scream elegance. Read here.
(Upgraded Members)

Posted by Ronny89 at 7:59 AM

November 6, 2012

Nikon announces new DX-format camera: Nikon D5200

NIKON-LOGO_125.jpgNikon Tokyo has announced the new DX-format Nikon D5200, featuring 24.1-million pixels, 39-point AF system and a 2,016-pixel RGB sensor.
While rated as an entry level camera, the D5200 features enhancements rivaling some of Nikon's top models.
According to Nikon's Press Release, the image processing engine is equivalent to the EXPEED 3 built into high-end Nikon D4, D800, D800E, and D600 digital SLR cameras for superior resolution, and image quality with very little noise at high sensitivities.

D5200-Black_front_300.jpg

The new camera serves as a successor to the Nikon D5100 (released April 2011). It boosts the sensor resolution from 16.2 million pixels to 24.1, the burst shooting rate jumps from four frames per second to five, and the D5100 Multi-CAM 1000 11 point autofocus system is replaced with the 39-point Multi-CAM 4800DX.

Further enhancements include a stereo microphone input, metering improvements and support for Nikon's Wireless Mobile Adapter WU-1a and the new Wireless Remote Controller WR-R10/WR-T10 (both available separately).

You can read the full Nikon Press Release here.

Pricing and availability is not mentioned in the press release.

Posted by flashdeadline at 8:17 PM

Australia and New Zealand time zone FX-camera Webinar open worldwide

Nikonians-Academy-Update.jpgThe Nikonians Academy is hosting a new four-part webinar workshop series on Mastering the Nikon FX Camera.
The webinars are set to air between 8am - 10am Australian EDST each day, starting on November 12.
These web-based workshops are specifically scheduled for our Nikonians members in the Australian and New Zealand time zones and are also open for anyone who wants to attend.

Mike-Hagen-175.jpgThe class is designed to help you learn the ins and outs of the Nikon FX-format cameras, including the D800, D800E, D4, D3, D3s, D3x, D700, and D600.

Your workshop leader, Academy Director Mike Hagen, will broadcast using live video combined with screen sharing, so you can see details of the camera as well as presentation details. Before the workshop, you'll be able to download the course materials so you can follow along in real time.

Complete details and specific dates/times are available at the Nikonians Academy Mastering the Nikon FX Camera course description page.

For you New Yorkers, we have available seats for our workshops from November 14th - 18th. These workshops include topics covering the Nikon D600, D7000, D800, D4, and Steve Simon's famous The Passionate Nikon Photographer.

Hagen-HDR-284.jpgDecember brings Academy workshops to Las Vegas and San Diego including Master HDR Photography, Master the Nikon D800/D4, Master Adobe Lightroom, and Master iTTL Wireless Flash.

Some of these classes are already sold out, so don't delay in signing up if you are interested in attending.

Mariant_Snow_175.jpg2013 highlights include workshops in Yosemite, Puerto Rico, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, Tanzania, Italy, Death Valley, Iceland, and most major cities in the USA.

We are adding more cities and topics to the website every day.
We encourage you to double-check our Nikonians Academy By City Area pages often to find workshops coming to city near you.

Posted by flashdeadline at 12:29 AM

November 5, 2012

Reflections

Explore what lit portions of an object count. This means, looking more into Diffuse and Direct Reflections. Read more, of the Light Series here.

Posted by Ronny89 at 9:49 AM

November 2, 2012

Control Over Your Lights With Distance

Learn how to acquire "Control Over Your Lights with Distance" distance-4Thumbnail.png
"...so the minute this little aspect of lighting came up it was a challenge for me to grasp. Fractions. Equations. Physics...I just wanted to make photographs."
(Upgraded Members)

Posted by Ronny89 at 9:49 AM