I've already sent off an email to my contact at Canon requesting a review unit.

For more info http://www.usa.canon.com

I've actually met people that say to me "I have no interest in traveling outside the USA" ... frankly I cannot understand this. The USA is my home, I love the USA, I've served my country in the US Military .... but I certainly realize that the USA is a very small part of this rotating blue/green sphere that we call earth and I want to explore more of it. And as a photographer it's even more exciting to discover new places and capture them through the camera.

If you are one of those people that think that traveling outside the USA (or whatever country you live in) does not interest you, have a look at this site or any of the thousands more like it and see if any of the photos cultivate a desire in you to travel and see new things.

Remember that you can download Lightroom 2.0 (full version, Upgrade or demo) at http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/

Some people (sometimes for good reason) are a little scared to install new software or updates in the first few days of a release. If you are hesitant to install new versions the day they come out you can run both versions 1.x and 2.0 if you want. Version 2.0 creates it's own new library file (importing data from your 1.x file) and leaves your 1.x library file alone.

Podcast is available here

Also tonight Apple updated Aperture from 2.1 to 2.1.1 The Aperture update is available through software update.

The following text is from http://discarted.wordpress.com/

Photographers throughout Los Angeles, with cameras in hand, will gather at Hollywood and Highland and Union Station to peacefully rally against the unnecessary treatment they have received from security guards, LAPD, and LASD while photographing in public places, and on the Metro.

Start Time: 11:00am
Location: Hollywood and Highland, 6801 Hollywood Los Angeles, CA 90028

At about 1:30pm we will board the Metro and travel to Union Station for more picture taking.

Start Time: 2:00pm
Location: 800 N Alameda St Los Angeles, CA 90012

Flickr Group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/laprotest/
Press Inquiries: info@discarted.com

Here is a quick sample of what I was able to do in about an hour of messing around with the software. I did not read any manual or help files... I just stumbled around like I always do and this is what I came up with.

Note: This is a Mac only program.

Check out this photo essay http://alexiuss.deviantart.com/journal/17919112/

It's amazing, uplifting, depressing, inspiring, sad, eye-opening, moving, sobering, dark and light all at the same time.

I think it's a very sad story ... but at the same time it does demonstrate what humans are capable of accomplishing when confronted with few choices. I'm sure I'll think about this story the next time I hear someone in America say that they "cannot find work" or that the "government needs to do more" to help them out. This story is about people that have nothing and work in conditions that most Americans would not last a day in .... and yet somehow they (most of them) survive and are thankful for what they have.

Experimenting with creating a "Lucis Art" type develop preset for Lightroom., originally uploaded by Allen Rockwell.

I've been very interested in the Lucis Art plugin for Photoshop for a while and I contacted the developer to see if I could get a copy for review for the podcast but they declined my request. So I created a Lightroom develop preset that mimics the process.

It's a 2 step process ... apply the preset in Lightroom and play around with the develop sliders to get the basic look you want (every image will look different, adjust to your liking) ... and then edit the image in Photoshop following these steps.

1. Duplicate the background layer (CMD J or CTL J)

2. Apply Gausian Blur filter to Layer 1 with a value of about 20 pixels

3. Reduce the opacity of Layer 1 to about 50%

4. Click the Add Layer Mask Button (at the bottom of the Layers palette) then select the brush tool with a soft edge and paint (mask) areas you want to keep sharp like eyes, nose, mouth.

5. (Optional Step) Select the background layer and then grab the Smudge Tool (R) and soften further areas that you think still show too much detail (like skin).

That's it. Save it and go back into Lightroom and play around with brightness, exposure, contrast, saturation, etc to you liking if it needs it.

Download the preset for Lightroom here.

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III

Aperture 2.0

Lightroom 2.0 Beta

The Littlest Heroes Project

Scan Cafe

This is getting crazy. The authorities are going after law abiding citizens out trying to have a good time with their hobby when they should be concerned with real criminals. The shameful part is that these authorities do not even know the law in relation to photography, so not only are they harassing good people but they are harassing them for doing something legal.

If you have a family member, friend or acquaintance that is in the law enforcement or security business or in the military please do your part and educate them on the rights of photographers. Someday you'll be glad you did.

The BBC article is here

Giottos GB-1148 Pro Lave Tripod
Giottos GB-2130 Pro Classic Tripod
Gitzo GT-2530 Mountaineer 6X Carbon Fiber Tripod

Giottos MH-1300 Ball Head
Wimberly Gimbal Type Tripod Head II
Wimberly P-50 Acra Type Quick Release Plate