Personal Life Media

What do you buy when you want it all? Today, Michael tells us not only about the new Nikon D300s he just picked up, but about all the swag he got to deck it out, Digital Photography Life style.

Some of the things Michael added on were the enhanced battery grip, the enhanced Nikon battery for the camera, next generation NiMH rechargeable batteries with a truly space-age charger,  and an external battery pack for his flash. It's all listed for you on www.scottsphotoblog.com.

Of course, I can't blame Michael for upgrading his gear - I'm totally hot for the upcoming Canon 7D, which we talk about in some detail. Great specs - we can't wait to see if the output matches the camera's potential.

We also discuss two high-end cameras coming out from Leica - the Leica M9 and Leica X1 - nice sounding gear, but with the price tags to match.

For full show notes, links and your codes for terrific savings and free stuff from SmugMug, please visit www.scottsphotoblog.com.

Thanks for listening!

Take your landscape photography to new heights with great tips from pro photographer Marc Meunch on today's show. Marc covers the best gear, shooting techniques and digital processing tricks to give your shots that cover-quality magic.

Marc is a fantastic guest on today's show, which you'd expect given his outstanding resume. Marc has photographed for book publishers including Time Inc. He's represented Canon Cameras in several ad campaigns, and appeared on ESPN's "Canon Photo Safari" for eight season. He's published and co-published several books of photography. He's also "artist in residence" at SmugMug, our favorite photo sharing and selling service.

Would you like a real expert to tell you how to improve your photography? In today's show, we'll tell you how you may get a personal critique from Marc on your landscape photos. That's worth the price of admission alone!

Marc tells us how he got into the photo biz and gives tips for those of you looking to break into it,  While Marc is accomplished in many areas of photography, in our interview we focus on landscape shooting, particularly, how to get outstanding shots in autumn, when the beautiful colors get every photographer's fingers itching to snap.

Marc's tips include the best equipment to buy and use, the two lenses he considers must-haves and how to use a flash to achieve the perfect balance of light. We also talk filters, tripods and cameras.

There's a ton of sites we mention in today's show, including the one that will take you to where you can submit your photos for Marc's evaluation. Be sure to visit www.scottsphotoblog.com for all the links you can eat. 

It's that season again - tons of new cameras and gear to discuss. We'll get into some of the latest and greatest, and tell you how to take better pictures on sunny days with the equipment you have now.

• But first, a bit of catch up - on our last show, I mentioned an online back service that will mail you a hard drive with your data, saving you weeks of downloading your data should you crash yours. I couldn't remember the name, but have since looked it up - it's BackBlaze. $5/month or $50/year for unlimited storage. If you ever need to get your backed up data on physical media, it'll cost you $89 for a DVD's worth of data (?) or a more reasonable $189 for a USB hard drive with your files. Both prices include shipping and handling. The hard drive seems like a great value to me.
• Our listener and guest-Tweeter Landya McCafferty kicked butt again, winning the Photowalk Contest for her city for the second year in a row! Go Landya. Of course, her city is Placenta, Wisconcin, and she's the only resident with a camera. Kidding! Not only did she win, but her photo was featured on Scott Kelby's blog. You'll also see some great examples of both naturalistic and surrealistic HDR shots.
• If one LCD on a camera is good, two must be better, right? The people at Samsung hope so. Maybe it will convince you to buy a TL220  or TL225.The names certainly won't.
• Back to basics with the Canon S90. Great sensor, clicky controls and manual settings. I want this camera, but I agree with Michael that the G11 offers more functionality, but its not pocket-friendly.
• Shoot a lot? Toshiba's announced the World's Largest SD Card - 64 big fat gigabytes of goodness. Although wouldn't it have been funnier if they meant an SD card that was like 12 feet or something? They should save that announcement for April Fools Day. Oh wait - the card uses the new "SDXC" format which won't work in your current camera anyway. Turns out, the joke really was on us.
• The iPhone is the second most popular camera on Flickr and Camera Genuis makes it better. Maybe. You can read a review on TUAW here. The user reviews are mixed, but for 99 cents, you can afford to find out for yourself.

SmugMug is our favorite site for sharing and - should you chose to accept this assignment - selling your photos. SmugMug has two fantastic offers just for our listeners:

• 50% off your SmugMug service at any level (enter code "Flickr" at checkout). This is a fantastic discount and you should take advantage of it in time to share your holiday photos!
• A free camera strap to any listener of Digital Photography Life: This one is just crazy. A high-quality camera strap that replaces the neck-slicing piece of canvas that your camera's manufacturer condescended to include with your DSLR. Get your freebie here.

The latest digital photography news, the cameras we're spending our hard-earned money on and more are all here in the long-awaited Episode 15 of Digital Photography Life.

First off, where have we been for the past four months? It's a long story and we don't want to bore you. So, let's just say we're back now, better than ever. Well, maybe not better. Give us some time, dudes. But back, for sure.

Today, we cover a ton of new cameras, including the Nikon S1000PJ, the Nikon S70, the Nikon D300s and the Nikon D3000. But it's not all about Nikon! We share our experiences with the Olympus Tough 6000 and the Panasonic TZ5S and the Canon HV40 camcorder. Michael talks backup solutions Mozy and Drobo and we ponder who would want a Sony Party Shot. What's a Sony Party Shot? You'll have to hear it to believe it.

So, take a listen and join us as we resume our Digital Photography Life with you.

For extended show notes, links and coupon codes, be sure to visit www.scottsphotoblog.com.

How to Make Your Spring Pictures Sing

On today's show, we talk about how to take great spring pictures. Whether it's capturing the right light, putting the focus on your subject, or taking advantage of spring backgrounds to beautify your portraits, we have you covered.

We also talk about Olympus's calling an end to the megapixel wars (hooray!), the new book by Joe McNally "Big Light from Small Flashes" and Canon's recent upgrade of an existing digital camera to shoot RAW - pretty cool, Canon. Michael also raves about the iPhone software "Focalware," which calculates the position of the sun and moon from rise to set anywhere in the world, at anytime of the year by utilizing your location and date information.

You can find more information about these stories, as well as links to the sources and the coupon codes from SmugMug, by visiting www.scottsphotoblog.com.

Thanks as always to SmugMug and Lensbaby for their support of this free resource. And thanks to you all for listening!

Are you hesitant to approach strangers on the street to ask them to take their picture? Do you need to immediately connect with potential clients? Would you like to improve your ability to make your models feel comfortable in your studio?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, you'll really enjoy our guest, Nicholas Boothman, author of How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less."

According to Amazon.com. "The average person's attention span lasts about 30 seconds. That means first and immediate impressions count, and big. In this modern-day update of Dale Carnegie's classic How to Win Friends and Influence People, former fashion photographer Nicholas Boothman instructs you in how to mold those 30 seconds to your greatest advantage and connect with others at business and social functions.

Boothman, now a lecturer and licensed master practitioner of neurolinguistic programming (the art and science of how the brain affects human connections), says that the key to making others like you quickly lies in establishing a rapport: you have to find out what you have in common or, if you seemingly have nothing in common, purposely try to become like the other person for a short time. He then goes on to offer simple techniques for getting a rapport going: adopt a positive attitude; make sure your words, tone, and gestures are all saying the same thing; synchronize your attitude and body movements to those of another person's (which makes the person feel comfortable with you--although he or she may not know why); and ask lots of open-ended questions. Boothman also describes how to figure out a stranger's favored sense for receiving information about the world--some rely on visual cues, others on auditory or kinesthetic (touch) input--and use it to your best advantage.

If discovering how to connect with others is the secret to business and life success, as Boothman contends, then employing the strategies in this book will make you instantly likable and give you a leg up on the competition."

Boothman's suggestions are very helpful, and you'll really enjoy hearing his thoughts. Not only will his techniques improve your rapport with your photographic subjects, but they'll be helpful in other areas of your life, too.

We also welcome Lensbaby as a new sponsor of Digital Photography Life. They have a great deal for our listeners - a free  0.6x wide angle/macro conversion lens with the purchase of a Lensbaby Composer from any retailer. Check out this great offer at http://personallifemedia.com/pages/lensbaby.

And thanks always to SmugMug for their sponsorship, too. Find out how you can get a free camera strap and half off the price of the first year of their great service at www.scottsphotoblog.com.

And, if you get a moment, please take a moment to light a candle for Michael's ailing Nikon D200. Thanks for listening and we'll talk again soon.

It's the best of digital photography, as we talk about the best new lens for Nikon DSLRs, the best laptop for photographers, and Popular Photography's best camera for 2008.

Among today's hot topics:
Nikon's awesome new prime lens for cropped-sensor DSLRs, the super-sexy AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G. OK, maybe the name isn't very sexy, but the lens is.

The crazily tricked out Thinkpad W700, a laptop that automatically calibrates its own monitor, has a built-in Wacom tablet and even a second screen. A dual screen laptop? Insane! 

Popular Photography has chosen the Panasonic G1 its Camera of the Year. Uh, the what now? Yes, Pop Photo goes out on a limb and proclaims the "micro four thirds" system The Next Best Thing. To which I say "meh." 

DPReview.com has a 40 page review of the Canon 5D Mark II. And although the editors give the camera their highest rating, they don't seem to give it any credit for its outstanding and industry-leading HD video capability. Where's the love, DPReview? 

For the full show notes, as well as active links to all the above, please visit www.scottsphotoblog.com.

Photographer and instructor extraordinaire, Steve Simon, joins us with his tips on how to make your subjects look better in your portraits. Be sure to check out www.scottsphotoblog.com for the full show notes and links to what we talked about in this week's show.

Steve is our new best podcast friend - a terrific guy, generous with his information and inspiring in his art. He's co-hosted a number of episodes of Nikon's Look Good In Pictures, where he's worked alongside Carson Kressley, of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame. Michael and I have talked about this free resource before. You should definitely check it out.

Steve also participates in the podcasting juggernaut This Week in Digital Photography.

Prior to Steve's coming on, we talk about the pluses and minuses of Apple's new facial-recognition features in iPhoto and the four full-frame DSLR's currently available for under three large ones.

As always, we thank SmugMug for their sponsorship of Digital Photography Life. SmugMug is the best resource out there for sharing and selling your photos. Be sure to check out www.scottsphotoblog.com for a 50% code off your first year of service at SmugMug and an incredible offer for a free camera strap!

Laurel Housden, The Photo Enthusiast, and The Queen of All Contests on Digital Photography Life comes on today to talk about her transition from enthusiastic amateur to pro photographer.

Laurel is a long-time listener of our previous podcast, and the information she learned from pros like Scott Kelby, Rick Sammon and Kevin Kubota inspired her to try her hand at becoming a professional shooter.

Have you ever thought of taking the plunge yourself. Laurel shares how she got her first clients, how she promotes her business and what photo and processing techniques she uses to capture her stunning images.

Be sure to visit www.scottsphotoblog.com for links to Laurel's galleries and blog...including - we hope - her intimate and  irresistible boudoir sessions.

Laurel's a terrific photographer and a great friend - we wish her all the best as she becomes, we're certain, one of Florida's premier photographers.

Our first photo contest is over, but you can check out the entries at dplife.smugmug.com.  

We thank Smugmug (www.SmugMug.com) for their sponsorship of Digital Photography Life and their support of our community. Hop over to www.scottsphotoblog.com to see their half price offer for the first year of service exclusively for listeners of Digital Photography Life.

All About Lightroom II

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom product manager Tom Hogarty joins us today to discuss the awesomeness that is Lightroom II. Whether you already have the program and want to learn how some tips on how to use it, or if you just want to know what Lightroom II does, you'll enjoy Tom on today's show.

You'll also have a chance to win a copy of Lightroom II for yourself. For full show notes with links, please go to www.scottsphotoblog.com.

Tom discusses the advantages of Adobe's DNG format over the proprietary RAW files promulgated by some camera manufacturers. In Adobe's words:

Raw file formats are becoming extremely popular in digital photography workflows because they offer creative professionals greater creative control. However, cameras can use many different raw formats — the specifications for which are not publicly available — which means that not every raw file can be read by a variety of software applications. As a result, the use of these proprietary raw files as a long-term archival solution carries risk, and sharing these files across complex workflows is even more challenging.

The solution to this growing problem? The Digital Negative (DNG), a publicly available archival format for the raw files generated by digital cameras. By addressing the lack of an open standard for the raw files created by individual camera models, DNG helps ensure that photographers will be able to access their files in the future.

Before we're joined by Tom, we talk about the digital photography stories that caught our eye in the last week.

For the first time ever, the official Presidential portrait was taken with a digital camera.
The camera was the - now fixed - Canon 5D Mark II.
Looking for a full body condom for your camera? Camera Armor has you - and your equipment (so to speak) covered.
How popular is the iPhone? A picture taken with it crashed Twitpic. You can find PopPhoto's favorite iPhone apps here.
SmugMug is our favorite site for sharing and - how nice would this be? - selling your photos. SmugMug has two fantastic offers just for our listeners:

50% off your SmugMug service at any level (enter code "Flickr" at checkout). This is a fantastic discount and you should take advantage of it in time to share your holiday photos!
A free camera strap to any listener of Digital Photography Life: This one is just crazy. A high-quality camera strap that replaces the neck-slicing piece of canvas that your camera's manufacturer condescended to include with your DSLR. Get your freebie here.
The Grand Prize Winner of our Joy of Photography contest will receive a terrific camera bag from ThinkTankPhoto: You get to pick which one fits your needs. Either:

An Urban Disguise 40, which will hold more gear than you ever imagined, such as a wide angle lens with a hood attached, a 24-70 2.8 with the hood, a 70 -200 2.8 with the hood reversed, AND two pro-size SLR’s in the expandable front pockets (without the lenses attached). The beauty of the Urban Disguise line is that you won't look like you're carrying equipment, making yourself a lot less interesting to unsavory urbanites like me, OR
An Airport International V2.0: Designed for International carry-on, this roller provides advanced security features and peace of mind. Front security cable & combination lock allows you to lock a laptop to the front of your roller. Th is very effective when you are traveling with a laptop case stored in the front stretch pocket The included security lock allows you to lock it to immovable objects, and is very effective when you have to leave your gear for a period of time in a media room, wedding hall, hotel room, or other open area. It holds two pro-size DSLR's, as well as a bunch of other lenses and accessories. If all your equipment won't fit in this bag, you're doing a lot better than us.
Thanks for listening, and remember - go to www.scottsphotoblog.com for full notes with active links. 

Digital Photography Secrets with Rick Sammon

Digital photography secrets are yours to learn with today's guest, Rick Sammon, who comes on to tell us all about his new book called, um, Digital Photography Secrets. For the full show notes, along with links to everything we talk about on the show, please check out www.scottsphotoblog.com.

What lighting secret that artists have used since the Renaissance can you start using today, no matter what kind of equipment you have? What is the sharpest f-stop on the lens of your  DSLR (it's not what you'd think)? What can we learn from psychologists about how to take more appealing portraits? These secrets - and more - are revealed by the always-interesting and inspiring Rick Sammon.

The answer to this week's giveaway can be found on this page at Amazon.com. Send your answers to us at [email protected], and we will pick THREE lucky listeners to receive a copy of Digital Photography Secrets. But wait - there's more! If you want to go ahead and buy Digital Photography Secrets today, you don't have to wait. If you're lucky enough to win our contest, Rick will give you another of his great books as a prize. That's just the way Rick rolls.

Before Rick joins us, We answer listener Mark's question about whether or not Nikon has a line of lenses comparable to Canon's L series, and we express our excitement about the latest version of iPhoto.

Interested in entering our photo contest, The Joy of Photograhy? Please visit www.scottsphotoblog.com for the contest rules. In the meantime, take a look at the entries on dplife.smugmug.com.

Thanks for listening!

So, you got a digital camera for the holidays? Now what?

On today's show we tell you everything you need to know about your new digital camera. Is it the right camera for you? If not, what should you do? How do you to learn to use it? What accessories do you need right now, and what can you hold off on? What are the least expensive software options to get you started and where should you go from there?

We answer these questions - and more! - in this Very Special Episode of Digital Photography Life.

Please see scottsphotoblog.com for links to all the products and services we mention in this week's show.

At the end of the show, we spoke about Springs of Hope, the charity being championed by Scott Kelby's Blog. Please see scottsphotoblog.com for my personal comments about why this is such an important cause, and for links to where you can contribute.

We're still running our first photo contest, The Joy of Photography. Please see scottsphotoblog.com for full rules. You can check out the current entrants at dplife.smugmug.com.

Thanks to SmugMug for their sponsorship of this episode. Visit ScottsPhotoBlog.com to get the code for the 50% off coupon for SmugMug services, and for your link to a free photo strap.

Thanks for listening!

Craig Strong comes on to tell us all about the Lensbaby, one of the most-affordable tools out there for taking your photography to the next level. For extended notes and show links, please visit Scott's Photo Blog: www.scottsphotoblog.com.

Lenbabies are selective focus tools that can make your photos look as straightforward or surrealistic as you want. By putting the focus where you want it, Lensbabies let you direct your viewer's eyes to the most important part of your picture.

Their latest little wonder is the Composer. It's my favorite Lensbaby so far; it's certainly the easiest to use for repeatable results. But you might also want to look at their entry-level Muse, which can be faster - and more fun - to play with. It's the best $99 you'll spend if you want to explore more creative uses for your DSLR

You can check out my totally-amateur-having-fun-with-it-first-Composer-shots here on our SmugMug site: dplife.smugmug.com

Popular Photography just raved about Lensbaby line: "The new Lensbabies aren't ever going to replace your supersharp autofocus prime or zoom lenses for day-to-day shooting (for most photographers, at least). But they offer a whole lot of fun, with more control than ever -- which means maybe even more people will catch the bending bug!"

If you want to enter our drawing for a free Lensbaby Composer, complete this descriptive phrase from the product's homepage "Smooth and __________." (You can find a link to page on www.scottsphotoblog.com)

Here are the rules for our photo contest

Title: The Joy of Photography

Theme: A subject demonstrating the theme of the joy of photography.

Technique: It's up to you.

1. Make a photo. The photo must be one that you created. Please include the original exif info within the image.

2. You may enter up to three photographs. If more than three photographs are entered, only the first three received shall be entered.

3. Images must be JPG, PNG, or GIF images, less than 24MB.

4. Email a jpg image to [email protected]

5. Attach only one photo per email. Please send one email per entry.

6. In the Subject, enter: dplife (Must be all lower case)

7. In the Body, enter: Your name AND email address AND your caption.

8. Make SURE you send the email in PLAIN TEXT (not HTML or Rich Text or it won't be accepted)

9. We need to approve each photo that you upload, so please have patience for your photo to show up in this gallery.

10. Only one image per entrant can be eligible as a finalist.

11. Photos shal be accepted through Friday, 23 January, 2009.

12. Enjoy Being Creative!

You can see your photos - as well as ours - on our SmugMug site for the show: DPLife.SmugMug.com.

If you want to read about the tiny-but-unwanted black spots in some photos taken with Canon's new 5D Mark II, check out the full blog posting for this episode on Scott's Photo Blog.

As always, thanks for joining us! And Happy Holidays! 

How do you get the best shots at your Christmas and Chanukah celebrations (not to mention those gatherings for Kwanza and the Winter Solstice)? How do you capture the action without ruining the
moment? What equipment should you have at your side, and what should
you have it in? Just in time for the holidays, we go over our best suggestions for improving your party pictures.

We also go over the process for submitting photos for our first photo contest. The theme is The Joy of Photography. Here are the rules:

Title:  The Joy of Photography

Theme:  A subject demonstrating the theme of the joy of photography.

Technique:  It's up to you.

1.  Make a photo.  The photo must be one that you created. Please include the original exif info within the image.

2.  You may enter up to three photographs. If more than three photographs are entered, only the first three received shall be entered.

3.  Images must be JPG, PNG, or GIF images, less than 24MB.

4.  Email a jpg image to [email protected]

5.  Attach only one photo per email.  Please send one email per entry.

6.  In the Subject, enter:  dplife (Must be all lower case)

7.  In the Body, enter: Your name AND email address AND your caption.

8.  Make SURE you send the email in PLAIN TEXT (not HTML or Rich Text or it won't be accepted)

9.  We need to approve each photo that you upload, so please have patience for your photo to show up in this gallery.

10.  Only one image per entrant can be eligible as a finalist.

11.  Photos shal be accepted through Friday, 23 January, 2009.

12. Enjoy Being Creative!

You can see your photos - as well as our - on our SmugMug site for the show: DPLife.SmugMug.com.

That's all for this week - make sure you check Scott's Photo Blog (www.scottsphotoblog.com) for additional notes, as well as for the SmugMug 1/2 off coupon code and your link to a free camera bag!

Thanks for listening.

Whether you're looking to improve your photography or get the best possible deal on photo equipments, this episode of  Digital Photography Life is for you. See www.scottsphotoblog.com for complete notes on today's show.

What are the three basic elements of a successful photograph? That's the question we answer on today's show, based on principles taught by the New York Institute of Photography.

It's back to photo basics as we discuss how to emphasize your subject through composition, relative size, selective lighting and focus, and other photographic techniques.

You might want to use some of those methods if you're going to enter our first photo contest on Digital Photography Life. The theme of the contest is "The Joy of Photography." We're looking for shots that best capture this concept, and on the show, we discuss some examples of what they might look like. Feel free to use our ideas, but be creative, too.

The Grand Prize Winner of our Joy of Photography contest will receive a camera bag from ThinkTankPhoto: You get to pick which one fits your needs. See www.scottsphotoblog.com for details.

Next week we'll tell you how to submit your contest entries and the deadline for submission. (It will be sometime in mid-January). You'll be limited to three entries, so start planning now. Placing as a finalist or actually winning a photo contest is a great accomplishment, and we'd love you to do it with us.

Today's interview is with Ron Risman, founder of the wonderful resource Cameratown.com.  Cameratown is the best place on the web to find the latest photo news, reviews and deals. It's an invaluable resource, and you'll only have yourself to blame if you spend too much money because you didn't subscribe to Cameratown's terrific newsletter, which brings the biggest  photo stories and the best sales to your inbox twice a week.

Ron is a former camera retailer, and he tells you the secrets of how physical and online stores try to make the most money off you. He'll also share how you can turn the game around and score the best and fairest prices for your photo needs.

Does an online price sound a little too good to be true?  Ron explains how you can avoid the scammers and determine the trustworthiness of a retailer with which you might not be familiar.

Check out Cameratown today, not just for the great information it offers, but to sign up for the newsletter and to enter their terrific fifth anniversary contest with a sweet grand prize: A Pentax K20D Digital SLR Outfit with DA 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 AL II Lens and Slingbag. I've entered fifty times already under different aliases - just kidding!

On Digital Photography Life, Ron gives away an M-Rock Grand Canyon. This $80 value is described by the good people of M-Rock as follows: "slim and handsome Grand Canyon SLR camera bag comes with many adjustable dividers and a padded U shaped lens cradle to offer the photographer two distinctive ways to carry their photo gear."

Send the correct answer to the question we ask in the show to us at [email protected] Our Queen of All Contests, the lovely and talented Laurel Housden http://thephotoenthusiast.com/, will pick a correct answer at random on January 1, 2009.

As I said earlier, we based some of our shooting advice today on the excellent instruction we've received from The New York Institute of Photography. NYIP is an amazing resource. In their words:

Whether you want to become a professional photographer or simply enhance your basic skills, New York Institute of Photography, the world’s largest photography school can help you. Instruction by respected real-life photographers combined with our online magazine and featured tips provide an unparalleled level of support to guide you through the amazing landscape of traditional or digital photography.

If you're ready to make a serious commitment to improving your skills, visit NYIP and be tempted by their excellent courses.

Thanks as always for listening.

All About Adobe Photoshop CS4

We learn all about Adobe Photoshop CS4 this week, as we are joined by
Bryan O’Neil Hughes from Adobe. He tells us what some of the coolest
new features in CS4 are, whether or not it truly is a more user-
friendly interface, and why it costs so darn much.

But one lucky listener will get the full version for free, just by
entering this week's contest. It's the biggest prize we've ever
offered on Digital Photography Life (or on any other podcast, for that
matter). It come to you courtesy of the good folks at Adobe, and we
greatly appreciate their generosity.

We also appreciate the support of Digital Photography Life's inaugural
sponsor, SmugMug. SmugMug is our favorite site for sharing and -
should you chose to accept this assignment - selling your photos.
SmugMug has two fantastic offers just for our listeners:

50% off your SmugMug service at any level (enter code "Flickr" at
checkout). This is a fantastic discount and you should take advantage
of it in time to share your holiday photos!

A free camera strap to any listener of Digital Photography Life: This
one is just crazy. A high-quality camera strap that replaces the neck-
slicing piece of canvas that your camera's manufacturer condescended
to include with your DSLR. Get your freebie over at www.scottsphotoblog.com
.

As usual, Michael and I also go over the digital photography new of
the day, including Red cameras, Sony's latest, Canon's rebate-less
rebates and the sad tale of Susan and her cheatin' husband's magic
iPhone. Head over to www.scottsphotoblog.com for all the links.

On today's show, we talk about the Nikon D90 and the Canon 50D with uberenthusiast Jeff Revell and we feature a fifty percent discount to SmugMug and a free camera strap to every listener of Digital Photography Life.

Then, it is our great pleasure to welcome SmugMug. SmugMug did us - and we think you, too - a huge favor by making Digital Photography Life possible by signing on as our inaugural sponsor. On today's show, they come on to tell you all about what makes SmugMug so great, and the perfect fit for the digital enthusiast like you. Even better, they extend a special, limited-time offer exclusively to our audience: They're talking 50% off the first year of service, at any of their three tiers, to anyone who hears them on Digital Photography Life.

The coupon code you should enter is "Flickr." 50% off for typing six characters? It works for us.

And if a 50% discount isn't enough for you, how about an out-and-out freebie. SmugMug is giving away a free camera strap to any Digital Photography Life listeners who asks for one.

Visit www.scottsphotoblog.com for the link to your free camera bag, as well as links to all the other items we discussed on the show, including the list of closing Circuit City Stores, a free camera giveaway from Target and (almost) indisputable proof that we'll be hearing from aliens in the next couple of years.

All that and more at www.scottsphotoblog.com.

Thanks for listening!  

On today's show, Scott Kelby tells you everything you need to know if you're interested in buying Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2, or if you already have the program and want to make the most of it.

What does Lightroom  2 do? How is it better than Lightroom 1 and Adobe Bridge? If you can only afford to buy either Photoshop CS4 or Lightroom, which one should you get? What the fastest way to sort through hundreds of photos to find the best shots? You'll learn all this and more when the Kelbinator joins us on Digital Photography Life.

Scott also gives away a copy of his new book, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 for Digital Photographers and a free year's membership to the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (a $99 value!).

Before our chat with Scott, Michael and I talk about our vision for Digital Photography Life. We want to bring you the best digital photography news, reviews and tips and tricks out there.

On this episode, we boil down for you the pretty-good but less-than-earthshaking reviews of the new Canon 50D, and the apparent awesomeness of the Canon 5D Mark II.

We also want you to be part of the fun. Send us a note at [email protected] and tell us about you - what you shoot with, what equipment you have, and what you'd like to hear on the show. You can also ask us questions - we love questions! We'll answer you in email or maybe on the show.

You can find full show notes for this episode on ScottsPhotoBlog.com.

As always, thanks for listening!

Welcome to Episode Zero of  Digital Photography Life!

We're calling this the Official Trailer for Digital Photography Life. Why not just begin with Episode One? Well, the truth is, we couldn't wait to start spreading the word about our new show!  But we couldn't give you an option to subscribe until we obtained a feed in iTunes and other podcast aggregators. That required us to prime the pump with an audio file. Hence, Episode Zero.

But we're really happy things worked out like this. Michael and I couldn't wait to get back on air.

For those of you who don't know us, for two and half years, Michael and I hosted The Digital Photography Show, one of the world's most popular podcasts on digital photography. We had a great time doing that show and we were lucky enough to build a terrific audience of digital photo enthusiasts.

But now we're moving on. Our new show, Digital Photography Life, is all about celebrating and enhancing your life as a digital photographer. In the coming weeks, we'll have great interviews with industry pros,  reviews of digital photography products, helpful tips and tricks and lots of fun giveaways. 

We're very excited about this fresh start and about our partnership with the Personal Life Media network. PLM has a great team, and we're confident that they'll help make Digital Photography Life bigger and better than ever.

Thank you for joining us here. WIll you help us spread the word? For more digital photography news, and for the backstage stories behind Digital Photography Life, please be sure to visit http://www.scottsphotoblog.com.

And while you're here, make sure you hit the subscribe button! Our (real) first show is coming any day now, and its going to be sweeeeeet!