We thought we would share a “before & after” image from the recent UHC shoot we did. This one was fun to do. But there was a lot of post production. We shot this from a “cherry picker” poised high above the tennis court and just shot a bunch of images of the two players going at it. This and one other shot (we’ll share that one on Monday) called for a UnitedHealthcare Membership Card to be incorporated into the scene. We shot an oversized mock UHC Card later in studio and then melded the two together in post as well as adding a better sky and cleaning up and simplifying the court.~

Here are the Before and After

Here is the other shot I was referring to in Last Friday’s Post. This was another fun image but needed much post-production as well. We have included the three base images we used to build the final. There were additional elements used but the majority are from these three images. We could not actually shoot the swimmer in place and use that as the final as he was WAY TOO SMALL relative to the size of the pool. So we needed to shoot him as a separate element and drop him in much larger than he would normally be.~

Final

Composite Elements

Well here it is…

Finally after a little time at the retouchers we have the final image in our hands. Obviously there are some significant changes from the original that was shot. But that is the beauty of digital. A lot more options, if you shoot it the right way. We swapped the background sides and cleaned up a lot of small things as well as adjusting the overall color and contrast in addition to adding the scenic in the window. The individual portraits will have a similar look and we’ll share those over the next few days.

As we wait for the final images to come back from the retouchers, lets cover the last few things we would normally do.

Once the shoot is done we would be right on top of accumulating all of the bills and invoices from the various vendors we used on the shoot. We would cross reference all of the bills that came in with our estimate to make sure that we have indeed accounted for everything. We would then generate a final invoice for the project, including all of our fees and expenses and get that off to the client at the earliest opportunity. The sooner we get it in the sooner we get paid!

Aside from that we would also create a “job jacket” if we haven’t already. For us, we put EVERYTHING that pertains to the job in here. All paperwork, forms model releases, client communications and a disk of all of the raw images…. everything!

We would also take some tome to organize and archive all of the imagery and make sure that we have three copies of the digital files. One on the main system, one in the job jacket and one on our system back-up.

We would put multiple calls into the client to make sure that they have received everything they need and check to make sure there is nothing additional that we need to do for them.

If the shoot was something of note, we would probably also get it onto our web site and into the portfolios.
And aside from that we sit back, and wait for the check to arrive. Oh… wait, no we don’t… we’re now unemployed! So now we have to go out and get another job and do this all over again!!!

We hope to get the final shots next week. So have a good weekend and we will share more on Monday (hopefully!)

If you haven’t been to the web site recently, check it out. We have made some modifications over the past few weeks. And be sure to check it out again in a couple weeks, because we plan on making a few more changes, rearranging a few things, and adding some of the new imagery. Comments are always welcome!

When we did the photo shoot, we also shot a series of “blanks”. These were shots of the set with no talent in it. We shot some at the beginning. Some in the middle. And some at the end. We also shot some set variations with a lantern and other objects and some different exposures of the lantern lit.

All of these “blanks” were for the post production end. It allows us to have all of the elements available to us in case we spot problems or want to make changes after the fact.

And that is exactly what happened in this case. Once we sat down after the shoot and started to evaluate everything, we decided to switch a few things around on the set. Our “blanks” were there to save the day.

We now regularly do this on every shoot we do. In fact we just shot a portrait yesterday for a company that we had done a session for, some time ago. They wanted the new portrait to match the previous ones we had done. It would have been so much easier had we shot blanks back then, but alas we had not started this practice. We were still able to match it up.. it just took longer than it had to.

So now everything is at the retoucher’s and we will share the final images once they are complete!

So Finally we get down to the actual images. We are by no means finished though. From here our base images go into the post-production phase where our digital artist works on them with us to take them the final few steps. But here are the images that came from the shoot. As we get the finals back after post production, we’ll post them as well so that you can see the finished product.

Sorry! We got slammed with some projects that had to be accomplished immediately. So we have been absent for a few days.

Back to the Case Study-

Tuesday morning finally arrived. We got to the set early. There was still a lot of dressing to do as well as dialing in the lighting. Upon arrival the major portion of the set was done. There was still a lot to do but we also had until 1:30pm to do it.

We had set up and pre-lit the portrait set as we knew we would be doing those shots first and that would take the better part of the morning. Doing it this way also gave the set stylist more time to finesse the main set. The first talent was not scheduled to show up until 10:00 so the main order of business was to power up the cameras and computers, fine tune the lighting on the main set, and eat breakfast.

The Wardrobe Stylist and Hair & Make-up Artist arrived at 9:00. we went over the look we were going for and the wardrobe stylist ran out to get a few additional items.

The first talent showed up right on time (actually they all showed up a bit early!) We got him into make-up and it took a few rounds to find the look we were going for. The first one always takes a bit longer than the rest. But we did start to run a little behind schedule. Thankfully as the day went on we not only caught up be finished ahead of schedule.

Each of the talent really did a great job, followed direction and really got into their characters.

We were shooting with the Hasselblad H3DII (39 Megapixel). As we shot each of the portraits we averaged about 100 frames per model. We finished shooting the portraits around 12:30 / 1:00. We broke for lunch and once everyone was fat and happy we moved onto the big set to start the main shot. Wardrobe, Hair & Make-up, and Art Dept. all made their final tweaks and touch-ups and we started off. We shot the bulk of the shots without the dog as we knew we would have limited time with him, and we also knew we could composite almost anything in post-production. It was really great to be able to just spend a few hours letting the guys play. Almost from the moment we started I had a grin on my face because I knew we were going to get the shot I was after.

The dog came in around 3:00. We shot a bunch of shots of the dog in with the guys. All said and done we ended up with around 200 frames of the group shot. We then let the talent go, and quickly altered the portrait set-up so that we could do a portrait of the dog. That was fairly quick & easy. We then swapped out and did a quick still life of a container of chow mein. I wanted to have “hero” shots of all of the key participants, and the Chinese food was definitely one of them!

By the time we wrapped the chow mein shot the Art Dept. guys had the set almost completely struck. The only real task left to do that day was to wrap all of the gear, return all of the rentals and clear out the studio. We didn’t have a ton of time to evaluate what we had done that day, there would be plenty of time for that, the next day. But I was not worried. As we had progressed through the day we had pulled a shot here and a shot there from each set-up, and I was completely confident that we had accomplished my goal.

One other item that we did before the shoot was to make contact with our retoucher and forward them all of the illustrations and any other scrap material we had for their reference so that they could begin the process of thinking about what they were going to do with and for the final product.

We are scrambling right now to get some materials out to clients and so must put off the final few entries till next week. We will hopefully be able to post an entry on Monday about the shoot itself and follow up with a few notes on post-production.

Have a good weekend and we’ll be back on Monday!

Monday arrived and the shoot was one day away. The set stylist arrived at the studio and started his magic. The assistants went and picked up all of the rental equipment as well as all of our in-house equipment and we made several trips over to the studio to load in. A better part of the morning was simply organizing everything and setting up the cameras and computers to make sure all was functioning. We set up some preliminary lights and assessed the situation and decided on renting a few more items to fill out our arsenal.

After lunch and another run to pick up the additional rental items we started in earnest on pre-lighting. The individual portraits we would do were fairly straight forward as far as the set was concerned. We would simply be shooting them against a simple wall flat that was to be of the same material as the larger set. We wanted to have this be separate from the large set so as to be able to light each set independently and be able to start shooting while the set stylist was still finishing the main set. We had a tripod on the portrait set and a studio stand for the main set, both with quick release heads so that we could move the camera back and forth between the sets and always be able to snap right back into the exact position.

Above is the Portrait Set-Up with the larger set in the background. Again, these were simply going to be head and shoulder shots so we only needed a small wall segment for them to stand in front of.

Once we had the portrait set dialed in we moved over to the main set which was still very much in progress. We set the camera and and a few of the main set pieces and did some general lighting and around 6pm had to get out of the stylists way so that he and his crew could finish.

There was still a lot of work to do before we started shooting, so tomorrow would be an early start.

Shoot day is drawing near and we had the studio reserved for a Monday and Tuesday. Monday was to load in, build sets, and pre-light. Tuesday was for final lighting and of course the shoot and then we needed to strike the sets and wrap out on the same day. But before Monday arrived. A lot of final checks.

We called all of the talent including the animal handler and gave them call times and locations. The schedule was set up something like this; We knew Hair, Make-up & Wardrobe would need some time with the guys as they came in. And we knew that we would still want to finesse the light a bit when we got in on the morning of the shoot, so we planned to shoot individual portraits of each of the models to accompany the main shot and we planned to do those first. That way we could stagger their call times and by the time we were done with the portraits, all of the talent would be there and in costume, and we could proceed to the main shot. It would also give everyone time to get the gist of the shot we were after. So we had the first model come in at 10:00am and then staggered the rest every half hour. We did not have the dog come until mid afternoon, because I thought we would just shoot him separately and drop him in during post production.

Back to our final checks the week before… We called all of the crew and gave them call times and location as well. In addition, the caterers needed the same info and the studio wanted to know what time we were coming in both days. We had a bunch of equipment that we were going to need in addition to all of the stuff we have on hand. A list was developed and we put that equipment on hold about a week before we needed it. So we called to double check that it was all in order and ready to be picked up on Monday morning. We did a once over on the cameras and also took inventory to make sure we had enough “expendables” (i.e. Gaffer’s Tape, FoamCore, etc)

On the Friday before, once we knew everyone had their call times and what was expected of them, there was nothing left to do but sit back, enjoy the weekend and try not to stress about anything. Monday would come soon enough and then the game would be on.

Once we have had an initial discussion about creative, a lot of things start to happen simultaneously. One would be casting, which we have already talked about. Once casting is done and talent is locked in, it is time to get all of the model info to the wardrobe stylist so that they can start shopping. Certainly a discussion with the stylist will be necessary so that they are clear on what is needed. It is often a good idea to have the various stylists talk to each other to ensure that there is no cross over or nothing forgotten as a result of one stylist thinking the other was taking care of something.

A longer process is props and sets. As all of these items usually have to be approved by the client. For this particular shoot, since I was the client it was easier to spend an afternoon going around town with the stylist to go over things rather than him e mailing hundreds of photos of what is out there. It also spawned conversation about alternatives which was great.

At this time if we were doing this production for a client we would also start building the production book. This book contains everything pertaining to the shoot. Every person involved would be listed with phone and e mail contacts. Locations and maps. List and photos of talent with agency contacts. A breakdown of the shoot and schedule. Photos of all of the props to be used etc.

And lastly, one of the most important things to coordinate… The Food! Find a great caterer. It makes all of the difference. I would share the info of mine, but I don’t want them to get so busy that I cannot get them anymore!! On this shoot, everyone was pitching in and doing things for as little as possible, so for me it was important to feed them really well!!

Another quick segue from the Case Study. My assistant Dylan pointed me to the new public beta for Lightroom 2.0 that Adobe is running. Right now our system is operating smoothly, and while I am the first to want to try the latest thing, I am going to exercise restraint in this instance and opt for stability. It is sounding like the full version might be available late summer or early fall. But check it out here. Download and have fun!

Continuing with the Case Study… After we would do the estimate and make any adjustments required by the client or agency to secure the project, we would get some kind of commitment from the agency, whether it would be a P.O., a signed copy of the estimate or an advance check, we would just want to make sure to have something in hand before we proceeded.

But once we got the official okay, the next step would be to lock in the dates. So, that would mean putting a “hold” on the studio, assistants, all of the various stylists, and any talent that may have already been decided, although it is more likely that that would still be yet to come.

If one was using a producer, most of this would fall under their responsibility. We haven’t talked much about producers, but if your budget can afford one, they make your life infinitely easier as it is up to them to worry about most of these details and up to them to make sure it all comes together seamlessly. The majority of the stuff we will be talking about in the next series of posts would most likely be handled by a producer.

Once dates are locked in, it is time to get with the art director to start talking about “creative” .. or in other words, what this shot is actually going to look like. For shots like this I would usually bring the set stylist in on that conversation so that I am not having to repeat anything and it also reduces the chances of any misunderstandings or alternate interpretations.

A quick break from the Production Case Study we have been sharing the past few days to mention that Hasselblad has FINALLY released a beta of their new software “Phocus” for capturing and processing files taken with their cameras. We downloaded it yesterday and played around with it a bit.

They have been promising this software since December and we have been anxiously awaiting it, despite the fact that it is still only a beta (test) version.

The software takes on the look and workflow similar to Lightroom and Aperture although certainly not as extensive. But it also offers the ability to capture directly into it, which is still lacking in the other pieces of software.

While this software is a VAST improvement over its predecessor FlexColor I have to say that after doing side by side comparisons I still prefer Lightroom despite its inability to tether to cameras.

The workaround we use for the Canon’s is to enable Lightroom’s Auto Import Feature from a “watched” folder and then shoot tethered to the camera with Canon’s capture software and direct the images to that folder.

There really is no workaround for the Hasselblad at this time so we generally shoot a few frames export them as DNG’s and then look at them in Lightroom to make sure we are happy, and then just do the balance of the shoot with Hasselblad’s software. Then at the end of the shoot we bring the entire project into Lightroom.

It is worth noting that going outside the Hasselblad software, you loose a few features that have the potential of being vital to your shot, namely all of the DAC features which automatically corrects for lens distortion, and chromatic aberration and vignetting.

Another item of note from Hasselblad is that the latest version of Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.2) now supports all of the Hasselblad RAW File Formats, so you can see previews and thumbnails of Hasselblad files right in the finder as well as Aperture!

You can find out more about the latest from Hasselblad at their web site.

And you can download the Beta version of Hasselblad’s Phocus here.

So I jumped ahead a bit in the last post, in talking about casting. That would normally come later in the process. I am attempting to share the order of the process as well as the details.

Normally once we would get the illustration or layout from the agency we would have to estimate out the project. Whether it was a competitive estimate (where we are basically bidding against other photographers to get the job) or even if we pretty much have the job secured we would need to provide costs for the production. Most of the time the agency has to produce a Purchase Order or P.O. and that number would ultimately have to go on our final invoice when doing our billing. The P.O. always lists a total amount for the job which we need to stay within 10% of.

So the estimating process consists of looking at all of the factors and variable of each job and coming up with solid costs and fees to produce it. Every job is different and much of the time there is an element or two that needs to be researched. Having been doing this for many years, a lot of the costs we can estimate without much effort. But we do contact members of the team we anticipate using on any particular job, to make sure our costs are still in line and that we are not missing anything.

If we were to be estimating out this shot, here is a list of what might be included on the estimate.

• Photo Fee
• Usage or Licensing Fee
• Pre & Post Production
• Model Fees
• Assistants
• Digital Processing of Images
• Equipment Rentals
• Studio Supplies
• Studio Rental
• Food & Refreshments
• Casting
• Hair & Make-up
• Props
• Sets
• Animal Talent
• Set/Prop Stylist
• Wardrobe
• Wardrobe Stylist
• Retouching
• Shipping & Messengers

These would be items for this shoot.
Other projects may include locations so we would have to include items like:

• Location Scouting
• Location Fees
• Insurance
• Permits
• Motorhome
• Equipment Van
• Mileage
• Travel Expenses

If there were kids on set we would have to include

• Social Worker / Teacher

If we were shooting products we might need to include

• Backgrounds

Of course we include all of the standard verbiage regarding our terms and conditions as well as clearly spelling out what our interpretation of the shot is, a description, the intended usage of the photo, approximate dates of the shoot, delivery of the imagery, # of days, # of shots, and specifics of what the estimate may or may not include.

And all if this would be put together on a nice and easy to read estimate and presented to the agency and then we cross our fingers and hold our breath.

The next step I took on this project was to pull together some reference photos that I could use to accompany the illustration when showing to the Set Stylist, Wardrobe Stylist, and Hair & Make-up Stylist. Especially because this was a period piece, I wanted to make sure I could convey the flavor and era that I was going for. The Set Stylist pulled a lot of reference from books. Much of my reference I simply got by browsing photo archives online. (I really can’t share the reference photos I used here, because of copyright issues. It probably would not be a problem, but I need to respect others copyrights as I would hope they would respect mine, and in this instance if I were to put them here, that would be “publishing” without their consent)

These reference photos were also helpful for casting the talent.

On this particular project we started to work with a casting company and they got us a few submissions, and ultimately one of our models. But we ended up doing casting for the other talent in-house. For the casting we put out calls through two sources we have discussed in prior posts, 1.) LA Casting Network, 2.) Breakdown Services.

We got over 1300 submission and we looked at every one. From those 1300 we narrowed it down to the top 60. From there we cut to our top 12, and finally our 4 picks. The only hitch is the our very first choice for the first role was not able to do the shoot as he was out of state and could not get in on the date of our shoot. But the position was quickly filled by our second choice who worked out just fine. Once we had our four models picked we put them on hold for the shoot date. Then we got their contact info and relayed that to the wardrobe stylist so that she could gather their sizes for all of the wardrobe.

About two months ago I came up with a concept for a shoot that I thought would be fun to do. Initially it felt like just another idea that might come and go and never get produced because I was too busy. But the image was seared into my consciousness and soon I realized it would not go away until I shot it. It became a small obsession. So once I started the ball rolling on actually doing the shot I thought it might make for a good series of posts, documenting the steps we go through, putting the production together. In most ways this production was much like any other larger production we might do for a client… The only difference is that this was a personal shoot, so I was the client.

So here we go…

Once I had the concept I quickly realized that it was easy for me to talk about it, because the image was already finished in my head. But it may not be so easy for others who would become involved in the production to look into my head to see the same image. The solution was to get the concept onto paper so that others had a visual reference as to what I was trying to achieve. This made it infinitely easier for others to converse about as we started to put the shot together. This is something that is virtually always done by ad agencies when they are presenting concepts to their client. Then these same images, once approved by the client, are then given to the photographer and production team for the purposes of estimating out the job and then ultimately putting the shot together.

So in wanting to accomplish the same goal as any ad agency I did what they would do. I went to a company that specializes in doing just that, concept illustrations. The firm I worked with was Famous Frames, based in Culver City. We did the whole thing over the phone and through e mail. I had done a very poor stick figure drawing (I went to school for photography.. not illustration!) of the set up I was going for. I scanned it and sent it off to the artist

and then we had a conversation over the phone about the mood and feel I was after and about specifics and details. He then did a rough sketch for me to approve or indicate changes.

And then after a final phone conversation he did a full rendering of the concept and e mailed it off to me.

I was thrilled with the artists ability to transfer the image in my head to an image on paper.

Step one one was complete and I could now easily start to have conversations with others about the shot and my goals!

Last week Studio Lighting.net posted a PodCast of an interview they did with me about a month ago. Bill and Ed are great guys and easy to talk to and their web site is chock-full of useful information, tips and interviews.

Check out the podcast here.

And check out their full web site here.

We have been out of town for a couple weeks, but we are back and today we are doing pre-production for a test shoot tomorrow. Once we get the shot done I will do a bunch of posts walking you through the process of what we did and showing the step and ultimately the final shot. Stay Tuned!

We are heading out on location for all of next week. So if we get any spare time we’ll try to get a post in here or there. Also a shot or two if we take any good ones! Meantime have a great week and we see ya back here on the 18th!

Our new MacBook Pro laptop did indeed come in yesterday, literally as I was typing the last sentence of yesterdays post.
It is all up and running and should be a really great improvement over it’s predecessor. Although I am sure the increased processor speed on both that and the iMac will be an improvement, it is really the increase in available RAM that is showing up as the biggest improvement. On the iMac, going from 2.0GHz to 2.8GHz is not all that big of an increase, but doubling the RAM from 2GB to 4GB really made a big difference in performance!

So with having two of the latest computers available we should be set for at least… oh…. 6 months, if we are lucky!

So I have to formally apologize to one of my assistants, Dylan Borgman. Last summer we were doing a big production, and everyone on set had their laptops running. It was quite amusing! Nothing but MacBook Pros all over the place. Well, Dylan had just gotten one of the new ones with the glossy screen. And I couldn’t understand why anyone would want one of those. I felt the reflections would be way too distracting and annoying and thought it was just crazy, and told him so. He just kind of shrugged his shoulders and let it go with a “whatever”. It was all in good fun, but with a dash of seriouness thrown in.

Late last year we did a corporate shoot where we had two cameras running and had one connected to my laptop, and Dylan brought his to connect the other camera. The scene we were shooting was the exact same scene and we had the two laptops side by side. Although I still thought the concept of the hi-gloss screen odd, as I stood there with the client looking at both computers, I was secretly a bit embarrassed at how dull and lifeless my computer screen looked and how crisp sharp and vibrant Dylan’s looked. But I got over it…

Last month we got one of the new 24″ iMacs which have the whole iPhone “look” to them with the glossy screen and all. I LOVE THIS THING! It is such a pleasure to work on. This resolution, contrast and and clarity are so amazing. So much so that today my replacement MacBook Pro with a glossy screen should be arriving on my doorstep anytime! Anyone want a rarely used 15″ MacBook Pro with matte screen???

Don’t know about you, but quite often we need to rename a lot of files at once. Sometimes we are adding a serial number, other times we need to eliminate characters, or add a prefix or suffix. It used to be a real chore till our stock agency (Masterfile) turned us on to RName. It was freeware for Mac. But sadly it is no longer available. Luckily someone else is making a very similar if not better program called Renamer4Mac. There is also some freeware for Windows called Rname-it.

This is not software that we use everyday, but when we do use it is it a total life saver (not to mention, time saver!) One of the biggest uses we have for this is our stock agency demands a certain naming convention that is very different than our in-house naming system, and theirs makes the file name very long with a lot of characters that serve no purpose for us. But with these renaming programs we can just prep all of our files, drop them into the program and batch rename them all at once while still retaining our original file name within the new naming convention, so that we can always refer back to the original file, should we need to.

Again these are all freeware programs (free download) and great utilities… check `em out!

So as a follow up to least Thursdays post, another friend of mine (Rudy Carruolo) had read the article about Drobo and sent me a link to something he has been considering for wrangling all of his optical media (CD’s & DVD’s). Called Disc Stakka from Imation, it is a carousel that holds 100 discs and comes with Mac / Windows software that works in conjunction with it to store, catalog, and access all of your discs. You can stack five of them for storage of up to 500 discs and still only use the one USB connection.

The only issue I see with them is that they seem bulky and a bit of a space pig, but for those of you who rely strongly on optical media, this looks great! We have pretty much moved away from optical media as a primary means of storage, but many people find it is a better system for them. As always… check it out!

For any of you that may have a Leica M8, you probably already are aware, nut just in case you are not,… Leice is offering two upgrades to the camera. Unfortunately you have to pay for them and they are not cheap! One is for a quieter shutter with less vibration and the other is to replace the LCD cover glass with sapphire glass. To have them both done will set you back $1700! The upgrades won’t be available till August 2008. Maybe by then we can find low interest financing! Find out more here.

I was playing catch-up yesterday on some podcasts that I subscribe to and thought I would pass along my current favorite.

With all of the hardware and software apps that we as photographers have to keep up on, anything that can quickly and concisely assist in that endeavor is always much appreciated.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom has become one of our main workflow apps and although we are pretty adept at it Adobe programs are always so “deep” that it is hard to stay on top of all of the shortcuts, tools, and tricks.

So I have been subscribing to a podcast caller Lightroom Killer Tips. The thing I like about them is that the host (Matt Kloskowski) is clear and concise with very useful tips tools and ideas. Most of the podcasts are in the 5-8 min range so you are not stuck forever watching endless videos. Brevity is Good!

So even if you are very well versed in Lightroom, I would check out these podcasts because you may just walk aways with a great timesaving nugget!

You can find the podcasts AND a lot more, like free presets at their site http://www.lightroomkillertips.com/ and of course you can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes by going to the iTunes Store inside iTunes and doing a search for Lightroom Killer Tips and then clicking Subscribe!

I was talking to a friend / colleague of mine (Ty Milford) yesterday and we got onto the topic of Backup / Archiving our systems. Right now we are both on the method of simply copying to external disk arrays. It works fine but is a bit cumbersome. We have multiple computer systems here and the system we use for imaging is a stand alone and separate from the computer I use on a daily basis. My daily computer I am backing up using Apple’s Time Machine, and specifying an external drive as the destination. So far it has been working fine and thankfully I have not needed to access it! But knowing it is constantly updating on it’s own really gives me peace of mind.

But I really have been thinking about how to migrate to a better system for the imaging computer. With close to 3TB of information, we have a lot to stay on top of! Okay, getting to the point, yesterday Ty told me about this new backup drive system called Drobo. So I went to their web site and checked it out. It really appears to be a great system and in addition works with Time Machine!

Drobo and Time Machine together creates an automatic and secure backup of all of your data. The cool thing is that it is scalable. That is it can grow as your data does. Start out small and just add more or larger hard drives to the self contained system as you need or can afford them. Plus you are only buying bare drives and not having to pay for the fancy casings etc.

Their website has a demonstration video that shows the system, and it works on either Mac or Windows!

Although we have not purchased it quite yet I think it will be the next investment (add it to the list!)

Okay, it’s time for a shameless plug. If you are in the L.A. Area or in Southern California for that matter, or heading this direction and want to take a few days off and just get away, we’ve got the place for you!

Sagewater Spa in Desert Hot Springs. We were there last August to decompress and are itching to go again! It is a small boutique spa with hosts that could not be nicer or more fun to hang out with. It’s design is mid-century modern and clean and simple amenities create a mood of tranquility and relaxation. Customized spa treatments in your room followed by a dip in the spring / mineral water filled pool and a lovely barbeque dinner rounds out what could be a perfect escape. They recently upgraded their water filter/softener and this water softener system has been voted as the best in the country!

So go to their web site, check out their offerings, make a reservation and then just sit back, relax and enjoy!

There is a new service online that is quite innovative and particularly useful for photographers who want to license timely images for the web. It’s called GumGum. It is extremely simple and again a really good way to get your images to content builders on the web. It is just starting out, so it will be interesting to see how well it is used but the business model is great.

As a photographer, you simply open an account, upload images that you want to make available, add keywords, and you’re done. Anyone can license the image for online use and GumGum takes care of that whole process. You simply wait for the money to roll in.

Now although you can upload any kind of images, the ones that will probably reap the biggest rewards in my opinion will be the “timely” images, such as news making events, or (I shudder to even say it) paparazzi images, but I don’t see why any viable image would not have some kind of audience.

And hey, it’s free. You should check out their little video intro on the home page, it explains everything including how the pricing works. And if you are the one that has the shot of Britney in that compromising position (then again who doesn’t) maybe you can make a buck or two….