Good Morning Everybody,

I hope Santa was good to everyone over the holidays and you had a chance to just relax the long weekend away. We managed to get the 300 image custom bound album delivered to my client by Christmas Eve - but just barely. I finished it with just 2 hours to spare - whew!  We are now wrapping up the New Year's card they need by Thursday of this week. Sometimes things never end ;~)

Hey gang, today I thought I'd give you a few updates on some good things happening around here for the new year. Here we go...

Santa Brought Me A Canon 100mm F2.8 IS Macro Lens For Christmas!

Santa was pretty good to me this past Christmas - he left me Canon's brand new 100mm F2.8 IS under the tree.  I actually used it for my Christmas Day image right here.

I have to tell you, this is one of Canon's sharpest lenses. At least that is the results I’m finding from the testing I've seen on it [link]. Yes, it is one of their L-series lenses too and we know what "L" stands for, don't we - "Lots of bucks."

I've always thought that the next best place for Image Stabilization should be on a macro lens.  Why, because close up, the "lens jiggle" is similar to the

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Shore Ice Originally uploaded by Rick Blythe. Here is a photo I got today down on the shoreline of Lake Ontario. I like it because it contains three elements of nature: ice, wood, and stone. The original photo was not so close in, but when I viewed the photo in full size I noticed how much better it was than the larger one of the whole log. So I began playing with different crops of the photo and basically decided on this scene as it had the most interest. Chill Originally...

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Holiday gatherings are great opportunities to take pictures your friends and family will enjoy for years to come, so it’s wise to get the camera out early—while everyone’s fresh—and follow these tips to help make the most of your pictures from this special time of year. Get the GroupIt can be difficult to get everyone in one place. While you have the whole gang together, take a group or family portrait! It will probably be a treasured keepsake. Be CandidResist the urge to make every shot...

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A really common question we get around here is: What type and size memory card (SD, SDHC, MMC, CF, xD) should I buy for my digital camera? Early digital cameras mostly took CF (COMPACTFLASH) Cards. Later, camera models accepted SD (Secure Digital) and MMC (MULTIMEDIA) Cards. When SD cards reached their limit of 2 GB, the industry developed SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) Cards, which have much greater capacities.   SD/SDHC Card Sizes We recommend SD Cards (up to 2 GB)...

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Good Afternoon Everybody,

I knew I was getting close but today is the day.  Yep, it’s my 2000th post here at DigitalProTalk.com! That means to date at DigitalProTalk that you can read over 1.4 million words on  Photography, Lighting, Photoshop, Lightroom, Business Building, Sales, and Marketing – and most ALL of it is original content!

You can view over 500 “Image of The Day” posts most with all the EXIF data and back story of each shot.

You can also view over 100 video tutorials on Lighting, Lightroom, Photography, and Photoshop posted over these last 24+ months.

So how many words is that? Well, if you had to read Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” in high school - as I did – and it was a long read totaling over 560,000 words, then DPT to date is well over twice as long.

In those early days, it was tough to get the posts up on a daily basis.  Even today, many times, even when time is short, I always managed to get the posts up many times to the consternation of my blog editor. 

And my blog editor? – Well, a GREAT BIG thanks goes to LaDawn who proofs nearly all the posts, correcting

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Hue of November Originally uploaded by Rick Blythe. Just a shot from today's walk along the waterfront. The rays of light seemed worthy of a shot so I took it. What I didn't expect was the color rendition. On first viewing it looks like a sepia converted photo, but this is actually right out of the camera. Seasons and weather patterns have a way of doing this. It's no spectacular photo, but it does capture the feeling of the moment.

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Autumn Originally uploaded by Rick Blythe. Now that autumn is here there are new opportunities for getting outside and getting some nice photos. I got this shot on the weekend at a nearby creek. If you like this shot here are the details of how I got it. It was a cloudy day after several days of rain. This worked to my advantage in a couple of ways. First, the creek was rushing with lots of water and the leaves took on a vibrant colour being wet. Also, the low light conditions meant I...

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Waterfall Photos Grindstone Falls 1 second exposure. Originally uploaded by Rick Blythe. Things you will need: Digital Camera with M for manual settings Camera Tripod ND Lens filter Waterfall Find the angle and point of view that will look best in your picture. Use the camera viewfinder or LCD screen to get the perspective that will look best with your picture. If possible it is best to find a waterfall and perspective where the light is dim and where the...

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