AfterCapture Magazine Featuring Digital Imaging Contest Winners Available Free for Download

A few days ago I had a chance to read through the newest edition of AfterCapture magazine. I was extremely impressed by the overall content and the many fantastic before and after images from their 2012 AfterCapture Digital Imaging Contest, sponsored by Wacom. It’s rare to have an opportunity to see how photographs go from “Raw” to a finished image, and I found the issue very inspiring. If you do any post-processing of your images, I highly recommend taking a look. It’s free to view online from this page.

PhotoPlus Expo Returns to New York City Oct. 24-27, 2012 – What to See and Do

The PDN PhotoPlus Expo is returning to New York City from 10/24-10/27/2012. I’ve been attending the show for about the last 20 years, and it has, without a doubt, helped shape my career as a photographer, writer and educator. In my early 20’s, I can remember walking the trade show floor and being amazed by the large, detailed prints on the walls, as well as the incredible photo and lighting gear as far as the eye could see. Many of the seminars I attended over the years helped me to prepare for my seminar talks related to printing, Photoshop and Lightroom at the Expo in 2008 and 2011.

These days, my favorite things to explore at the show are the booths that showcase different prints (inkjet or lab-produced prints). I always find a new paper, canvas or other material that blows me away. I also always enjoy seeing the many book options from many different companies (from oversize wedding albums to DIY (Do it Yourself) books). The exhibitions from different photo competitions throughout the show are another high point. Here’s an article I wrote from the 2009 show to give you a sense of some of the items I’ve highlighted in the past, and here is an article that I wrote covering 10 tips for navigating the show. All that being said, I think that the best part of the show is reconnecting with friends from the past and meeting new people from around the world–especially those whose work I’ve seen or whose articles/blog posts/Facebook posts I’ve read.

Below is a screen shot with an overview of some of the special events happening during the show (I’m looking forward to attending many of them). For more information about the special events, see this press release. And to register for seminars, special events or just for the trade show floor (registration is free for the trade show floor until 10/24), visit this page.

This year, I’ll be posting my thoughts and sharing photos from the show floor on Facebook and Twitter. You can keep updated by “Liking” my page here and/or by following me on Twitter here.

Facebook Improves Timeline Post Viewing on Facebook Pages

I woke up this morning, posted something to my Facebook Business Page, and was happily surprised. After expressing my thoughts on Facebook and some blogs about a little blue box that would “hide” recent content on my Page (see screen shot below), all of my recent posts and images that I now see on my Page are lining up nicely, and all older stories are loading nicely as I scroll down the page. Hooray! This is just my observation and your milage may vary. However, I checked a few other Business Pages and they appear to have the same updates and functionality.

This is a screen shot of my original post that expressed my thoughts on the old Facebook Page format:

The previous Facebook Timeline layout would "hide" recent posts behind a small blue button that read "See More Recent Stories.".

This is important to me (and I would guess many others), because it was so easy to just skip over that little blue box, thus missing out on many stories, links, etc. from the recent past. In essence, the old approach made me feel as though I was wasting my time sharing information about which I was passionate.

Thanks Facebook. I’d like to think I was part of this decision, but it really doesn’t matter who gets credit for it (maybe Mark Zuckerberg has me on his “must read list.”) This may just inspire me to upgrade my personal page to the Timeline format. But wait, I may not have a choice, as per this Techcrunch article.

If you’d like to see what I’m seeing now on Facebook Fan/Business pages, feel free to visit my Page. My Facebook Photo and Printing Tips Page has over 1000 posts on the topics of Photo and Printing Tips, links to images that impress me, photos from events I attend, and more. You can find it here: https://facebook.com/andrewdarlow.

And if you’d like to receive 12 tips from my book, 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques over the next 12 weeks, plus updates and information about workshops, exhibitions and more, sign up to receive my free newsletter below: