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How to Get Great Photos at Balloon Festivals and Related Events: PDF Available for Download

Some of my favorite photographs were taken at balloon festivals and other festivals around the world, so I thought you might like to know about a recent PDF Guide that I wrote entitled: 12 Tips for Getting Great Photos at Balloon Festivals and Related Events

photo © Andrew Darlow

You can download the PDF for free from this link.

If you’ve ever been to a Balloon Festival, feel free to post links to your photos or feel free to suggest one to others who may be reading this.

Some of the photos in the article were taken during the QuickChek NJ Festival of Ballooning. I often run a Meetup during a special Media Day that they have each year that allows photographers of all levels (and the media) to see the balloons up close for no fee.

Would you like more tips like this delivered directly to your in-box?

If you don’t receive my email updates, I invite you to sign up below (if you are already signed up, the system will let you know). When you sign up, you will instantly receive links and passwords to three Lightroom workflow videos, PLUS a link to a guide to help you select the right file sizes for making fine-art or other prints.

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All the best, thanks for stopping by, and I hope that you enjoy the show if you attend!

P.S. I also welcome you to join one of the Meetup Groups I run (see links below) if you would like to be invited to attend events like photo walks, workshops, etc. in the future.

https://www.meetup.com/The-Art-of-Photography-and-Photoshop/

https://www.meetup.com/nj-shore-shooters/

 

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PhotoPlus Expo 2015 – Day 2 Observations and 20 Quick Booth Suggestions

A few days ago, I posted this pre-show article about the 2015 PhotoPlus Expo, in New York City. I spent the whole day at the expo on Friday, 10/23, and even though I am very tired as I write this, I feel that it would be a shame not to recommend some booths to visit and specific things to see before the show ends on Saturday, 10/24.

There are some things that you can’t easily experience on a website or even in a camera store, so I’ve put together a list of companies in booth order in case you’d like to treat this like a scavenger hunt. I list odd number aisles from low to high numbers, and even number aisles from high to low since that’s how you would normally walk up and down the aisles. If you attend, please consider commenting below about what you found interesting and/or inspiring.

There are many more booths I could mention, but I need to go to sleep sometime! Booth numbers follow each company listed below, and I Highly Recommend Checking Out…

1. Canon (#121) for their compact and impressive PowerShot G3 X digital camera with a 24-600mm effective focal length (35mm equivalent), and the G5 X (24-100 mm), which has a super-sharp EVF (Electronic Viewfinder). I was also impressed by the capabilities of Canon’s new 430EX III-RT Speedlite. The prints in the Canon gallery are also stunning. Thank you to Syl Arena of Pixsylated, and this episode of the TWiP podcast for the tip (I probably would not have known about the new flash had I not listened). On the page I linked to, you can also find a link to Syl Arena’s presentations at the Canon booth, and more information about the new flash.

2. G-Technology (#149) for their many well-made storage options. I learned that all of the enclosures they ship contain HGST hard drives, which have an excellent reputation in the industry.

3. Museo (#169) to see some incredible prints by Les Picker on matte and fiber-gloss papers. Picker’s work has appeared in hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles, including National Geographic Society publications.

4. OWC Digital (#170) for their many storage options, and a dock called the Thunderbolt 2 Dock that can turn one Thunderbolt port into a wide array of inputs, including Ethernet, FireWire 800 and three USB fully-powered 3 ports (no external power needed).

5. Digital Silver Imaging (#173) for their true black and white digital silver prints and a new, easy print ordering system via their soon-to-be released iOS app. They are a pro imaging lab based in Massachusetts.

6. Peleman Industries/Unibind (#258) for their instant book binding and print mounting options. If you want to make a book quickly, they have some excellent options.

7. Sigma (#337) to see their many lenses and the impressive exhibition of backlit prints of various “critters” by David FitzSimmons.

8. Moab Paper (#354) for their “wall” featuring the same print made on different papers, as well as a beautiful presentation of face mounted prints on acrylic using their very unique paper, Moab Slickrock Metallic Silver.

9. Polar Pro (#361) for their new product, PowerGrip H20, a innovative tripod/extension arm, as well as a huge collection of GoPro and Drone accessories (GoPro users should definitely see their case with a built-in battery charger for two different GoPro battery types).

10. LensBaby (#372) for their many impressive lens offerings, including the new Composer Pro II with Edge 50 Optic. Definitely bring your camera to get the most from your visit there.

11. MagMod (#562) for some truly innovative magnetic shoe-mount flash accessories.

12. WD (Western Digital) (#573) for their many storage products, including the bus-powered WD My Passport Pro 4TB portable RAID storage with integrated Thunderbolt cable.

13. Peak Design (#669) for a look at their Everyday Messenger bag. The bag, which comes in two styles, was recently launched via a Kickstarter campaign that raised nearly five million dollars. The company has quite a few other new products worth a look as well, including The Field Pouch, three new waterproof camera covers called Shell, new and improved Peak Design anchors (if you know their products, they look like thumbnail-sized round disks with a cord attached), and a new system for changing lenses called CaptureLENS.

14. Hahnemühle (#655) for a look at all of their papers, including their newest Baryta paper called FineArt Baryta Satin. They also have artist signings each day.

15. Miller’s Professional Imaging (#701) for their many offerings, including small wood photo boxes that holds 4×4 inch mounted prints and matching stands. Very simple, yet elegant.

16. Epson (#707) for their amazing print gallery, and for a look at their newest line of fine art papers, called “Epson Legacy Papers.”

17. Blazing Editions (#859) for their truly jaw-dropping print samples. The company is a professional imaging lab based in Rhode Island.

18. Professional Graphics Systems (#933) to take a look at their impressive printed samples on different media and to see a sample of a removable, repositionable fabric material I had never seen before called Photo Tex. This material seems ideal for when you don’t want to use adhesives on walls when hanging prints.

19. LumeCube (#959) for their incredible new super-compact, powerful and waterproof LED external flash and video light (and companion iOS app).

20. WANDRD (#1227) to see their very innovative backpack, the PRVKE Pack. You can check out the company’s Kickstarter campaign here (ends 11/5).

I hope that you enjoy the show if you plan to visit. You can always check the companies’ websites for more info and updates (they are all linked above).

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PhotoPlus Expo 2015 Returns to NYC 10/21-10/24 – Tips and Selected Show Floor Talks

It’s almost here! As I always say, the toy store of all toy stores for photographers and videographers is returning to New York City in the form of the PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo. The conference runs from Wed-Sat. 10/21-24 and the Expo runs from Thurs.-Sat. 10/22-24.

One of the best parts of the show is the fact that there is a LOT of free education and many fantastic photo opportunities (for example, amazing still life sets, male and female models, sports-related action, etc.) all around the show floor.

There are also many outstanding fee-based seminars happening, including post production seminars by industry experts including Katrin Eismann, Stephen Johnson, Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski and Julieanne Kost.

And even if you can’t make it to the show this year, you will find a lot of news and info (plus special offers) being mentioned on many of the social media feeds of just about all the companies who are taking part. The official PhotoPlus Expo Twitter feed is @PhotoPlusExpo, and their Facebook page can be found here.

TIPS FOR GETTING THE MOST FROM PHOTOPLUS EXPO

Here are some tips for getting the most from the show.

1. Read the Press Releases for the Show: The press releases for the PhotoPlus Expo have a lot of information about what’s happening at the show, including free and fee-based workshops and events. You can find all of the releases from the show organizers here.

2. Download the Free PhotoPlus Expo App: The PhotoPlus Expo app is truly fantastic resource. The app allows you to quickly view dates and times of many events and seminars. It also allows you to view a list of exhibitors with their booth numbers, and you can star (favorite) them and then refer to them later (under “Favorites” on the home page). I can’t tell you how helpful this was to have last year while walking the show floor compared with using a printed list of exhibitors. You can even mark a booth as visited, and you can take notes in the app for each exhibitor. I’m almost sure the app is iOS only, and here’s a link to it on Apple’s App Store.

3. Bring Your Camera to Test Different Lenses and Accessories: There’s nothing like being able to put the latest and greatest lens or flash unit on your camera to put it through its paces. Not every company will allow you to do this, but many will, and it can be very useful when trying to decide between a few different products.

4. Bring Media Cards to Test Different Cameras: By bringing a few smaller capacity and EMPTY SD/CF cards to put in cameras that you really want to test, you will come home with images that you can “pixel peep” to your heart’s content. I write EMPTY and smaller capacity because it is very easy to forget that your card is in a camera, and I’m sure you would not want to leave any important data (or an expensive card) behind.

5. Don’t Miss the Competition Galleries and other Photo Galleries on the Show Floor: Every year there are galleries of prints on the show floor containing absolutely stunning work. I never have enough time to spend there, but I’m always happy that I can enjoy the work.

 

6. Take Photos of the Booth Event Schedules: Some companies will publish their booth speaker schedules before the show, but many don’t. As you pass by schedules of events and speakers that look interesting to you, you can take a quick photo and refer to it at a later time.

7. Drink a Lot of Water! It can be tiring walking the show floor, especially with a bag full of whatever you bring, pick up, purchase, etc. 🙂

You can find more tips for getting the most from the Expo in this article from the folks at F-stoppers.

If you’d like to attend just the trade show but haven’t requested a free pass yet, you can sign up here. Free “trade show only” tickets are available until the end of day on 10/20. After 10/20, you may still be able to get free trade show only tickets by using an exhibitor’s code or link. Using the following set of keywords in your favorite search engine should bring up some companies offering links to free passes: “photoplusexpo 2015 free tradeshow pass.”

LIVE PHOTOGRAPHY THEATER TALKS ON THE SHOW FLOOR

Here’s a schedule of 30 minute presentations happening on the show floor in the “Photography Theater.”

SOME PHOTOPLUS-RELATED LINKS

• The main website for the PhotoPlus Expo.
• My review of some of the things I found very interesting from Day 1 of PhotoPlus Expo 2014.
• My review of  PhotoPlus Expo 2013 (many of the same exhibitors will be attending in 2015.
• My review of PhotoPlus Expo 2012.
• Link to the PhotoPlus Expo iOS app 

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UPCOMING MASTERING LIGHTROOM 6/CC WORKSHOP IN BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ WITH ANDREW DARLOW

Would you like to supercharge your Lightroom workflow? I’m returning to Berkeley Heights, NJ on Sunday, 11/22 for a full day workshop titled: “Mastering Lightroom Workflow: From File Organization to Effortless Manipulations.” The best way to find out more about the class is to sign up for my free Meetup Group here. Or you can download a PDF describing the workshop here.