Colby Jones sent me the following image. After taking a close look at the home on the right I decided that I’m definitely going to be decorating my house the same way this holiday season.

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I’ve got some really great photography gear, but I’ve decided that my hand-held shooting, even with a shoulder-pod and an image stabilized lens, is disappointing. I just can’t get the razor sharp images I want.

At the same time, I rarely have time to set up a tripod, even if I’m carrying my tiny little 2.5 pound Benro Travel Angel. So, I’m adding a Monopod setup to my photography arsenal. And the monopod setup I’ve chosen was recommended by professional photographer Yuri Arcurs (the world’s top selling stock photographer). The video that convinced me is below.

The main reason I am going with the Manfrotto 685B Neotec Monopod he recommends is because it’s the only one with a quick extension system. Watch and learn…
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You know, people often tell me that I’m a terrible influence, and frequently warn me when I’m around the kiddos to watch my mouth. But I’ll have you know that I had nothing to do with supplying this kiddo with booze and smokes!

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On Friday night my friend Mark Ramsey took me out to watch the Dallas Desire take on the Los Angeles Temptation. You might be saying, “the WHO take on the WHAT”? Yeah, I know. And no this is not a joke – those are two of the teams that make up the Lingerie Football League!

And believe me, the teams were named appropriately! Good lord! Let me see if I can describe to you what we experienced, even though who am I kidding… by now you are probably already staring at the photos below! (All taken on my Canon 5D Mark II with the 70-200mm 2.8L lens attached by the way…)

Anyway, Mark and I went out to the game, which started at 9pm on a very chilly Dallas evening. It was 50 degrees outside and windy. Those of us on the sidelines were wearing jackets, pants, etc. and were still cold. But out on the field, there were about 20 ladies wearing nothing but “uniforms” the size of bikinis and shoulderpads. And, it was obvious that they were cold…

Anyway, as soon as the game got underway, two things became clear:

1. The chicks were smokin hot! And I’m pretty sure the fact that they were playing football contributed to the sex appeal, because it’s like most men’s dream come true. A girl who loves football!
2. These ladies are tough! This was absolutely full contact football, and none of them was afraid to tackle or be taken down. They were in it to actually win the game, not just stand there and look good.

I will warn you that if you look hard enough at the photos I’ve posted, there are a few which captured an unintentional “wardrobe malfunction” that one of the girls had after scoring a touchdown. I had no idea I photographed that because it was across the field from me at the time, but such is the power of long zoom lenses combined with 21 Megapixel camera technology.
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For those of you who didn’t get to join us on the BlogWorld 2009 Photowalk in Las Vegas, I’m embedding a photo slideshow here so that you can see all the pictures from the group that accompanied me on the walk.

We had a great time, and thanks to all who joined in!

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Folks, one of the most important aspects of digital photography is making sure that the color on your photos is accurate. And absolutely the only way to ensure this is to take control of your camera’s white balance setting at all times. This is something that you can do by shooting a grey card (like this Ezybalance Card (Grey/White)), or you can use a fantastic tool called an ExpoDisc (make sure and get the size equal to your largest lens diameter).

Let me illustrate the point very quickly with a couple of sample images.

This first image comes straight out of the Canon 5D Mark II with a Canon 70-200mm lens. This is a $5,000 camera setup, and the camera was set on “Auto White Balance”. Basically, what I’m telling you is that your camera is definitely no better at auto white balance than this rig.

Now, if you ask me, that is a nice photo. The colors don’t look so bad, and I kind of like how the columns are a bit “rich” in color. All in all, no one would be complaining. Until they see what the image should have looked like…

Here is the same shot taken with a custom white balance set using an Expodisc:

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Sometimes people ask me about what it’s like to visit Greece. And I tell them that there is really no place like it. From the crazy metropolis of Athens to the volcanic island of Santorini, it’s unique in every way. And if that isn’t enough, you’ll constantly discover gems like this one…

On the Island of Zakynthos you’ll find one of the most famous beaches in Greece. Navagio Beach, or the Shipwreck, is notable because it is home to the wreck of the alleged smuggler ship Panagiotis; thus, it is often referred to as ‘Smugglers Cove’. If you are going to try and find it, here are the coordinates: 37°51′28″N 20°37′36″E / 37.85778°N 20.62667°E / 37.85778; 20.62667.
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Well, since I’ll be attending and speaking at BlogWorld / WordCamp in a couple of weeks in Las Vegas I thought it might be fun to organize a photowalk if anyone is interested in a get together and an evening of exploration and fun. You see, I’m a semi-professional photographer, and an amateur tattoo artist… (think Talledega Nights people.)

If you’ve never been on a photowalk before, essentially what we are going to do is all meet at one place and then walk around Las Vegas seeing the sights, talking, taking photos, and perhaps grabbing a beer here or there. Also, I’m going to take you off the strip, so you’ll see things that most people never do when they come to Vegas.

Now, there are a few good reasons to participate in an event like this:

• I have been to Vegas more times than I can count. I’ve taken hundreds and hundreds of photos of the city, and I’ll take you right to where you can get some great ones.
• Wandering around after dark by yourself might be a little scary for some people, so a group event is safer and more fun.
• If you love taking photos, then you’ll love Vegas at night. There is simply not a better spot for night photography.
• And finally, if you would like some tips and tricks, I’ll be happy to provide some instruction for anyone who needs it along the way.

As far as the details are concerned, here is what I’m thinking…
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For those of you who haven’t figured it out yet, I’m at Photoshop World in Las Vegas this week learning as much as I possibly can. On Tuesday I was in an all day seminar, put on by Canon and taught by Eddie Tapp and Jack Reznicki, in which we studied lighting and composition theory, actually had a photo shoot with real models, and then came back to the classroom for editing and retouching instruction.

Being completely new to portrait photography, this was a day of firsts for me. I had never worked with remote strobes before (fixed lights that act like flashes which are triggered wirelessly), I had never worked with a professional model, and I had never edited a portrait in photoshop.
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As I mentioned in my blog post yesterday, this week is the Photoshop World convention in Las Vegas and I’m here for a week of fun and learning! But after only a few hours in town, I’ve already got a whopper of a story to tell! Screw the whole “what happens in Vegas…” crap.

So Photoshop World is at the Mandalay Bay and thousands of photographers will be converging there from all over the world. In fact they’re sold out. So I had to stay next door at Luxor.

Well, I checked in and dropped off my stuff in my room, then grabbed my camera to go walk and take some photos on the strip. Of course, the Excalibur is the first hotel on the way down the strip, and I’ve taken photos of it literally every time I’ve been in Las Vegas. But this time I took some photos OUTSIDE the hotel, and as I was going to walk through the hotel to get something to eat, a security guard stopped me before I could enter.

He wanted to know my name, where I was staying, and my room number! He told me it was because I was taking photos of the outside of the building! And claimed it was for “homeland security”.
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Tonight we had another massive lightning storm. We got a lot of these here in Texas, and I was workin it with my camera this evening. I stayed out capturing these photos until the lightning was within about a mile or two of me. The sound was deafening! I literally had to put ear plugs in because it was painful. My wife thought I was crazy too. ;-)

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Yesterday I went to the pre-season Cowboy’s game and watched them lose in the last few seconds to the 49ers. It was miserable. But at least I got some decent photos while at the game!

That’s right, Jerry Jones has decided to allow people to bring their cameras to the game! So I marched right on in with my big ass Canon 5d Mark II with the huge 70-200mm lens on it for good measure. It was fantastic! And it allowed me to get most of the shots you’ll see here below. Though a few were taken with the 50mm prime and a few with the 15mm fisheye.

Hope you enjoy them. And I’m embedding a Flickr slideshow in the site here for the first time instead of uploading all the images. This is experimental for me, so you guys let me know if you like this better, or not so much as when I put all the images here.
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