In This eNewsletter:
How To - Organize and Sort Your Images Using a Rating System
Industry Perspective- Digital SLR Sales are Booming
What's New This Month - Kodak, PhotoFiddle, and PocketWizard
Test Report - Canon’s EOS 30D
Test Report - Bowens’ Esprit Gemini Flash System
Vote! - How do you think photography is best taught?
Workshops & Contests - Learn and Show
Shutterbug Forums - Your Photo & Digital Imaging Source

Once you’ve shot your pictures and begun the process of downloading, naming, storing and backing up, there are many junctures at which you can make critical decisions about what to keep, and what to toss away. Yes, it’s difficult to throw away any image, but given that digital tends to encourage overshooting it’s important to make some decisions about similars, bracketed shots and especially those that are beyond the reach of Photoshop. Some of these discards are obvious, and when you open your images right after downloading in your browser you know what’s got to go. But others are borderline, and experience shows that some images that might have been thrown away later turn out to be your favorite.

One way to begin to triage your images is to use a star rating system, available on many programs including Photoshop CS2 and Elements and Apple’s Aperture. This allows you to respond almost viscerally to an image by assigning it a star or stars as you go through your folder. It may sound like giving kids in kindergarten points for good behavior, but it does seem to work well enough for the top names in image editing and organizing software to have adopted it even to their higher-end programs.
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Digital SLR Sales are Booming
By Ron Leach, Publisher

Like most industries that thrive on innovation, the business of photography tends to be cyclical as new technologies are unveiled, refined, introduced at the high end of the market, and eventually made available to the mass consumer. And right now the photo industry is on an upswing thanks to booming sales of entry-level digital SLRs at prices that were unthinkable just three years ago. This development has also generated considerable interest in the myriad of related accessories like lenses, memory cards, storage devices, photo printers and other digital imaging gear.

The Photo Marketing Association predicts that sales of digital SLRs in 2006 will increase by 24% over last year, which saw a 36% increase as compared to 2004. It is estimated that total D-SLR sales this year will exceed 1.4 million units. The momentum for this robust growth is being supplied by photo enthusiasts who have seen prices drop to the point where digital SLRs are no longer viewed as expensive tools for the professional photographer.
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Canon’s EOS 30D
by George Schaub

It’s getting to the point where cameras are truly microprocessors with lenses. For those who have shot film in the past, today’s digital SLRs give access to the look and feel of every film ever made at every speed with every color, contrast, and grain nuance you could imagine. While film builders create a combination of image attributes fixed in a micro-thin emulsion on a piece of acetate, today’s digital SLRs emulate their art with the turn of a few dials and the push of a button or two. In addition, the image-processing program inside the digital SLR offers a whole kit bag full of filter effects, including options for those who enjoy black and white photography. Indeed, combined with the latest pigment ink printers and fine art paper surfaces, the latest digital SLRs have spawned a renaissance in black and white, digital style.
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Bowens’ Esprit Gemini Flash System
by George Schaub

The Travel-Pak battery is a take-anywhere power source that comes with a handy carrying handle and case with shoulder strap. Note the two outlets; both 500 ws heads or one at a time can be used.

The Gemini kit is composed of two flash heads (monoblocs), two heavy-duty 9-foot stands, two umbrella reflectors, two umbrellas, all cords, bulbs, and cables, as well as a strong duffle bag-like carrying case. The optional Travel-Pak battery was also utilized. The supplied stands come with an “L” bracket that allows you to mount the heads in vertical or horizontal positions. Once mounted you can choose from either AC or battery power; be sure to set the appropriate switch on the back and avoid connecting both at the same time. Once you do, the green “go” light comes on quickly and you’re ready to shoot.
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Digital Photography Workshops - Understanding Digital Photography
The mastery of digital imaging concepts and technology is essential for anyone working within the photographic arts today.

Anchell Photography Workshops
Steve Anchell is a contributing writer to Shutterbug and Rangefinder magazines. He is also the author of The Darkroom Cookbook and is working on a companion title, The Digital Cookbook. He has been teaching photography since 1979. For more information visit his website at www.anchellworkshops.com.

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