Canvas, Photo Books and Frames...

One of the reasons why I take pictures, is because I do like how some of them end up looking hanged on a wall. I have used not a lot of them out there but some services such as Canvas On Demand, ImageKind and Shutterfly. Here are my experiences with them and some samples. Hope this helps.

Canvas on Demand

They have a very substandard website when it comes to features and functionality, there is only a selection for choosing the sizes, where to load you picture and that's it. Their sign on process is a little bit different where they ask you for a link to your site with some sample work , and a business tax id (which is not required to submit the web form) after a few hours I got an approval email granting me access to the ordering part of the website.
In this example, this was a custom size print, and they couldn't offer a frame, just the classic gallery wrap.

They have an excellent Customer Service department. If there is any questions on the order they call you directly within 24 hours to get any clarification also contacting you via email. They are also the cheapest I believe for canvas printing. On the downside they dont provide a lot of variety of frames to choose from. I have added here some samples to show you the type of frames which I think they are plain. After my first order I received an email invitation to take advantage of their pro discount. 40% off if ordered 3 canvas and the name of the studio should appear on the face of the print. On this example you can see the "Studio Sample" legend added by them.

The quality of the print is excellent, I have attached a full shot of a canvas made from them based on an HDR. Their shipping is excellent, I would say sometimes a little too much cardboard but by far they are the best deal around.

ImageKind

I found out about them trough flickr. So the nice thing about it is that they can import your sets and collections from them directly. They also provide some pseudo-hosting for them to be a store front to sell your images, I havent used this functionality yet.
I have used them for framing prints, and once for one canvas.
They have very good variety of frames, I have added a couple of samples here of the framing quality they provide. There are tons of options but It can very pricey very quick. My largest print with them (32X23) cost me around $100.00 with a nice frame, mat and matte materials and custom size. They also do very nice odd size frames. I have put together 3 pictures (55.5X20.6) panoramic and they came out pretty good

They do everything online, and you can see previews of your print with the different framing options. Their process is quite efficient, I have never had to call them as they do everything pretty much "a-la amazon.com". The paper and quality of print is top notch, no complaints there. All around they are very good, but it can get quite pricey. I dont see a lot of promotions coming from them, even tough they have a special going on right now due to the Olympics. Their canvass are quite good, the quality of the print I would say is around the same as canvas on demand. But they have much better variety of frames as mentioned before. My largest canvas is from them (35.3"X25.5") with a nice frame it cost me around $217. I have added a couple of samples.

Shutterfly

I have only use them for printing books and posters. The book quality is quite good, the paper and the online software to create the book is quite acceptable. You can preview the book online with your pictures, there are tons of options for the layout, color, styles and templates of the book. Their service and shipment are good. So I would recommend it for books printing needs. I dont have anything else to compare it against, but I am very happy with the quality of both the print and the book itself. It has survived a couple of dog bites from my dog lulu, and that is good enough. Here are a couple of pics from some books I orders trough them.

I have spend lots of $$ printing and using different companies, so if you have any questions, drop me a line. The only good advice I can give is make sure to color calibrate your monitor, and also do a cheap run of prints with somebody like Target just to get a small preview of what you will be getting.

Enjoy

Fantastic LR 2.0 Tip -Workflow-

Going trough my Photo related RSS feeds I bumped into one that caught my eye and wanted to share. This guy develops different presets for LR. I haven't read his profile in detail but seems pretty knowledgeable, more than me anyway. His suggestion on workflow seems a very simple approach to leverage the new smart collections functionality in LR2. Give it a shot, I have been using it for the last day or so and it really simplifies the workflow process, leveraging more of the tool and less on my memory. Probably every digital darkroom workflow is

different but I think this provides a good head start, you can customize your collections and smart collections to suit your flow. I have taken a screen shot of my smart collections folder and the link to the source collection that creates the folders is here. Read his entire post and will shed more light on this. All resides on the concept of a dummy collection (0.0) where the pool of your work needs to transferred. After this the rest of the smart collections work his magic. The only thing you need to do is import the catalog with the single picture he has (you can delete that later). Any questions, leave a comment! Enjoy

del.icio.us Tags: LR,Lightroom,Workflow,Digital Workflow,Photography,Adobe,Smart Collections

Camera Back Pack Reviews

Other than my camera and lenses, I have spent the most time researching and buying camera bags and equipment storage. Here are my 2 cents on some of the bags I own..

National Explorer NG 5162 Construction is very nice, the best thing about this bag is its versatility. I have been able to fit an E-3, the Sigma (Bigma) 500mm, the 2.8 50-200mm Zuiko and my E-410 with the wide angle lens. On top of that on the back it has space for a laptop. It says it can fit a 17" laptop but is very very tight. I was able to fit a 17" Lenovo. Lots of pockets to put all your other stuff and a nice feature is that it has a top compartment that you can remove the bottom and connect to the camera storage area. Its very good for carrying a small tripod on the side (I carry a Manfrotto 190X). Downside is that it can become very heavy and in order to access your equipment you have remove your bag, put it on the ground and access your equipment. Very good for travel on an airplane as well.
Lowepro Slingshot 300 Very nice for small treks and city walks, it has a ton of space. Was able to fit the same or more equipment than in the NG but without the laptop. Problem is it can become very heavy and problematic for your back as the entire weight is being carried on a single shoulder. Is great for quick access to cameras. I sometimes carry my 2 cameras, hang my E-3 around my neck and leave the 410 for wide angle shots inside the slingshot
Lowepro Fastpack 350 This is by far the best compromise between the slingshot and the NG. It can fit at ton of stuff, Both my camera bodies with their lenses and an extra equipment. It can also fit a laptop, I have carried a Lenovo 17" with it. Is carried as a backpack but it allows the same quick access that the slingshot offers. I have had this bag for 4 weeks and is great to travel and carry around. Only piece missing is a good spot to hang a tripod.
Storm Case Im2500 This is where I keep my equipment at home, the one I dont use very often or that is not readily store on my Fastpack. Is great for keeping your equipment out of the dust, lots of space and you can buy accessories. It comes out of the box with the foam that can be shaped for fitting tightly with your equipment or with the Velcro dividers that are also customizable. Also other accesories can be purchased for the inslide lid. This is great for home storage or to move all your equipment in one go.

del.icio.us Tags: Lowepro,camera,bag,review,slingshot,National Geographic,NG,Camera,Bags,Backpack,analysis,Storm Case,storage,mobile,laptop

DSLR Magazine Review

While you are trying to hone your photography skills is good to have a good set of books to help you try out new things, but I have found magazines to be a good resource as well. If you go to your local bookstore there are tons of them and can be a little overwhelming. Here is a small review of photography magazines mostly focus for digital and that are manufacturer independent (probably because nobody focuses on Olympus ;) )

Unfortunately I haven't found a magazine from the US that really meets my needs, I think that the UK based ones are much professional, offer better reviews and provide lots of trips and tricks. On top of that, almost every UK magazine comes with a CD which includes videos, sample images from the magazine articles to which you can apply the lessons learned. Very Cool....

So here are the magazines I have read at least twice and I have highlighted the ones I get on a regular basis

• Digital Photo Pro
• Digital Photo
• What Digital Camera
• Outdoor Photography
• Outdoor Photographer
• American Photo
• ShutterBug
• Photography Monthly
• Digital Camera World
• Digital SLR User
• Digital SLR Photography
• Practical Photography
• Digital Photographer
• Popular Photography

I buy Photography magazines almost every time I go to Borders or B&N. I look for magazines that provide tips and recommendations for different shooting scenarios (outdoor, concerts, studio, action...) as well as to practical tips on how to improve your workflow specially Lightroom and Adobe Elements. All up, UK's magazines are much better in that respect. When I find a good tip I put one of those color stickers on the page and move it to my "photo notes" book.. ( I will write about that some day soon) ("Yes sadly I am that much of a geek)

Here are my 2 cents before you go on and subscribe to any of them:

Digital Photo Pro: (6 out of 10)

I actually own a subscription to this one, is OK if you are looking to get inspired from other people's portfolios. The articles are good a little bit too technical some times. The quality of the pictures and magazine itself is great, but looking at my box of magazines I dont have a single "sticker" on any of them, meaning I havent gotten something practical to remember when I go out shooting that I would like to put on my nerd book

Digital Photo (UK, 8 out of 10)

This one is actually quite good, I dont buy it very often, I would say that they spend 50% on product reviews, 50% on articles. I think they make up for it, with this amazing website to find a lot of answers. Out of 4 numbers that I own I have taken quite a few tips around travel photography, good ideas to try on the studio, etc.

What Digital Camera (UK 3 out of 10)

If you are unsure what camera to buy, get 3 or 4 numbers from the magazine read it, and then never buy it again. This magazine offers great unbias reviews but no more.

Outdoor Photography (UK, 5 out of 10)

I am not that into outdoor photography thats why I dont rate it very high, the quality of the magazine itself is average (compared to the rest of the ones from the UK)Their articles are OK

American Photo (US, 8 out of 10)

Now, this is a very good American Photo Magazine, great articles, and the stories and showcased portfolios are very good. They provide good tips but the size and quality of the print is not that exciting. If you want to subscribe to something from the US this is very good

Shutterbug (US, 7 out of 10)

Shutterbug is good, I dont find the quality of the pictures amazing, but the articles are good. The content is heavy on product reviews as well as some techniques. I am a subscriber and their subscription department provides good service. After 7 months I dont have that many practical tips taken from it, but it makes for excellent bathroom reading or while you are waiting for your wife outside of Banana Republic, I would subscribe.

Photography Monthly (UK, 5 out of 10)

OK magazine, I think they are always behind the curve. While a magazine like Digital SLR have an article on HDR, the following month Photography monthly might have something similar. I have read it twice and I am not impressed, maybe because the content is always 2 steps behind

Digital Camera World (UK, 8 out of 10)

This one, I make a point to buy it every month from Borders. The articles are very good and they have a very good mix of product reviews (25%), then take on a specific subject like travel photography (50%) with information to take to the field and the rest of the magazine is dedicated on how you can improve it on the digital dark room, they spend most of their time on Elements 6.0 or Photoshop. I have taken lots of tips from this publications such as landscape, sailing, concerts, etc. They have a very cool section when they pair a reader with a pro-photographer on a specific topic. They both go on assignment, share equipment and tips. I find this very useful.

Digital SLR User (UK, 7 out of 10)

Very similar to Digital Camera World, but for some reason I have managed to get less tips that from other magazines. They just recently changed their frontpage layout making it more attractive. Overall magazine quality is very good, and the articles are interesting. I think that if you buy Digital Camera World, you might not need this one. On a good note, the pictures and the quality of the print is fantastic

Digital SLR Photography (UK 8 out of 10)

This one I make a point to buy every month as well. I have managed to pick up lots of articles and tips that I transfer to my "geek-book".The quality of the print is fantastic. They spent a good chunk of pages on showcasing amateur photographers (that judging by their pics they ought to be professionals). Very good un-bias reviews every month. You should get this one if you can.

Practical Photography (UK, 9 out of 10)

Looking at my magazine box I can tell you, this one has by far the most geek labels that I have transferred to my note book. The quality is at par with the best of them, for my taste they spend the right amount of pages doing reviews (less than 25%) and the rest is devoted to very good articles, tips. Only downside to this one is that they dont talk much about the digital darkroom and not a lot on elements which is what I use. Otherwise great articles that can be applicable to your every day photography situations.

Digital Photographer (UK, 10 out of 10)

To me, this is the best magazine out there, I manage to pick up 4 or 5 tips for every issue. From book reviews, to ideas for the studio as well as to ideas and tips on how to use Elements to enhance what you did on the field. On my end, I believe this is a most specially if you are getting started, like I am ( I have been shooting 1 year). Best of all, every 6 mos or so, they publish a book, with close to 200 pages dedicated to a single subject. I have only seen one dedicated to Travel and Macro Photography. These books are very useful and almost every single page contains good tips on the subject matter.

Popular Photography (US, 8 out 10)

I own a subscription to this one and is a very good well written magazine. I have managed to pick up quite a few good tips. It has the right mix of the reviews, articles. Not so much on workflow, but still the articles are very interesting. Only downside is that is not as well constructed in terms of cover and paper quality as the ones for the UK and therefore the quality of the prints suffers. But overall I would keep my subscription

Hope this helps you make a decision on what to spend your precious hobby money....

del.icio.us Tags: review,magazines,photography,digital,SLR,Olympus,Canon,Nikon,Pentax,magazine Review,subscription,Digital Photo Pro Digital Photo What Digital Camera Outdoor Photography Outdoor Photographer American Photo ShutterBug Photography Monthly Digital Camera World Digital SLR User Digital SLR Photography Practical Photography Digital Photographer Popular Photography