The morning was overcast, which is always a drag for snorkeling. But a little light broke through in the afternoon. So I geared-up and headed straight out to the third buoy on my beach. Between the swell and wind, I wasn't expecting much. But to my surprise, I had one of my better shooting sessions underwater. I guess you just never know for sure.

It seemed like all of the fish were out. One of the more interesting creatures was this Sea Slug draped over a handsome coral. He was probably about 18" long. I appreciated him striking an elegant pose.

Photo by Derrick Story. Captured with a Canon SD700 IS in a Canon underwater housing. Camera set to "Underwater" scene mode.

Now Available! The Digital Photography Companion. The official guide for The Digital Story Virtual Camera Club.

• 25 handy and informative tables for quick reference.
• Metadata listings for every photo in the book
• Dedicated chapter on making printing easy.
• Photo management software guide.
• Many, many inside tips gleaned from years of experience.
• Comprehensive (214 pages), yet fits easily in camera bag.

Technorati Tags: Derrick Story, digital photography, Technology, The Digital Story, Underwater

When I'm on vacation, I try to be more like a normal person and less like a photographer. One of the ways I do that is to put a compact camera in my pocket and leave everything else behind. This usually means that I'm shooting Jpeg.

It's funny, now that I've been shooting Raw for a couple years, I really notice a difference when I process Jpegs in Aperture. I'm so used to being able to recover vast amounts of image data in the highlights and shadows. I have so much information to work with regardless of the slider I'm using.

After processing a day's worth of Jpegs, I feel like I'm image editing with one hand tied behind my back. I move a slider expecting a certain result, and the image just doesn't respond "right." It's a good reminder of just how powerful Raw photography is.

Does this mean I'm going to start lugging all my photo gear around? Nope. I'm still on vacation. I'll shoot Raw when it's convenient. But the rest of the time, I'm still going to be a tourist.

Photo of Dragon's Teeth formation near Kapalua, Maui, by Derrick Story. Captured with a Canon SD700 IS in Program mode.

Technorati Tags: Derrick Story, digital photography, technique, Technology, The Digital Story

A new and terrific feature in Bridge CS4 is Collections. If you haven't heard of them, they are virtual folders that you can use to view your pictures in various groupings without compromising the integrity of your organizational structure. So you can pull a picture from here and from there, put it in a Collection, and use that for display or publishing. When you're done, you can discard the Collection, and there's no impact on your organizational folders.

I've published a new screencast on CS4 Collections that shows you the ins and outs. They are quite handy.

Learn more about it in The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers

Technorati Tags: Creative Suite 4, Derrick Story, digital photography, Technology, The Digital Story, Adobe Bridge

Seems like just yesterday that I was taking a new Canon G9 out of the box and testing it in the field. I was impressed with the camera a year ago, and I'm still using it regularly today.

But now we have the Canon PowerShot G10.

I just finished reading an excellent Canon G10 Review on PhotographyBLOG, and the biggest take away with the new release is the 28-140mm zoom lens, which provides substantial breathing room on the wide end (28mm vs 35mm). Sacrifice is required on the long end, however, with a reduction from 210mm to 140mm. Fair enough. Physics is physics, right?

Honestly, the big concern for me was the decision by Canon to increase the megapixels to 14.7 (from 12) instead of providing better high ISO performance. Sadly, the G10 doesn't capture any better at ISO 400 or higher than the G9.

Despite the ISO disappointment, this looks like a great camera, that is, if the prospective photographer doesn't already have a G9 or comparable compact. So, unless they're willing to spend nearly $500 US for a wider zoom, I think many photographers will sit pat and see what Canon does up the road.

Technorati Tags: Derrick Story, digital photography, Technology, The Digital Story, Canon PowerShot G10

I booked a late flight for my last day in New York so I could roam around Manhattan and enjoy a little street shooting before returning to California. It had rained pretty hard the night before, but it cleared in the morning resulting in clean, crisp walking weather.

I decided to take the Olympus E-520 because it was light around my neck, and 10 MP Raw files felt about the right size. It's a great little camera, and shooting with it put me in a creative mood.

The first image (above) was recorded in Grand Central Station. I was standing on the balcony above watching a dad try to pose his children for a souvenir snapshot. He worked hard, I hope he got what he was after.

I wandered down to the Chrysler Building because it's such a wonderful structure, day or night. I'm always looking for a new angle to capture this old favorite. First, I found a good reflection in a glass building across the street. Then I discovered how to frame both the reflection and the Chrysler building in the same composition. This is the result.

Finally, I discovered that they had installed an ice skating rink in Bryant Park. This little haven is always a great place to hang out on nice Sunday afternoons. The tree-lined park is located behind the New York Public Library, with lots of places to sit and enjoy the day. This shot is of a mom teaching her son how to ice skate, probably for the first time. He passed a little test, and they both were thrilled resulting in this "high ten."

I'll talk more about the trip in this week's podcast.

Photos by Derrick Story, captured with an Olympus E-520 DSLR.

Technorati Tags: candid, Derrick Story, digital photography, grab shot, Olympus E-520, Technology, The Digital Story

I've posted a new screencast that shows you the ins and outs of Photo Downloader, the bundled app that comes with Photoshop and enables you to organized your workflow during import. I also demonstrate how to add your copyright and how to simultaneously back up your photos to another drive, all automatically during the downloading process.

This screencast is based upon Chapter 2 of The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers, and is free for the downloading.

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Technorati Tags: Technology, The Digital Story, Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers, Photoshop CS4

The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers is now in stock on Amazon.com. The CS4 guide designed specifically for photographers is selling for $16.49 US. It fits nicely in the laptop bag and contains everything you need to know to get started with CS4, or to decide if you need to upgrade.

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Technorati Tags: Technology, The Digital Story, Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers, Photoshop CS4

The new tools in Photoshop CS4 elevate this application from the king of image editing to a complete workflow environment. In my sessions today at PhotoPlus Expo, I'll be showing photographers how to leverage all of Photoshop's assets. The five keys to working more efficiently are:

1. Import your images using Photo Downloader
2. Cull your images in Bridge using Review Mode
3. Save culled photos as a Collection, then add star ratings
4. Image edit picks in Adobe Camera Raw
5. Use Photoshop sparingly, but intelligently

When I show this workflow, I almost always get the response, "Wow, I didn't realize Photoshop could do all of that." It can. I'll keep you posted on how the sessions go over today.

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The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers shows you the complete workflow for Photoshop CS4 in a pocketable guide that fits in your laptop bag.

I'm in New York now and will be heading over to Javits Convention Center soon for three days of PhotoPlus Expo. This is a terrific event for photographers, both on the floor and in the sessions.

I can be your eyes and ears while working here. So if you have a burning question that I might be able to find out about while exploring the Expo floor, post it here. I'll do what I can and include what I find out in next Tuesday's podcast wrap-up from the event.

I've posted a good overview of what's happening in the O'Reilly Media booth at PhotoPlus. As you may know, they are my publisher, as well as the publisher for lots of other interesting people. If you're attending PhotoPlus, you might want to bookmark this O'Reilly Schedule of Events.

I also want to remind you that there are new Adobe Camera Raw updates available, as well as for Lightroom 2.1 and a minor update for Aperture. If you're using any of those apps, you might want to download those and get them installed.

I'll also be posting tidbits from the show on Twitter. So you can follow along there too.

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Events! See the TDS Event Calendar for photography workshops, speaking engagements, and trade show appearances.

I just got word that a limited batch of The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers will be delivered to PhotoPlus Expo. That means visitors to the O'Reilly Media booth will be able get a first look at the CS4 guide written specifically for photographers. It will also my first look at the printed version of the book.

If you're coming to PhotoPlus Expo, then be sure to stop by the O'Reilly booth for a peek.

Events! See the TDS Event Calendar for photography workshops, speaking engagements, and trade show appearances.