Due to the overwhelming positive responses I’ve been receiving, along with the many requests for an extension on this contest, we’ve decided to run this contest for one additional month. At PhotographyBB, we firmly believe in a life long learning process, hence the decision to extend this contest! If you are not familiar with the contest yet, here’s how it goes:

Beginners are free to ask any photography or image processing related questions they have on their mind, and our more experienced members (”experts”) are free to add their responses to the questions. At the end of the new deadline (April 5th, 2010), we’ll be picking one beginner question, and one “expert” answer to receive a prize pack each! Here are the details and rules one more time:

Beginners: Ask Your Questions!
We want all of the great folks who are just getting started with photography, digital SLR cameras, and image processing to put on your thinking caps and ask any question you may have burning inside you. There are 3 categories for you to post your questions in, and they MUST follow a specific format (see the brief “Rules” section for details).

The categories are:

• Digital Photography
• Photoshop
• Lightroom / Bridge / ACR

Beginner’s Rules:

1. All questions must be submitted in the CORRECT category in the PhotographyBB Forums. If you are not yet a forum member, registration is extremely fast and free. Any questions submitted into the wrong category will be eliminated.
2. When posting a question, the SUBJECT line of your posting must be related to your question. For example, we will not accept subject lines that read, “I need help!”. An example of an appropriate subject line would be, “What is Manual Mode?” If your question is a long one (which is great) please title the subject line appropriately so the “experts” can have some idea what the posted question will be regarding.
3. Maximum of 5 questions per person.
4. Contest period runs from Feb 5th to March 5th, 2010.

Experts: Share Your Knowledge!
To all of our more experienced members and those of you who enjoy sharing knowledge and helping others, we haven’t forgotten you! We want you to post your answers to the beginners’ questions, and since we want to encourage your participation you may answer as many questions as you can. There are some rules for our expert submissions too, namely:

1. You may answer as many questions as you would like to, however, the most thorough and easy to understand responses will be most likely to win our “experts” prize package.
2. If a response to a question has already been posted, you are still free to add to the reply. Once we feel that the question has been answered appropriately and thoroughly, the thread will be locked.

That’s really all there is to it folks! Once again, we will have 2 prize packages, one for the beginners and one for the experts. The winner of the beginners contest will receive Scott Kelby’s “The Digital Photography Book” volumes 1 through 3. The winner of the experts contest will receive a copy of “VisionMongers” by David duChemin. Both groups will also receive our entire collection of Premium Photoshop Actions. There will be some additional prizes to be added, which we will reveal shortly! Check out the categories, have fun asking and answering questions, and in the process we’ll be helping the whole photography community!

Feb 26th, 2010 – VANCOUVER, CANADA: PhotographyBB announced today, the release of the 25th edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine. This edition marks the two year anniversary milestone for PhotographyBB, who continue to educate beginner and intermediate level photographers in digital photography. PhotographyBB Online Magazine has become a leading resource in the future of free information distribution, offering readers: Digital Photography tips and techniques, DSLR camera function training, and image post processing tutorials in Adobe® Photoshop™, and RAW processing in Photoshop Lightroom™.

The Two-Year Anniversary edition examines the role of amateur photographers looking to break into the professional realm, along with the impact on the photography industry. Additionally, portraiture and flash lighting techniques are featured, along with a guide on what to look for when purchasing a new lens.

Editor in Chief, Dave Seeram had these comments regarding this recent release:

“I am extremely proud to announce the release of our Two-Year Anniversary edition. It’s been an amazing journey so far, and thanks to the help of our talented team of contributing authors coupled with our growing readership, the magazine continues to grow and evolve as we head through 2010.

This edition covers portraiture lighting techniques, and how to achieve a balance between ambient lighting conditions and portable flash units. We also continue our detailed look at some of the new features in the Lightroom 3 beta release, including the Watermarking Tools and the new Identity Plate. We are also extremely pleased to welcome world-renowned photographer, Kevin Kubota, into the spotlight. Kevin was very forthcoming in telling us about his professional life as a photographer and how he got to where he is today, and it was a pleasure to do this interview.

In our Photography Around the World feature, we’re off to Canada for a trip through the Canadian Rockies. From the wildlife to the icefields, you’ll get a great look at the spectacular scenery which British Columbia and Alberta have to offer.”

By way of download in either PDF or ZIP formats, PhotographyBB continues its trend through the future of free downloadable magazine distribution. In a completely ad-free format, each issue contains informative and educational tutorials for amateur and intermediate level photographers.

In addition to articles which aide photographers in getting the most from their DSLR cameras, the PhotographyBB Online Magazine also features useful and applicable tutorials on how to use post-processing tools such as Photoshop and Lightroom, to build on digital photography post-processing skills.

PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available for free download through the PhotographyBB Website at: http://www.photographyBB.com/magazine

PhotographyBB was founded in Oct, 2006, and is a division of PowerButton Central (2004).
For more information, visit the PhotographyBB website at: http://www.photographybb.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/photographybb
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/photographybb

Firstly, a very Happy 20th Anniversary to the wonderful folks who created and who continue to create Photoshop! Where would your life as a graphic artist or digital photographer be without this wonderful tool? Check out this 17 minute video of various clips throughout the history of Photoshop, as well as a modern look 20 years later to today’s current version.

Happy 20th Birthday to Adobe Photoshop! Just look at the evolution of this marvelous piece of software genius. Here’s to 20 more years (and more) success in the industry of graphics, image processing, and most importantly… innovation. Can you remember which was the first version of Photoshop you used? Remember to visit the link we posted yesterday to view the Adobe TV presentation with the original architects of Photoshop as they run the original Photoshop 1.0 on a rebuilt Apple Macintosh – sweet!

Additionally, in celebration of this event, PhotographyBB is having a one-day 20% off sale on all our Pro Photoshop Action Packs. Just use the coupon code: ATN20 in the shopping cart to receive your 20th Anniversary discount.

Once again, congratulations to the fine folks at Adobe, NAPP, and all of the other Photoshop professionals who continue to succeed in an ever changing industry. All the best, and Happy 20th Anniversary Photoshop!

On the eve of the 20th anniversary since the launch of our favourite image editing software, the birthday celebrations are in full swing for our beloved Photoshop! Here’s a cool little look back at some of the thoughts of the original architects of the software, in a clip of a video which Photoshop TV will air tomorrow night. Just imaging if these guys hadn’t gone forward with their plans… where would we be today?

This event will be broadcast via the web and the video will be available in it’s entirety here: http://tv.adobe.com/go/photoshop-20th-anniversary

Also, you won’t want to miss NAPP’s (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) Photoshop party being held tonight at 7:30PM PST where you will see all of the Photoshop gurus like Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski, Dave Cross, and some special surprise guests. The party will also include a look at some cool stuff that nobody has seen yet, and we’re all invited! NAPP is streaming the event live through this site here: http://www.photoshopuser.com/photoshop20th

It’s sure to be quite the party, so join in the fun. If you are a “Tweeter” then you can participate by adding the hashtag #PS20 to your Tweets, or follow the Photoshop Fan page on Facebook for some additional social networking celebrations. Today and tomorrow, PhotographyBB will be having a 20% off all our Photoshop Actions in celebration of this great achievement in software design and longevity (for 20% off, use discount code ATN20 in shopping cart). Congratulations Photoshop!

It’s been a short break from our usual biweekly assignments, but our photography assignments are back! What are the photo assignments all about? Our photography assignments are engineered to challenge our members by having you shoot photos based on a given theme. The themes are designed to inspire and help photographers break out of their shells, and push the boundaries of your creativity and photography, thus making us all better photographers in the process. Assignments are open to everyone, you must simply be a member of the PhotographyBB Forums. If you are not yet a member, please consider joining and participating in the fun – it’s free afterall!

Your assignment theme is: Long Exposure (1-second or longer).

That’s right! We want to see what you can come up with, given the theme above. Your exposure must be longer than 1-second (up to any length), so think hard about all of the things you can capture given the parameters of having a long exposure. Tip: A long exposure doesn’t necessarily have to capture motion in the photo. As with all challenges, you may submit up to 3 photos, and photos MUST be taken during the assignment time window (Feb 17th – Mar 3rd, 2010). Top choices will be selected and published in an upcoming issue of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine.

Entries must be submitted here. Click to view and/or submit your photo.

Be creative, have fun, and happy photographing!

The Olympics are on in full swing here in Vancouver, and so is the tight security which was promised before the games even arrived. Shown above here is just about the only shot that any amateur (or non-media) photographer can get for the time being. This shot was taken about an hour after the cauldron was lit by the Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky.

The Olympic Cauldron is surrounded by the most hideous barricade, with only a few meters of chain link fence allowing photographers and visitors to get a glance, or if lucky, press their lens through the tiny holes in the fence for a view of the cauldron. Because of this, a group of photographers are requesting more visible access to this important symbol of the games, which it appears the IOC may take into consideration. As it stands, families cannot take any decent photos of themselves standing in front of the cauldron, so hopefully this will change before the games are out.

As for now, here is my shot of the cauldron. Sure to be one of many of the thousands shot from the exact same location, but I’m proud of it, proud to be here, and enjoying myself to the fullest!

The day has finally arrived! Olympic fever is sure to kick into high gear today, as we all get set to watch the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. I’ll be out with the camera snapping as much as I can, and if any of you have non-event related photo request please feel free to comment them and I’ll do my best. It looks like rain for the next little while, but I won’t be letting it stop me from testing the shutter button.

Shown above are the Olympic Rings shot from Stanley Park with the city as a nice backdrop. It’s a great place to walk around, not only for Olympic sights, but for plenty of photo-ops in general. The rings light a different colour every night, and some nights they light in multi-colour (which I have yet to capture!).

Just a quick and friendly reminder for anyone who is interested in picking up either our newest Action Pack – Watercolor Pro Actions, or any other Action pack for that matter. The 20% off discount ends tonight at midnight, so if you are thinking of purchasing any, please take advantage of this sale while it’s on. The discount code is ATN20 and must be entered into the shopping cart before you checkout. As always, I love seeing your results with the Actions, so please feel free to email me your creations, or post them for everyone to admire in the PhotographyBB Forums. Enjoy!

As the city of Vancouver leads up to the Olympics during this final week, I find myself getting strangely more excited about the games. Why wasn’t I excited before? To be completely honest, I was only ever interested in watching a few certain events, but there was also this looming awareness of the politics behind the Olympics; especially now that they were in my own backyard. Like most of us, I’ve been doing my own belt-tightening when it comes to frivolous spending. I’ve cut back on entertainment, going out to eat, and even buying photo-gear. However, when it comes to our tax dollars, our government’s standpoint is that the sky is the limit when it comes to spending, and blank cheques are  plenty available in the name of Olympics. Sure, there are going to be *some* lasting benefits to these games, but none of which are going to have any sort of day-to-day impact on most of us.

Sails lit up at Canada Place

Hence, I decided that since the world is coming to Vancouver, I am going to be a part of it and make the most of it. What better way than to take as many photos as possible, and see the things that we normally don’t get to see. The city has never looked so alive and spectacular; there is literally something exciting to be seen in every corner. There are Olympic venues, decorations, free events, torch relays, and so much more going on in the city right now… it’s a photographer’s playground.

Olympic Rings at Sunset

So to all of you who carry a camera, and even those of you who don’t normally. Grab your gear, get out there, and take a moment to just have some fun shooting. Think hard about how you would like to capture the Olympics from your point of view, and tell your story through a lens. There are sights to see, people to meet, and memories to be made. We’re paying for the games to be here, so let’s do what we do best and take some brilliant photos to show the rest of the world who aren’t able to be here to see it for themselves.  It’s true what they say: “The world is what you make of it”; for myself, I’m making it a colourful and photographic one!