New Editors' Picks: Valentine's Day Photos

The Photo.net editors have published a Valentine's Day Photos article, highlighting some of the members' best work relating to this thematic holiday.

"Valentine's Day: a romantic kiss in a busy city, the intricate glimpse of a rose, a dancer performing gracefully, red angels getting down on the dance floor, a string of bleeding heart flowers, children playfully holding hands, a brilliant sunset over a lake, a pair of cranes flying in tandem, the manifestation of love in its many forms..." -Photo.net editors

View More: Editors' Picks: Valentine's Day Photos


Not feeling the love. Image by Todd Laffler

January 2008 Featured Member

Jerry Ting's portfolio is filled with any number of interesting images of subjects from people to cities to nature. There is no doubting Jerry's skills with a camera, but it is his bird photography that particularly stands out. Successful bird photographers have to juggle uncooperative weather, long periods of waiting, heavy and expensive equipment, and a subject who can up and decide to leave at any moment. Jerry does a wonderful job of capturing the wildness and beauty of his avian subjects, while still being mindful of light, form, and background composition.

“The main reason that I am so deeply into nature photography is because there is nothing more beautiful, genuine and original in my eyes. For me photography is the most appropriate way to honestly record the moment, express my feelings towards nature and share it with the audience.

Of all the numerous subjects in nature photography, I think birds are the most fascinating. I started bird photography in 2004 and have been addicted to it ever since. It always fascinates me when I see a tern dive vertically into the water and capture a fish, an egret gracefully flying low over the still water to return to its nest, a hawk grab its prey and perch on a branch to enjoy the meal, a song sparrow standing tall on a shrub and calling for a mate…etc. I can always find something different and interesting when I am in the field taking bird pictures.” -Jerry Ting


Read More: January 2008 Featured Member


Image by photo.net member Jerry Ting

Business of Wedding Photography Series

Learning to make excellent images is only half of the equation to being a professional photographer. Learning to build, promote and run a successful business is equally important if you want to make a career of photography. To help with this process, Managing Editor Hannah Thiem has gathered a group of Photo.net's most active and successful wedding photographers for a discussion on the business of wedding photography. Covering everything from promotion to legal issues, there will be 11 articles in all. The first 6 topics have been published:

1. Determining your personal style and breaking into the field
2. Self-promotion and public relations
3. Web sites for the professional wedding photographer
4. Portfolios and making the sale
5. Pricing structure
6. Contracts

"We use a selling technique, which we refer to as Wedding Photography 101. We spend a lot of time showing the clients why we took a particular photograph and explain the lighting and posing. We also look at B&W photos and sepia to get a feel for what the client really is looking for. In a sense, we are teaching the clients about the art of wedding photography." -Bob Bernardo

"Consistency and individuality is important with portfolio presentation. The best photographers can be recognized from their images. The average photographer tends to copy and never develop their own identity." -Jeff Ascough

Read More: Business of Wedding Photography


Image by David Wegwart

Canon Rebel XSi Preview

Canon released details on the latest addition to the Canon Rebel line, the Canon Rebel XSi.


"Canon has released information on a new entry level DSLR, the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi, also known as the EOS 450D. They have increased the pixel count from 10MP in the Rebel XTi to 12.2MP in the XSi, increased the LCD size from 2.5" to 3" and added a Live View mode. The AF system has been improved, the continuous drive speed increased to 3.5 fps, and there's now a 45-JPEG-image buffer." -Bob Atkins

Read More: Canon Rebel XSi

Pentax K10D Review

Justin Serpico, Pentax photographer, has taken an in-depth look at the prosumer Pentax K10D. He's also given us some insight into the capabilities of ISO 1600 on the Pentax K10D, and provided tips on winter photography with the K10D.


"For a lot of photographers, one of the main selling points of the K10D will be its Shake Reduction system. Unlike Canon and Nikon with their in-lens stabilization, Pentax has gone the route of Sony/Konica-Minolta and created an in-body system. The advantage to this is very obvious. Every one of your lenses becomes a "stabilized" lens, without the weight or cost associated with in-lens IS systems. A 20-year-old manual focus lens will see the same improvement as a brand new lens will." -Justin Serpico

Read More: Pentax K10D Review


Image by Justin Serpico

Sony A200 Preview

At CES in Vegas this month, Sony released details on their latest DSLR, the Sony A200, an upgrade to the A100.
Bob Atkins wrote a brief preview on the Sony A200.


"According to Sony, compared to the A100, the A200 adds ISO 3200 sensitivity, 1.7x faster autofocus, a larger (2.7") LCD, lower image noise, a quieter shutter, and adds automatic popup to the built-in flash. Sony has also added a battery life indicator and made some changes to the menu system to make the camera easier to use." -Bob Atkins

Read More: Sony A200 Preview

Nikon D300 Review

Shun Cheung, Nikon photographer and photo.net Nikon forum moderator, has taken an in-depth look at the prosumer Nikon D300. He's also given us some insight into the capabilities of ISO 3200 on the Nikon D300, and tested the capabilities of Nikon's new AF module, providing example images of birds in flight.


"Compared to the Nikon D2Xs, the D300 has an improved high-ISO performance (by approximately 2 stops) and a considerably faster frame rate (8 fps with grip vs. 5 fps). Also, the D300 is less than half of the D2X's initial selling price. Many D2X owners are upgrading to the D300 as the D2X is a somewhat dated design and its main advantage over the D300 is higher build quality." -Shun Cheung

Read More: Nikon D300 Review


Image by Shun Cheung

December 2007 Featured Member: Art Meripol

Art Meripol is a photographer living in the US southeast. He has been a working professional for over 30 years now. His images have appeared in many newspapers and national magazines. He is the Senior Travel Photographer for Southern Living Magazine, which he describes as his "dream job". I'm sure that many of us would feel the same way.

While all of his photography is impressive and reflects his high level of skill and knowledge, it was Art's excellent concert photography that is the reason he was chosen to be this month's "featured member". Perhaps because the same sort of artistic mind that enjoys photography is also drawn to music, concert photography is something that many photographers try to do at one time or another. A concert photographer has many challenges to overcome; difficult lighting, limited locations, indifferent subjects to name just a few. Art deals with these issues and still manages to create images that reflect the soul and style of the musicians he is photographing.

"Access is everything. Having access by working for a newspaper made it much easier for me. There are so many small publications in towns that focus on culture today. I would first approach them to see if they would let you use their name for access in return for some photos for publication. Also, to get started, try approaching local music clubs and offer free copies of whatever you shoot in return for access. As skills inprove, your 'name' in the scene will too. Never come across less than professional. It's ok to be a fan but don't act like one. Nobody is a bigger music fan than me but when working, only work." - Art

Read More: December 2007 Featured Member


Image by photo.net member Art Meripol

New folder re-ordering system!

“You think we’re sleeping in Dusseldorf? You think we’re taking a nap in Cologne? No, we’re working at night — each night a new dial, a new knob, a diode, a transistor …” — Professor Krassman (Mel Brooks), the Muppet Movie

Another long awaited feature has made it's photo.net debut. There is now a slick new system for re-ordering the folders in a user's portfolio. It operates in much the same way that the previously announced image re-ordering system works.

Go to your "my workspace", then click on "manage your portfolio" (under the "your portfolio" heading), then click on "Re-order the folders in your portfolio". Just click and drag your folders into whatever order you want
them. Click the check boxes if you want to hide individual folders from your
normal portfolio view. Don't forget to click "save", or your changes won't take
effect.

We've tested the system, and it works just fine for us. But if you find any issues, please post them in this feedback forum thread.