As mentioned inside Shelton Muller’s photography tutorial video that I’m sharing with you today, ‘ depth of field is a powerful tool for telling the viewer that which you consider to be significant in the image and highlighting the subject.’  

Depth of field picture comparison (Shelton Muller)

 Click on the arrow below to watch the video (more than 411,000 views so far).  

  

For more great resources and popular photography tutorials, I recommend you take time to hop over to => Total Image  .You’ll be in for some great moments inside the wonderful art of photography.  

Want to know more about Shelton Muller? Click on this image. It is worth the trip

 And if you have some photography tips that you would like to share, do leave a comment below, as we would love to hear about it.  

Until next, happy shooting.   

Janice  

How To Leverage The Power Of Videos

I have something great to share with you today!  

Did you know that YouTube is now second to Google for the most popular search engine on the Internet?  Yep, that’s right. After Google, Internet users are making YouTube one of their primary reference tool. 

Consequently, it is of the highest importance that you create a video channel on YouTube in order for friends, family and customers to gain access to the valued information, products or services that you have to share and offer. 

The potential of YouTube for search purposes is huge! There is no question that the next step you must take is to learn how to leverage the power of videos. 

“Easy to say…but how can I do that?” 

Well, the best guide out there now is the newly released FREE video marketing guide, Rapid Video Blogging,  by Gideon Shalwick. 

As we know he always does,  Gideon, once again  over delivers with a clear, easy, actionable step-by-step blueprint that you can use right away to build your credibility and establish a relationship with your targeted audience.   

In a nutshell, here’s the system to put in place: 

Rapid Video Blogging System Chart

So, stop everything you are doing now, “block the time”,  download the free report, print it out, grab a beverage of your choice and in less than 5 minutes you’ll be reading it . 

Rest assured, nothing boring, no hype, no “guru talk” and that is why you won’t be able to lay the book down once you start reading it,  even though you’re in for a couple of hours.  (The table of content alone has 4 pages! ) 

Read through the 7-step Action Plan and then act on the checklist provided at the end to make it all happen. It’s awesome…   

Click On This Image To Access The FREE Download Page

If you were in search of a breakthrough, this is it! In a nutshell, you are about to discover how to combine video marketing and list building to best communicate with your following and customers through YouTube within a very easy, fast and profitable method. 

Furthermore, Gideon’s just opened the door to his Rapid Video Blogging Coaching Course that will give you the complete hands down on top optimization strategies to have your videos rank well in Google and YouTube. A perfect timing!  

I’ve been following Gideon for quite some time now and can assure you that “he walks the talk” and has gained, in the last four years, the respect of the people in the offline and online industry.  

Get your FREE copy of Gideon’s Rapid Video Blogging! It’s the smartest report you’ll find on how to start and grow a successful online business using the power of video marketing.  

As Paul Colligan said : “Read the report, but more importantly, do what it says”.  

A complete, new and improved set of tools and strategies to become the leader in your niche.

To your success and all the very best.  

Have you ever wondered how to make money with digital photography?

Would you like to grow your own photography business to produce a steady monthly income?

Would you like to learn how simple it REALLY is?

If you answered ‘YES! ‘ to the above, then Turn Your Photos Into Cash, a complete Step-by-Step Home Study Course about how to make money by selling your digital photos online covers everything you need to know.

It is the most complete and profitable money making guide available!

As a bonus, the whole course is also available in video format.

Discover 5 Secrets For Taking Picture that are Hot Sellers How to crop and edit pictures so they are more marketable

How to find picture-worthy locations near your home that are likely to make profitable stock photos

How to take greater photos

What types of images are in the highest demand

How to earn a residual income each month selling your photos at online image libraries – this is hot!

Tips on how to organize your digital photos for easy retrieval

Includes step-by-step action guides for making money from five very popular stock photography sites.

YES , I want to make money
with my digital photos,
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starting today !

Simply enter your
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   There is no risk. 60-day Money Back Guarantee ! 

The subject might disgress from the main topic but I would like to share with you today a book written by Stuart Turnbull that teaches how to find and rescue advertisements pages in old books and sell them on Ebay.  

What prompted Stuart to write his book “Prints Make Profits” was when : “(…) quite by accident, I stumbled upon an auction for a mounted/matted vintage art print that had 23 bids and over 200 hits!

That item sold for over $160…(….) as I continued my research I realized that I could dip into an almost inexhaustible supply of similar prints which were easily purchased for a few dollars each..”  

The introduction caught my attention, so I scrolled down his promotion page and found screen shots of some of his findings sold on Ebay. Here’s an example:

Old Vintage Ads- Ebay Sales

Wow..indeed… quite impressive results! 

In this very well written instructional guide, we gain access to 3 years of experience from the author of selling prints on eBay. Finding it hard to profit from selling other items on eBay, Stuart Turnbull finally mastered his own system of selling prints and makes up to $160 for every item sold on eBay, easily and systematically.

With just 2 hours per day you can start a vintage ad prints selling business and furthermore, it does not require any expensive equipment, which makes it very easy to get started with.

Old photogravures are also in demand and it reminded me of a book I bought last year at McGill’s University Annual Book Fair titled:  ”The Goupil Gallery of Photogravures from Great Modern Painters with Biographical and Descriptive Text.” published by Estes and Lauriat, Boston, 1888. 

The Goupil Gallery of Photogravures From Great Modern Painters, Estes & Lauriat, 1888

Goupil Gallery of Photogravures - List of Illustrations Waiting, by Ulysse Butin

Waiting by Ulysse Butin-Goupil Gallery Photogravures - Publisher: Estes and Lauriat, Boston 1888

Hum… it would break my heart to unbind this book to sell the photogravures on Ebay!  I will instead, go browse inside bookshops selling old books and see if I can find some specimens.

Meanwhile, I uploaded the following Scottish related vintage ads in my Ebay store for topical Art print collectors.  

Old Vintage Ads - Source: The Scottish Annual and The Braemar Gathering Book

These vintage prints are not as old though as the one’s Stuart illustrates on his Prints Make Profits promotion page.    

If you feel like testing out these products on Ebay, then the best definitive guide on the subject is Stuart’s. With a 60 day 100% money back guarantee – you have plenty of time to try out his strategy and make back your investment!

To your success,

Looking for fantastic ideas to generate some money from your photos?

While surfing the net seeking for inspiration, I came across a great photo blog, Photopreneur, and I want to share the discovery with you.

It’s guaranteed you will find interesting ideas to expand on and great tips on starting a home photo business inside the list of 52 ways to monetize your photos.

Got a hard drive full of pictures?

If you’ve got good photos, you’ve got an opportunity to make some useful extra money.

Here are 52 ways to monetize your images.

 

Many of these ideas could very well suit a “stay at home parent” lifestyle.

It’s truly fun to read about stimulating and creative digital photography projects and I am sure to try out a couple of them!

Editors of Photopreneur also published appealing photography books and they are available on Amazon. Just click on the book cover to access more information on them.

99 Ways To Make Money From Your Photos

The Succesful Flickr Photographer

Wedding Photographer

Enjoy and talk soon!

.

PS: Do not hesitate to come back and leave a comment on this post about ideas that catched your fancy or others you would like to add to the list .

.

In search of an affordable and meaningful gift?    

Let me share with you one of my preferred online store inside which I delight choosing gifts for my friends, colleagues and loved ones.    

The name of the store is a true expression of what you will find inside….Simple Truths.   

My most recent purchase from Simple Truths is the book The Strangest Secret – How to live the life you desire. The book resonated so deeply with me that I taught I’d shared it with you all.  

In 1964, Earl Nightingale’s radio recording that he called The Strangest Secret electrified his listeners all over the country. The stations that carried his syndicated show were deluged with requests for copies of it.    

As a result, the audio version of Nightingale’s message was recorded, and sold over 1 million copies. In fact, Earl Nightingale’s recording of The Strangest Secret was the first non-music record to exceed the one million mark!    

It’s truly a powerful message…   

Earl Nightingale

We become what we think about.

Click on the image of the book below to watch an excerpt of the movie.  

(It will open in a new window) .    

I got extra copies of the book and offered them to members of my family.

 I always keep it within a distance reach of my office desk, as I like to read the chapters, again and again. I cannot recommend this book enough. Trust me, grab your copy today, discover the strangest secret, get inspired and start living the life you desire!  

For all of us, there are turning points in our lives. One of mine was the first time I heard The Strangest Secret in 1964. It was then, and still is, the most powerful and thought-provoking message I’ve ever heard.    

Mac Anderson. Founder, Simple Truths.    

I have another good news that I want to share with you:  Simple Truths recently created a new line of products which is, IMHO,  just superb:   

Click on this banner to view the great variety of products offered!

The combination of beautiful photographs and inspirational words is a gift that keeps on giving!    

    

“Life’s not about waiting for the storms to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain” .   Vivian Greene    

The above artwork comes in a 12.7cm x 17.78cm wood frame with black lacquer finish and attractive felt back. Includes a convenient black or white gift box with gold cord. If you wish, you can also include a free gift message.    

You might want to pair your framed impression with the related giftbook:  “Learning To Dance In The Rain”,  The Power Of Gratitude, written by Mac Anderson and BJ Gallagher.    

Watch the movie below (it will open in a new window) to discover the story behind the title and to understand how the power of gratitude can change a life forever.    

If you know of someone in need of a little encouragement, uplift their spirit with this inspiring gift book.    

Below are others framed impressions that touches the heart…    

To a child, grandmother is spelled  G-R-A-N-D…   

To a child LOVE is spelled  T-I-M-E…     

These beautiful products are not sold in stores, so be sure to click on one of the images above to be navigated to Simple Truths’s website.

Enjoy, and talk soon.    

.
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Looking for a solution to the fundamental problems of website development and design for your blog? 

Thesis Theme for WordPress,  is a premium theme of choice for serious online publishers, as it comes with great search engine optimization. 

It’s the one I selected for my blog, and I am very happy I did! 

It is flexible enough not only to accommodate a site like mine, Creative Digital Photography, but also to enable the site to run efficiently.  

Curious to see why Thesis is known to be the most innovative and user-friendly SEO-Optomized WordPress Framework? 

Just click on the white arrow in the above image to navigate to the video presentation page to discover incredible design flexibility to suit any blogger’s needs, along side the biggest benefit :  the helpful support community inside the forum. 

Rest assured, if you do not understand a lot of PHP, Thesis will give you a ton of functionality without having to alter any code. 

For others with more advanced knowledge, customization possibilities are illimited with the “ hooks ” plugin.  

Thesis Theme For Photography Portfolio

I have not yet been through all the ”how to’s”,  in order to take full advantage of the versality of the customization features, but Eric Scouten, photographer and software developper surely did!  

 His blog is a great example of what you can do with Thesis: 

Eric Scouten Photography Blog - http://ericscouten.com/

Ron Dublin also did great customization. Check out his gallery pages! 

Ron Dubin Photography Blog - http://www.rondubinphotography.com

!

 

The second you install and activate Thesis, your site will improve in the following areas: 

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Faster page load times
• Maximum readability to engage and hold your reader’s attention
• Point-and-click design and font controls

And if you need a helping hand along the way, you’ll be able to cash in on the most valuable part of your Thesis purchase—our expert support staff and members-only forums! 

Close to 25,000 people rely on this great theme to power their blogs. Numbers talk…. 

Your blog runs with the Thesis Theme?  Come share your likes, and dislikes by leaving a comment below. 

Talk soon,
 

Upon reading my week-end newspaper, La Presse (Montreal) , I came across a small snippet talking about a website on which it seems, at first glance, that a video is loading up, but  in reality, it’s a panoramic photograph taken at 360 degree in high resolution. 

?? 

That caught my attention. I typed into my computer browser the given url link which navigated me to the Sistine Chapel Virtual Tour website: 

Click on this image to access the Sistine Chapel Virtual Tour

Quite impressive !  And you can even zoom in by moving your mouse!

As if we were there……

Hear the choir? (brought back memories of the days when I was part of a choir…but that’s another story ) 

My imagination started to generate ideas of potential photos  I could make with such a lense on my digital camera. 

Hum….how does it work? 

I googled on the topic and inside the first 10 results of page one , I was taken to the site of the Fastest, easiest virtual tour system on the planet and found an answer to my question:
 

It’s VERY simple! 

The 0-360 Panoramic Optic™ attaches to your digital camera, and captures an entire 360 degree panorama with a single shot (no more stitching!). Here are the steps to making 0-360 panoramas quickly and easily: 

 

• Attach 0-360 Panoramic Optic™ to your camera.
• Compose photo (Camera points vertically) and snap pix.
• Download photo to your computer.
• Use our software to convert the photo to panoramic format (easy).
• Use our “Publish” feature to create the code necessary for web viewing.
• Upload photo and code to your site.

• You’re done! Now millions of people will be able to view your panorama!

No More Hassles 

• Never again will you need to snap 15-20 photos and stitch them together to create a panorama! With the 0-360, your panorama takes “Just One Click™ “.
• No complicated virtual tour camera equipment!
• No complex virtual tour software to use. Our software runs right in your browser, on both Macintosh and PC!
• Go from taking hours to compose a single panorama to just minutes!
• We even help create the code for your web page visitors to view the panorama!

The 0-360 Panoramic Optic™ is the fastest, easiest virtual tour system on the planet!™ 

 

Watch a short video on the website showing  just how easy it is. You have to see this!  Just click on the image below : 

I’m sure you’re wondering about the price.  I did too. 

Surprisingly enough, retail price is a bit less than $600. I was expecting a retail price in the range of $700-$900. Nevertheless, it is not “cheap” and consequently, I subscribed to their affiliate program in hope I will send lots of people to their site to earn enough commissions allowing me to purchase this cool lense.    ( just kidding, but true for the affiliate link ) 

Did any of you experienced shooting which such a lense ? 

Share your experience with us by leaving a  comment below. That would be great! 

Talk soon. 

. 

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Marshall Islands Postage Stamp - Georges Eastman - Photography

Ever thought of starting a topical stamp collection on the subject of photography on stamps?

China Postage Stamp -1998- Copyright protection (notice the camera in the center of upper level

You’d be surprised to discover how many countries of the world issued postage stamps commemorating photographers and photography.

I personally think that collecting stamps about photography  is a fascinating idea!

Just take a look at the beautiful sheet of 20 stamps issued by United States Postal Services for its Masters of American Photography serie.

American artists known for their work in photography were honored by the Postal service with a pane of 20 commemorative stamps in a first day ceremony held at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park.

The museum was a perfect venue as it was hosting an exhibition of the work of Alfred Stieglitz, the subject of one of the stamps. The museum’s theater was filled with an enthusiastic crowd on hand for the ceremony.

Source: www.webacps.org

United States - Masters of American Photography - Sheetlet of 20 self-adhesive postage stamps (Click To Enlarge)

Arranged in chronological order, the stamps feature works by these 20 most influential photographers and provide a “visual sampling of the history and development of photography in the United States and illustrate changes in American culture and society,” said the Postal Service.

Descriptive text on back of USA Sheetlet - Masters of American Photography (Click to enlarge)

American Artists featured on the sheetlet are:

* Southworth (1811-1894) Hawes (1808-1901)

* Timothy H. O’Sullivan 1840-1882

* Carleton E Watkins 1829-1916

* Gertrude Kasebier 1852-1934

* Lewis W. Hine 1874-1940

* Alvin Langdon Coburn 1882-1966

* Edward Steichen 1879-1973

* Alfred Stieglitz 1864-1946

* James VanDerZee 1886-1983

* Dorothea Lange 1895-1965

* Walker Evans 1903-1975

* W. Eugene Smith 1918-1978

* Paul Strand 1890-1976

* Ansel Adams 1902-1984

* Imogen Cunningham 1883-1976

* Andre Kertesz 1894-1985

* Garry Winogrand 1928-1984

* Minor White 1908-1976

If you wish to purchase the Masters of American Photography sheetlet of 20 stamps (I only have 2 sheets left in stock) ,click on the Buy Now button below for a secure transaction.

Camera & Shutter - Turkey 1989 - Commemorating 150th Anniversary of Photography

United States - Photography - Block 4 Stamps

First Day Cover - George Eastman - USPS

Topical Stamp Collecting is definitely a fascinating hobby. No wonder there is more than 20 millions stamp collectors in the USA alone!

Leave a comment below sharing with us which topic(s) you would choose:  a sport? a craft? a hobby? your favorite pets? airplanes? or whatever else catches your fancy, and if you are already a topical stamp collector, share your topic(s) with us as well.

Happy stamping!

Talk soon,

.

.

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PS: In case you missed it, here’s the link again to my Stamp collecting blog => Discover Topical Stamp Collecting

As you know by now, my hard disk is “submerged” with photos that I took during my photographic outings and also from my trips to one of the best place to be on the planet, Scotland.

So I’m always on the look for new avenues to display my photos.

This line of thoughts recently led me to a book written by well known artist and photographer Martin Hurley titled “A Mini-Guide To Using Ebay & CafePress To Sell Your Photography“.

In the introduction, Martin declares that the Ebay CafePress idea did not originate from him, but he adapted same with his own twist , and added screen grabs in the book to illustrate the process.

Martin Hurley - Artist, Photographer & Infopreneur

“I have also used the idea with success. It does work. You don’t need to limit yourself to just framed photos though. You can list anything pretty much on Ebay with your photography on it.”

I purchased the book and read through the clearly written 26 pages in less time than it takes to cook my favorite dessert commonly called ”far breton” here in the French-speaking province of Quebec . The recipe originates from Brittany and is called :   “farz fourn”.  But I disgress here…let’s get back to photography.

Wow…I am truly impressed by this reading. It cannot be more easier than this to set-up and run a photography business to sell photos online! This is exciting.

In a nut-shell, here’s what it’s all about => Martin delivers a “hands-free” system that we can use to sell our photography products on Ebay, and  CafePress will print, frame and ship the photo product, but our customer will actually receive it FROM us!

How can this be?

Well, I would explain here, but you’ll understand better by reading the Ebay & CafePress Guide.

Can you guess what I am going to do after I publish this post?

That’s right…I am going to apply this technique to a selection of my photography portfolios.

If you want to start right away selling photos online, give this a try right away and let me know if my recommendation helped.

.

PS: I’m on Martin Hurley’s mailing listing for a while now and can assure you that “he walks the talk“.
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PS2: Do not hesitate to leave a comment below if you are already using this system. It will give all readers even more insight about the Ebay & CafePress product review.  Thanks !