New Canon Lens Release Dates

Canon has announced release dates for their new telephoto and wide angle lens line up. These dates have change twice before, not sure why? Let's hope they are correct this time.

Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens is scheduled to be available in late July 2011
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens is scheduled to be available in late August 2011
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens is scheduled to be available in late August 2011
Canon EF 500mm F4L IS II USM lens is scheduled to be available in December 2011
Canon EF 600mm F4L IS II USM lens is also scheduled to be available in December 2011

Open Doors Toronto - Photographic Possibilities

Looking to photograph something different? Maybe you like architectural photography and are looking for new locations. Next weekend (May 28th & 29th) is full of possibilities as Toronto throws its doors open and allows you to tour some often closed areas of our city. Nearly 150 buildings of architectural, historic, cultural and/or social significance open their doors to the public. Admission is free. And this year the theme is Photography.

 Check out the link for a list of locations participating this year. I also suggest you drill down into the links for the  sites that interest you because some have limited access or times. The details for each site will also provide any photographic restrictions. Some sites may not allow flash, tripods or in the case of Old City Hall no photography of any kind is allowed.

Open Doors Toronto 

Remember to wear comfortable shoes, bring your tripod, a remote shutter cable and plenty of memory cards. There are some great opportunities to experiment with HDR too, some of the churches have beautiful stained glass.

Henrys Spring Digital Imaging Show

This weekend Henry's is holding it's Spring Digital Imaging show out at the International Center (6900 Airport rd. Hall 5). The show starts Friday May 13th and runs thru to Sunday May 15th (Show Hours: Fri & Sat: 10am-7pm  Sun: 11am-5pm). The list of exhibitors includes most of the main camera manufactures, accessory and software producers.
If you're in the market for a new Camera, Lens or maybe a bag most are set up in such a way that you can get a hands on feel for the item. Canon in the past has had all of their lenses available for you to try with your camera, including their long telephoto line which were set up on tripod heads.
Henry's also holds small seminars on everything from taking pictures to printing them afterwards and everything in between. These 45min long demos provide a small taste of what to expect if you attend one of their full day courses at their learning center. Unfortunately the 1st and last 5-10 minutes of each seminar is used to promote their learning center. After hearing the same commercial 2 or 3 times you get bored, and the minimal things you could learn are overshadowed by the promotional stuff so you tend to skip them altogether.
 Not a bad show if you're in the market for some new gear, there are some deals to be had. If you're thinking about taking a training seminar at Henry's you can sample it here before hand and often they have deals if you book your training at the show. There are free tickets floating around too, admission is $15 so it wont break the bank if you do need to pay etc....

Note: If you plan to attend and want to bring your camera, be prepared to register it as you enter and you will be searched as you exit to ensure that the camera you brought is the one you're taking home, unless of course you dropped some cash on an upgrade.

Update 13-May-2011:  Attended the show today and was pleasantly surprised that the seminars are no longer filled with advertizing for Henry's learning center. In fact the instructors today were non Henry's staff, they were exhibitors from the manufactures booths themselves. They too were advertizing their products, but at least they were different for each class and related to what you were learning etc...
 The hall seem to be larger and was setup better than the past. The Henry's sales booth was larger and allowed more room for customers to purchase items. There was a system to purchase items, customers obtained product sheets from the manufacture booths, much like a menu that they could check off what they wanted. They would hand it to the sales clerk at the Henry's booth and they would put their order together. Although I didn't buy anything, the system look very efficient.

Light It. Shoot It. Retouch It. - Toronto

Scott Kelby, awarding winning author of "The Digital Photography Book" and Editor of Photoshop User magazine, brings one of his all-time most popular Online classes to life in this amazing day where you learn it all; the lighting, the shooting, and the retouching, all live as it happens.
 The seminar will take place:

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Metro Toronto Convention Centre

255 Front St West

NAPP members receive a $20 discount from the regular $99 price. I've been to two Kelby training sessions here in Toronto and both were well worth the investment of time and money. Check out the link:
Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It - Toronto

Optimize Photoshop CS5 Performance

  Regardless if you're an enthusiasts or professional ensuring that your Photoshop CS5 setup is optimized for your work environment and for the tasks you perform regularly is essential. All users will benefit from optimization, but those who work with video or large raw image files using multiple layers will see the greatest performance gains.
  The optimization process applies to both your system hardware and the software settings you have set. Adobe has created an Optimization white paper which will walk you through the process of determining which type of Photoshop user you are, and what you should do to take full advantage of their powerful product. Visit the link below:


Abobe Photoshop CS5 Optimization White Paper

Flash Bus Tour: Buffalo

  I shuffled off to Buffalo on Saturday to attend the "Flash Bus Tour 2011" and it was well worth it. These guys truly make lighting people look easy. The day started with Joe 'NumNuts' McNally and David 'Strobist' Hobby greeting people as they waited in line to be processed and receive their swag bag of goodies. The bags contained a Flash Bus CF card holder from Think Tank Bags, Strobist filter kit from Roscoe Filters, and a Cinch Strap from Lumiquest. Also included were various coupons towards the purchase of gear and software from the other sponsors of the tour. One freebie coupon that was highlighted in both sessions was for a Frio cold shoe mount that both raved about. I've order it hoping that they deliver to Canada. It looks like the better mouse trap, I'll review the free one and order others if it lives up to the praise.

 The day was split into two sessions with David showing his method of using manual flash settings via a well organized slide show. He walked us through a couple of different shooting scenarios looking at what he looks for in a location, how he evaluates the base light (ambient) and then adds layers of light using "AKFA".

A - Ambient.      K - Key.      F - Fill.      A - Accent.

 I really picked up on the importance of setting the "Ambient" light first. Eliminating it entirely or dialing it down to take advantage of it's color cast or undertones then adding your key and fill lights to taste as he uses his cooking analogy. He kinda strayed off topic I thought for a few minutes as he explained how the photography marketplace has changed, where he thinks it's going and where his upcoming project Hoco360 should leave him in a marketable position. It was interesting don't get me wrong, those that rely on photography for a living may have found it more interesting. But bottom line I'm paying to learn about lighting not how the bottom has dropped out of photography market.

 After the lunch break Joe took to the stage with some live demos of TTL lighting. He walked us through a single on camera flash scenario to multiple flashes including a finale using every Nikon flash in the audience. The session showed numerous lighting setups adding layers of diffusion, different lights for different faces from the audience all using the camera's TTL system to control flash output and making adjustments on what the camera sees. Here I learned how important it was to zero out your flashes as you add them in each setup, don't guess let the camera tell you what it thinks is correct first and adjust on that. Also how to feather the light by positioning the light source angled off subject slightly.

 Both David and Joe were very entertaining and made the day very informative and fun at the same time. Some good nature poking between the two about Manual versus TTL was rather funny to watch... all and all a great day and well worth the money.

Online Nature & Wild Life Reference Resources

Trying to identify a new bird, bug or wildflower that you photographed can be a challenge, here is a list of some online resources that should help out:

Birds of North America (BNA): Comprehensive reference covering the life histories of North America’s breeding birds.
Ontario Field Ornithologists: Ontario Canada Birding resource central. Contains information on recent sightings, Ontario species check lists which includes images useful for identification. 
 eBird Canada: A Canadian subset of the On-line checklist project where you can enter and store your bird observations in a central database, track your personal records, and share your observations with other birders and scientists.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: A world leader in the study, appreciation, and conservation of birds.
Encyclopedia of Life: Database for every one of the almost 2 million species that are named and known on this planet.
eNature: Web site for information about the wild animals and plants of Canada and the United States.Ability to search or browse thru the field guides of more than 5,500 North American species.
Animal Diversity Web: Database of animal natural history, distribution, classification, and conservation biology at the University of Michigan.
BorealForest.org: Online resource of the plants, insects and animals of Boreal Forest of Northwestern Ontario.
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center: Detailed information from the Patuxent Research Center and collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
New York State Mammals: Housed inside the NYFalls.com web site has information on animals and plants of upper NY, which shares much of the same climate and geographic makeup of southern Ontario.
Bug Guide: community of naturalists who enjoy learning about and sharing our observations of insects, spiders, and other related creatures.
Odonata Central:  Online resource for dragonflies and damselflies from around the world.
Ontario Wildflowers: all about wildflowers that grow in Ontario (Canada).
Ontario Trees and Shrubs: Same format as the Ontario wildflower site. 
Mushroom Expert: Everything mushroom and fungi.