Professional Photographers of California

Free Brushes of Branches for spring

2009-04-08T04:17:00.001-07:00

BrushPortfolio.com has just released a new set of free Photoshop brushes titled Branches.

There are 16 brushes in the set featuring leaves, branches and buds in the spirit of Spring. The design elements are perfect for scrap booking and card making. Each brush was made using Adobe Illustrator and exported to Photoshop at 300 dpi. Happy Creating!

POSTCARD CONTEST 2009

2009-03-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

POSTCARD CONTEST 2009: Win one of up to 45 prices by sending a postcard to us
-----------------------------------
The Postcard Contest 2009 asks you to write a postcard and send it to us. The postcard can be purchased or created by yourself. The 20 best participants can win prizes consisting of a total of 57 software products and 5 books worth more than USD $3500. The contest runs until August 31, 2009.

Here is a list of the prizes:

Photo Tools 2: http://www.ononesoftware.com/
Exposure, Bokeh : http://www.alienskin.com/
nik Viveza: http://www.niksoftware.com/viveza/
IPX Paint Engine: http://fantasticmachines.com/
Curl Pro + Puzzle Pro: http://www.avbros.com/
DFT Light, Ozone and Power Stroke: http://www.digitalfilmtools.com/
PhotoMagic, PhotoZoom Pro 2, PhotoArtist: http://www.benvista.com/
FilterForge Standard: http://www.filterforge.com/
ContrastMaster, Plugin Galaxy: http://www.thepluginsite.com/
Fantastic Frames, Borders & Frames CDs: http://www.photoshopgraphics.co.uk/
Quasar, MetaGrad, Refiner and Conditioner: http://www.xero-graphics.co.uk/
Neat Image Pro: http://www.neatimage.com/
Namesuppressed Plugins: http://www.namesuppressed.com/
DOF PRO: http://www.dofpro.com/
Fractalius: http://www.redfieldplugins.com/
FilterMeister: http://www.filtermeister.com/
SF Maskerade + SF ColorMixer Pro: http://www.simpelfilter.de/en/
recolorST: http://foksmarx.com/
Andrews Plugins, Custom Shapes & Patterns Collection: http://www.graphicxtras.com/
Photo Purify: http://www.photopurify.com/ O'Reilly Books: http://oreilly.com/

For more details on the contest see
http://www.thepluginsite.com/gallery/postcard/

New $199 Netbook (Very) Personal Computer Coming in March

2009-02-28T08:22:00.000-08:00

New $199 Netbook (Very) Personal Computer Coming in March

Fidelity Electronics Introduces The Fidelity Netbook VPC (Very Personal Computer)

Very Portable, Very Functional, Very Affordable

TORONTO, CANADA (February 16, 2009) – Fidelity Electronics this week announced the launch of the VPC - Very Personal Computer: a fully preloaded, Wifi portable netbook computer at a very affordable price.

The VPC weighs only 1.5lbs and measures just 8.4” x 5.5” x 1”

Very functional: The VPC has both wifi and ethernet connections and a full function keyboard to connect, work and play

Very affordable: All programs and applications are preloaded and ready to use.

“At a $199 SRP, the VPC is perfect for students and people on the go,” says Richard Kizner, Director of Marketing for Fidelity Electronics. “Preloaded programs include internet browser, spreadsheet, word processor, a media player for movies, music and pictures, e-book reader, dictionary, calendar, PDF reader, email, chat, calculator, file manager and much more.

VPC comes with a full function keyboard, touchpad, 7” TFT display with 800 x 480 WVGA resolution, 802.11g Wifi, 100 MHz internet browser, 2 GB internal storage, 3 hour rechargeable battery, microphone and a headphone jack. It has onboard USB, SD and Ethernet ports that make the VPC an incredibly affordable yet versatile device,” he adds.

The VPC is expected to retail at $199.99 USD

For details go to the Fedelity Electronics website.

BOOK REVIEW-the Wedding Season

2009-02-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

BOOK REVIEW
Get ready for wedding photography

In this all-new book review shootout, we put three books to the test.
Read on to learn how
100 Techniques for Professional Wedding Photographers by Bill Hurter,
Power Marketing, Selling, and Pricing: A Business Guide for Wedding and Portrait Photographers by Mitche Graf, and
Step-by-Step Wedding Photography: Techniques for Professional Photographers by Damon Tucci

stand up to our editorial review.

To read the full article, click here.

Free Fonts

2009-02-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

Font Bros Site Offers A Beautiful Selection Of Amazing Free Fonts

The Font Bros Site has just great looking fonts for sale at great prices, but if you like your fonts to be free, you'll also find an amazing assortment of top fonts right there for the taking.

Just go to the front page and look at the menu on top — and the third item in from the left is a Free Fonts button. Click and go wild! These are really nice free fonts so browse and download. Here are a few samples from the Font Bros Free Fonts Collection.

WARNING

2009-02-03T12:20:00.000-08:00

*************WARNING************

If a company called USA SEO Pro’s calls you with a great offer to optimize your web site, DON’T DO IT!! One of the PPSV members agreed to have them optimize their photography web site and what was put online instead was a link to a cheesy site that was thrown together with very little effort and also contained links to porn!

It used the member’s company name which was on the first page of many search engine searches, but linked to this awful page which if anything would have lost business!

After disputing the charge on the credit card, there were many threats and a small claims suit filed by the member, which ended up being settled, but at a cost to the member of $1400!

This company is a sham and takes advantage of small businesses promising the world and providing nothing good. It is not known where this member’s telephone number was obtained, but you could also be on their call list.

If USA SEO Pros (also called Business Development Institute) calls you, don’t fall for it! USA SEO Pros is an unethical, fraudulent business!!

A Little Behind

2008-12-09T15:37:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am a little on the tardy side getting to my blog. Sorry. I will try to get to it more often. I have been concentrating on making sure my orders were filled. Customers always come FIRST!!!

COMPACT FLASH - ALMOST FREE!

2008-12-06T10:06:00.001-08:00

ALMOST FREE!

2 GB Reg. $32.95 One week only $2.95 after $30 mail-in rebate+ FREE shipping

4 GB Reg. $44.95 One week only $4.95 after $40 mail-in rebate+ FREE shipping

8 GB Reg. $89.95 One week only $9.95 after $80 mail-in rebate+ FREE shipping

They're speed rated at 133x, which means a minimum sustained write speed of - fasten your seatbelt - 20MB/second.

And they're loaded with image recovery and browsing software too.

We're talking the amazing Lexar 133x Pro Compact Flash here, and it's a dream for photographer's workflow, and just what you need in a pro DSLR. N

ow priced at 'virtually free' thanks to Lexar rebates that are truly INSANE, not to mention FREE shipping.

CLICK HERE

AKVIS MAGNIFIER

2008-11-06T09:41:00.001-08:00

AKVIS has announced the release of AKVIS Magnifier v.2.0, an efficient tool to increase image resolution.

Featuring advanced photo resizing algorithms, AKVIS Magnifier enlarges digital pictures to super-high resolution producing stunning enlargements and poster-size prints.
Featuring advanced enlargement algorithms, Magnifier enlarges digital pictures to super-high resolution for producing stunning poster-size prints. The algorithm keeps edges smooth, sharp and clearly defined, while improving image appearance by removing unwanted noise and compression artifacts.

Whether creating poster-size images or adding resolution for printing an enlargement, AKVIS Magnifier will make your prints look sharper and better defined. For a free trial, AKVIS offers 10 days of fully functional use. http://akvis.com/en/magnifier/index.php
AKVIS Magnifier Home License (plug-in or standalone) sells for $129 USD or 99 Euro, downloadable from http://www.akvis.com/.

Free Brushes

2008-08-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

250 Hi Res Splatter, Spray, & Watercolor Photoshop Brushes

Don’t have the time to buy the right materials and create your own traditional-style-painting Photoshop Brushes? Maybe you just don’t know where to start? No worries - we’ve found nearly 250 of the best Splatter, Paint, Spray, and Watercolor brushes that we think you’ll love!

Check this one out for a sample

Hi-Res Grunge Ink Splatter Brushes

Download 9 Hi-Resolution Grunge Ink Splatter Brushes, hand splattered by Dominik Lenk for the entire design community.

Have fun... Enjoy

PPC Announces Travel Site

2008-08-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

PPC ANNOUNCES LATEST MEMBER BENEFIT!

The Professional Photographers of California have done it again!!! PPC has partnered with one of the world's largest travel agencies, YTB Travel, to assist you with your travel reservations. This is a win-win partnership with you and PPC.

Everytime you book your travel through TravelPPC, PPC will be allocated 60% of the commission generated through the reservations engine. There is NO additional cost to you! The cost will be the same as if you booked with any of the other agencies such as Travelocity, Orbitz etc. Somone gets commission wherever you book, so why not PPC? Making online reservations through www.travelppc.com is as easy as any other online travel agency. So. when you need to make travel resaervations, help yourself and PPC at the same time and use www.travelppc.com .

Tell your friends, family and clients, they can all use our site as this is not just for PPC members, it is open to the public. But you are the first to know. Check it out.

GigaPan

2008-07-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

Sweeping Panoramas, Courtesy of a Robot

ROBOTS already cut the grass and vacuum rugs. Now they are helping with a more artistic job: creating vast photographic panoramas with ordinary cameras.

A new, inexpensive robotic device from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University attaches snugly to almost any standard digital camera, tilting and panning it to fashion highly detailed panoramic vistas -- whether of the Grand Canyon, a rain forest or a backyard Easter egg hunt.

The robot is called GigaPan, named "giga" for the billion or more pixels it can marshal for a typical panorama. It creates the huge, high-resolution vista by extending its robotic finger and repeatedly clicking the camera shutter, taking tens, hundreds or even thousands of overlapping images, each at a slightly different angle, that are then stitched together by software to create one gigapixel shot.

Read more here

Distressed and Vintage photo effects

2008-07-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

From Jonathan Penney: I feel like digital images are often too perfect, too sterile, devoid of the "character" that was inherent to the look of the early photographic processes.

I also like the idea of reaching back through the history of photography to find inspiration for the craft.

Most of these border effects are scanned from actual vintage images from my own personal collection of glass plates, daguerreotypes, tintypes, etc.

Click here to see his tutorial part I

Free Painter Tutorial from Karen Sperling

2008-07-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Artistry Tips and Tricks is a monthly e-zine available through the Artistry Online web site

Each issue is 30-40 pages long and contains information for painting from photos in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop.

Check out this excerpt from the July 2008 issue, where Karen Sperling explains how she painted from a photo by Phillip Stewart Charis.

See it here

Samsung Launches 14.7-Megapixel Point & Shoot

2008-07-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

Samsung TL34HD Digital Camera Introduction: 14.7-Megapixel and HD Video Output

Samsung Launches Its Second Point-And-Shoot Digital Camera
Featuring High-Definition Video Capability

New TL34HD Stands Out With Broad Range of Impressive Features and Resolution

The Samsung TL34HD will be available in September 2008 at an MSRP of $329.95

Read the full scoop

Five Tips For Great Sunset Photos

2008-07-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

Five Tips For Great Sunset Photos

Sunsets and sunrises are an inspirational subject for any photographer.

In fact, a good sunset photo is often the reason many people become interested in nature photography.

You don't need to have a great camera or professional training; almost anyone with a camera can take great sunset photos.

Photography Tutorials

2008-07-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

Rick Rosen, one of PPC's many talented members, is now offering tutorials on his website at

July FREE “firecracker” Promo

http://www.rickrosen.com/tutorials/july_promo

You can also link to it on his blog which also has an Opt in function.

http://photographicpassion.blogspot.com

Clouds Volume 2 Photoshop Brushes - Free Photoshop Brushes

2008-07-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

Clouds Volume 2 Photoshop Brushes - Free Photoshop Brushes

Stephanie has created her Clouds II Photoshop Brushes set. Wispy edges and all. She says: These are some of the most realistic looking clouds brushes I’ve ever been able to produce, so I hope you all can find some use for them and enjoy them!

Download them here

THANK YOU

2008-07-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

I have just finished my year as President of the Professional Photographers of California and I want to say thank you for the honor of being your leader for this last year. It has been an experience that I shall never forget. If you are new to PPC or even if you have been around for a long time, giving back to the organization is the most beneficial thing you can do. You will love meeting new friends and seeing old ones. Again, thank you for the great year.

Michael Collins, Past-President
Professional Photographers of California.

Free Photoshop Brushes

2008-06-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

Makeup And Face Sketches Photoshop Brushes - Free Photoshop Brushes

Bottles and tubes of various types of makeup, like lipstick, lip gloss, concealer, foundation, eyeliner, nail polish, a pencil, etc.

All sketched / drawn by hand.

Should be a fun set to play around with, even if you just play around with the face parts!

Enjoy, and have a great week!

Go now download Makeup & Face Sketches Photoshop Brushes.

Digital Portrait Painting with Marilyn Sholin

2008-06-06T10:40:00.001-07:00

Marilyn is teaching at West Coast School
Here is a sample of her work.

A new way to FLASH!

2008-05-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

May 23, 2008 -- Presslite has announced a new product called the VerteX™.

The VerteX™ is a flash attachement that can project diffused and specular light at virtually any angle, in multiple directions simultaneously from a single flash unit. This introduces on-the-go lighting solutions never before possible.

PRESSlite™ will be selling the VerteX™ for $49.95 but is currently offering special discounts of up to 30%. Read more here

Graduation Brushes for Photoshop

2008-05-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

Just in time for some graduations this year! Scrapbookers, be ready! This brush set will help... maybe just a little bit.

It’s made up of all kinds of stuff along the whole graduation theme. Caps and tassles galore, of course. Some being worn by silhouettes of various graduates (along with the gown, of course!), some being thrown up into the air, some vector-like, some sketchy, etc.

Also includes some class rings (University and High School, along with one generic), some balloons, a few diplomas, etc. Download brushes here

First Aid - Stroke Recognition

2008-05-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

This came from one of our past presidents now living and running a studio in Florida, Betty Huth.

A Stroke can hit anyone at anytime, but if it's recognized quickly the after effects can be minimised greatly.

STROKE RECOGNITION
http://www.strokeassociation.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4742

STROKE: Remember the 1st Three Letters.... S.T.R.

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can reverse the effects of a stroke... totally . He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Remember the "3" steps, STR - the first letters of STROKE.

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
S - Ask the individual to SMILE.

T - Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. It is sunny out today)

R - Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks,
call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

New Sign of a Stroke -------- Stick out Your Tongue

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue.. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.
A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people, at least one life can be saved.

7 Reasons to Borrow Grandma’s Egg Timer

2008-05-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

7 Reasons to Borrow Grandma’s Egg Timer

If you’ve been looking for the edge in getting your task list done, you should consider investing in a timer. Picking up a timer stands out as the one thing I’ve done that significantly increased my productivity.

What’s so great about a piece of plastic with a couple of wires on the inside? After all, something that you can pick up at the dollar store can’t be a huge influence on our ability to get things done, or we’d all have one already.

It turns out that it isn’t the gadget that really provides the benefit, at least for me: it’s the ability to set firm boundaries on my time . . .

Free Book - 101 Tips, Tricks & Techniques

2008-05-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

Download SitePoint's entire 270 page
"Photoshop Anthology: 101 Tips, Tricks & Techniques"
book free of charge for the next 30 days.

CLICK HERE

Giveaway expires: Friday June 13th, 2008

2008-05-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

I received this from one of our PPC members in the blog. Can anyone shed any light or information on this? I am not aware of any program or discussion on this at a meeting, but would love to be able to let our members know if there is anything out there to assist veterans.

Rogere

Do you have the citation that Leslie and Michael Gan referenced regarding business licenses and veterans? They came back from a PPC meeting 6-8 months ago and said that veterans were not required to pay for city business licenses according to some state law. I would love to put that information into our newsletter but, have been unable to get a reference our veterans can use with their respective cities.

Welcome to your forum

2008-05-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the PPC blog - a long time coming, but it's now up and running. This is your means of telling us what you like, what worries you, what's new, what keeps you up at night, what puts you to sleep! All in all it's for you to air anything you want - within the bounds of good taste!

Posts that we think will be of interest to other members we will put on line for feedback.

Now for some info for all PPC members :

The Yosemite retreat is back by popular demand! We have rented 6 houses at the same location as past times, "Redwoods in Yosemite" (behind the Wawona hotel) from October 23-27.
Four nights in the most beautiful park in the world at one of the best times for photography - fall.

Another plus! Tim Mathiesen has offered his services as photographic instructor for the period. Tim's landscape images are in great demand and his website sells his images worldwide. With Tim's tips and expertise you should be able to leave Yosemite with at least a few merit images, maybe even some loan collection ones!!

The cost for this retreat - just $89.00 per person per night AND it includes ALL your food for the time you stay. Once again we have persuaded the chef extraordinaire, Carlos Lozano with his sou chef Cheng Daines, to cook for us. If you have stayed with us before you know what a treat you're in for!

Mark these dates on your calendar NOW. This is the perfect opportunity to kick back, have some fun with great friends and colleagues in an incredible location before the busy season buries you. This is an official PPC quarterly board meeting weekend as well, so the trip can be classed as a business expense for attending the board meeting (check with your tax accountant).

Come and join us, remember, only $89 a night for everything! We will be posting an item in the shopping cart for you to sign up. My only word of caution is that we can only take PPC members and spouses and/or significant others and that you sign up EARLY. We are limited to just 55 persons for accommodation.

Roger

West Coast School

2008-05-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

West Coast School is only one month away and I am getting so excited, I cannot contain myself. Here is a chance to learn and make more money for my business. As my business is 60% High School Seniors, I am signed up for Kalen Henderson's class. But the other instructors are very tempting to me. If you need to know more about WCS, go to http://www.prophotoca.com/ and sign up today.

Why in the world would you not go to one of the most prestigous photographic schools in the Western United States?

Signed,

Michael Collins, President PPC

free Tutorial

2008-05-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

• NEW free Tutorial: Powerful color luminance adjustments in Adobe Camera RAW

From David Saffir's Photography and Digital Fine Art Printing Newsletter, May 2008

David is sharing a new, free tutorial on one of the "hidden" tools in Adobe Camera RAW - it is amazingly powerful - you can improve color and dimensionality in your images with a few sliders.

Click here to see the Camera RAW tutoria

Make 'em Smile with Liquify!

2008-05-01T10:51:00.001-07:00

If you have a nice photo of a model, but she or he wasn’t smiling and you want the photo to feature a smiling face, or vice versa, you can use Photoshop to slightly tweak the facial expressions.

The key is to be subtle in your approach, unless you are creating a caricature or cartoon. With the Liquify tool, we can create some subtle changes to model photos that can affect the overall mood of the face and therefore affect the mood of the photo.

Here's how...

Photo to painting - GMX for Windows

2008-04-05T09:45:00.001-07:00

GMX - PhotoPainter (for Windows) turns photos into artistic paintings of various styles, e.g. pen and ink, crayon, oil, watercolor, pastels and many others.

There is also the option of rendering the output at any resolution without quality loss.

The Autosketch option analyzes the image for flow directions and automatically adds brush strokes according to more than 40 parameters. But you can also draw the strokes yourself. http://www.gertrudisgraphics.com/gmx.php

Free tool to equalize Color effects

2008-04-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

Need to rid a complexion of that red hue? Here is a tool that may work and the plugin is free!

FoksMarx recolorLE (for Windows) is a feature-reduced free version of the commercial recolorST plugin.

It can be used for color equalization, color enhancement, removal of color stains and bleaches and also for artistic color effects. http://www.foksmarx.com/?recolorLE-en

FreeOnLine Magazine

2008-03-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

PhotographyBB Online Magazine - PDF DownloadMarch 12, 2008

PhotographyBB announced today the release of the second edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine. By way of download in either PDF or ZIP formats, PhotographyBB is setting the stage for the future of magazine distribution. In a completely ad-free format, each issue contains informative and educational tutorials for amateur photographers. In addition to articles which aide beginners in getting the most from their DSLR cameras, the PhotographyBB Online Magazine also features useful and applicable tutorials on how to use Adobe Photoshop to build digital photography post-processing skills.
"This recent release is even stronger than the first issue, which received rave reviews across the web," says editor and publisher, Dave Seeram. "We've raised the bar with this issue, and have included not only articles relating to techniques, but also some thought provoking articles for digital photographers of all disciplines. We are also introducing a photo-contest this month, which (based on last month's traffic) we are expecting hundreds, if not thousands, of submissions." PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available for free download through the PhotographyBB Website.

St. Patrick's Day Photoshop Brushes

2008-03-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

St. Patrick's Day Photoshop Brushes
From Stephanie-March 05, 2008.

Interestingly, St. Patrick's Day has been moved from its usual March 17th spot this year to March 15th. "Uh... wha?", right? Well, the Vatican approved it last year, and it was done to avoid conflict with "Holy Week" this year.

This marks the first time the date has been changed since 1940. The next conflict with Holy Week is not expected until 2160.

This set is mostly made up of shamrocks and clovers, including both three and four leaf clovers (for luck!). Some are scattered, some are textured, some glittery, others are sporting some pretty Celtic designs, and there's even a few swirls with shamrock designs thrown in!

Also included are a leprechaun, a pot of gold, and the letters "St. Patrick's Day" spelled in clovers.

10 Megapixel UNDER $500

2008-03-05T11:00:00.001-08:00

Let the Price Wars Begin:

Olympus Introduces 10-Megapixel DSLR with LiveView & Face Detection - Under $500

Wednesday, 03/05/08 -

Olympus today announces the extremely portable E-420 - perfect for everyone who wants to step up to the power and performance of a digital SLR (single lens reflex) yet enjoy the ease of use and ability to compose images on the LCD common to point-and-shoot cameras.

Weighing a mere 380 grams (13.4 ounces), the E-420 is 20 to 40 percent lighter than competing DSLRs. Good things come in this small package, including Live View, which enables users to hold the camera away from their faces and interact with their subjects - ideal when capturing photos of children, for example. Read Full Story

Noise Removal Tutorial

2008-02-28T12:23:00.000-08:00

Photoshop CS3 Noise Removal Tutorial - Foresnic Photoshop Tutorial

Here's a new tutorial from Jim Hoerricks, the Senior Forensic Video Analyst for the Los Angeles Police Department's Scientific Investigation Division, a Photoshop instructor, an author, and a court qualified expert witness in Forensic Video Analysis.

In this Photoshop tutorial we'll look at a semi-destructive way to remove colour noise. I say semi-destructive because even though we are using a "painting tool," the content and context remains unchanged. Working from a layer copy and hiding the original, we're simply removing the noise in this image the easy way.

Read on...

Kingston 4GB SDHC Memory Card for only $14.95

2008-02-28T10:02:00.000-08:00

Expires on or before: 03/01/08

Adorama is selling the Kingston 4GB SDHC Memory Card for only $14.95 after $5 mail-in rebate.

The lowest price ever for a 4GB SDHC memory card!

test

2008-02-27T08:31:00.001-08:00

Test