Just uploaded a new GoPro POV video at Gallo Boxing. This time with Ty, a boxing promoter with great swag and bling.

The story behind what happened is that initially I was photographing another boxer, and I was going to take some photos of him working the punching bag. Then I saw Ty on my way over, and was blown away with his outfit (his sunglasses, his patent-leather shoes, and the plethora of rings on his fingers).

Without hesitation, I asked if I could take some photos of him– and I commented how awesome I thought his bling was. He was open and willing, and I took a ton of photos with him– some with flash and some without flash.

I tried to pay extra attention to what I thought was his most valuable asset and sign of strength– his fist. To me it embodied his power, essence, and soul. He was an ex-fighter for several decades, and I feel that the rings on his fist are also a great detail to show more of his extravagant side as well.

After my first mini-session with him, he had to tend to some fighters so he went away for a while. I told him jokingly that I would bug him to take some more photos later, and he laughed and agreed.

After I shot some photos of the other fighter, I walked up to Ty and asked to get more photos of him– this time shots that included his face and posture. It was funny how when I asked him to pose for me, he already had a bunch of poses ready. I joked that he must have been a model– and he told me he actually did model for a long time (this explained his natural talent for posing). At the end, we exchanged contact info– and I agreed to send him some photos and to keep in touch.

Some lessons I learned from this session:

1. Focus on the details

I think to capture the soul and essence of a person– it is often to focus more on the details of the person rather than showing their entire body.

For example, focusing on a fighter’s fist, or focusing on a woman’s lips, or focusing on a child’s hand spilling over with ice cream.

The benefit of also showing less (by focusing on details) is that it adds more mystery to the photograph. It makes the photograph more open-ended, and makes the viewer curious what he/she is looking at. Then from that, they extrapolate to make some sort of story about the person. This makes the viewer more involved.

When focusing on details, it is often good to use a camera that has a close-focusing feature or ability. If you shoot with a DSLR, you have the luxury of focusing extremely close. If you are a rangefinder user, it is trickier as your minimal focusing distance is generally only .5-.7 meters. And if you have a point and shoot you should rejoice the most, because most cameras have a macro function that can focus ridiculously closely.

In this series of videos I am using the Ricoh GRD V, which has a great macro feature. However it has some trouble hunting with autofocus when it is dark, at a close-distance.

2. Don’t hesitate

I think a lot of shooting is based on your gut. What you find interest may not make any logical sense. However I find myself drawn to certain people or characters– and feel an urge to want to photograph them.

The issue I generally face a lot is the issue of hesitation. For example, I see someone interesting I want to photograph and I get nervous– and never end up photographing them. When in doubt, it is best to simply approach someone and share why you think they are interesting– and ask for permission to photograph them.

For example when photographing Ty, I was a bit intimidated at the back of my stomach (the guy looked tough, was very tall, and had a strong presence) but I swallowed my hesitations and simply approached him.

3. Take lots of photos

It is very rare that we make a good photograph. We have to take a lot of bad photographs to get the very few good photographs. Like Henri Cartier-Bresson once said, “Sometimes you have to milk the cow a lot to get a little bit of cheese.”

So when I was lucky enough to get Ty to agree to photograph him, I tried to take as many photos of him as possible (before he got annoyed). I was fortunate enough in getting him to participate — and was also fortunate that he was quite willing.

I often find your subjects are more patient when you photograph them when you narrate what you are doing. For example, telling them you want to take a shot with and without a flash. I also make it a point to count “one, two, three” when my autofocus is a bit slow and I want them to stand still.

I also try to photograph at different angles and poses. Get a bit closer. Take a step back. Shoot a horizontal, then a vertical. Use a flash. Don’t use a flash. What you don’t want to do is just take one photo and move on.

Conclusion

I have always wanted to do a documentary project series– and it is a bit of a shame that I was only able to spend around 2 weeks at Gallo Boxing. However in addition to street photography, I hope to try to pursue more documentary-style work when I move to the Bay Area.

Also for those who are curious, I shot these all on a Ricoh GRD V in “P” mode, at ISO 3200. The reason I didn’t shoot this on film is because I wanted to make this behind-the-scenes GoPro video for you guys to get an inside look. I hope you found it educational and informative :)

You can also download the Neopan 1600 preset I used for these photos for free here.

International Morse Code

bustin-makesmefeelgood:

keen-incisions:

zenpencils:

CHARLES BUKOWSKI: Roll the Dice.

#did this comic literally encourage leaving your wife and job and house to become ned stark

I dunno. This seems like it might be a bad idea, but okay..

One of the key areas that we will be focusing during our upcoming post-processing workshops, is image management and its effect on your workflow process. Unfortunately, many of us end up using Lightroom just for editing images and might not be aware of the powerful filtering and image management tools built right into the software. Before I started using Lightroom, I used to have a very messy folder structure in my computer, with images residing in multiple folders and several drives. I never really bothered to organize images in my file system, because there was no good way to do it – most operating systems cannot even properly read image EXIF data and lack built-in functionality to effectively sort through thousands of images. After discovering Lightroom, I was able to finally organize all of my images in my computer and once I developed a good methodology, I have been using the same process successfully for many years now. I wrote a detailed guide on this a while ago in my “how to organize images in Lightroom” article (which is pretty old and needs to be updated for Lightroom 5), where I go into more details on the import process. In short, if you have a messy folder structure today, I highly recommend that you organize it as soon as possible. Not only will it save you from a lot of headaches when searching for a particular image, but it will also standardize your workflow process and make your backup process simple.

I recorded a video earlier today, where I demonstrate the image management capabilities of Lightroom and talk about why you should be managing your files directly from Lightroom rather than your operating system. Here is the video:

For those that cannot watch the video, I will soon be updating my article on organizing images in Lightroom for the latest version and include many of the notes from the above video.

If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments section below. I hope you find the above video useful and I hope it will motivate you to re-organize your photo library.

The post Image Management in Lightroom appeared first on Photography Life.

There are tons of blogs, tutorial sites, and other resources out there that can teach you about web design and development. But what if you want something a little bit more formal, without actually having to go back to school?

That’s where resources like the ones below can come in handy. These sites offer courses modeled after those you’d find (or actually from) leading colleges and universities. They’re a great option if you’re not sure where to start, or if you want to bridge the gaps in your current training.

They can also be excellent options if you’ve taken courses in the past, but want to make sure your knowledge and skill-set is completely up to date.

Google Developers University Consortium

The Google Developers University Consortium offers a ton of great courses for developers interested in working with Google products. Of course that includes designing and programming for Android, as well as Google Maps, Google App Engine, and more. It also offers more general web technology courses, including an AJAX tutorial, PHP development, and information on GIS and KML.

In addition to using the University Consortium for learning, you can also submit a course, including course materials, assignments, lectures, and projects. The only catch is that it has to be Creative Commons-licensed.

 

Dev.Opera

Dev.Opera can help you learn all the latest open web technologies, including JavaScript, CSS3, HTML5, and SVG. In addition to web technologies, Dev.Opera also offers up courses and tutorials on Add-Ons, Mobile, and TV. And of course if you have information to share with the Opera development community, you can submit your own articles.

 

Lynda.com

Lynda.com is one of the largest premium tutorial sites for software, business, and creative topics. They have over 1900 video courses, all by expert teachers. For $25/month, you get unlimited access to all of their courses, making it a good deal for anyone who wants constant access to new learning materials.

Lynda.com’s courses are all mobile-friendly, so you don’t have to be chained to your computer to learn. And you can even create your own custom playlists of the courses you want to watch, which can then be shared with others (of course, they’ll need their own Lynda.com account to watch those videos). Lynda.com does offer a free 7-day trial, so you can test the waters before you commit.

 

Don’t Fear the Internet

Don’t Fear the Internet is a little different from other resources on this list. It covers basic HTML and CSS, but was specifically created for non-web designers, and is instead aimed at creatives in general.

So far there are seven lessons, covering typography, targeting content, CSS, developer tools, HTML, and even a basic primer on the internet. Every lesson is delivered in video format, but with text notes you can easily refer to later.

 

P2PU’s School of Webcraft

P2PU’s School of Webcraft is a peer-powered learning environment that’s backed by Mozilla. It’s all completely free, and you can take individual courses or complete beta challenges to test your current knowledge.

Current courses offered include basics like choosing web hosting or a text editor, as well as more advanced topics like Coffeescript and PHP. There are even courses offered in Spanish. And like most resources of its kind, you can create and submit your own courses, too.

 

Codecademy

Codecademy lets you interactively learn to code, all for free. There are courses for everything from basic HTML to JavaScript to Ruby and other more complex programming languages.

The nice thing about Codecademy is its incredibly interactive nature. Every single lesson includes an interactive element that helps you retain the information you’ve learned. This is a big deal for those who learn by doing, rather than just by reading or listening.

In addition to standard courses, Codecademy also has a strong community where you can join groups to code with others, as well as profiles that let you show off badges and progress.

 

Code School

Code School is another online learning environment that stresses learning by doing. They offer “Paths” that give you a clearcut list of courses you should take to learn different disciplines. there are paths for Ruby, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, and iOS. They also offer “Electives”, which cover topics outside of the basic Paths, including Git, R, and Chrome DevTools.

Code School offers both free and premium courses, with the most basic courses generally offered for free. And of course, you don’t have to follow the pre-defined Paths if you’d prefer to strike out on your own.

 

Udacity

Udacity offers up courses in a number of technology and design related areas. There are classes on web development, HTML5 game development, programming languages, interactive 3D graphics, and even topics like building a startup.

The courses are free, and are all highly interactive. Video lectures are bite-sized, meaning you can learn at your own pace without having to sit through hours of someone speaking. And of course all the instructors are industry leaders, so you’re learning from the best.

 

Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby

Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby is one of the best free Ruby courses online. It’s funny, easy to follow, and has great illustrations and comic strips included that really help drive the concepts home.

 

Udemy

Udemy offers courses from leading instructors around the world. A lot of the courses offered are tech- and design-focused, though there are also some great courses about startups and other topics.

Udemy also lets you teach your own courses, and earn money doing so. Courses range in price from only a few dollars right up to hundreds, depending on the subject, instructor, and length. There are even some free courses, though you might have to dig to find them.

 

Skillfeed

Skillfeed is a relatively new offering from Shutterstock. They offer a paid monthly subscription (just $19/month) to access courses, though there’s a 7-day free trial as well.

Courses are focused on technical and creative skills, and there are also “Skill Snacks” that offer up quick tips and tricks that you can learn in just a few minutes. Skillfeed video classes can be accessed from your desktop, laptop, or mobile device, too, so you can learn anywhere.

 

Treehouse

Treehouse offers a huge library of step-by-step video courses and tutorials for a variety of in-demand technologies. You can learn to build websites and web apps, mobile apps, or even how to start a business.

There are currently over 1000 videos in the library, with more being added all the time to keep you up-to-date. As you complete courses, you’ll earn badges you can proudly display on your profile to show your achievements. And each course has interactive elements to make it easier for you to retain the information you learn.

Pricing ranges from $25-$49/month, depending on which plan you choose. The more expensive Gold plan gives you access to feedback on your projects, as well as additional information and workshops.

 

Coursera

Coursera offers courses on a huge number of subjects, including a robust catalog of information, tech, and design courses. Courses in these subject areas include topics like social media, data science, creativity, innovation, metadata, digital democracy, and much more. Courses are offered on a regular basis, and are done more like a traditional college with weekly lessons and assignments. Each course runs from just five or six weeks up to 19 weeks or more.

 

Tuts+ Premium Courses

The Tuts+ Network has been a leader in design and technology tutorials for years, with both free and premium resources. Now, their Tuts+ Premium Courses give a more formal educational environment for learning about some of your favorite topics. There are courses on everything from parallax scrolling in web design to jQuery to web application design. Most courses run a dozen to two dozen lessons, though there are some that fall outside of those parameters.

Courses are available to all Tuts+ Premium members (who also get the benefit of hundreds of tutorials and 73 ebooks, as well as weekly new content). Tuts+ Premium membership is $19/month (or $15/month if you pay yearly). They do offer two free courses if you want to try it out: 30 Days to Learn HTML and CSS, and 30 Days to Learn jQuery.

 

Timothy Training

Timothy Training offers tutorials for a number of web technologies and programs, including Dreamweaver, HTML and CSS, PHP, MySQL, and more. They also offer live training and even on-site training.

 

OpenLearn

OpenLearn is the online home of the free courses from The Open University. They offer courses on a huge variety of subjects, including technology and design. The Design and Innovation category has some great courses that would be of interest to a web designer, including Design in a Nutshell, while the Computing and ICT category has more technical courses, including classes on open source, Google, design thinking, and more.

 

iTunes U

iTunes U is probably one of the better known online educational portals out there, with courses from some leading educational institutions around the world. They offer courses designed by schools, colleges, universities, and other organizations from around the world.

Courses can be found by searching or browsing, as well as by looking through the top-rated charts. There are even topical collections put together by top institutions. There are a number of courses and collections aimed at designers and developers, including Developing Apps for iOS, iOS Game Development, Talking Design, and Creative Media. iTunes U can be accessed through any iOS device. Educators also have the option to create their own courses.

 

Academic Earth

Academic Earth offers free courses from colleges around the world in a variety of subjects, including Introduction to Visual Thinking, Building Dynamic Websites, and Computer Graphics. Lessons are presented in video format.

Courses offered through Academic Earth are presented by institutions including Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Columbia University, Cornell University, Indian Institute of Technology, MIT, and more.

 

KillerPHP.com

KillerPHP.com was created to teach practical PHP skills to web designer types, rather than developers. They offer up video tutorials on PHP and MySQL. You can subscribe for just $29 for 3 months or $99 for 12 months, or purchase courses individually.

 

WebDesign.com

WebDesign.com approaches online learning a bit differently than most of the other sites listed here. Instead of letting you simply watch video lessons on your own time, they offer live, interactive webinars. Webinars are also included in their video training library, which subscribers have complete access to.

They offer some live webinars for free (mostly on non-technical subjects), while others are only available to members. Membership is $197 for a full year, which includes access to the full library as well as their library. Monthly and yearly subscriptions to just the live webinars are also available, for $47 and $97 respectively.

 

Web Standards Curriculum

If you’re interested in learning web standards, then the Web Standards Curriculum, offered by W3C, is a great place to start. It covers everything from web design standards to HTML to CSS, and even has information on JavaScript, accessibility, mobile web development, and SVG.

They also include resources aimed at teachers, with additional references, teaching materials, and project activities.

 

Conclusion

Regardless of what you want or need to learn, you’ll almost certainly find what you’re looking for at one of the sites above. They’re a nice way to educate yourself without the cost of a formal education, but with more direction than just randomly surfing tutorials.

Have you used any of the resources above? Or did we miss any you think should have made the list? Let us know in the comments.

eBook: How to Grow your Business on Twitter – only $9!

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Tired of waiting for Uncle Bob to BBQ everything his way with his slow cooking technique that takes most of the day? Find a shaded tree and be productive with a new edition of the Opinion Soup... This edition roughly covers the last two weeks... You can catch up with 70+ previous editions (and even more future editions) in the Opinion Soup archives... As usual, opinions are those of their opiners, and assuming the multiverse theory is correct, everyone is right in at least one universe...

Camera Gear
+ on sensor size by Ming Thein
+ what's in your bag? Over 560 photographers share their secret camera bag contents at Japan Camera Hunter (via ARC blog)
+ mirror lockup is a conspiracy of sorts at Improv Photography
+ the proverbial desert island camera at Ming Thein
+ EVF finders in Canon cameras are inevitable at Visual Science Lab
+ once upon a time 6mp was the Holy Grail at Visual Science Lab
+ Google Glass from a Street Photographer's perspective at Petapixel
+ truth, lies and the photographic internet at Sound Image Plus along with responses

Studio Tours
+ Teri Campbell's Food Photography Studio at Petapixel

Creativity, Inspiration, Intanginbles, Etc
+ before you sell that old camera, go back and look at the work you created with it at Kirk Tuck's Visual Science Lab Blog - Read Well!
+ don't compete, collaborate!!! at Erik Kim Photography
+ on selecting and working with portrait subjects at Visual Science Lab
+ seven mistakes every photographer makes at Petapixel
+ photographers as problem solvers at DIY Photography
+ five street photography lessons for living at Erik Kim Photography
+ photo essay, channeling Winogrand at Ming Thein
+ try new things at JPC blog
+ 50 inspirational macros at Canon 5D tips
+ 100 Lomography ideas to get you inspired at Lomodoto

DIY and Reenactments
+ how to build a Bullet Time DIY rig with a ceiling fan and a GoPro at DIY Pixel
+ how I created a 4-story tall print of one of my photographs at Petapixel
+ creating "Grenade Face" at Thephoblographer

Fireworks Photography
+ specific instructions at Photocritic
+ five unorthodox firework photography tutorials rounded up at DIY Photography

Edu, Tips, Tutorials
+ Lightroom catalogs explained at Photography Life
+ Lightroom how-tos and tips at Photography Life
+ what is Lightroom? at Photography Life
+ on image cropping at Photography Life
+ the history of aspect ratios in Cinema (18min video) at Vincent Laforet and ARC blog
+ how to shoot day-to-night time lapses at Preston Kanan (via F/S)
+ what is focal length? at Photocritic
+ metering is a wonderful thing at Visual Science Lab
+ aperture for your food (not your mouth!) at Food Stoppers
+ beginner wildlife photography tips at ephotozine
+ beginner intro to triptych photography at Canonblogger
+ what is exposure at Photocritic
+ beginner intro to shooting butterflies at Photonaturalist
+ beginner intro to filters at eFilterZine
+ death of Imogen Cunningham at Thephoglobrapher
+ opinion on the Mexican Suitcase documentary at Thephoblographer
+ opinion on Ed Ruscha's Los Angeles apartments at A Photo Editor

Photo Sharing and Mobile Apps
+ Yahoo and Flickr renege on their paid advertising free accounts at Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection
+ why we love to hate Instagram at Instagram Stoppers
+ best iPhone photography apps right now according to iPhotodoto

Interviews
+ Henri Cartier Bresson at NYT Lens Blog (newly discovered interview from 1971) [via APE]
+ Aik Beng Chia at Erik Kim Photography
+ Shiho Fukada on Japan's disposable workers picture story at PDN
+ Rene Burri (video) via Petapixel via R33d1t
+ Andreas Pouptsis at Fstoppers
+ Shane Lavacher at Petapixel
+ Todd Gross at Erik Kim Photography
+ Art Wolfe at Ami Magazine in PDF format
+ Robert Paetz at Pop Photeaux
+ long video interview with former Chicago Sun Times photographer Al Podgorsky at Fro Knows Photo YouTube channel (via F/S)
+ Carlo Ricci at A Photo Editor

Obituaries
+ Bert Stern, 83 at PDN Pulse

Business and Professional
+ which of us dies first? the achilles heel of the war reporting business at Petapixel
+ why picky clients are a good thing at Petapixel
+ why group buying deal services are bad for photographers and customers at Petapixel
+ using checklists at Speedlighter.ca
+ the glamorous life of big time professional photographers at Visual Science Lab
+ taking the medicine at Visual Science Lab
+ videographers must help one another out to combat thieves in the industry at FStoppers
+ dear client, stop cropping my pictures on Facebook at FStoppers
+ how to use Flipboard magazines for your photography business at Photocrati
+ is photobombing a new marketing tactic? at SLR Lounge

Controversies, Etc
+ birth and breast feeding photo removal controversies via Petapixel
+ is Hollywood really broken? help spark some change at Vincent Laforet
+ cultural appropriation at SLR Lounge
+ portraits of the homeless in a studio environment via Petapixel
+ on self harming at A Photo Editor
+ documenting illegal hunting of songbirds at Peta Pixel
+ my portrait with Aaron Hernandez at Petapixel

A Day At The Improv
+ 41 reasons to date a photographer at Photography Talk (via SLR L.)

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