BetterPhoto Jim

Recent Outting to Seattle

Hello friends,

Denise and I recently escaped to Seattle's Pike Place Market for an overnighter. It was fantastic! We feel like we discovered a new form of travel. Instead of spending 5-10 hours getting somewhere distant, we felt like we were "on vacation" as soon as we pulled out of the driveway. You can probably tell it's been a while since we felt able to get away.

We enjoyed photographing the Market and the surrounding Seattle city scenes. But a few of my favorite images are less about place than subject. They almost could have been captured anywhere. This first image is a "drive-by" - a view of clouds from the floating 520 bridge.

I love the simplicity and symbolism of this next image. It was a surprise to me at how well it turned out. We were shopping in a very cool store called Watson-Kennedy. The place was full of interesting things that one of the owner had discovered on his travels to England and France. I borrowed this key and placed it on their brick floor in the sunshine.

Finally, this is a backlit Orchid with the window of our hotel room in the background. Denise and I are already eager to do another local photo trip - maybe they will let us out of the asylum again in another couple of months! :)

Talk soon!

BetterPhoto Instructor Calendar

Hello Friends of BetterPhoto!

Sometimes we have an idea here at BetterPhoto and the idea is implemented within minutes. This is one of the things I love about working with a small, super-creative team.

Sometimes, though, no matter how creative we are, it takes time for an idea to see the light of day. Every now and again, we might wrestle for ages with the best way to present information or a new feature.

That's what happened with the idea of a calendar that showed instructor on-location workshops. Members have asked for this for the past couple of years and, as much as we tried, it never reached the top of the (huge) To Do list.

UNTIL NOW!

Yeeehawwww Yipeeee - I'm glad to announce that we have posted a calendar of Instructor Workshops and Courses.

You can check it out at:
http://www.betterphoto.com/photography-event-calendar.asp

I have been wishing for such a calendar myself... it's hard to keep track of where everyone is heading. I just recently met up with Jim Zuckerman and Tony Sweet and will soon be meeting up with Bruce Smith, George Schaub, and Richard Lynch... it's so fun to work with these photographers in person but it takes effort to keep up with them ;)

To those of you who have been asking for this feature, thanks for your patience. I hope it helps you figure out the best time for you to go meet your instructor in person.

Back from the Smokies

Back from the Great Smoky Mountains and WOW - what a beautiful place! Of course it didn't hurt that I was with my good friends Tony and JZ. I had a wonderful time both photographing and just catching up with old friends.

Here are a few pics. This is one of my favorites. I think I'm going to call it "House of the Flying Dogwoods":

One morning we were blessed with the most amazing mist among the trees:

 

And another morning we were blessed with the most amazing fog. These are the kind of times that make photographers giddy with excitement.

A Warm Hello from the Smokies

Hi everybody - Just checking in from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park!

I am here with Tony Sweet and Jim Zuckerman as Tony prepares for another fantastic workshop. Things are warm here and the leaves are coming in. The dogwood and redbud is are beginning to bloom... it's looking to be a very pretty spring season indeed.

Tony is not only a fine artist, but he's also a great guy - very friendly and easy to get along with. If you ever get a chance to take a workshop with Tony and his family/company (Sue and Kelly), I recommend it. I've been to many workshops and I rarely see anyone go as far out of their way to make sure the students get a satisfactory experience.

Wildlife Photography: Learn How to Take Better Pictures of Wildlife

Discover how to make inspiring images of wildlife with photographer Jim Zuckerman. In his exciting online photo class - Wildlife Photography - Jim will share the techniques he uses to capture his great photos of wildlife and other animals.

For instance, you'll learn how to get within photo-taking range of shy animals, as well as the best lenses to use. In addition, Jim will discuss macro photography techniques, plus the perfect lighting conditions for capturing fine art images.

Along with great lessons and assignments, you'll get helpful critiques and enjoy interaction with instructor and classmates. Check out Jim Zuckerman's 4-week online photography class: Wildlife Photography: Learn How to Take Better Pictures of Wildlife. For additional inspiration, see Jim's wildlife gallery.

BetterPhoto.com covers many other photography and Photoshop topics in its online photography school.

© Jim Zuckerman

© Jim Zuckerman

Travel: Learn How to Take Better Vacation Pictures

Discover how to make dynamic photos of your travels - whether close to home or far afield. In her excellent online photo course - Travel Photography: Capturing a Sense of Place - photographer Brenda Tharp will show you how to record everyday life, capture the action of festivals, show the mood of a city, work with both natural and artificial light, assemble a travel album, and photograph cultural portraits.

All that, plus great interaction with instructor and classmates, can be found in Brenda Tharp's Travel: Learn How to Take Better Vacation Pictures, Internet photo class. For more inspiration, see Brenda's gallery of travel images.

BetterPhoto.com also offers many more online photography classes and online Photoshop courses. Check out the digital photography school.

© Brenda Tharp

© Brenda Tharp

Professional Photography: Learn How to Earn Money!

At BetterPhoto.com, the online digital photography school offers an outstanding one-year program on professional photography. Discover how to earn money with your images!

In fact, BetterPhoto boasts four such Classtracks programs, including one on Professional Photography: Learn How to Earn Money!. Each ClassTrack consists of a series of Internet photography classes - all taught by top pros.

And there's this great incentive: After completing your ClassTrack program, you'll qualify for an additional 4-week class AND also a free Pro BetterPholio Web site to display and sell your work. That's a total value of $547!

For more details on the ClassTracks program, go to the online photography ClassTracks page.

© Jim Zuckerman

© Rob Sheppard

New Digital Camera? Learn How to Use It in an Online Photo Class!

Did you receive a new digital camera for Christmas? Then learn how to use it in one of BetterPhoto.com's famed online photo courses!

At BetterPhoto, we offer interactive Internet classes taught by top professional photographers. See the class schedule for BetterPhoto's new digital camera courses. Some of these online photo courses cover specific Nikon digital cameras and Canon digital cameras.

In a BetterPhoto online photography course, you'll receive a weekly lesson and assignment, critiques by a pro, and be able to interact with classmates and instructor. See how an online photo course works.

Along being the best source for photographic instruction on the Internet, BetterPhoto.com also provides great online photo galleries and websites for photographers.

Nature: Take Great Images of the World Around Us

One of the more innovative photographic education programs around is the year-long ClassTracks by BetterPhoto.com!

Four Classtracks programs are offered, including Nature: Take Great Images, in which you can sign up for a series of online photo courses throughout the year. These Internet photography classes are taught by famous photographers who specialize in nature photos, and are designed to help you master the creative and compositional side of taking great nature images.

But here's a fantastic incentive: Upon completion of the program, you qualify for an extra 4-week course AND a free Pro BetterPholio website in order to show and sell your work - a $547 total value!

So, what are you waiting for? Enroll in BetterPhoto's take better nature images year-long program today. For additional information on the other ClassTracks programs and on mastering photography over the course of one full year, check out our online photo ClassTracks page.

Giraffes, northern Namibia © Jim Zuckerman

Reflections, Paria Canyon, Utah © William Neill