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WPPI 2018
05th March 2018
What’s is WPPI?
Written by: Arnie Lee
Weddings, Portraits and More
11th February 2018
Upcoming WPPI 2018 Conference & Expo
Having been part of the software, computer and publishing industries since 1980, I’ve been to Las Vegas more times than I care to count.
However the thought of another laborious trip out West isn’t going to keep me away from the Wedding & Portrait Photography International event this year. For the past several years I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this meeting where 200+ classes are taught by professionals covering a wide range of photography topics including lighting, posing, drone, video, baby/child, sports, school, printing, retouching, marketing and business. Among the instructors are many recognizable names: Tamara Lackey, Lindsay Adler, Julieanne Kost, Sue Bryce, Jerry Ghionis, Roberto Valenzuela and Joe McNally who will share their skills with the attendees.
In addition to the standard classes, there are smaller and more intensive sessions aimed at a limited number of attendees. And for those who’d rather be in a non-classroom setting there are multiple scheduled Photo Walks that provide hands-on learning.
I’m especially interested in the WPPI Expo. In the large exhibit hall you’ll meet with manufacturers and suppliers of photo equipment, accessories, photofinishing, presentation and framing, software and services. On the expo floor, various manufacturers present live demonstrations of their equipment and techniques. It seems that all of the major brands are on hand to demonstrate their products and answer your questions. I’ve made many purchasing decisions after having met with sales reps at earlier WPPI events..

This audience is taking in a presentation at the Canon booth
If you’re anxious to sharpen your photography skills, take a look at the many classes that are offered at the conference. Last year WPPI hosted about 13,000 professional and advanced photographers.
WPPI will take place February 24 to 28 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. For more information please visit WPPI Conference & Expo.
By Arnie Lee
Mylio – Organization +
24th March 2015
Organizing your Collections
The proliferation of high quality mobile devices has given professional and non-professional photographers alike more alternatives for capturing, storing, managing and displaying their images. But at the same time using multiple devices has made it more difficult for them to keep their collections orderly.
At the Mylio booth at the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International Expo I stopped to have a demonstration of their software and service that addresses many of the issues that crop up when using multiple devices.
Mylio bills its product as a rich photo management system to organize, edit, synchronize and safeguard a large collection of images.
For more information about this service, please visit Mylio.
Written by Arnie Lee
Epson SureColor P600
21st March 2015
Professional Quality Prints
One of the stops at this month’s Wedding & Portrait Photographers International Expo was the Epson booth.
For several years I’ve used the Epson R2880 to print mid-size photographs. I wanted to see the new Epson P600 which is the successor to the R2880. The two are similar in many respects: 9 ink cartridges; 3 levels of black for b&w images; accommodates paper sizes to 13″ x 19″; 13″ roll paper handling for 13″ wide panoramas.
The P600 uses Epson’s latest UltraChrome HD ink. The ink is packaged in higher capacity cartridges. According to the Epson representative, the black inks have been improved for richer b&w prints.
I’m a fan of many of Epson’s photo and fine art papers to creatively match your images. They include glossy, matte, metallic, textured, canvas, more. The P600 is on my short list of equipment to buy.
The suggested price is $799 and is available immediately. For more information about the P600, please visit Epson.
Written by Arnie Lee
PhotoPlus Expo 2014 – Masterpix
20th November 2014
Corning’s Gorilla Glass Photos
As I was browsing the aisles, I came across a booth with a display of many brilliant photos. I learned that all of these photos were printed directly on glass.
Currently you can order photos online, directly from Corning’s Masterpix website. They are available in these sizes: 5×7, 6×6, 8×10, 11×14, 16×16 and 16×24. The ordering process is simple, choose the size, upload your image and enter your delivery and payment information.
For details on these glass presentation frames, visit Corning’s Masterpix website for full details.
Written by: Arnie Lee
PhotoPlus Expo 2014 – Epson P600
19th November 2014
High Quality Desktop Printer
I’m an ardent believer that it’s better to get your photographs off of your hard drive and into print.
About ten years ago, we had a 13″ wide printer to handle some of our smaller photographs. However, after it died following a long and generous life, we chose not to replace it. Since then we’ve been using a variety of photofinishers to reproduce our photographs.
After strolling by the Epson booth and seeing some of their impressive photograph displays, I talked to one of their customer representatives and am now considering their new Surecolor P600.
I asked the Epson representative about my concern about clogged ink cartridges when the printer is sits unused for a short while and was told that the ink will remain usable for up to six months from installation.
The list price of the Epson Surecolor P600 is $795. For more information, see the Epson P600 webpage for details.
The P600 is now on my short list of equipment purchases. I’m anxious to print several panoramas that I’ve stored on my hard drive – again, the hard drive is not a good place to keep photographs.
Written by: Arnie Lee
A Simple Photo Gallery
25th May 2014
Showing Off Your Photographs
Digital gives us the opportunity to take hundreds and hundreds of photos for almost no cost at all. This is an amazing turnaround compared to the price of using film cameras that had a processing charge saddled to each roll of film that we shot.
So what are we doing with all of these “free” photos? Are they sitting on the SD memory card or cell phone? I’m sure that my friends and relatives are impressed as I flick through the tiny screen to show them my recent vacation shot – NOT!
Well, to be frank, my fingers are tired of flicking the screen. And my friends and relatives typically avoid asking to see pictures of my travels. So I decided to print – yes you heard it correctly – print some of the photos.
Material List:
2 pieces of J-Channel – 10′ Vinyl 1/2″ J_Trim @ $2.40 each (Home Depot)
1 pkg – plastic ribbed anchors #4 – 1″ @ $7.99
1 pkg – 8″ x 10″ or 8″ x 12″ mat board 25 sheets @ $12.50
1 can 3M General Purpose 45 spray mount @ $5.00
Written by: Arnie Lee
Panoramas the easy way
27th August 2012
Photographically speaking, a panorama is a photograph that encompasses a very wide view. I like panoramas because they reproduce a scene as if I were viewing it live by turning my head from the far left to the far right. I can view the photograph in small ‘chunks’ as I scan the entire image from the left to the right.
In the past, making a panorama was a complicated, multiple step process involving capturing the images and then stitching them together whether it be done chemically in a darkroom or digitally with a computer. I won’t go into details of making panoramas using either of these two “conventional” ways. Instead, I’ll point out the ease with which a feature on certain cameras enables me to easily make panoramas in one step.
For the past two years I’ve been using several Sony Alpha series and NEX series cameras to shoot panoramas. These cameras enjoy a feature called Sweep Panorama. When this feature is chosen, you simultaneously depress the shutter and move the camera in a sweeping fashion to the right. As you do this, the camera captures multiple images of the scene. The camera signals the completion of the sweep by halting the shutter. A few seconds afterward, the panoramic capture appears on the camera’s LCD for your review. Press the PLAY button and the image is displayed from left to right – in video fashion – but is actually a single, still panoramic image.
Above, I explained that the sweeping motion is from left to right. But in fact these Sony cameras let you sweep left to right; right to left; up to down; and down to up. These cameras also capture three dimensional appearing images using 3D Sweep Panorama that can be displayed on certain compatible 3D television sets.
Here’s a few of the panoramas that I’ve taken with various Sony cameras. You can click on each of the images to see a wide view of the panorama.
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Puzzled about your photograph?
18th April 2012
Jigsaw Puzzles – a do-it-yourself kit
On a recent holiday out West, I snapped a lucky group photo of our some of our grandkids. It was a lucky shot in which all of the kids were posed nicely, facing the camera.
When we returned home, my wife remembered that she had stashed away a couple of do-it-yourself photo jigsaw puzzles that would make a nice souvenir of our vacation.
Here’s the do-it-yourself jigsaw puzzle. This one is called “Make-Your_own Jigsaw Puzzle” from Messisa & Doug, Item # 376. My wife bought the kit at a large craft store for about $7. |
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This kit is to be used with a 5″ x 7″ photograph. I printed a borderless photograph, cropped exactly as I wanted it to appear on the puzzle. The kit includes an adhesive sheet onto which you place to photograph face up. Turn the adhesive sheet over and you’ll see the outline of the twelve jigsaw pieces. Using scissors, you cut along the lines which mirror the shape of the wooden jigsaw pieces. |
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Finally, you remove the second paper backing from the adhesive sheet to reveal more adhesive. Each photo piece is then pressed onto the corresponding wooden puzzle piece. This all takes about ten minutes and then your photo jig saw puzzle is ready! |
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My wife ended up making two of these puzzles to send to the grandkids in the photograph. We’re hoping that it will help them remember our visit.
Written by Arnie Lee
Easy Photo Gifts
07th April 2011
Do It Yourself Kits
I get a kick out of sharing my photos with others.
So when birthdays or holidays roll around I find myself looking for ways to turn some of my photos into gifts.
And like most of you, I’m also on the lookout for ways to save money.
For both of these projects, the sets were 50% off making each an inexpensive way to make custom photo gifts.
Without a doubt, I’m happy with both the quality and cost of these photo gifts.
I purchased both of these kits at a local Kohls department store. I’ve seen similar kits made by other manufacturers for sale at Target, Michaels and Hobby Lobby. I’ve also seen them for sale online at Amazon.
To find out more about their products visit Melannco.
Please note that Stay Focused has no connection to Melannco.
Written by Arnie Lee
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