The Blogging Phenomenon

Among the thousands of blogs out there, one of them stands out prominently for photographers. It has started a mini revolution: finding cheap alternatives to the equipment frenzy most of us have been subject to :-) It's all about DIY. For example, how to substitute a stofen omnibounce (cost $20) with a piece of tupperware (cost $2).

This blog can be found here: www.strobist.com

It's also helped photographers the world over (1 million suscribers and counting) look at lighting in a completely different way. Location and studio photography will never be the same again. The motto: put aside the heavy power packs, the cumbersome softboxes... and use those little speedlight flashes OFF of your camera.

Have complete control over your lighting in all scenarios! Case in point, I backpacked around Europe for 6 weeks with my lighting gear this summer. No, I'm not crazy. I was carrying two Nikon Speedlights, one lightstand and various others things. I used them all the time, and it was such a treat!

Check out strobist if you haven't already. It started out a year ago and has grown to such an extend that it's writer, David, quit his photojournalist job at the Baltimore Sun to dedicate himself to it. He also does lighting workshops throughout the US and Europe. He has contributed SOOOO much to us photographers.

Make sure you scroll down to the Sept.28th entry on there. There is a link to a video presentation by Chase Jarvis, commercial photographer extraordinaire. He shares what it takes to become a highly successful photographer in this era. It's 55min long, and worth every second.

Melinda, thanks for you input on the press releases. That site is a great find! Do you know where the PR gets distributed? Can you keep us up to date on the responses you get from it?