Getting your brass kick

Around 12 years ago I had the pleasure of welcoming Christof Schmidt to the Klett Verlag, where we worked side-by-side for several years until he left to pursue his passion of playing the trombone in various ensembles. He has now pretty much made it to the top, having recently taken over the helm of Stuttgart's Protestant Brass Choirs from Hans Holzwarth, who had the job from 1978 until July 9, 2016, 

Variate, a select group of brass musicians conducted by Hans Holzwarth, here in the Markus Kirche, Stuttgart

In addition, Christof leads a couple of ensembles, including the Hohenlohe Brass, the Hohenlohe Brass Quintet and Trombana, Aside from playing and touring with these ensembles, he regularly plays in regional orchestras when an extra trombone is needed: Mozart's Requiem, Strauß, Mahler, Bruckner. 

His newest project was formed at the request of the Landesmuseum Württemberg, which has opened an exhibition about the Swabians in the Altes Schloß in Stuttgart. In March 2017 Christof's ensemble Trombanda will play with the former Olympic gold medalist, Dieter Baumann, who has now focused his energy on cabaret. It will be an entertaining concert!

In need of publicity photos, he turned to me and I was more than happy to oblige. The day before the shoot I went into town to scout out locations. Then I made some sketches to remind me of the visions I had for the shots. This was the first one we got.

I had actually imagined him running through the picture, but while we were warming up and getting to know one another, we weren't quite loose enough for that yet. However, in our third (and next-to-last) location Dieter suggested that himself, so it was much easier to capture (see below).

After shooting in the courtyard of the Altes Schloß, we went to one of Stuttgart's art museums. I like the lines there and the view of Stuttgart that one has through its glass facades.

 

Out in front of the Neues Schloß we got some nice shots as tourists walked by, shooting our shoot as they enjoyed the sunny day.

As we were setting up an "Abbey Road"-style shot there, a group of tourists were standing in the way. Dieter, self-assured as he is, asked them to move and they did!

It was a very fun job because every one was relaxed, the weather was on our side and I had a very competent assistant - thank you, Robert!

The "Abbey Road" shot

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”Colors of Norway”

”Colors of Norway”
©David A. Ziser

While traveling through Norway a few years ago on a wonderful ocean cruise we stopped at the fascinating and beautiful city of Alesund, Norway. On a cloudy, rainy morning and after departing the ship LaDawn and I explored the city on foot eventually finding our way to the Aksla View Point overlooking the city below.

The geometric layout of the city from that vantage point really facinated me.  There were so many colors repeated and so many shapes and details also repeated that all combined into a certain photographic rhythm that I found fascinating.

After a little post-production in Lightroom and Photoshop to enhance the colors and details, I had the result I wanted.  To me it looks like a photo-realistic painting of the city more than a photograph – I like it.

Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark III fitted with Tamron 28-300 VR lens at  84mm, F8.0 at 1/400 second, ISO 800.

Enjoy!  -David

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Back In The Saddle Again & One Way Cool Website!

Hi Gang,

I promised I would get back on the bloging wagon again so today I’ve climbed back in the saddle and off we go.  I have to tell the reason for the slowdown was really because of all the traveling LaDawn and I have been doing over the past 4 years. I appreciate all the calls and emails to LaDawn concerning my health. I’m feeling GREAT!

We have been traveling for up to 7 months of the year enjoying the world’s wonderful sights, sounds and experiences.  That’s our Spain itinerary from 2014 – what a trip that was!  I know that sounds like a lot of time traveling and lots of folks think we’re crazy for being gone so long and often, but we LOVE it!

OK you ask, “Why so much travel? Are still shooting any more?” To that I answer a resounding,YES! But, in all honesty, a lot less wedding/portrait photography.  I’m still shooting for my VIP clients – now what does that mean? I’ve been in this business for many years and have built up a great many loyal clients. 

LaDawn likes to say that my “client reach” is not very broad but it is very deep as I have been photographing the same families for many, many years and they are still calling me for weddings and important events – a good thing!

As you become closer to that magic age of Medicare, and dare I say retirement, you wonder how it’s going to change your life. Well, I could never get used to the idea of a complete retirement because as a self-employed business owner I always have an iron-or-two still in the fire.

Yes, I was still shooting for many past clients – all the Bar/Bat Mitzvah kids I have photographed over the pass twenty plus years are now getting married.  Yep, the image on the right - I photographed her Bat Mitvah many years earlier.

I along with our good friend Randy Fraley, took up the responsibilities of producing PhotoPro Expo, the biggest, best and most successful photography convention in the midwest! We’ve got great plans for 2017 – I’ll keep you posted.

So like I said earlier, I figure I’ll always have an-iron-in-the-fire till the day I die.  That’s all good – it keeps the mind and body active.  And I have to tell you that I love it all.  Add to that all the travel and we still have a pretty full schedule for our lives. So that said, let’s get back to work.

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Exporting JPEGS but What Compression Ratio – Oh My!

OK, before I share some of our photographic travel experiences with you – I’ve taken over 150,000 photos over the last four years and have enjoyed each press of the shutter.

Over these next several weeks I’d like to share with you some of our stories, our images, and our experiences these past few years but before I begin I want to tell you about a very cool website I stumbled across the other day.

So how many of you guys and girls out there really know or care about what the optimum compression ratio is to use when you export JPEGs? Well… I run into that same delemma myself.  I’m working on a task and  need to export 400 images over to my client for a small project. The images won’t be any larger than 20x10.  Exporting at FULL RES can give me a folder that could easily be over a GIG in size.  That sure won’t work for my DropBox account.

So, just how far can I crunch those JPEGs down and still have them look acceptable? After doing some extensive search the answer I can up with was 50% at 240dpi. Yep, 50% at 240dpi – that’s a BIG crunch of the pixels you say.  But I say, “How do they look after that kind of crunch?”  The answer to me is “Just fine!”.

OK, how did I reach that conclusion? Check this super informative post over at Jeffrey Friedl’s Blog [link]  Ahhh.. the website therin lies the solution.  To be honest, I have never seen a more thorough explanation of what so many of us take for granted.

Jeffrey’s interactive DEMO – I pulled the image above from that DEMO - showing how JPEG compression affects the final image is unsurpassed in it’s presentation.  You simply mouse over the compression settings on his DEMO images and see the result of that compression setting in real time – amazing! Again, check it out right here – way cool info! Also, don’t miss his Resources at the bottom of the post.

Another very good source of info on the subject can be found at Graeme Cookson’s website Shutha – Free Training For Professionals right here.  He goes into even more explanation about the result of compression on your image.  Between both sites you should be able to come to your own best solution for crunching your JPEGs - depending on your application.  Enjoy the read – DAZ.

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Hey gang, I’m going to let that be it for tady.  I really wanted to let this post be more of an intro as to what I plan to post over the next several weeks.  Although the posts will be  more photo-centric, I plan to spin them with my own photograpgic backstory including the where’s, why’s, and how’s of all the images.  I hope you enjoy the journey.

All the Best,

“Back In The Saddle Again” David

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I’m Firing Up My Blog Again!

Good Morning Everybody!

I'm planning to fire up my blog  DigitalProTalk.com again, maybe not on a daily basis but on a weekly at the very least.

Why, you ask? As you know LaDawn and I have been traveling quite extensively for the past few years - heck, on our last trip to Europe just over a month ago I logged 22,231 images!!!  The image below was taken after a rainstorm.  That’s the Stout’s Hill Manor House in Uley, England, our home for 10 days – fabulous!

I'd like to share some of these images with you along with my thought processes behind the images, and the technical details as well. So please stay tuned ;~)

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Expiring Tonight! - The BEST BIG DEAL BUNDLE Ever!

Hey Gang, this is the last time you are going to hear me talk about the BIG DEAL BUNDLE [link].  So far, thank to all who picked up the super deal. The BIG DEAL has raised over $20,000 for the three charities it supports - that's like FANTASTIC! 

Why not jump on the bandwagon yourself and pick up this fabulous collection of all things photographic and it’s Only $99 for $3000 worth of training, plug-ins, brushes, videos, eBooks, etc. from the top trainers in the country right here!.

Remember, the DEAL EXPIRES tonight so don't miss it. Not only do you help three deserving charities, you also get the best collection of photographic resources available anywhere! You've got to check it out right here!

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Expiring In 2 Days - Perfectly Clear's $99 Steal of a Deal Summer Sale!

Hey Folks, also if you haven't checked out Perfectly Clear [link] yet (only $99 for two more days), you are in for a BIG surprise when you do! Perfectly Clear has evolved from a quick one-click Image Enhancement tool into a post-production powerhouse for fashion, wedding and portrait photographers everywhere!

When Perfectly Clear was introduced over 5 years ago it was priced at $249 then reduced to $149 and now it’s ONLY$99 for two more days! The first version basically fined tuned color and contrast - hey, it was great for a wedding/portrait photographer like myself.

But now with the added functionality of SKIN and EYE enhancement now available at a touch-of-the-button in both Lightroom and Photoshop, it's a no-brainer to pick it up at the rock bottom price - I mean it. PLEASE check it out all the DEMOS right here so you can see how cool this software is. You won't be disappointed!

• One Click and Exposure, Density and Contrast are perfect!

• One Click and your subject's Eyes look fabulous!

• One Click and your subject's Skin is Hollywood flawless!

• Get all the details and demos RIGHT HERE!

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Hey Gang, that's it for me today. 

Please keep and eye on DigitalProTalk.com over the next few days.  I'll have some of my new photos up by the end of the week. Hope to see you soon.

Adios for now,

David

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Our Great 4th of July Celebration Just Got Better!

Good Morning Everybody!

On Sunday morning we blasted off from good ol’ KY and headed to Las Vegas for a little fun in the sun.  Some folks said we were crazy for leaving our mid-80’s temps in NKY and heading into the 107 temps of Las Vegas – hey, it’s Vegas!

We  settled into our fabulous suite at our favorite hotel – the Elara on the Strip. Check out the view from our living room window above – awesome!

Turns out Sunday is the BIG 50th anniversary celebration at Caesar's Palace complete with Robbie Knievil, the Red Bull Air Force skydiving team, terrific entertainment, and a great fireworks display – LaDawn and I were in the center of all the excitement. In fact, I was even interviewed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and appeared in the paper the next day – my 15 minutes of fame – haha.

Today we’re heading over to the the Bellagio for the Yousef Karsh display.  Karsh was always one of my favorite portrait photographers so it will be fun to see the exhibit.

But the real story is how our July 4th just got better – see below! 

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The BIG DEAL Extended For One More Week!

Many of you know that a few weeks ago I became involved with the best deal to come along in years for photographers everywhere.  It’s called the BIG DEAL [link] – Only $99 for $3000 worth of training, plug-ins, brushes, videos, eBooks, etc. from the top trainers in the country.

The BIG DEAL, which so far has raised $1000’s for the three charities was scheduled to end yesterday but I just got word it’s being extended for another week. That’s GREAT NEWS in case you missed it. Not only do you help three deserving charities, you also get the best collection of photographic resources available anywhere! You’ve got to check it out right here!

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Perfectly Clear $99 Summer Sale!

OK, now things get even better! Last week, I’m contacted from my good friends at Perfectly Clear – I’ve known Brad, the owner of Perfectly Clear for a number of years and I’ve watched how this wonderful piece of software have matured into into one of the BEST post-production tools available for photographers anywhere:

• One Click and Exposure, Density and Contrast are perfect!
• One Click and your subject’s Eyes look fabulous!
• One Click and your subject’s Skin is Hollywood flawless!
• More Info Right Here

Over the years Perfectly Clear has made giant steps to being an indispensable resource to all of us in photography.

And now the GREAT NEWS!  Perfectly Clear’s Summer Sale [link] is happening NOW!  This sale only happens once a year so don’t miss the opportunity to grab Perfectly Clear Complete for only $99 [link] – that’s 1/3 off the regular price of $149!

The SALE ends in just 10 days so don’t miss it! You can order it right here!

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Hey Gang, that’s it for me today.  LaDawn and I are heading over to Bellagio shortly to take in the Karsh Exhibit and the rest of the Vegas attractions. It’s a little warm – only 105 degrees today but it’s a DRY heat, right – lol.

See everybody later,

David

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