WEB SITE RECOMMENDATIONS, A FEW RANDOM IMAGES, PLUS TAG I'M IT!!

Today we have a few items to discuss. One, I have tweaked our blog by removing the pro photographer's blogs out of our BLOG HONOR ROLL section and into a new section titled Our Favorite Photographic Training Web Sites. I thought this would put our fellow bloggers in their own category and not competing against the Pros. The pro site we list will all be training sites, which is something we are asked about all the time.
In that vein we are adding one of the truly great photographic training sites available. KELBY TRAINING.com http://www.kelbytraining.com/ It is a paid subscription site ( $199 annually) but I think if you are serious about learning photography this is a resource that will pay for itself. As with all products we recommend, we are paying members, first signing up in Jan. 2009. I really think that this is a great investment if your interested in really learning from the professionals. Scott Kelby is the president of the company that produces this site. He is also the co-founder and president of NAPP ( National Association of Photoshop Professionals). Before you jump to the conclusion that this is a Photoshop training site let me stop you. Yes you can get great training on Photoshop there. You can also get equally great training in Lightroom, Wedding Photography, Portraiture, Wildlife Photography, Nature Photography, Lighting and many other areas. The best part is your learning from some of the very best photographers in their fields and on video with as many as 15 - 20 video lessons in each individual training.
Your interested in learning how to photograph in studio, then how about a course titled, Light it Shoot it, Retouch it, taught by Scott Kelby himself. Scott has authored 40 books on photography and is considered a Photo Shop expert besides being one of the best photographers/ trainers out there today.
You want to learn about photographing wildlife, they have one, if not the best, wildlife photographers in the world. Moose Peterson is the man and with titles like Yellowstone Big Game Photography, Nature Photography- Shorebirds and Romancing the Landscape you will learn an amazing amount of stuff from the best.
Joe McNally is an internationally acclaimed American photographer and long time photojournalist. From 1994  until 1998 he was Life magazines staff photographer, the first one in 23 years. McNally is known worldwide for his ability to produce technically and logistically complex assignments with expert use of color and light. He conducts numerous workshops around the world as part of his teaching activities.
His classes on Kelby Training include; include Lighting for Indoor Sports Portraits, Lighting for Environmental Portraits, Creative Lighting for Photographers. One of the best parts is that he uses the same type flashes that many of you have  sitting on your camera's hotshoe. He is a master of using those simple lights to get amazing photographs.
If your into Wedding Photography ( please consider setting up your business outside of Florida :)) then Cliff Mautner and Davide Ziser are two of the best wedding photographers in the world. Between them you will receive trainings in off camera lighting ( Ziser), How to Photograph Beautiful Brides ( Mautner) and many more courses.
There are 40 experts on the site to choose from ...how can you go wrong?? Professionally produced video session in studio and out in the real world all by some of the best people in their fields for $199. They have even set up a free training section where you can see the first lesson in each video, not just a few hand picked lessons but  all of the classes, that is around 300 free videos. So I recommend checking them out  http://www.kelbytraining.com/  Scott also has a blog that I visit Monday through Friday.
http://www.scottkelby.com/ . This is a guy living the life many of would love to live. If he is not photographing beautiful models he is shooting professional and college football and basketball right on the sidelines. His blog is a fun and interesting way to start your morning if your interested in photography.

Tri Color Heron

I am also adding a new blog to our  Blog Honor Roll. It is the blog named Depth, http://www.grazieadio.blogspot.com/ who's author is a young women who lives in the  Philippines,  Melissa Tandoc. Her blog always makes me think, she has an amazing way of looking at things, her field is science and she is deeply religious. Those two areas must help mold her thoughts into deeply thought out avenues. I recommend checking out her site and keep going back.
 This is our week lol. As our readers know we were honored this week with the Versatile Blogger Award. We now have been tagged in Meme, by two separate people; Melissa being one and Sumit Chakraborty a young poet who I have started following recently because of his touching poetry, on his site EMOVERSE,  http://www.emoversmith.blogspot.com/  I would ask you to check out his poetry, you will be touched by this young mans thought and writings.
By the rules of this tag I need to answer a questioner. Which I will attempt to do with the best of my ability.

                    Tri Color Heron images were taken at the nest site one early morning this week.

1. If you could go back in time to relive one moment, what would it be?
The last night I spent with my mother, she passed away that night in her sleep and I would like the opportunity to tell her I loved her one more time!


2. If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?
My first wedding day.. That marriage was a big, no huge mistake


3. What movie or TV character you think you resemble most in personality?
 Part  Andy Sipowitz From NYPD BLUE  and part Tony Soprano. Both men were not perfect but  Andy's loyalty to his friends and family , Tony's love of his families are what I am speaking of. In Tony's case not  always well thought out or carried out but he was conflicted give him a break lol.

4. Which TV or movie character would you like to be?
 Any character played by Spencer Tracy especially Judgement at Nuremberg or any role opposite Katherine Hepburn.


 5.If you could push one person in the whole world off a cliff and get away with it, who would it be?
In my imagination too many to list, in reality not in my nature ( see I do not have all of Tony's personality flaws :)


6. Name one habit you want to change in yourself
   Not being truthful about all my bad habits:)


7. Describe yourself in one word.
   Creative


8. Describe the person who named you in this MEME in one word.
Melissa  =  Giving   Sumit = romanticist


9. Why do you blog? Answer in one sentence
 An outlet for my creativity !

10. Name at least 3 people or more to send this MEME, and then inform them.


OK  here comes the hard part naming three.


1) Isabelle Man,http://blog.isabelleman.com/?p=1467  because I would love to see her answers


2) Aaron Offord  http://www.aaronoutward.com/  Because he is an interesting, deep young man.

3) Rimly  http://rimlybezbaruah.blogspot.com/  Because I love her writings.