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Featured Member: Maggy Morrissey

October 30, 2012 By 5 Comments

What kind of photography do you do?

I photograph mostly landscapes, seascapes, and the odd cityscape. For the days when the weather does not permit outdoor photography, and that is quite frequent in Ireland, I’ll happily play with still life and macro. Often, the photographs are of something manmade, with nature as the backdrop, and the odd time its the other way around.

1_NorthWall

© Maggy Morrissey

Story behind this image: This is the beacon at the end of the north Bull Wall in Dublin Bay, with the rocky causeway leading towards it. The Bull Wall is easily my favourite place to be in Dublin. It is nearly always very wild and windy in this spot which always makes for an invigorating walk, but is quite a challenge for any tripod not made of concrete!

How would you describe your style?

Simple compositions with smooth clean lines have the greatest appeal for me. I try to reduce clutter in the photographs so that there are not too many elements competing for attention. As a result, the photographs can have a somewhat minimalist feel to them.

I would have a preference for black and white, as it helps simplify things even further. Having said that, I have recently been playing with colour and texture in photographs. I think a style is something that continues to develop so I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.

2_RushHour

© Maggy Morrissey

Story behind this image: This is rush hour in Venice, Italy, which is easily the most beautiful city I have ever been to. This particular morning Venice offered up a wonderful fog, which gave the people walking to work along the waterfront, a somewhat ghostly appearance.

What’s your approach to post processing?

I use both photoshop and lightroom, although I find myself using photoshop less and less as I get to know lightroom more.

Like my photos, I prefer to keep my processing simple, but will do what is needed to get the image to look the way I want it to. I actually enjoy the post processing, it’s like polishing something to bring out its best features.

3_Carrelet

© Maggy Morrissey

Story behind this image: This was taken on a calm misty morning on the west coast of France. These fishing huts, known as carrelets, are dotted all around the Gironde estuary. I love their distinctive shapes set against such a simple backdrop.

What or who inspires you?

Nature provides an endless and ever-changing source of inspiration, from beautiful backdrops of the skies and seas, to the simple shapes of trees or clouds. I love when nature graces us with some fog or snow – it can really help de-clutter a scene. Interesting architecture can also get my creative juices flowing, especially when it is complementing the natural world around it.

What gear do you use?

Canon cameras and lenses, Lee filters, and Giottos tripods.

Links:

Website: www.MaggyMorrissey.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/MaggyMorrissey
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MaggyMorrisseyPhotography

Filed Under: Featured Member Profiles Tagged With: , , ,

Advanced Web Hosting For Photographers That Need Expansion

September 11, 2012 By

In a previous article on the Best Web Hosting for Photographers and WordPress, we mentioned how Bluehost is the ideal choice, and how Dreamhost is also a very good choice.

To sum it up, Bluehost is a great choice because:

  • Minimal down time
  • Great customer service
  • Ease of Use
  • WordPress-friendly
  • Unlimited domains, website, and space
  • Popularity
  • Price

However, even with all that said – sometimes a photographer may outgrow a hosting company like Bluehost. For example, Photocrati’s Scott, was using Dreamhost (similar hosting style to Bluehost) for many years. Eventually his grew to the point where consistent traffic continually crashed the server.

So Scott had to make a conscious decision to change hosts, and turned to more advanced options that require some knowledge of how servers function and how to maintain them. Since making the move, new hosting styles have emerged from the abyss of infinite web hosting options. Termed: Managed WordPress Hosting.

Basically, these hosting platforms are cloud-esq virtual private servers that are managed entirely by the hosting company for the utmost speed, reliability and performance. In addition, they’re optimized specifically for WordPress so problems should not exists.

Web Hosting For Photographers

In the Managed WordPress Hosting space, there are two companies that stand out above them all. We have had the fortunate opportunity to take a deeper look at both and feel comfortable, like we do with Bluehost, to recommend either for web hosting for photographers.

WP Engine

web hosting for photographersIt is safe to say that WP Engine is the most popular management WordPress hosting solution on the market. In fact, soon enough they could become the most popular advanced web hosting for photographers. They’re used by some of the most familiar technology brands around, like FourSquare and HTC.

WP Engine prides itself on speed, security and scalability. Due to the cloud style hosting, the speed of a website hosted with WP Engine will be lightning fast. The platform has been designed specifically for WordPress driven websites, so downtime should be minimal if not eliminated completely. The developers at WP Engine have taken every security precaution they can to keep their customer’s websites safe, and has made it clear that they use a third-party security company to handle testing. It is unclear, however, if they have the third-party handle regular scans or hack restoration or whether they do it in-house.

The nature of a cloud infrastructure lets WP Engine easily increase their storage limit with a few clicks. Of course, with more storage comes more fees. There are a couple of WP Engine features that are worth pointing out.

The first is the ability to connect an Amazon S3 account for scalability without increasing your WP Engine plan. Another feature is the option for using WP Engine’s CDN (content delivery network) so bigger files, and photographs are delivered from another cloud server for increased speed and durability. A really neat feature is the curated plugins list that WP Engine provides. Inside are plugins that WP Engine has tested and will gladly support on their servers. The others are plugins that they do not support and will not let customer’s activate.

For photographers interested in WP Engine, they do provide migration for free, so if you need a website moved from Bluehost then there are no additional fees.

Web hosting for photographers on WP Engine starts at $29 a month.

Synthesis

web hosting for photographers Synthesis is a product of Copyblogger who also developed Scribe SEO. Synthesis prides itself on being the fastest, most secure and with the greatest expertise. Synthesis is a managed Linux solution for WordPress. They do not provide hosting solutions to any other website platform and is a great choice of web hosting for photographers.

Its servers are specifically configured for WordPress. The method results in the ability to handle even the highest volume traffic spikes. They eliminate any worry about WordPress performance.

With Synthesis, you won’t need to worry about the technical jargon, coding, server management or anything else that is included with having a website. You are promised world-class performance when your content attracts big attention.

Because things can happen, Synthesis partnered with Sucuri, the leading WordPress security company, to provide scanning and hack services to each level of hosting. That means you can trust that your site will be safe even when you’re not around to check.

Combine the performance and security of Synthesis with the expert WordPress developers that run the business, and you really do have a top-notch management hosting solution.

It is important, however, to note that Synthesis provides website migration services for a fee. So if you’re going from Bluehost, for example, to Synthesis, and need assistance with the move it will not be free.

Web hosting for photographers on Synthesis starts at $27 a month.

Advanced Web Hosting For Photographers

In conclusion, if you are a photographer in need of expansion, then both WP Engine and Synthesis are amazing choices. They can be fantastic solutions as web hosting for photographers because they are both the best managed WordPress hosting solutions on the market.

In the end, it’s a matter of checking out their websites, features, reviews and chatting with the companies.

Good luck.

Filed Under: Photography Websites Tagged With: , , ,

Win A Free Photocrati Theme & Lightroom Guide From SLR Lounge

September 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

slrlounge-giveaway

We’re working with our friends at SLR Lounge to give away a free copy of the Photocrati theme. But that’s not all! The winner will also receive a copy of the SLR Lounge SLR Lounge Lightroom 4 A-Z Guide, a comprehensive guide to Lightroom 4 retailing for $99.

Instructions

To enter, “like” both Photocrati and SLR Lounge on Facebook and hit “enter.” Like previous SLR Lounge giveaways, you get 3 additional entries every time you refer a someone via your link; so be sure to share away!

If you are having issues entering the competition, please sign in to Facebook prior to entering

What is the SLR Lounge Lightroom 4 A-Z DVD Guide

Become a Lightroom expert! With nearly 14 hours of step-by-step video instruction, this in-depth DVD is designed to turn anyone at any experience level into a Lightroom 4 expert. From file management and organization to advanced artistic processing techniques, this comprehensive DVD has become the standard in Lightroom 4 training.

- 130 video tutorials and nearly 14 hours of content
- Step-by-step tutorials with a full menu system for easy navigation
- Over 6 hours of tutorials dedicated to developing techniques
- 1080p resolution tutorials, exercise files and final Lightroom 4 Catalog

Preview the SLR Lounge Lightroom 4 A-Z DVD Guide

Rules and Restrictions

Void Where prohibited. BOTH domestic and international contestants allowed. One entry per Facebook User using the form. Three additional entries granted when a referral using your link enters the contest.

How Do I Find Out If I Won?

The contest ends Thursday, 10.04.2012 and the winner will be announced on 10.05.2012. We will announce it on the SLR Lounge contest page and they will send an email to the winner.

Filed Under: Random Thoughts

Featured Member: Ken Hallstrom-Meade

September 4, 2012 By 3 Comments

What kind of photography do you do?

Landscape, Macro, Nature, Skyscapes (recently after photographing the Milky Way Galaxy)

DripDrop

© Ken Hallstrom-Meade

Story behind this image: On the way to work one day I noticed that the flowers on the sidewalk had just received an early shower, they glistened in the morning sun and caught my eye. The following day I brought my tripod and camera and setup hoping for a repeat show, I was not disappointed.  I was able to single out this bud with the Nikkor 105mm on full Macro mode (wonderful lens) and framed the bud behind out of focus. I’ve cropped a bit here also to fit in what I liked and trimmed out what was drawing my eye away. I love how the surrounds are visible in the single droplet.

How would you describe your style?

I like the unorthodox approach, there are too many – must follow rule of thirds, must fill the frame, must post process using top down-left to right approach. I find nothing that inspires my photography using these rules, while I do follow the rule of thirds most times, I do tend to look for a different approach, centering the subject, extracting almost all the color, warming the tones a bit. I like to capture an image and work with it in post process to make it look how I like it rather than how the scene looked. How else are you to stand out from the crowd if you follow the rules.

What’s your approach to post processing?

I use Lightroom exclusively. I think it’s extremely powerful and packed with all the features I require, most recently soft-proofing in LR4. I’ve dabbled in third-part add-ons that work with B&W images or HDR images but find that extends my workflow considerably. Lightroom has a powerful image management system and prefer it even over Nikon’s Capture NX2 which admittedly handles the Nikon Raw images better.

Milky-Way-Galaxy-over-Steamboat-Lake-CO

© Ken Hallstrom-Meade

Story behind this image: This is just breathtaking and magical, the stars reflected in the lake, the beetle kill pine tree in the foreground, the distant glow of Steamboat Springs (and some air-glow for good measure) you fall headlong into the Milky Way Galaxy. I’ve never seen the Milky Way Galaxy before, nor have I ever seen so many stars and I will never forget it now.

What or who inspires you?

I don’t draw inspiration from anyone in particular. My inspiration comes from the tools I have and the infinite surroundings of wherever I may be on any given day. Also the feeling of coming home, post-processing, printing and setting about mounting, matting and framing an image on the same day is a real ‘look forward too’ moment. There is no better feeling than numbering a new limited edition 1/50 or 1/250.

SunriseReflectedinWindow

© Ken Hallstrom-Meade

Story behind this image: This was just an opportunistic shot taken early one morning as the sun rose, I caught the reflection in a window nearby and found the colors warming. I’ve left the bricks and frame in the picture to let the viewer know this is a reflection in a window. It’s a warming picture and not one I would go out after.

What gear do you use?

I had to sell up my Nikon D700 and the trinity of Nikons 14-24mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm VRII lens in order to help myself and my family emigrate to Colorado, USA from Ireland. I moved to a D7000, my first venture into cropped sensors and then this year a Nikon D800 with 50mm 1.8G, 105mm 2.8G and 14-24mm 2.8G. I pack it all in a Kata Ultralite bag, and sit it all atop a Manfrotto 055Pro tripod with ball-head and RRS quick-release plate that attaches to the RRS L-Bracket on the camera, the plan is to gradually migrate to RRS ball-head and eventually legs. Small moves Ken small moves…

Links

Website: http://hallstromphotography.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/hallstromphoto
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hallstrom-Photography/193621120720094

Filed Under: Featured Member Profiles Tagged With: , , , ,

Featured Member: Al Overdrive

August 14, 2012 By 3 Comments

What kind of photography do you do?

The majority of my work is editorial – the main subject’s fit under style and entertainment.

2011-12-13-Steve-Davis-Kavus-Torabi-thequietus-11_by_al_overdrive

© Al Overdrive

Story behind this photo: This is one of my fave shots form a shoot I did last year with Kavos of Chromehoof (a cult band) and british snooker champion Steve Davis, who is a massive prog-rock fan. I set up some fairly simple lighting in a quite London pub and I got the guys into a serious music conversation then got their attention and snapped this frame.

How would you describe your style?

I am as much about capturing the essence of my subject as I am about immersing you in their world. Both my fashion work and gritty portraiture reflects my belief that photography should make fantasy believable and reality more desirable.

What’s your approach to post processing?

“Add to taste” – Some of my work requires no post processing work, and just a little bit of colour correction. Then some of my work (such as my beauty work or the portraits I took of the tattooed boxer), rely heavily on the post processing and addition of tonal filters and colour treatments to achieve the look I am after.

I’d rather get things right in camera, but when you have 10 min to shoot a musician and get 3 different looks, I am happy to use post processing to overcome certain obstacles, as it gives me more time to shoot the subject.

2012-03-23-Reah-thierstein-easy-living-25EDIT2_by_al_overdrive

© Al Overdrive

Story behind this photo: We were shooting this designer for a magazine feature and she showed me this mask, which was a prop for a shoot with Kate Moss; It didn’t take much for me to persuade her to put the mask on , and I captured this cute moment as she was playing around with it.

What or who inspires you?

Photographically I really like the work of Simon Emmet at the moment, who shoots a lot of work for GQ and Vanity Fair. I’m also quit into the darker side of fashion and fine art photography.

I used to work as a forensic photographer, and you can see this as an influence in my technical style for sure.

I am probably most influenced by the work of Glen E Friedman, who shot a lot of the important hip hop, punk and skateboarders in the 70′s and 80′s.

Outside of photography I love low-brow art and spend as much time as I can checking out the work of emerging artists there.

2012-05-18-tom-and-piera-wedding-verona-italy-567RETOUCHED_by_al_overdrive

© Al Overdrive

Story behind this photo: This shot was taken at a wedding I flew to Italy to cover… we suddenly had the idea that we should recreate the last supper, or at least make a nod toward the painting, so the bride and I arranged everyone and I letter sent th image off for retouching. It’s been featured in UK ‘Brides” as wedding of the week and is one of my fave wedding photos.

What gear do you use?

Mostly a Nikon d800, I got one of the first ones that came out, and love the ease of use and the huge files… which make my life a lot easier as its approaching medium format quality in a 35mm body.

Tho on many shoots I ge give a canon to use and I am just as happy.

I use a mixture of ambient light and strobes…. but try to use them in a cinematic way for lighting areas in a very specific manner.

Links

Website: www.al-overdrive.com
and www.al-overdrive-weddings.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlOverdrive
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aloverdrive

Filed Under: Featured Member Profiles Tagged With: , , ,

New York City Sunset Photowalk on August 14, 2012

August 8, 2012 By 1 Comment

photocrati-photowalk

We are happy to share that Photocrati team member, Scott, will be joining Trey Ratcliff of Stuck in Customs in New York City for a sunset photowalk.

Guess what? You’re invited!

Scott planned a fun route for the walk and Trey has posted the event to Google Plus. Please note that having a Google Plus account is not required to join the event. That is just the easiest place to organize the event, collect RSVPs to get a ballpark count of attendance and for photos to be shared afterwards.

What to bring: Any camera, even mobile phones, and a tripod if you prefer (this is a sunset photowalk after all)

Who to bring:  It’s a family-friendly event, so bring your photo-curious kids, friends, or anyone!

When:  August 14, 2012 starting at 6PM New York time!  The sun sets at 7:54 PM that day.

Cost: Free

Where: We’ll start in the World Trade Center area and end up in Battery Park.  Here is more exact info below:

Google Map Spot:  http://goo.gl/maps/PEdHO

24 Cortlandt St
New York, NY 10006

If you do streetview and look across the street from Century 21, there is a long wall where we can meet: http://goo.gl/maps/Kauff

Sharing Afterwards:  Attach your photos to the Google Plus event and/or on Flickr, 500px or wherever else using the tag #TRNewYorkPhotowalk

-

Have you ever been on a Photowalk? Curious what is is?  Photowalks are basically social events for photographers to meet up and shoot, share and love the art.

Filed Under: Event Tagged With:

Featured Member: Tom McLaughlan

August 2, 2012 By 3 Comments

What kind of photography do you do?

A mixture of abstract and minimal I’ve labelled as ‘ministract’

mini-reflections

© Tom McLaughlan

Story behind this photo: ‘Mini reflections’ was taken during a JiBBR visit to Berlin, in a car showroom. I was attracted to the way the colour swatches on the wall were being reflected in the roof of the car. The challenge was to get myself into the right position so as to catch the reflections in just the way I wished.

How would you describe your style?

Ministract is a term I started to use a few years back, soon after starting photography, when I felt that none of the traditional terms properly defined my pictures. The borderline between minimal and abstract is really fertile territory that I love exploring. I hope my pictures reflect a certain curiosity about the shapes and lines that are hidden within structures. Typically, those lines will be hard and fast, but often they’ll be blurred or schmocussed. Overall, my hope is that there is some idiosyncrasy in the pictures and that they reflect what Robert Mapplethorpe was getting at when he said “I’m looking for the unexpected. I’m looking for things I’ve never seen before”.

What’s your approach to post processing?

As simple as possible. I shoot in RAW, process in Lightroom (boosting contrast level and colours a bit), crop square (usually) and then export as JPEG. Sometimes I wish I knew how to use Photoshop but, on the whole, I don’t need it and Lightroom – with its friendly sliders – is so easy!

red-sea

© Tom McLaughlan

Story behind this photo: ‘Red Sea’ is closer to the abstract end of ministract. Its a picture of two columns in a bar in Bologna, flipped through 90 degrees. I love the colours in the columns and how they merge to create an almost thunderous sky. Shots like this are where I have the most fun.

What or who inspires you?

Friends, architects and quotes. On the friends front, the man who’s taught me the most (probably more than he knows) is a wonderful guy from the south of Italy, Osvaldo Pieroni. And a very strong influence these days is Gianni Galassi, who’s become a very dear friend. Then there’s a small but very special group of five friends who met on Flickr and go by the name of JiBBR. We come from Italy, Germany (x2), Switzerland and me in the UK. We meet a few times a year for photo weekends in cities around Europe. It’s fabulous to see five interpretations of the same subject. Amongst architects, the one who inspires me the most is Santiago Calatrava – I could shoot his structures day after day after day and still not be bored. I’ll celebrate my 50th birthday later this year with JiBBR in Valencia – three days immersed in the City of Arts and Sciences. Magical! I’m also inspired by quotes. I’ve already cited Robert Mapplethorpe but the other really special one (and which is headlined on my site) is by Emily Dickinson: “Ignite the imagination and light the slow fuse of the possible”. That’s what I want my work to do and I’ll keep on trying and learning until, hopefully, it does.

man-flu-neglect

© Tom McLaughlan

Story behind this photo: ‘Man flu neglect’ was processed when I was ill and, hence, the silly title. It’s one of my favourite pictures because of its simplicity. It was taken at a hotel in Zurich and is of a the roof edges set against a deep blue sun. I really enjoy the way the shadows and sky interact. This picture is one of those that’s been most influenced by Gianni Galassi.

What gear do you use?

A Canon 5d Mark II with usually a 24-105 f4 L IS or 70-200 f2.8 L IS attached. I’d like to use primes more (I have Canon’s wonderful 35mm f1.4 and 135mm f2, along with Sigma’s 85mm f1.4) but I tend towards the convenience of those two zooms when I’m walking the streets hunting building details.

Links

Website: tommclaughlan.net
Twitter: @daruma
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/daruma

Filed Under: Featured Member Profiles Tagged With: ,

Featured Member: Jessie

July 26, 2012 By 3 Comments

What kind of photography do you do?

I take photos of anything beautiful.  (scenery, wildlife, people, children, newborns, moose, bears, even bugs and abstract) I love Photography!

featured-member-jessie-01

© Jessie

How would you describe your style?

My style is artistic. I do not like anything canned, except Fashion Modeling.

What’s your approach to post processing?

I am all digital and I love photos posted just as shot – natural and also black & white.

featured-member-jessie-02

© Jessie

What or who inspires you?

Have you ever been somewhere and seen a view of a mountain, a sunset, a lake in the evening with the water lit up with a thousand glistening sparkles as the sunlight dances off the water? Have you ever seen a child or an elderly person and thought to yourself, “How cute or OMG this old person must have seen a lot in his or her lifetime. that weathered look says they have been through a lot and have many stories to tell”?

Have you ever been walking somewhere and seen a flower, or a tree, or a fountain or river.. have you ever seen a mountain or waterfall, a sunrise or a moon-rise and thought to yourself, “OMG, this is so awesome”!

Have you ever seen a mother or father holding their newborn baby, looking into his or her eyes and you know if you could capture that moment, it would be priceless?

Have you ever been to a soccer game with your children, or a baseball game for Tee-Ball players and seen those little girls and boys all dressed up in their little sports uniforms?

Have you ever in your lifetime been amazed at something or someone so beautiful that you were almost breathless, speechless other than the words that just seemed to jump out of your mouth.. you found yourself saying, “Oh my God, Look at that!”

Well, I find myself doing this every day. That is why every where I go I have my pelican case full of camera equipment with me.

Do my kids and wife get sick of me always having a camera with me?

Do they think I am crazy for carrying around that  huge, heavy case every where I go?   Yes!

But then, other than being a husband and a father.. I Love to be a practicing photographer  so I can keep those special moments I find forever!

featured-member-jessie-03

© Jessie

What gear do you use?

Canon equipment all the way.
Filed Under: Featured Member Profiles Tagged With: ,

Featured Member: Patrik Lindgren

July 19, 2012 By 8 Comments

What kind of photography do you do?

Professionally I concentrate mostly on automotive and motor-sport photography. On a more personal level i´m a people person and like to take portraits.

pl_lexus_lf_lc_012

© Patrik Lindgren

Story behind this image: The first one is a favorite, I got to go to Brüssels to shoot a very cool Concept Car. The Lexus LF-LC is something extraordinary. And the studio that I did this in was amazing, sometimes it´s easy being a photographer.

How would you describe your style?

I got my own style, I just don´t know how to describe it. It is not that important to me to have a certain style, I do what I love and I prefer to let my pictures speak for themselves.

What’s your approach to post processing?

Mostly, as little as possible. That usually depends on the fact that my clients need the results fast. So LR4 is excellent for me with it´s intuitive and fast paced interface.

When it comes to other stuff I can give them a bit more post processing love, but in general I always try to make the best of it already in camera.

pl_audi_r8gt_030

© Patrik Lindgren

Story behind this image: Another favorite, because I really like the light and the sense of speed that you get looking at it. It´s shot at 1/6th of a second handheld from another car.

What or who inspires you?

A lot. I find inspiration in music, movies and art. But the thing I get the most inspiration from, photographically, is Photojournalism. I´m an educated photojournalist so I think I will always find inspiration in that area.

lindland_nurb_001-copy

© Patrik Lindgren

Story behind this image: taken on Nürburgring during Carrera World Cup in 2011. I shot it during the qualifying, and I think it shows the true elements of what racing is really about. I like the light and the contrasts in it.

What gear do you use?

Nikon only nowadays. Since i´m not so much of a technical person I wont go in to details. My cameras and lenses are tools that helps me out in my pursuit of the picture that I want. And I like to work with tools that I can rely on.

Links

Filed Under: Featured Member Profiles Tagged With: ,

Our First NextGEN Gallery Update Now Available

July 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

nextgen-gallery

Real quick update today. For those Photocrati users that are also using the NextGEN Gallery plugin, this is for you.

Today we announced our first update since acquiring the plugin.

For full details and instructions, visit the NextGEN Gallery 1.9.5 announcement.

Thanks for the support,

The Photocrati Team

Filed Under: Product Releases Tagged With:
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