Welcome to Blogs of Photogs! Blogs of Photogs is owned by Mary Hanson, of Mary Hanson Photography. I welcome readers and other photographers to submit their blog, or blogs they admire, to be reviewed. There is a long list, and it takes a tremendous amount of time to visit, read, and review so many great (or not-so-great) photography blogs. If you have emailed rest assured you are in the list. Some keys to getting reviewed are: updating your blog often, having beautiful photography, writing more than just a two word description about your photos, having the "bugs" worked out of your blog (links that are broken or images that don't load are too frustrating to send hundreds of readers to visit...) and a sense of humor helps too. :) Thanks for enjoying my project!
Also, I encourage you to visit and support our sponsors of the blog, as they help pay for the costs and upkeep of the site, and are great vendors! Email if you are interested in becoming a sponsor. Opportunities are limited within similar categories.
~Mary
Check out this great collection of “Street Photography” of strangers by Dariusz Majgier, by clicking here. I love this idea! He is a professional photographer (main site here) who does this as a side project (non-commercial) He asks for permission, then does a five second long photo session. As he told me, this is more than just portraits, it shows street fashion, trends, and current styles. Check it out, kind of addictive to scroll through. I’d love to do this.
Found this great graphic put together by a series of interviews from Smartpress (http://blog.smartpress.com/) about advice and info about professional photography, trends, equipment and advice. Check it out at their website in full size here.
I will definitely update this if my poor service is remedied, but here is my experience which would cause me to give all my blog readers and everyone else the advice to AVOID UNITED CAMERA & BINOCULAR REPAIR AT ALL COSTS!!!
As all of my readers know, I’m a professional photographer, so getting my camera fixed quickly and correctly is important to me, and also important to the bottom line of my business. So, when my main camera had a problem with the card reader in late June (one of the pins came out with the CF card, got the dreaded CHA error) I did some research and found that Nikon repairs were taking 2-5 weeks. I searched for a company that looked reputable, called United Camera Repair (their website is here) and the woman on the phone said that most DSLR cameras are fixed within 24 hours of receiving them. Their website, as you can see in the screen shot above, even touts “Speed: Most repairs completed in 48 hours”
Sounds great, right?
So, I paid the extra $50 bucks to have my baby overnighted to them and for over night shipping back too. I sent it to United Camera on 6/30/11, they received it the morning of Friday July 1st. (signed delivery by Kelly) So, it is now the morning of Friday July 8th, one whole week later, and they still (STILL!!!) have not touched my camera. It still says “Status: In line to be assigned to a technician” despite my calling multiple times and promises that it would be looked at that day.
When I call, there is one very crabby customer service person, who, now that I’ve prepaid for my “service” says that it takes 10-14 business days to have a repair even started. Entirely different thing than what they tell you before they have your camera and your money. I’m still waiting to hear back from Don at United Camera Repair this morning to let me know why they still haven’t worked on my camera after he promised me multiple times it would be worked on both Wednesday and Thursday (yesterday).
Ironically, their tagline is “A better repair experience” What a joke, I have never had such a bad experience with a company; from the customer service people who tell outright lies, their bait & switch tactics, etc. – it is just ridiculous. I would AVOID UNITED CAMERA REPAIR for certain.
Bummer! Looks like they have some BBB strikes against them as well. Is there not a Nikon equivalent of the Canon Professional Services? They’ve been great for me in terms of repair and turn around times. http://usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/standard_display/CPS
So sorry to hear about your bad experience. Thank you for sharing with all of us so we NEVER use them!
I would like to share that I just used KEH.com to repair my canon and not only were they REALLY fast….they were pretty cheap. Much cheaper than Canon.
Hope things go better the next time your camera needs to be worked on!
Jessi -August 5, 2011 - 8:59 am
I’ve used them to fix a point & shoot and 2 different DSLRs and have been met with mixed results.
The shutter on my 20D needed to be replaced, and I was fortunate enough to be able to pick it up again while they were waiting for parts (I live close by), but still was frustrated with how long they took. I can’t even imagine for you!
After waiting all that time (and the customer service is just as crabby in person) my shutter broke again only TWO MONTHS after they ‘fixed’ it. They tried telling me it was a new problem that I needed to pay for, and fixed it for free only at my insistence after multiple times coming in and talking to a manager. I still use them because of the convenience/location but would not recommend anyone to ship their cameras here!
Dave Barak -October 26, 2011 - 11:20 am
Okay, here it goes…
I broke and/or zapped the FireWire circuit(s) in my JVC GY-HD200U video camera, so I did a little research and found UCB. I saw the negative reviews and figured that the old adage might be true – happy customers don’t say much, unhappy customers make a lot of noise. I figured it would be worth a shot.
I received an estimate and purchased the packing materials, overnight shipping, etc. I got all that and sent the camera out. They received it on or before September 28, 2011, according to the email I received on that day.
On October 5, I checked the status of the repair using their online form and received the message “Waiting for customer approval to begin/continue repair.” Hmmm… a week went by and nobody notified me that I needed to approve the repair? I checked through all my previous email and didn’t see ANY that mentioned that. So I wrote to customer service on the 5th to let them know approval hadn’t been requested.
On October 6, I still hadn’t heard back from them.
On October 7, I called and spoke with Don to let him know that I wasn’t a happy customer because a) I never received a request for approval, and b) I hadn’t received a reply to my email of October 5. Don said he’d expedite the repair. Don offered to refund the money I spent for the overnight return once the repair is complete.
On October 10, I received an email from Jennifer in reply to my email of October 5. “Your unit is in line for service now…”, etc.
On October 17, I received their boilerplate email telling me that they’d received the “device” for repair – the same email I’d received twice before.
This same day, I decided to investigate the corporate officers of United Camera and Binocular Repair in preparation for filing suit against them. (UCBR Holdings Corp., United Camera and Binocular Repair, LLC and United Camera Repair Inc.
Keep in mind that during this entire time, online status updates were rarely actual updates – checking online is an exercise in futility. I emailed UCBR on the 18th to ask if that was ever updated, and I received a non-commital response from Don, the first person I contacted at UCBR.
I contacted UCBR again on that day and spoke with Jim, someone with actual influence on things there. He said that the technician ordered a part from JVC to be sent via overnight delivery.
The next day Jim told me that JVC neglected to overnight the part, so I can’t hold UCBR responsible for that little snafu.
On October 24, Jim emailed me to let me know that the new part was received and installed, but that it didn’t fix the problem. We spoke by phone to discuss the issue. The work they had done had fixed some of the problem – it was now possible to get standard definition DV out of the camera via FireWire, but HDV still wasn’t working. That would require a part to be installed by JVC along with a firmware flash that only they could do (JVC won’t release the code). In my conversation with Jim, he had a bit of an odd question, basically asking if in my work I possibly only used the standard definition features of the camera. I could only guess he was asking so they could finally close out the repair with only standard definition working. Um, it’s a high definition camera, so yes, please make that work. That WAS included in your estimate after all. Would you buy a car and take delivery if it didn’t have tires? Sure, you can drive it on bare wheels, but it won’t go very fast. Jim offered to overnight the camera to JVC.
XXXXXXXXXX
So the camera is – supposedly – at JVC as of October 25.
As of this writing, I have a few worries…
1. By the time I pay JVC, will the repair will cost double or more what the original estimate was? If so, it would be like buying two of these cameras. They’re not state-of-the art, so they’re not worth the $6,000 cost when new a few years ago.
2. If I approve the JVC repair, would I pay JVC directly, or pay UCBR? If I pay USBR for the JVC portion of the repair, will they mark it up or double-bill any of it?
3. If I decline the JVC repair, the camera isn’t fully repaired based on the original repair estimate. Should I do a partial charge-back? A high-def camera without high-def is silly, and UCBR will not have done their job.
Before UCBR should continue fixing cameras, they should fix their process. And anyone with sophisticated equipment should NEVER use UCBR. I have no doubts that UCBR means well, and heck, I don’t even have any doubts that they do a good job most of the time. But when they screw up, they don’t waste their effort screw up a little bit.
Matt Silk, a commercial photographer based in South Carolina, has such an amazing body of work- I know all of my readers will appreciate his images. He incorporates quite a bit of HDR photography, which often prompts me to yawn and say “so what?” -as it is usually done so poorly. But, Matt is masterful with his use of it, to bring new depth, shading and light into his work and direct the viewers eye throughout the image. You’ll love both his blog which you can find here and his main site which is here. Enjoy his sensational portfolio!
Matt’s body of work is truly amazing! I agree with you completely, when it comes to most HDR photography, it’s done very poorly and looks more like a gimmick that a blending of exposures, but Matt is a true professional.
What’s not to love about Lemon Fresh Designs Photography? Couldn’t tell you… but I can tell you what I *DO* love! The lovely bright and airy quality of every image, whether taken outdoors in freezing cold Canadian winter, or many pages back in lovely fall colors, the way that she captures the beauty of each client, without resorting to overprocessing or extreme effects, the obviously apparent fun that Mary Clarke has with her career and so much more. Great info for clients on layouts/choosing sizes, and more as well.
Mary works out of Toronto and Muskoka, covering weddings and portrait work, with some commercial stuff thrown in for good measure. Find Mary’s blog here and her site here.
Banff Photography/Bonner Photography, located in the Canadian Rockies in Banff, Alberta, Canada is made up of a team: John Bonner & Andrew Dickinson. It is hard to define their photography as “just” wedding photography (or for their portrait work as just portrait work as well) because so much of their craft combines both their outstanding wedding photographs, along with the majestic natural beauty of the outdoors where they live and work. This requires a command of beautiful still life landscape work- paired with the people skills and technical know how to capture natural, elegant and beautifully framed portrait work within these marvelous settings. Check out their work on their blog here, or their site here. Being from a northern state (MN) I always especially appreciate photography like what you will find from John & Andrew- that is outside, celebrating winter and snow! Enjoy!
Paul Bartholomew is an accomplished architectural and still life photographer, working out of the Philadelphia area, as well as in New York and New Jersey with occasional other travel. His blog (here) and website (here) are brimming with sumptuous images of food, interior design spaces, buildings and outdoor spaces: all flawlessly lighted and captured with masterful detail. I know you will all enjoy the visual feast of images Paul’s work provides. Enjoy!
I’ve got a massive inbox full of past submissions, and this lovely blog was only brought to my attention last week~ so I’m not being entirely fair in “bumping it to the top”! But then, if I can’t make the rules here, where can I, right?
I think my readers will heartily enjoy both Aileen’s photographic work and her words~ and how it is all wrapped up together just so for her blog. Aileen has strong, captivating talent in both her film work + her digital work, and though I hadn’t seen or heard of the acronym FIND (Film Is Not Dead, link here) before, but love to see another resurgence in great film work! But, back to Aileen- she updates her blog frequently (something we should all do, especially yours truly!!) she works out of the Northern Virginina, DC Metro area, doing portraits and a few weddings per year. Her blog is here and her main site is here. Enjoy!
So, I’m back after a very long hiatus. Started out with working on some other side projects, then was working for a candidate for Governor as her photographer, and got out of the habit of blogging, but I promise to be back and post regularly again! I’ve gotten lots of emails about suggestions for sites to feature and I plan to make some changes (low rates!) to blogs of photogs sponsorship opportunities as well. Email if you run a small business that caters to photographers, and I’ll send you info about putting up a sponsor banner. I’d also like to hear from readers as to what YOU would like to see on Blogs of Photogs! Leave a comment telling me if you prefer tips, product reviews etc, or just straight up reviews of other photographers. And, if that is your favorite, specify if you are looking for inspiration for portrait work, weddings, kids, models, seniors, what ever you most want to see- I’d really like to know!
And as a welcome back for my loyal readers, here is a freebie just for you. I created this texture you can add to any photo to give a grungy vignette. Drop it on the top layer over your photo, then free transform it to fit your photo, and change opacity and erase out important bits that you need to be able to see from under the texture. Have fun! Please do not share with anyone, you are welcome to refer or link to this post if anyone would like this free texture. Thanks!
Here is the texture used on top of a photo, then I will add the texture link below it in just a minute. Right click on it and save to your hard-drive.
best,
Mary
Click this link to open the full size texture in another window where you can save it…
Thanks SO much for the texture! I’d love to continue to see blogs on other photographers. It helps me get inspiration. I would like to see more of weddings and portraits (children/babies/families).
Claire Alyse Photography is a brilliantly talented photographer who works out of Los Angeles, one of the best of the multitudes of photographers in LA actually. Make sure you take a good look around her blog- I know you will absolutely love her work, but after you do, make sure you read this great post: here, where she shows a very interesting example using hairdressers to clarify the difference between established professional photographers and the shoot and burn lot out there who “have a good camera”… we all know dozens of them, don’t we? Pass it on and share her post, maybe it will educate a few clients and a few “wanna-be’s”. Loved it! Thanks Katie! (ps, her FAQ’s are awesome too!)
I stumble upon your blog and found it’s very interesting to have a compilations of good photographers, really good effort, thanks
David Akesson -September 7, 2010 - 7:09 am
Hi,
Love what you do in posting about different blogs. Puts a great slant on things and allows people like me to be introduced to new inspiration.
Here’s one you might like. Nils is a relative newcomer to the world of photography. Her first camera was a Canon 30D just 3 years ago. With that in mind check out her site at http://www.figtreephotography.com.au. You will love her work.
DavidA
I just wanted to show people my wifes photography. I believe she is talented and hope for people to view her photos. To also give good tips and advice. I am in to music my self another type of art that goes perfect with pictures, when a song could say so much so can one still frame of photography can say millions. another great form of communication through emotion and beauty within are world. so please check it out, follow her on her flickr site @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/46837748@N04/sets/
greatest regards
and hoping for every one great success,
Anthony Burciaga
Thanks for sharing these blogs. I’m loving checking all of these out. That article you posted from Claire’s blog is definitely worth reposting. Thanks again.
[...] comes first, ME! Stop off at “Blogs of Photogs – reviewing the most brilliant photography blogs worldwide” so see my blog featured as one of their very favorites. Also, in case you missed it before, I was [...]
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I thought I had reviewed Simone’s lovely work years ago. I am a “Facebook friend” of hers, and noticed, once again, some of her divine images again today, and got to thinking about Blogs of Photogs. Didn’t find her in my search, so I’m sharing her with you now (blog here). Simone works out of Adelaide, Australia, and is truly a fine art photographer possessing great talent. Her work is the kind that almost every time I see it, I think: “I’d hang that in my home, and it isn’t even my kid!” Her crisp, film-reminiscent photographs have a gorgeousness that makes it appear that she is painting with light. Check out her website too, (here) great information and additional stunning work. Enjoy!
As you can see from the screen shoot above, Ten18 photography specializes in many areas of photography: Seniors, portraits, commercial work and children. For my feature today, I’m focusing mostly on their wonderful senior work. Ten18 photography is based out of Eugene, Oregon, and their fantastic work, site and blog are all worth a long look with a big cup of coffee. What’s with the name? Ten18 is the date that Kyle (the photographer) met his wife Meredee in person after an online courtship– they use the name to remind themselves “of the love we share and what we went through to be together.” Sweet idea.
Anyway- Ten18′s senior work (gallery here) has a very fashion forward feel to it, highly polished and edgy with great styling and posing. There is a ton of information for prospective clients on their blog and site, so much so that I even got a little lost reading it all! Great information for photographers to read and reconsider what info you ought to be offering your clients. Check it out, be inspired and enjoy!
Thanks for featuring our site Mary. We’ve worked hard to make this site the best in our area and are continuing to work on refining the look and usability.
I really like this site, I especially like how they are going for an edgy, modern feel, appealing to the younger clients that might be out there looking. Way to keep with the times.
Jenny Schartner, of Captured Photography, is based in West Palm Beach, FL, and specializes in both wedding and portrait photography with a beautiful, crisp, sunny style that makes me feel like I’m right back on my trip to Florida. She has a great blog, (here) that features extensive posts showcasing both sessions and sneak peeks, great engagement photos that really capture the relationship between couples, and to top it off- she also does videography of weddings! Jenny also has a great FAQ for photographers to cover the myriad requests for info that she gets (as do I, and many others, which reminds me I have to put my Photog-wanna-be FAQ back up on my site! LOL) Take a look around and enjoy the blog- stellar work!
best,
Mary
Thanks guys for featuring our blog! Yay! And for your super sweet words
bob fredericks -June 4, 2010 - 7:19 pm
I recently stumpled upon http://www.photographersgallery.com – i’ve never seen such a fine art site done like this – it’s extremely user friendly which a huge array of prints, definately work a look. BF.
I can see the passion from your works. Creating great images are best derived from the valuable commitment and the prior love for the art. Nice blog that showcase your creative works.
These blog is great and awesome, it is having the great photo shoots specially of the wedding ceremonies. Photos are very sharp and have been taken to greatly display the feelings that resides behind the photos.
Adam Jacobs Photography is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where specializes in sports photography. Adam makes amazing panoramic images of sports stadiums, (here) with the occasional use of selective coloring in perhaps the only worthwhile way I’ve seen.Adam also has a section on action sports photography, with some great captures and a fine art section featuring people, landscapes and more. You can read his blog here, which I really enjoyed for both the writing and the images. ~Enjoy!
Mary
published!
Ps, In case you are not a subscriber to Professional Photographer magazine, you may have missed my first nationally published article! I was asked to write for them about Blogs of Photogs, and creating a better photography blog. You can download the pdf here. If you are a subscriber, either online or in print, you can also see my second nationally published article (lol) in the same magazine, on p. 20, about getting Dads “in the picture.” It was fun to see my name and work in print! ~M
Your article is excellent. So much great advice. Over the holiday break I plan to use a lot of your fabulous tips to update and improve my blog. Thanks for the great information!
I’ve decided to do occasional spotlights on the awesome sponsors of Blogs of Photogs. I so appreciate their support and would like to introduce my readers to them with periodic features. Feel free to leave comments about the sponsors if you have done business with them!
Our first feature is Pro Photo Blogs. Pro Photo Blogs was started to give photographers a great looking choice for creating their blog (or blog-site) instead of having to use a free site with tiny images or paying upwards of $3000 to have a custom blog created by a designer. Pro photo blogs gives you a high end blog, using the power of WordPress, with nearly limitless customization choices, all at a very affordable price, great support, and a money back guarantee. You don’t have to know how to write any code, and the large image features show off your photography in amazing ways. I really love the newest version with the ability to have slideshows and galleries. I’ve been a customer of theirs for years and have created both my regular portrait website (www.maryhphoto.com) and Blogs of Photogs with their awesome template. If you’d like to get a special $10 discount off your purchase of the Pro Photo Blog theme, use discount code MARHAN882 on the order page. To check out the overview, go here.
I LOVE ProPhoto too. The themes are great and their customer service is second to none! When I had a little glitch with a version upgrade, they sorted it out within a day – which is pretty great seeing as I’m in Australia and the time difference can often work against me when dealing with US businesses.
*I must mention that I’ve been using them for a LONG time and this was the first and only problem I have experienced… and it was MY fault!
Thank you for showcasing Pro Photo! Having just finished my website, I now have my sights set on launching my new blog – so I bought Pro Photo today (and saved $10!). Wish me luck!
Lynn Michelle Photography is a Dallas, TX based wedding photographer who, as she puts it: shoots fabulous people. Lynn, along with her team of Vivian and Nancy, provide exceptionally polished wedding photography services that manages to capture both the gaiety and the grandeur of each wedding. I love blogs where the writer really lets their personality shine through in their comments, this is one where it is clear what fun Lynn & crew have with their jobs, and also makes me think they’d be a lot of fun to hang out with and have a beer with too!They have all sorts of accolades on their sites, from best wedding photogs multiple years from The Knot, to other nifty features in print and online; so they don’t need me to tell them they rock at what they do~ but I’ll say it anyway; they rock. Take a peek at the blog and enjoy!
I am just utterly honored that you found out about my little blogsite! Thank you for all of the kind words, we definitely strive to make every wedding an amazing event and it’s really easy because I really do have the best clients!
Lynn
Jennifer Cano -April 28, 2010 - 10:01 am
I am one of Lynn’s Brides and I will tell you first hand that SHE IS A BLAST! And so are her teammates – Vivian and Nancy. Our wedding day was one of the best days of our lives and Lynn and her team captured our memories better than my own mind did. You can sense the emotion in every one of our photographs. Each one is a piece of artwork. I’ll be forever grateful to have them at my wedding and to leave me with such gorgeous memories and photographs.
Jennifer
[...] original here: #169…lynnmichelle photography » blogs of photogs This entry was posted on środa, kwiecień 28th, 2010 at 03:52 and is filed under Dance. You can [...]
Those of you who specialize in Senior Portraits have got to check out the great post (here) on i heart faces about The Hottest Trends in Senior Portrait Photography. Then, after you are done with that, check out the rest of their awesome site!
How fun to see that our “Senior Portraits” post was featured here! We had a blast putting that post together and it makes us smile that others are enjoying it as well.
Tony Hoffer is a tremendously talented photographer that works primarily around the Philadelphia, PA area. His site features a variety of the different types of work he does; kids, families, commercial, and more, but what I absolutely loved was his wedding & engagement work. I look at a lot of blogs–a lot–and it is rare for me to see a wedding photographer that just excels at everything. From capturing the small details, to really showing the depth of emotion and joy on that special day, to making every couple look their absolute best, it is all there and then some. Amazing use of posing and perfect candid shots too… I’ll stop gushing now and let you look for yourself here on his blog.
~Enjoy!
And as a PS, I had some trouble with the blog last week when I moved it to a new hosting company. I had blogged about Hoffer photography and then the post got lost, everything got screwed up and I broke my blog on the switch over.. so I rewrote it today and I apologize for the mixup.I also switched wordpress themes as well and am now using the fabulous ProPhoto theme by NetRivet. If you are looking for the most amazing, fully customizable theme to use for your blog or your blogsite, I cannot say enough good things about Jared and his team over at ProPhoto blogs. Affordable product, great tutorials, wonderful customer service and really nice people to work with all add up a product I am happy to give two thumbs up and offer you a chance at $10 off with this code: MARHAN882 I also have to thank them for helping me fix the things I screwed up on the host transfer. Good service like that needs a shout-out!
I love checking out your blog, finding great photographers, and always plenty of inspiration. Thanks for all the research work you’re doing, you’re filling up my google reader:)
Came across this great Pay-It-Forward project today: Roadside Families and knew I had to share it with all my readers on Blogs of Photogs! I’ll excerpt the “rules” below from their website, but the basic premise is this; photographers taking photos of other photographers family and then paying it forward, all with no money exchanged~ a beautiful idea!
Rules for Paying-It-Forward (note from Mary, this is from their website)
Once you and your family has been photographed, you have 30 days to photograph another photographer’s family. Don’t be that person that holds up the line because you procrastinated!
A photographer and their family (defined) can be any family group that consists of a photographer and his/her family. This could be a regular nuclear family, distant cousins, twin siblings, or conjoined twins. Whatever.
Be creative. Let loose! Free your mind!
Rules for Submissions
Nudity or vulgarity will not be acceptable. Keep it family-friendly.
Images can be no more than 900 pixels wide (including your watermark).
Yes, you may watermark your image.
To keep the chain going, you need to link to your own family post here on roadsidefamilies.com. This is called a permalink, and the url is shown on each post. For example, if JMC shot Joe’s Family and Joe shoots Kelly’s family, then when Joe posts Kelly’s photo on RoadsideFamilies.com, he needs to link to the one JMC shot of him.
Example (at the top of the post): Photography by Joseph, Click here for Joseph’s family photograph
IMPORTANT! Follow the step by step instructions below for submissions.
So, check it out and find a photographer to photograph your family and then you get to go shoot another photographers family. Love to hear about those that have already done this! Great idea!
no comments